Cyberpunk 2077: News Update

It's been almost a year since I posted an update here--I've had a draft floating along all that time--just five months away from release (which seems like it will avoid being impacted by the pandemic), I've buckled down to catch us up on relevant news.

My hopeful 2019 prediction (buoyed by Youtubers The Triple S League--wrong yet again--along with Luke Stephens and others) crashed and burned, although there's some solace in reports that there was a time where Q4, 2019 was planned (I believe this is indirectly confirmed by the original release date of Cyberpunk Red in August of that year). The conventional wisdom that has proven correct: the game will come out in 2020, matching the iconic version of the pen and paper RPG. One aspect of conventional wisdom that's been refuted by this date is that the game will be hitched to next-gen consoles (something TSL and others were peddling for quite some time).

The Deep Dive was not as electrifying as the gameplay demo released the year before (cf). That's not to say it was poor or even average, just that it didn't hit the general public in the same way. In general I think the marketing for the last year, Keanu excepted, has been more about trying to maintain the hype rather than adding to it (things like the ARG are fantastic for those who pay attention to it, but that's a subset of fans; the music artists announcement didn't make a noticeable blip either). We can quickly look at numbers to establish the general idea (Google Trends is the chart above):
E3 Trailer (Jun.10/18) - 18.5 million views (841k/month)
Gameplay Demo (Aug.27/18) - 19.1 million views (950k/month)
E3 Trailer (Jun.9/19) - 12 million views (1.2m/month)
Deep Dive (Aug.30/19) - 5.8 million views (725k/month)
The demo created fan interest in characters like Meredith Stout, Dum Dum, Jackie, and more, but there's been no similar resonance from the Voodoo Boys or The Animals (the decision to largely eliminate story moments did not help).

Visually the game looked about the same as last year (the deep dive video was from a build of the game from six months earlier, so late February or early March of 2019). Some claimed there was a downgrade, but that was the graphics squeezed through Youtube and Twitch. We also saw some UI changes (such as adding a mini-map), which I think is an improvement over the Skyrim-like compass. Because we only saw tweaks, it's clear that CDPR is happy with the overall state of the game. We know the main story was playable from beginning to end in August, 2018, so they've had a lot of time to tweak things since.

On a personal level, some of the changes I haven't cared for. The gameplay demo's hard driving rock song has become a generic punk song; the original female V (who starred in the gameplay demo) has been tweaked to look more generically punk (I don't like the mute dyed hair or the facial feature changes--the new version looks more idealized, while the original looks more like real person). The push for these changes seems to have come from a small group of superfans, although I hope CDPR isn't that easily swayed (I saw a lot of backlash about the change to V, so we can hope switching her back doesn't require a lot of work). Male V was never going to change, because his appearance was locked into items for sale (I always thought he was less interesting regardless). I'm also not a fan of the song by Grimes that was released, but that's because it's not my type of music (I'm glad it's in the game because it fits the setting).

Beyond the aforementioned UI change, the gun play is (reportedly) better, but other changes have been made:
V's origin
In 2018 there were three background selections that seem to have been removed: childhood hero, key life event, and why we're in Night City. In 2019 we now pick between three origin types (Corpo, Nomad, and Street Kid), which will have distinct openings in the game (including different starting locations). This decision neatly folds in all those earlier questions while adding a gameplay element to it. I think this is an improvement, as it's rare in RPGs to have your origin impact the opening (Dragon Age: Origins is the only game I've played that did so)--those unique beginnings will lend weight to the options opened up by that choice later on in the game, as well as add to the game's replay value. I also think the three types are quite distinctive, which means it's easier for a player to make that choice.
Stats
Compressed from six to five, as Strength and Constitution have been merged into Body (this change is pretty minor, but I prefer it--simplifying systems is a good thing in video games, as it helps reduce busywork in menus).
Classes
Nomad and Corporate were classes in the RPG, while Street Kid doesn't have a similar parallel.

