This paper examines the representation of sex in the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in terms of quest design, narrative, and sex scenes. Examining this topic is relevant to identifying misogynistic tropes in games and finding out where the portrayal of sex might be lacking or even harmful, for designers as well as consumers. The research was conducted through the close reading method, with two researchers playing and analyzing the game. The paper has found a tendency to use sex as a reward for the player. This is done through the quest design, and the framing of the sex scenes, which use and objectify women’s bodies to create an erotic spectacle for the male player. All this constructs a power fantasy for said player through identification with the protagonist, which is encouraged by the framing of cut scenes and the game medium

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the best selling open world video games in recent years. Thanks to the game’s popularity, other game designers might want to replicate its world design methods. In an interview from 2017, the game’s developers have explained that they have used a system called “the rule of 40 seconds” to ensure that the player stumbles upon something interesting every 40 seconds of exploration. In this research, the authors conducted a test to check how accurately the rule was implemented; they did this by analysing footage of gameplay from four different YouTube content creators, on two of the game’s maps. The research found that a Rule does exist, however, it is greatly influenced by playstyles and only accurate for certain players. It concludes that designers looking to implement the rule, can reliably do so, but they should take playing styles and player movement speed into consideration when testing their rule. / The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt är ett av de bäst säljande öppna världsspel de senaste åren. Tack vare spelets popularitet kanske andra speldesigners vill kopiera dess värld designmetoder. I en intervju från 2017 har spelets utvecklare förklarat att de har använt ett system som kallas ”regeln om 40 sekunder” för att säkerställa att spelaren snubblar på något intressant var fjärde sekund av utforskningen. I denna forskning genomförde författarna ett test för att kontrollera hur korrekt regeln implementerades; de gjorde det genom att analysera bilder från fyra olika innehållsskapare på YouTube på två av spelets kartor. Forskningen visade att det finns en regel, men den påverkas av spelstilar och är endast korrekt för vissa spelare. Det drar slutsatsen att designers som vill implementera regeln kan göra det på ett tillförlitligt sätt, men de bör ta hänsyn till spelstilar och spelarens rörelsehastighet när de testar deras regel.

The open world game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) has been proven to follow a 40 second rule when placing points of interest for players to explore. The developers of the game said in an interview that the rule existed, and this was proven by a study made in 2021 by Cojanu and Jaber (2021). The 40 second rule means that whichever direction the player goes in, they will encounter a point of interest within 40 seconds. This study asks the question if Genshin Impact (2020) is following the 40 second rule. The researchers analyzed footage from four YouTube content creators to see if the rule was implemented in the game. It was found that Genshin Impact (2020) follows the 40 second rule since the points of interest were about 10 seconds apart. How the player decides to play the game slightly impacts the frequency of the points of interest and could be taken into account when testing the 40 seconds rule. It was found that points of interest found were more random at the start of the game and more intentionally found by the player later in the game. / Öppen världs spelet The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) har visat sig följa en 40 sekunders regel när det gäller placeringen av intressanta platser för spelare att utforska. Spelets utvecklare sa i en intervju att regeln fanns, och detta bevisades genom en studie utförd 2021 av Cojanu och Jaber (2021). Regeln innebär att oavsett vilken riktning spelaren går i så kommer de att stöta på en intressant plats inom 40 sekunder. Denna studie undersöker om Genshin Impact (2020) följer 40 sekunders regeln. Forskarna analyserade videomaterial från fyra YouTube innehållsskapare för att se om regeln implementerades i spelet. Det visades att Genshin Impact (2020) följer 40 sekunders regeln, eftersom de intressanta platserna låg ungefär 10 sekunder ifrån varandra. Hur spelaren väljer att spela spelet påverkar lite grann frekvensen av de intressanta platser och detta kan tas i beaktning när man testar 40 sekunders regeln. Det visade sig att de intressanta platserna var mer slumpmässiga i början av spelet och mer avsiktligt hittade av spelaren senare i spelet.

The main goal of this thesis is to explain the relationship of literature and computer games. The first part deals with the definition of computer RPG genre and literary fantasy genre. It considers aspects which leads players to play computer games and connect between the literary work and the computer game. It deals also with the experience: the experience of the game and reading while specifically dealing with the flow effect and concept of immersion. A central part of this work examines both media through narrative approach. Interpretation and literary analysis of The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski and computer game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt follows the specifics of the construction of the story in two different media through narrative figures (events, characters and space) and their possible modifications. Furthermore, it tracks purposes and methods for these variations and their impact on the recipient.