The other thread mostly complains about the lack of third person perspective (TPP) in cutscenes. While that perspective certainly has its boons, i would like to point out some benefits for keeping the whole game, including cutscenes, in first person perspective (FPP):
- Seamless integration into gameplay. In most games, there is a clear distinction between gameplay and cutscenes: Either you walk and fight, or the game switches to "story mode", where you view your characters interaction in a kind of movie format (often even including the black bars at the top & bottom of the screen). You are usually also locked into a kind of dialogue only mode. In Cyberpunk 2077 there is a very smooth and often invisible transition between gameplay and dialogue. In the 2018 demo V often just moved away from non-essential conversations, and was able to react to (or ignore) contextual infos and topics. Basically, cutscenes and dialogue happen during gameplay, and are not a separate mode where your actions are limited to dialogue selection.
- First person - done right - can be just as dynamic and dramatic as third person. While i agree that some of the best scenes in previous games are in 3rd person, i think that the 2018 demo showed how great the first person perspective can be, if done right: Think about the scene where you talk to Meredith Strout (the corpo agent). If the scene was just first person talking to her like in most 1st person dialgues in most "normal" games, it would admittetly be inferior to a 3rd person cutscene displaying the action. But here, when you get put down & hacked/interrogated by the agent, you actually see and almost feel getting pushed down into the asphalt. You look around, notice the prisoner, the drone taking off to look for Jackie etc. Despite 1st person, it has a very dramatic & dynamic feel, not at all like typical 1st person dialogues in other games, which are often rather static.
- First person can be just as immersive, perhaps even more so, as third person. Watching the facial reaction and body language of your own character in 3rd person is certainly great if the acting and direction is as good as e.g. in the Witcher 3. It allowed to really appreciate the great acting from all characters including Geralt. I can understand the appeal, since you get really immersed into Geralts personality & dry humor. This kind of immersion is missing to a degree in FPP. However, for this loss you also gain a different kind of immersion: Actually "being" the character V in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, watching the world trough his eyes: You get to feel the disorientation of getting hit on the head, loosing control/flying though the air. You don't watch your character take a seat in Dexter DeShawns Limo, you take a seat, can look around during the drive, interrupt the conversation etc. You won't see Dexters Bodyguard grabbing you into a chokehold from behind, you notice the arm suddenly choking the life out of you while Dex explains why you fucked up. The difference between gameplay and cutscene is almost invisible. You don't watch V from the outside, you experience the world as V would - in a sense, you are V.
- Character customisation is not invisible in first person. Just like in real live, you have several options to see yourself - and a few extra options you (usually) won't have in reality: You get a remote controlled drone (with a camera), you can hack remote cameras, obvious things like a mirror and probably a photo mode/selfie option on smartphone (or equivalent). Also, most people like to dress well even if they cannot always watch themselves. Still, this is imo the only instance where TPP has the upper hand (since in TPP you always see yourself/V).
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