It seems like CDPR paid close attention to the feedback to the 2018 demo, as they've implied that Meredith Stout could be a romantic option (something I don't think was the case originally), as well as T-Bug (seen much more prominently in the 2019 E3 trailer). I wouldn't be surprised if there's something extra for Dum Dum as well (Justice for Dum Dum, after all), albeit not a romance.

There is no end state--failing missions just adds development to the story. This is an interesting way of getting around the game element of redoing failure by starting over again (how it will impact the story remains to be seen; the idea is, in spirit, similar to Death Stranding). CDPR has already revealed that V has the immortality chip installed--I'm assuming the chip also has Johnny Silverhand on it (in the 2018 gameplay demo Doctor Victor says "I don't know where I got it" in reference to the link for the sub-dermal weapon grip, but V seems to be getting the chip for Dex in the 2019 E3 trailer, so that may not be related).

CDPR is trying to cut out most third person scenes--a small number remain in the game, but the shift furthers their goal of total immersion. The concern is how this will work with romance scenes (for a reasoned overview go here), but it doesn't mean it can't be done well. Like most things that are visual, it can't be judged until we see it (I expect reviewers to have mixed feelings about it). Comments related to the 2019 E3 trailer (specifically Keanu's 'wake up Samurai' moment) suggest some or all of that entire scene was made for the trailer and isn't from the game (at least, as depicted).

From a summary I saw on YT months ago (whose link I've lost, but was possibly Funhaus), the game is a little shorter than Witcher, but has more replay value (I think they are referring to the main story). This idea has been repeated various places, but CDPR has never provided a number, so all we get are speculative estimations of what this means. The emphasis in the game is on consequences and branching choices rather than the firm linear line used in Witcher 3. This means how each player reaches the end of the story will have a lot more variety.

The basic plot of the game has been revealed (something The Last of Us 2 has steered clear of, which I find baffling): we are looking for a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. The chip is able to upload your identity such that if your body dies, it can be downloaded into a new one (that's my interpretation, at least). This kind of tech would be wanted by everyone and would create story pressure to resolve it. This idea also gets away from the standard RPG trope of needing to save the world. What's not clear to me is if we'll be part of the decision over to save or destroy the technology--in terms of world logic the chip cannot become commonplace in the end.

Was I anticipating Keanu Reeves in the game? No. I had no idea CDPR would target an actor who has done so little VO work before (with apologies to 1990's Bill & Ted and 2003's The Animatrix). There's always a fear about using a non-VO actor for such a role, ala Peter Dinklage in Destiny (2014). That aside, Reeves is a fantastic choice for Johnny Silverhand, as he's an actor heavily associated with the genre. Normally I don't like celebrities in video games (they overshadow their character), but because of how obscure the IP is Reeves can make him his own. The other advantage of using Reeves is it draws attention even from non-video game fans (see the Google Trends chart above; friends of mine who don't play games heard about the trailer just because he was in it). Teasing Silverhand's involvement goes right back to the beginning of the marketing for the game, and it's a clever idea keeping him alive by having his upload be on the immortality chip (if, indeed, that's what he's on).

Reeves was approached around July, 2018. One of the interesting facets of learning this is, given how involved his character is in the game, how was the game playable that August? My guess is, given that he's stuck in V's head, much of his dialogue is commentary rather than interactive, such that adding him into the game doesn't impact the basic gameplay much (the alternative theory is that they had a stand-in do his lines until he was cast).

On a much smaller scale, Canadian singer Grimes (whom I'd never heard of until she was announced for the game, but is apparently quite famous), is playing Lizzy Wizzy. I'm not sure how many lines she'll have, as she has no prior acting experience that I can find, but having a singer play a singer isn't a huge stretch. She's almost certainly the reason for the occasional Elon Musk things we hear associated with the game (like his Cybertruck), and perhaps the reason why Lady Gaga is following it on Twitter.

