Cyberpunk 2077 - Mike Pondsmith Interview

@R.Talsorian Games At PAX West Mike Pondsmith chatted to Eurogamers Johnny Chiodini about Cyberpunk as a genre and as a game.

loading…

"Maximum" Mike Pondsmith sits down with Johnny Chiodini of Eurogamer to discuss the history of cyberpunk, both as a genre and as a game.

More information.

I have to admit I'm much more interested in the finer points of the actual game than the setting. Personally, after having read up on the setting in the source material, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of depth or subtlety in it.

Certainly not enough for what seems like hundreds of interviews or panels recycling the same answers over and over again.

Nothing really new, but Mike is always great to listen to. Somehow ends up looking cool and a total nerd at the same time.
And Cyberpunk is such an interesting setting: from Climate change, Capitalism, refugees, new religions, AI, man vs technology, isolation, dystopia, individualism,etc, etc…practically ( one of the) richest settings when it comes to storytelling, more important than ever, and all wrapped up in very appealing, recognizable style&ambiance.
Only negative is how it typically permeates with oppressive and heavy tone throughout: why 2020's emphasis on style, attitude and personal stories really well complements it, giving it far more vibrancy and sort of restrained optimism. Plus it's filled with it's own additions like crazy gangs ( like the Brainiacs) and charismatic individuals, and with incredible detail ( when it comes to worldbuilding…almost to the point of absurdity).
CDPR has every opportunity here to go further than anything we've seen in the (sub)genre.

Also some info from Edge coverage:

(Ugly as hell, I'll admit)

While plenty of other games have explored the sci-fi subgenre, none have yet managed to do it to this level of sophistication. What we've seen of Cyberpunk 2077 so far suggests a sandbox city that easily outstrips the detail and quality of GTA V; not only that, but a city in which a truly next- generation mission system ensures you feel less like a fetch-quest reticule travelling from point A to point B and more like you're really making your way in Night City as a cyberpunk for hire.

the studio refuses to use procedural elements in any of Cyberpunk 2077’s environment or quests. This time it’s not just talk – everything really is hand-crafted.

“So Pacifica, it’s this super-dangerous territory where you’ve got people who are basically gangsters, and the Psychogangs rule this district. So violence is more predominant there. But you’ve also got these superrich districts like Heybrook, and we vary animations in a way that are connected to the districts.”

Any stories, characters or themes that aren’t explored in depth in the main story are taken to be fully fleshed out in sidequests

“We want to make sure that all of them are up to the standards of the main quest – that there’s nothing that feels like filler, just something to do while waiting for the next quest, or to get more money to buy the next thing. We don’t really like to do that. We want to make sure that every quest feels like a complete story in and of itself.”

' V pulls out a katana – which vibrates uproariously as it deflects enemy bullets – then slides along the floor on his knees like a six year old at a wedding to lop off a Maelstrom goon’s legs, our fingers tingle in response. '

Your chosen backstory unlocks specific sidequests from the off, while accumulated attribute points and biostats allow for a fluid class system

There’s more choice to what we’ve just seen than is usually available in videogame quests: for instance, you could take DeShawn’s money and run at the very beginning, eschewing his mission but having to deal with the consequences later. You could make off with Stout’s eddies, too, although we presume you’d have to get the virus on the chip scrubbed off somewhere. “We don’t artificially limit ourselves,” Mills says. “Our philosophy for quest design is, ‘If the player can logically do it, then they can’. And if they can’t, then we have to come up with a damn good reason why.”

"Right now our environment artists are populating a level with the assets, and they are not afraid of testing out new things. This is exactly what we need to stay open to, because personally I believe that The Witcher turned out that good – and why Cyberpunk will turn out really good – because we are not afraid of change.”

Cyberpunk 2077’s quests have been designed to be kicked off at almost any point; you’ll be able to go to places and find items in Night City that are part of quests and pick up the trail of what’s going on here in a logical manner, without having to trigger the whole event sequence from a predetermined starting point.

Cyberpunk 2020’s ‘cyberpsychosis’ mechanic, in which players who overly augment themselves with cyberware start to see a negative effect on their mental health, will form part of the game – though CD Projekt won’t go into details. As a quest designer, the Faustian bargain behind transhumanism is fascinating to Patrick Mills. “All the travails of the flesh fade away, and you become a perfect machine of chrome. But you had to buy those body parts from someone, and now you’re in debt to them; if you need parts, you’ve got to go to their store. You have this very utopian idea of being liberated by technology. And it’s like, not so fast – you haven’t solved the problems. The problems are still there, and technology actually makes them worse. ‘High tech, low life’ is one of Mike’s mottos.

Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty
CDPR has every opportunity here to go further than anything we've seen in the (sub)genre.

Agreed but we'll see as I still read posts and articles about how Witcher III was not GOTY. They usually criticize the various glitches, and combat mechanics.

I just pity them and think their loss. As I replayed the game five times already.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Agreed but we'll see as I still read posts and articles about how Witcher III was not GOTY. They usually criticize the various glitches, and combat mechanics.

I just pity them and think their loss. As I replayed the game five times already.

I think that's an issue with very small, the same ( and a bit angry) minority, who feel they need to be louder than everyone else…something I've noticed on several sites I visit.
Going by user score on MC and Steam it's ( one of ) the highest rated games of all time. In any case this looks to be pretty big, radical change, so Witcher comparisons seem more an issue on a "personal" level.

