What do you mean - specifically - by "creating your own story from 200 puzzle pieces with no pre-designed goal"?
I'm assuming you don't mean altering a central narrative - how it works, plays out and how it concludes - through different approaches and characterbuilds, since you say there should be no set goal to reach.
You know, most talented writer write the end at first and then works their book out of it.
So how is a Cyberpunk game supposed to end anyway?
You're either dead, or get back at your starting point.
There aren't any narative in Cyberpunk 2020 except the shit happening to you, everything else is just background.
Even in Blade Runner, there aren't any narrative excepted for "the guy's job is to kill robot, he kill the robot, fall in love with another robot, the movie end, he's back to where he started, with some problems as a bonus : they want to kill him because he saved Rachel".
Even in Neuromancer, Case won nothing out of unleashing Wintermute in the net, in Hardwired, Cowboy just won a girlfriend, etc...
I could name thousands examples of how there are never any "central plot" in Cyberpunk, it's just some adventure in an everyday life
As I said, the whole Blade Runner story is good for a mission, not "the whole game's storyline", it would be boring and really lazy.
We have technology, we have a lot of things, if you can't imagine a game letting you build your own story inside it, it doesn't mean it can't happen
(and yep, the earth isn't flat, even if everybody thought the opposite back then)
Should be there a storyline to follow? I'd be fine with it, but it wouldn't follow the "character building" mechanic, it's simple, unless "creating your character" is just a "how is he going to look like?", then yes, Mass Effect or Skyrim do it pretty well, you make your character as you want him to look, and then you follow the story line, but that's not a "RPG", it's just a customizable character with an unique and un-alterable storyline with just some lazy "bonus thing" aside, talk about "choices and consequences", what if I'm all
"Yeah? I'd love to join the bad guys in Mass Effect", well I can't.
Now, you can take the storyline, break it in a lot of pieces, and each part you'll do, will influence the world around you
(if you caused havok in Arasaka in your first mission, you'll be sure they'll be on your ass after that, the same way if you joined Arasaka, people who hate them will hate you too, etc...), let's say you steal a cyberarms and go sell it to a boostergang, the game will know you've done this and everything else will be linked to this, adding it the other "things" you've done, that's a way to build your own story
(something like Fallout New Vegas, with no predetermined "goal", you're free to do whatever you want in any order you want, and by so, your story and the way people see you change from one game to another)
It's not so hard to imagine, New Vegas did it pretty well, and I'm sure CDPR can take this to a whole new level
(seeing how Bethesda kept it at a low level, I figure what it could be if they just work it in a better way).
You want a good cyberpunk game with a good storyline and well done narative?
Go play Alien Isolation, you'll love the design, etc...
But once you'll have done your 20h worth of gameplay and end the game, you'll never play it again, sure, they could have added a few more dialogue line for some alternative events, but the game would have followed the line from point A to point B, and once you'll have finish the game 4 times and checked every dialogue line possible, you're at the same point as the first time : nothing more to do.
This is what an "open storyline" could manage to give you, a "real freedom" to build the story you want in a given world, but in the end you're just limited by
"what you've done, and how it impacts the street" not
"how much % of the storyline have you completed?", this is overdone and boring, unless they want to make Cyberpunk like "the witcher", but then they'd deny everything they said about
"a customizable character and a real RPG where you create a character and impact on the world with it", if you follow a "rock-hard" story line, you'll be limited by the said story, and then you can't really be "free" to join a given faction or whatever.
Plus, if CDPR let some "hooks" to add missions, consequences, choices, etc... as DLC, you're up for an eternal story with your character, why having only 20h of game-time when you can build your own "story" (and reputation, choices, etc...), becoming a badass, doing the most dangerous mission ever, and keeping your life going for +900hours if you want it?
Sure they could just make it "point A to point B" kind of story : start in the street and end by winning your goal, but in the end what should we hope for?