The other shocker in the E3 trailer was the death of Jackie Welles. There was an outcry for the tertiary Dum Dum in 2018's gameplay trailer, but that would have been nothing had CDPR not immediately clarified it's just one possible outcome. What's not clear is how much further into the game this mission is compared to the demo (which was near the beginning of the game). We're still working for Dex in Watson (whom T-Bug is working for here), but we have Mantis Blades, which is new--how much later is this? Reports were that the demo was at the midway point of the game, but it's not clear when the trailer takes place (could this be the big mission Dex teases in the gameplay demo?). My impression is that you get Johnny via the chip and that happens early enough that Reeves has the second-most dialogue in the game (although we only see him at the end of the trailer).

At the end of the gameplay demo we went up to Street Cred level 2, while completing the deep dive brings you to level 12. We earn Street Cred for side missions, so presumably this was the twelfth side mission V had completed. CDPR has the game function this way to avoid players being too high level for the various story beats (anyone who has played Witcher 3 quite quickly outstrips the levels of the main quest unless you intentionally keep yourself at that level). Those who were at E3 were told two major story events have occurred prior to the Demo, but it's not clear what those events are (the only main story content I think we've seen is rescuing Sandra Dorset, who has been prominent in the current ARG for the game). There's no sign of Jackie, likely to coincide with his death in the trailer released at the time--what's not clear is if he (or some other NPC) could potentially accompany you on the Pacifica mission.

E3 Breakdowns

YongYea had the most thorough breakdown of what was shown (Easy Allies also did a good job). The main takeaways were (info from elsewhere will have its own link below):

• Immortality chip installed against your will
• The deep dive quest occurs around the middle of the game
• Mission is to learn more about the chip in his/her head
• Nudity removed in player creation screen (underwear instead of blurred)--presumably to avoid rating issues, although I think it's a bit ridiculous
• Mr. Hands has sent him to meet with the Voodoo Boys (I've seen theories that this refers to Johnny Silverhand or Morgan Blackhand, with only the latter being probable to my mind)
• Bryce, the Cyberwatch agent, is behind the Animals presence and their improved weaponry
• Alt Cunningham is in the game (no surprise given both Johnny's involvement and that she was shown in the 2013 teaser)
• Enemies shown were level 18 (the Maelstrom gang members from last year were level 3; Royce was 5; Placide is 40), and V is level 18
• Language chip requires an upgrade (we start with a basic one, but it only does the most common languages--my guess is we automatically get Spanish and Japanese, given the location and lore)
• There will be quests under water
• The only loading screens in the game are via Fast Travel
• You can do a non-lethal playthrough Miles Tost confirmed (TSL claimed it's not completely non-lethal); Miles said doing so is quite difficult
• One change from last year is that V will get only one apartment
• They've tweaked the childhood hero option (in what way isn't clear, but likely attached to the origins discussed above)
• Each district will have its own fixer (we've seen Dex in Watson)

Not mentioned is that, in the background dialogue, there is an election going on in Night City--it's not clear for what position, but the candidate mentioned is Has Peralez (this can be seen in the gameplay demo that was released), who specifically mentions cleaning up Pacifica--something that could be seen as a direct threat to the Voodoo Boys.

In June CDPR told YongYea the following:

• They are still working on character creation
• Are uncertain about having New Game Plus
• Won't estimate yet how long the game will be if you skip side quests
• Multiple endings (which is no surprise--presumably they are ala Witcher 3--different, but within a narrow scope so that expansions still make sense)
• The gameplay demo was the prologue
• The only obligatory augmentations are the eye implant and grip you get during the prologue (along with the chip-slot in the neck and personal link in the arm--these you begin with)
• It has mini-games (target practice, car racing, MMA fighting, and hacking)--the middle two also appear, in context, in Witcher--the hacking game is less about failing and more about a better result the better you do

By August CDPR said in an interview that they were down to polishing and final optimization, but given that they subsequently delayed the release, either more content was added or that optimization was more difficult than originally conceived. For those paying attention, this means the complete version of the game that existed in August, 2018, was essentially done one year later. From subsequent comments it seems like one area they were still working on was vehicle customization (something I couldn't care less about).

