I ended up starting witcher since my husband took Oblivion and is playing on his pc. ( but thats okay, I can wait ) anyhoo, asked for Witcher for Christmas and got it. To my surprise the language was pretty shocking. I mean you just dont expect the stuff that I've heard said to be in a game. Not that I nev er use bad language, but have to wonder why they felt the need to do that.

Even though it says Mature 17+ I never dreamed it would be that bad. Not that it would ever stop me from playing, Im enjoying what Ive played so far but wonder if it was a surprise to any of you cuz it sure was to me.

How old are you, Helen?  I'm in my 6th decade.  Curse words don't have the shock value that they used to have, nor the meaning.  For instance, kids today have no idea what "sucks" really means, or how it came about--or if they do know, it's no big deal to them. Today, cursing is a very mainstream way to be "cool" and "real," with a meaning that is diluted.  No one seems to be innocent anymore, or embrace innocence as a major quality.

I'm not saying I like the cursing et al.  I think it demeans a game and appeals to the lowest/youngest common demoninator.  But in a commercial sense, developers have to speak the language of their customers.  That doesn't say a lot for their customers, and it insults people like me who come to games for other reasons than lame titillation.

Frankly, I love a well-placed curse word or off-color remark. Context is everything, and the context I do not expect is in my video games....which, by the way, I don't consider a very "adult" hobby.  

Old enough 5th decade here.

 I know what your saying but the big "C" word thru me for a loop, I just wasnt expecting it and have never encountered anything like it  in a game. I did a double take when I heard it. ( my poor virgin ears  ) It dosent put me off, and believe me I have no problem with off color remarks and Its not that Im offended, just very surprised. Im not trying to turn this into any kind of debate on whats right or wrong

 Im really just wondering if others that played the game were as shocked as me, I mean did you expect it from the "Mature" rating?

I wasn't shocked by the language, just a little surpised at first.

But then again, swearing never did bother me and it suits the game's characters...

Cheers, Terry 

I guess there are some words most people, even cursing types, stay away from.  The C-word is one of them.  Although, that is one of the last bastion of potent curse words that can still cut to chase and really offend someone. Shame it is being wasted in a game.  

I was very surprised and the bad language was one of the reaons i stopped playing that game about 1/3 of the way thru, still trying to get into the first major town after all the ghost dog attacks. I did not think it was at all useful in a fantasy game. I am playing Mafia II and the language in there is much worse...and i have a very hard time continuing for I KNOW it is affecting kids and young people who are playing it and who are being taught by this example that it is adult and cool. I never cursed in my own adult life unitl after some rough experinces that cast me down into a level of society that I had not been part of before....and it was all around me. I still refuse to use such language in mixed company and rarely with anyone else around, i do use it with myself but never with children or ladies present and I will, when and if someday i have more influence in the game industry, work very hard to set standards of language that bar all profanity and rude language from games past, present and future. Our world and the wonderful gift of life deserves no less.  You will not find any such trash talk in Oblvion or in any of the other older Bethesda games and I am very grateful for that. I dont know about the latest ones, but i certainly oppose and abjur all such cheap language. It demeans the games and abuses the players, and is a terrible example for the young.

TES uses made up curse words, IE  N'wah. 

Curse words change and develop over time. What was a terrible word to hear back in some of your generations, is fairly "common" these days. I know growing up in the deep south, in late elementary school when kids start getting near that "curse words are cool" area the things some kids said woulda made their parents blush, but it's become even more common as time passes.

The curse words that they used back in Shakespeare's day hold no weight today. You could use all manner of curses and ill mannered insults they used then and people would assume you are joking and they wouldn't even bat an eye at censoring it on television.

I mean, I bite my thumb at you, see, that wouldn't even have the meaning it held back then if you even said it to a young person.

Censorship has no place in any Art form, be it games, music, painting, any art form. Any person making their art should have free reign to use any word within the language they wish. Different people have different taste, no one should be able to tell them what word they can and can't use.

IN the Witcher, the atmosphere, the world, the characters, cure words "fit" and it makes sense. I dare any of you to go to a seedy run down bar, and tell me you don't hear any curse words at all. You have be a bit naive to think cursing doesn't "belong."

The same way it'd be absurd to make a period piece set during Shakespeare's time and throw in the "F" word or other modern curses.

I know my opinion may not be common these days, nor popular. I do not consider it censorship but good taste. There are no situations where bad language is the only way to say something, and surprise, fright, anger and dismay can all be experessed in non profane or nasty ways and are daily in millions of people's lives. To force such dark and nasty talk in games is just not necessary. Such things go in cycles i can see for 20 years ago this would have been a non issue and I suspect in 10 years it will be again, when people remember taste, decorum and manners matter as much as impact, getting noticed and feeling tough by using such words. Good post Helen and i agree with you.