Saving the princess? Becoming a kingpin? Being the king of all corporate ever? Being rich? Saving the world? Being invincible?
It's not how Cyberpunk plays out, you'll always be the underdog and get fucked by life, it's how it goes, it's an eternal circle.
Once you'll have your beautifull apartment in corp zone, it'll be looted and you'll have to get back working to replace your stuffs.
In Cyberpunk, you're no one, you can be replaced by anyone, you've nothing in particular, so what do you expect from the storyline? from the end of the game?
You'll be disapointed, you'll just do mission over mission and people (because of your reputation) will know you, what you've done and that's it, you'll be ready to go to your next mission.
Even in the end of the 4th Corp War, once they blasted the Arasaka's tower with a nuke, what happened?
N.O.T.H.I.N.G.
They just had their criminal charges erased and that's it "get back to your casual life".
Their mission just impacted the world by "no more arasaka tower" but they kept on doing shitty job and shits because the game don't end after it.
You could totaly have the same mission in the game, once your skill set is high enough so the goverment call you and ask you to blast XXX's tower, then you blast it, the world will be influenced by it, you'll earn some reputation out of it and that's it, the game isn't gonna end there, you'll keep on doing your casual life. Still, the XXX's guys will be on your ass, send you solo, etc...
And what if you say "fuck you" to the governement and let XXX's tower alone, instead, you go to XXX and tell them "those guys want to blast your tower!". Then, you'll probably have the governement on your back, it's up to you to know what sauce you want on your meal.
Add to this that the whole city can be alive too, people can come by harrassing you for no reason, a corp-war can start between two corporation (then it would be harder to find weapon on black market, or easier depending on the scale of the war, etc...).
You'd not be the center point of the world, just a part of it.
Now you can impact heavily on how the story of your character will play out, and it's not so difficult to do, they just need to implement a system which will deal with your reputation, your choices and the given consequences of it, then all you'll have to do is simple:
Deal with it.
This is how you keep a game at "Street Level", nothing to earn except some cash and being thankfull that you didn't finished in a bobybag in your last mission.
In the setting I explained, you'd be in charge of your life, the factions you want to join, how people will perceive you, how you'll percieve people, etc...
But in the end, as they said
"you'll win nothing excepted for being lucky to be alive today"
Cyberpunk 2020 is about this: you roam the street, you're poor, and you find some shitty job to earn a few money, you have a given goal, but you'll have to work around to make it possible (doing missions, etc...), once you've the cash and the street knowledge you need, you can buy things to help you doing what you want.
Everything else in the book is just background
(and a realllyyyyyy wiiide one) to give the player an idea of what he can do in the world and how it will impact it, after this, there is nothing, all you do is mission after mission, and it build the world surrounding you.
Just like you'll not have a "thank you for playing" cinematic once you're dead in real life, you're just dead, there are no goal in your life excepted for the one you want it to be.
This is what Cyberpunk 2020 is about, there aren't any "global story", just an accumulation of missions, choices and actions which will drag consequences out of it and build your character.
I believe it would be pretty inovative, immersive (since you're the center point of the story, it's YOU and just YOU), you could do coop with your friend, it would also impact the game (friends, you'd share problems with them, etc...), I find this way more interesting than doing a "copy-paste" story line from William Gibson, paste a "Cyberpunk sticker" over it and sell us 100h of game-time that you'll not start again.
And I'm not even talking about how difficult it would be to make an unique storyline who would stick to every role.
If you're a plumber, no one will call you to hack Sony's server.
Then, you still can make the game "one character only" like Fallout, but that "kill" the street feeling.
If you're a musician, you probably knows a lil in hacking, a lil in fixing tech, etc...
But you're talented as a musician.
the "One character for all" is more "I'm talented in everything if I want it to be", which is absolutely unrealistic and make you too much "out of the crowd", when you're supposed to be "one among the mass".
At least, that's how I see it.