In November they said:

• They have a 'cool way to [continue play after the main story,]'  but we have no idea what that means yet
• Side quests tend to grow further quests and impact other, unrelated quests
• Decisions can limit access or block specific areas
• The actions of the police (or the gang that is policing an area) depends a great deal on what you are doing--a fist fight won't bother anyone, but driving through crowds or pulling a gun will
• About 3/4's of the environment is destructible

Through the current ARG there were more hints about a possible Lunar mission (cf), specifically associated with Night Corp. The ARG has also brought up the Soulkiller program, Netwatch, and Arasaka. The former is heavily associated with Alt Cunningham and we saw Netwatch in the Deep Dive. Arasaka has, mostly, been kept out of the marketing.

In terms of the districts thus far we've seen Watson (described as corporate and largely Asian) and now Pacifica (dysfunctional and largely Haitian). We know the following about other areas:
City Center: it's sprawling
Westbrook: the rich burrough
Heywood: suburban/Latino
Santo Domingo: industrial

I'd guess the latter has the most limited content. An interesting tidbit related to Night City was that CDPR hired a city planner (or planners) to help rationalize their layout, which is a fantastic idea and will add realism (and likely make driving simpler). Miles Tost said the intention is for the six districts to all seem distinct and all have a life beyond the main quest line to interest the player (just like the regions in Witcher 3). Miles compared the variance to Skellige vs Novigrad, which are the most contrasting areas in that game.

The number of known gangs has increased:
Brainiacs (2018 E3 trailer)
Maelstrom (gameplay demo)
Valentino's (via Jackie's origin)
The Animals (deep dive)
The Voodoo Boys (deep dive)
6th Street (deluxe edition of the game)
The Mox (deluxe edition of the game/Twitter)
The Wraiths (deluxe edition of the game)
The Tiger's Claw (deluxe edition of the game)
The Steel Dragons (art)

There are also strong hints that we'll see the Bozos as well.

I've been thinking about what the opening of the game will be. Since Keanu was brought on board and they introduced separate origin stories, abandoning (or at least altering) whatever opening they'd originally envisioned. I suspect we'll get the chip with Johnny Silverhand implanted in us either during those origins (distinct as they are), via Doctor Victor, or it's the main mission Dexter discusses in the demo (probably the latter). After the origin we transition into the Scavenger mission with Jackie and T-Bug whose ending we see at the beginning of the 2018 Gamescom demo (given the seeming prominence of Sandra Dorset, that seems like a main quest). The Maelstrom quest is a side quest (since we get Street Cred for it), so presumably optional. We've been told that the initial implants from Victor are required for the game, which suggests that mini-quest is unchanged as well. Laying it out, here's how I think it might begin:

• 1) Character origin introduction (varying depending on the choice of Corpo, Street Kid, or Nomad); presumably in all of these cases we have an association with Jackie
• 2) "Rescue the Girl" main quest (saving Sandra Dorset from the Scavangers)--the end of this was shown in the demo--we know we're working with T-Bug, but no idea who gave us the mission
• 3) "Visiting the Doc" quest (where we get our required implants)
• 3a) "V's Got a Gun" quest (possibly optional--we see it in the demo, but it's ignored)
• 4) "Going Pro" (meeting with Dexter Deshawn)--this is the Maelstrom quest, which we know is a side quest, but it's difficult to imagine it being optional (unless there's another way to persuade Dex to hire us for his job)
• 5) Dealing with Maelstrom was simply proving ourselves to Dex for his real job--it's my guess that the job we do for him afterwards is what's shown in the 2019 E3 trailer (my guess based on Jackie's presence and the involvement of T-Bug--everyone teased previously)--this would, presumably, be when and where we get the immortality chip, and Keanu needs to arrive early to allow for his massive amount of dialogue in the game

Beyond that it's hard to say where the story will go. We'll have reasons to visit each area of the city and get caught up with whatever is going on, but CDPR hasn't let much of that slip out (the quest with the Voodoo Boys, taking place mid-game, may happen very differently depending on the circumstances when we arrive at that point).

