Cyberpunk 2077 Official Blog Roundup :: rpg codex

Since our last post about the game, there have been a been a number of updates on CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077 blog. It's time to catch up.

In late October, Cyberpunk 2020 creator (and bona fide Cybernegro) Mike Pondsmith wrote a three part introductory series of posts for the blog, where hinted at details of past failed attempts to create a Cyberpunk 2020 game and described the ingredients required to create a good adaptation. Of interest is his description of "The Right Feel".

There are people out there who have protested to me at conventions that there have been hundreds of cyberpunk games made over that last two decades. But my counter-response is that, save for a very rare few exceptions, most “cyberpunk” games are games from other genres with a cyberpunk veneer shellacked over the top; standard action shooters, futuristic racing games, involved explorations on trans-human philosophy—even classic space operas dressed up with a few heroes uncomfortably wearing leather dusters over their vac suits and mirror-shades perched precariously on the the tops of their finned helmets.

Most people think cyberpunk is just a summary of specific tropes; big guns, dark streets and dangerous guys in ubiquitous leather dusters. But the core of cyberpunk is a lot more subtle than that. Cyberpunk is about the seductive qualities of corruption and decay. In a world where rules and morality are non-existent, the temptation to descend to the level of the mean streets is always there. It doesn’t have to be dirty or grimy on the physical level. But on the psycho-social level, even the cleanest and most orderly Corp-zone should be rife with darkness and collapse. Ambiguous moral choices are key to cyberpunk, as are victories that aren’t always clear victories, and defeats that feel like victories because they are hard won against impossible odds.

He also thinks "doomed, romantic quests" are a core part of cyberpunk mythology. I wonder if Chris Avellone would approve?

In his final post, Mike heaped praise on CDPR and their games, and in particular their attention to detail. He even thinks Geralt would make a good cyberpunk protagonist.

In November, the blog began a new series of posts which cite the games that will serve as inspiration for Cyberpunk 2077. Cult classic Syndicate and a Half-Life mod named Dystopia merit particular attention. Also mentioned are System Shock, Deus Ex, E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy and Beneath a Steel Sky, as well as non-cyberpunk themed games such as Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Skyrim and of course The Witcher series.

Interestingly, in one of the posts, senior designer Marcin Janiszewski felt the need to explain again why CDPR could not provide a complete implementation of the Cyberpunk 2020 ruleset.

As I mentioned in my blog about implementing Pen & Paper mechanics, every game mechanic we introduce has to have a purpose. We can’t simply add them because they sound cool or work really well when you sit around with your friends. Things may look and feel great on a paper but may simply not work in a computer game. The same goes for features in other computer games – it may work in that particular game but is it going to work in another? Most of the time, the simplest things are the hardest to get right. This deceptive simplicity is like a minefield … you find out about it when it’s already too late. As much as we would like to implement every single feature from the original Cyberpunk 2020 and to get as many different amazing game features into the game as possible, we are only demi-gods and our powers are limited by that speck of human blood. You also need to remember that every game out there has its own story to tell and its own original contributions to make and Cyberpunk 2077 is no different …

I guess some of us petty mortals have been restive.

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