I find it strange to have the defense of censorship being used when it is a sin of commsion ...if the words were NOT bad ones, and were not used there woudl be no issue. I think it is usally a matter of immature writers and authors who want to just make an impact, get attention and make waves ....good authors never have to resort to such language.

Shakespeare wrote for a very differnet culture, back then duels were common, daily live was dangerous, nasty and often fatal at every level of life, and we dont live back the, we live now. That defense just wont fly.

As a proffessional artist of some 40 years, i have painted and drawn the undraped human figure countless times and included female and male nudes in paintings, prints, drawing and sculptures. There is a huge gap between art and tastlese tawdry pornography as shown in some performance "art" events that are nothing  more than sensationalist drivel. Any sophisticated person can tell the differnce between then and does not rely on governmental meddling to draw the line. I am not in favor of censorship either. But I am in favor of good taste.  I think the same impact would have worked fine in Witcher with more imaginative language.

Using that language can be more then about "using it for the sake of using it"

For writers, having that language can depend greatly on the character, the story, the environment.

Again, having a book set in a high class wealthy town focusing on royalty, you'd likely see no need for it. However set that story in war, trying to be as real as possible to the horrors of war, language WOULD be part of it, many soldiers will say things you'd consider "bad."

There are many great books, by great authors,t hat use curse words. For example one of my favorties, Catcher in the Rye. IT has quite a few swear words in it, however it's regarded as one of the best novels of  the 20th century, it was written in 1951 as well, a time many consider more "Decent" then today.

There's a different between using a swear word to try and be "hip/cool attention grabbing" (immature) or using it in context where it fits, makes sense, and makes the language more real.

I curse all the time. Just call me potty-mouth.

I haven't played The Witcher, so I'm unable to comment on its language. However, I consider the use of cursing appropriate if it fits the scenario rather than being gratuitous. I think use of the C-word could be stretching things a bit, though. 

Cursing is to be expected in an R-rated game. According to the ESRB, games so rated  may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

Let's not forget that there's a lot of cursing in The Longest Journey. As far as I know, most people had no problem with it.

@Stiler

I've always loved the phrase, "I bite my thumb at you." It's from Romeo and Juliet.

it is a fine line i guess, and probably depends on the individual. I just found the use of the C word excessive, and it felt weird as there was not really a need for it. I guess it is up to the listener/viewer/reader/audience and this viewer/reader/audience member finds blue language uneeded for CGI games as there are a lot of other ways to make an impact in a story, while in a book there is only print so i can see it happening there, and movies where they protray "real life" people do indeed talk that way tho i try to avoid such people when i can. Good discussion and as always good posts by all members.

hmmm, i didn't even notice any bad language, so maybe it's indeed an age or cultural related issue.

perhaps it's also the language barrier that helps. I only use the C word as an insult, i never hear or use the word in its original use, so maybe that makes it less offensive. 

Hello everybody!  Back from vacation! 

MM, I must say that I find the C-word pretty bad myself, about the worst, but I didn't notice it, and I have the uncensored version.  I thought that the US version was cenored though, so I'm quite surprised.

I agree that I found the language pretty bad, and a tad over the top, though admittedly most of it is reasonably in context - in other words, you usually have the more unsavory characters swear.  I don't mind slight swearing, I can even handle the F words if they are used sparingly; but I agree that the c-word is a bit much.

Ah, well, one can just ignore them though (once again, I'm rather amazed that the US copies have these words, does your copy have topless nudity as well?  ...I thought that was censored out of the US version as well - it's not featured crassly IMO in the uncensored version, and no bottom nudity at all, but folks in the US are usually pretty uptight about any bit of boobie showing...)

..or was the censorship removed by the patch that upgraded you to the Enhanced edition?

Originally it was censored in the US, but they released a uncut version and the EE removed it.

I don’t believe that any of the language was altered in the censored EE version that I originally purchased. At the time it was not all that difficult to find a website giving instructions and appropriate downloads that would modify the game to be consistent in its glory (more bloodshed and partial nudity) with the game content overseas. (with the exception of the original Polish version)

As for the cultural or literal accuracy of the voice translation to English, I cannot comment although I can assume that often it can be difficult as languages differ in content and expression. I for one don’t speak any Polish. (I blew that chance) As far as offensive words and expressions go, it could be the case that in its original verbiage it was simply accepted to be far less offensive and for that matter totally consistent with the setting. In any case many consider the game to be a true work of art and therefore any attempt to alter it from its original standing is demeaning.

“You could always minimize the impact of the foul language by setting the voice-overs to a language you don't understand.”