We know Johnny wants the city to burn and by that I think he means destroying corporate control, but CDPR doesn't want to follow the usual heroic tropes, so it will be interesting to see what Johnny's specific goal is and, if followed, what it can ultimately achieve.

From the ARG it seems like Night Corp is the primary antagonist, with Sandra Dorset and whatever faction she represents on the other side. I'm curious how black and white this will be--does siding with the Corp mean a tragic ending ala Witcher 3, or will it be more nuanced?

One interesting facet of our decisions mattering is how it will impact a sequel--how will the variety introduced by our character's decisions be reflected? Even if we're playing as a different character (as seems likely), it would suggest there will be a canonical iteration of this game no matter what we decide. It'll be interesting to see how that's tackled, as it's something Bioware fumbled with quite badly in the Dragon Age franchise.

Complaints

Persistent whinging from a few people about the gunplay remains; these originally came from a small subset of fans (TSL among others), but has since been picked up by journalists (Dual Shockers, Game Pressure, The Verge, and even IGN), much of which seems inspired by those offended by the game (see below).

Accusations of Racism/Transphobia

The transphobic complaints take more time to go through, so I'll address the racism complaints first. Back when the 2018 E3 trailer was released a small number of people complained that the Combat Cab driver was of Indian descent (Sihk specifically, given the Dastar he's wearing), and they believed this was an offensive stereotype. This complaint didn't get a lot of attention, but when we see a Combat Cab in the 2019 E3 trailer, it's an AI driver instead of a person. I don't know if this change was in response to that criticism or if CDPR simply thought it made more sense (possibly a mix of the two--lest we forget, CDPR likes awards and critical praise).

The second bit of outrage was much more pronounced and spent a week or two in the news cycle. It started with Matt Cox at Rock, Paper, Shotgun, who claimed the gang The Animals were racist because many of its members were African-American. This was echoed by Ana Valens of The Daily Dot, but the real push came from the owner of RPS, John Walker, who went on a social media rant about it. What stopped the controversy was when people informed Walker: 1) Mike Pondsmith is African-American and not fictional (Walker had no idea he was a real person), 2) Actual African-Americans besides Pondsmith (like Youtuber Parris) said he was White Knighting and either ignorant or disinterested in the opinions of actual Africa-Americans (all the people I can find in the media complaining were Caucasian). Walker was so embarrassed by all this that he apologized. This story was echoed in a way not long after in a different context, when Walter Mosley (who is African-American), a writer for Star Trek: Discovery, was accused of racism by an unnamed coworker who felt 'uncomfortable' by a personal anecdote Mosley was telling. It's a strange world that we live in.

Jackie above isn't part of a controversy, but I'm including him to make a point about accusations that fans of CDPR (or gamers generally) are somehow racist/homophobic by default (a lazy accusation that gets thrown around). Jackie is a Latino character who might be gay (or bi)--there are hints of that in the E3 2019 trailer--so what has been the reaction to him? Fans enjoyed him so much in the 2018 gameplay demo there was shock at his death scene in the following trailer and CDPR had to make it clear after the fact that this was just a possible result. That reaction makes it very hard to claim that there's something overtly -ist about gamers as a group. In anything--games and elsewhere--the quality of the material (the writing/story) and the context of the story is what matters. Fans want to the see effort--they want to see the Voodoo Boys as real Haitians, speaking Creole French, and having a culture that fits a Cyberpunk context. That's proper representation and exactly what CDPR has striven for.

What's the transphobia accusation about? It's twofold. A year ago, the now former-CDPR Twitter handler made a pair of Tweets which offended some in the community (Polygon covered this extensively)--the words he used are the same that the anti-trans community use to attack them. The manager was fired after his second such Tweet, but the accusation resurfaced during the gameplay demo at E3 2019. An ad showing a sexualized transgendered woman triggered a number of people--the aforementioned Valens at The Daily Dot, along with Heather Alexandra at Kotaku particularly (the ad had appeared before, but neither had noticed it previously). Through comments laid out in Gamasutra, Greenman Gaming, and Polygon, CDPR walked the journalists through the obvious point the image was making. The accusation was so painfully dumb that folks like Hasan Piker dismissed them. CDPR clearly didn't feel pressured by this as they prominently displayed the ad in the Deep Dive released subsequently.

