Today is my birthday, I turn 26. Like any hard working man, I have the privilege to spend the day at the office among my colleagues. No sarcasm there. I genuinely do love my job and the people around me. However apart from me, something else turned a year older recently too. CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher videogame franchise is now ten years old. We’re celebrating its 10th Anniversary already? Time flies! The developer released a clip to celebrate the occasion and it’s a real tearjerker.
I have been a fan of the Witcher franchise for quite some time, and the books too. Never had a powerful enough PC to play those games though. By the time The Witcher 2 was released on Xbox 360, I had already moved to PlayStation 3. Nevertheless, I have spent a considerable chunk of my life trying to finish every quest and discover all the secrets in The Witcher 3. Good times, good times indeed.
Here’s a little story that is the cherry on top of my birthday cake in regard to today’s news. During the EA business party at Gamescom I was stood in line to order a few drinks. A guy came up to me and asked if I could order a few more so he wouldn’t have too. Since I’m a nice guy, I helped him out. A few moments later he asked me; “Do you actually have a clue who I am?”, “I’m sorry, but I have not.” I replied. Apparently I was talking to the CEO of IGDB.com. Yeah, like IMDB but meant for videogames. He continued; “Allow me to thank you for ordering us those drinks. Have you played The Witcher by any chance?”. I confirmed, explaining him I’ve spent hours on end on that game. “Oh, than you’re going to love this. Give me a sec.” After a brief moment, he came back with another man. Doug Cockle was his name and he turned out to be the voice of Geralt of Rivia! Pretty awesome. We all gathered for a few more drinks and good talks. I think in total we’ve got the pleasure to spend around two hours with this kind man, asking him different question about what’s it like to be an voice actor and his personal life. I hope we can reminiscence about this moment in about 10 years again. Take care Doug.
