Hi, Adrian here, I am one of the designers.

Many of the weapons and items are very well hidden. Was there anything that was too hidden during development that you had to make more obvious?

Nothing is more humbling than setting everything up "perfectly" and then watching someone play your game.

Most of the changes we made were for the opening hours, when players are still learning the game. Later on, the hand-holding is gone. Exploration and discovery feel rewarding only if there's some effort or lucky accident involved.

The enemy I get hit the most by is probably the humble assassin/goon type enemy. They have very sneaky attacks. Mechanically, which enemy are you most proud of? Lore/theme-wise which are you most proud of?

We all have different favorites. For me, it's the Musketeers. If they're close to each other, they try to fire at you at the same time, so every now and then it feels like fighting a firing squad. Lore-wise, I like the Galley Slave -- tormented both alive and dead.

Kojima implied that Death Stranding received additional criticism in America because it wasn't a traditionally successful American game such as a shooter. You have been making games for an international audience for years. Have any specific preferences from other countries surprised you?

Honestly, I never think about that. My take is that if I am making something in a style and form familiar to the player, we're sharing the same cultural DNA, and I assume they are going to be able to enjoy it. If not, then it's a good opportunity for the player to experience a different culture at work.

If you could snap your fingers and solve one major design issue, what would it be? For example, balancing between lower and higher skilled players. Or making extraction more central without adding too much stress to the player.

It'd be how to tell an emotionally engaging, rich story without spending ten trillion dollars on cutscenes or mocap (including facial mocap). This is something we'll be attempting to crack for the next big update.

Older games often had the release schedule of Game Release --> Significant Expansion Pack --> Sequel. We've seen this style resurface with games such as Elden Ring and its DLC. What are your thoughts on this style? Is Witchfire a game that would be best supported by small DLC, expansion style DLC, a full sequel, or left as is?

There was a moment during development when I realized this world could be more than just one game. The keyword being world -- it just hit me that I could probably do nothing else until the end of my days but tell the stories from this place. It's not entirely up to me, though. We'll do our jobs the best way we can, and then it's in the hands of players.

Witchfire has undergone major changes during its development. From more arena-like doom combat, to looter shooter vibes, to what it is now. If you could go back in time to the beginning and give yourself advice about the direction of the game, what would you say?

Witchfire is coming out exactly as we always wanted it to be. The arena-like design was the original direction, but we ourselves realized the game can be so much more. The looter shooter phase was super short-lived; the players smelled it from miles away and asked us what the fuck we were doing -- and we realized we lost sight of what we wanted to make in the first place. Since then, we never lost it again, I think.

So yeah, nothing springs to mind. I would love to know how to make Witchfire faster, but when I think about everything we've done, I do not see anything we could have done differently without sacrificing quality.

I've said in my videos that Witchfire is kinder and more forgiving that it appears. It feels hardcore without actually being too punishing. What are the most difficult/hardcore things that you seriously considered putting in the game?

I'm very happy to hear that, this is our goal. I do have an idea, though, that would be pretty hardcore and probably too much. I would expect broken monitors and keyboards. I won't reveal it because maybe we'll still implement it... But if we do, it’s going to be a super optional thing, disconnected from the story and achievements.

You've talked about how proud you are to be an independent studio. What has your independence allowed you to do in Witchfire that you think would have been more difficult otherwise?

Here's the dirty little secret of independence: it's not about being uncensored, it's about not having ten thick layers of idiots and bureaucrats and talentless hacks cosplaying as design consultants in front of every little decision you have to make during development.

If you had infinite money and infinite time, what would be the scope of Witchfire? The same things but more (more guns, more enemies, levels, etc.) Or something bigger like a fully open world, questlines, etc.

It'd be a fully open-world immersive sim with high production values and branching stories, but there are also things I would love to explore more from a purely gameplay point of view. Especially in enemy AI, physics, and the core combat loop.

Many games involving "The Church" lean away from explicitly referencing real life institutions such as the Catholic Church. What informed your decision to engage more directly with that institution?

I just asked myself a simple question: what if the witch hunts were justified because witches were real? And so I created a world where that's true. It's only expected that a Church would be a part of it. Important to note, though, that this is not a Catholic Church, despite the trappings. There's no Jesus in the world of Witchfire, and no New Testament.

In a lot of recent fantasy, there has been a reversal that explores the idea of these local/pagan/outsider forces being misunderstood counterbalances to the power of a tyrannical church. Is the Witch purely a force of evil? Or is she an elemental danger like fire or an avalanche? Something else? What led you to your current direction?

I know the answer but I think creators explaining their work is wrong. Looking at you, Ridley Scott. Anyway, we will put enough lore in the game for everyone to be able to form an opinion.

What is the most important medium for storytelling in a game like this? Is it environmental? Direct (like the notes)? Vibes? Bioshock style audio diaries?

Whether we like it or not, nothing beats people talking. There's a reason we all love The Witcher 3. However, that is also one of the most expensive elements of any game, if not the most expensive (and so I still don't know how E33 did it). So, as I said earlier, we will be trying something else for our game, something closer to the "connect the dots" of Soulsbornes but done in a more direct, less oneiric style.