The final critique comes from Youtubers on the right. Outrage peddler The Quartering (he's embarrassingly open about pushing clickbait), decided he was upset because he believed you couldn't choose male or female in the character creator, basing this on the fact that body parts were interchangeable during creation. When it was pointed out to him that he was factually wrong, he did what he normally does, deny it in a rambling, incoherent video. I'm familiar with the Quartering (unfortunately) and this kind of thing is nothing new (he's one of the primary triggers for the Captain Marvel outrage in early 2019). His audience flooded comment sections about his erroneous point such that serious people had to respond to them, but it's all nonsense (as YongYea goes through). Unlike the above complaints, this will have no lingering impact on CDPR or the game and there was enough backlash internally that Quartering gave up complaining about it and is back to cheerleading the game.

Trivia

I came across an interesting video that goes through the origins of Cyberpunk (the first part of a series which is either stalled or dead). These are the items picked out by it:
1968 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (novel)
1970 Colossus: The Forbin Project (film)
1973 Westworld (TV)
1976 The Long Tomorrow (comic)
1977 Judge Dredd (comic)
1980s authors Bruce Sterling, Walter Jon Williams, and William Gibson
1982 Blade Runner (film), Tron (film)
1983 Wargames (film)
1984 Neuromancer (novel)
1985 Max Headroom (TV)
1987 RoboCop (film)
1988 Cyberpunk (RPG), Akira (film)
1989 Shadowrun (RPG)

Hopefully part two will come out--this covers the rise of Cyberpunk and I'm curious how the YTer will cover its mega-popular phase in the 90s and its steep decline afterwards.

Maximum Mike

This is just an observation I've made in doing research for articles on here: Mike Pondsmith's memory of how the deal with CDPR came about isn't perfect. I've seen Mike tell the same story several times and it's always the same tale. However, the way he tells the story doesn't make sense as-is. Mike talks about the game getting into communist Poland and being distributed by the original CDPR partners (Marcin Iwinski and Michal Kicinski). What's ahistorical about the story is the timeframe:

• The original Cyberpunk RPG came out in 1988 (Iwinski was 14 at the time)
• Communist rule ended in Poland in August, 1989
• Cyberpunk 2020 came out in 1990 (the second edition in August)
• Iwinski and Kicinski begin to work together in 1994

There's no scenario where one of the partners just happened to get in touch with Pondsmith during the small period of time (about a year) when Poland was still a communist country and the original edition of Cyberpunk was out. Obviously these details are trivial--the overall idea is correct (they contacted Mike about the game and transmitted it to others in Poland), it's just the when and context which is off. It's not at all surprising the pair would contact Mike during the most popular phase of the game.

Speaking of Pondsmith, he was given the rights to make The Witcher RPG in 2015 (which came out in 2018 and, as far as I can tell, has made little to no impact on the market).

Cyberpunk Red

The full, official game is not yet out, due to the delay of the Cyberpunk 2077. What has come out is the jumpstarter kit, which is set in the 2030s-40s as a prelude to the video game. I've only seen reviews of it, but from what I can tell its made limited impact (without a full game to jump too, it's a bit difficult to expand beyond the kit itself). I'd expect a solid boost in sales once the video game is released and then we'll have a better feel for how much appetite there is for the game in a field that's been dominated by Dungeons & Dragons for the last six years.

Shifting Fans

This is anecdotal, but one of the interesting things for me is how BioWare fans have been migrating over to CDPR, beginning with the failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda and pushed along by Anthem. A long time ago I wrote about Dragon Age: Inquisition in the lead-up to its release (here's the old blog) and in that process got familiar with the various personalities covering it (and ME). All of them have either disappeared entirely (eg) or made the switch or tried and gave up. The person I miss most is Minius GC, but he screwed himself over by hitching his content to other YT personalities (Tucker) rather than continuing to make his own insightful content.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)