The problem with The Witcher 3 is that everything about the gameplay is terrible.

The writing and technical elements range from decent to great, but I don't play RPGs to watch cutscenes and admire pretty graphics like most shallow gamers nowadays.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
The problem with The Witcher 3 is that everything about the gameplay is laughably bad.

The writing and technical aspect ranges from decent to great, but I don't play RPGs to watch cutscenes and admire pretty graphics like most shallow gamers nowadays.

That's fine, there are plenty of people who disagree with you. ( I personally love it and I've been playing fighting/hack'n'slash games much more than rpgs) And relax, take a pill or something, it's a video game, it can't hurt you.
Like I said, they are very different from one another, no need to get triggered.

I am relaxed. Did my language imply otherwise?

Also interesting comment from one of quest designers:

"Cyberpunk 2077’s quests have been designed to be kicked off at almost any point; you’ll be able to go to places and find items in Night City that are part of quests and pick up the trail of what’s going on here in a logical manner, without having to trigger the whole event sequence from a predetermined starting point. “There’s no invisible wall that says, ‘You can’t go here,’” Mills says. “We don’t like to do, ‘This door is locked… until you need to use this door.’ It does mean that our quests can become incredibly complex. One of the things that we have at CD Projekt that is different from a lot of other studios, and I can’t speak for all of them, is that we have a dedicated quest team that is responsible for just that – just the logic of the quests, building the quests and making sure that everything is coordinated.” This commitment to the coherence of the world, and your place in it as V, is paramount to making Night City feel like a real place where you can take any opportunity you can imagine."

Not so sure about this. They said there will be no level scaling, but this kind of design in open world/sandbox? Seems almost impossible to balance gameplay otherwise without it.
I'd personally like to see more a linear world progression, district by district, sort of similar to how Satellite Reign handled it.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
The problem with The Witcher 3 is that everything about the gameplay is terrible.

The writing and technical elements range from decent to great, but I don't play RPGs to watch cutscenes and admire pretty graphics like most shallow gamers nowadays.

Yes, everything about TW3's gameplay is terrible.

It's amazing that a game could be so popular on pretty graphics alone.

Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty
Not so sure about this. They said there will be no level scaling, but this kind of design in open world/sandbox?

I guess they will have to use other tools to steer you away from high level content. Obvious hints followed by an untimely death, probably? Some hard to kill gatekeepers here and there?

(But honestly, I expect that some areas _will_ only be available after sufficient progress in the story. They'll just hide it better than that infamous quest-locked door.)

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yes, everything about TW3's gameplay is terrible.

It's amazing that a game could be so popular on pretty graphics alone.

And good cutscenes

Seriously though, the gameplay is horrendous. It's popular because it's a glorified cutscene simulator, which mainstream gamers love.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
The problem with The Witcher 3 is that everything about the gameplay is terrible.

The writing and technical elements range from decent to great, but I don't play RPGs to watch cutscenes and admire pretty graphics like most shallow gamers nowadays.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
And good cutscenes

Seriously though, the gameplay is horrendous. It's popular because it's a glorified cutscene simulator, which mainstream gamers love.

You just love to have edgy opinions don't ya.

Facts seem to disagree with you again.

From a Witcher fanboy.

Winner of over 800 awards, including The Game Awards 2015: Game of the Year, Best RPG and Developer of the Year; Golden Joystick Awards 2015: Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, Best Gaming Moment, Studio of the Year, Ultimate Game of the Year.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
And good cutscenes

Seriously though, the gameplay is horrendous. It's popular because it's a glorified cutscene simulator, which mainstream gamers love.

How would you know what mainstream gamers love? Do you speak for all mainstream gamers?

We get that you make those kinds of statements for attention, but it really only makes you look silly.

What's silly is your defensive fanboyish attitude.

The reason I know mainstream gamers love it is because they give games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and The Witcher III overwhelmingly positive reviews. At least in MGS4's defense though, the combat and RPG elements aren't total garbage.

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
it's a glorified cutscene simulator

Hm, interesting point.

Are you willing to make some educated guess on when, if ever, you will actually play the game?

Originally Posted by Silver Coin
What's silly is your defensive fanboyish attitude.

The reason I know mainstream gamers love it is because they give games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and The Witcher III overwhelmingly positive reviews. At least in MGS4's defense though, the combat and RPG elements aren't total garbage.

It doesn't take a fanboy to point out someone making foolish statements.

In reality, you have no idea why anyone likes a particular game unless you know them personally.

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
Are you willing to make some educated guess on when, if ever, you will actually play the game?

I've already played it and both expansions.

The main quest feels like you're running from cutscene to cutscene with some sequences of crappy combat inbetween. Most of the actual gameplay are side missions and exploration, which both follow very boring and repetitive structures.

Now in fairness I did enjoy the game overall, and I even thought BaW was a minor step in the right direction gameplaywise, but if I had to describe The Witcher 3 in one sentence: A terrible game, a decent movie, built with great technology.

See it's fine to hate something that everyone likes Silver Coin.

The problem is, even if you hate it, you have to acknowledge it's excellence.

The Witcher 3 is an excellent open-world action-rpg. It excels in all the right areas for RPG games: good story, immersive world, interesting characters, and character building.

Also I recommend you at least play the games you criticize. As it's very apparent you just like to rant, and make outlandish statements. It's hard to take you seriously sometimes.

PS: I tried to be serious with out joking or adding sarcasm this time.