Recently I had a chance to talk with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Visual Effects Artist Jose Teixera who worked on a lot of the weather effects, and since I've been wondering whether lightning in the game can strike close to the player as it does (with rather spectacular and startling effects) in Driveclub, so I just went ahead and I asked him.

Turns out that the folks at CD Projekt RED had a source of inspiration that some wouldn't have guessed.

Aaaaahhhh thunder (now I'm stuck playing AC DC in my head)! Short answer - yes and yes. We do have thunderstorms. The majority of them you'll see far away, like in real life... however there will be some occasions where you'll have lightning close to you! But only in some special moments, for added drama.

Driveclub has fantastic weather effects, they were a huge inspiration for us! Again, the ideas for the future keep pouring.

Personally, I loved what I saw so far of The Witcher 3's weather, and you probably already know that I'm a big fan of Driveclub's lovely clouds and rain. It's always great to see awesome games inspire each other. That's one of the things that move this industry forward.

Stay tuned for the full interview, coming tomorrow with a thundercloud full of juicy technical details.