Like explained in the video in the passage that I quote, it's because instead of "normal" cutscenes where you can put your controller away until the end of the "video" (In short you don't play, you watch your game), in Cyberpunk there are so many way that players can break the game by doing something that CDPR have not planned.
My dear friend, in the same interview video they admitted multiple times that the most important scenes in the game, where the player would love to have something to do, are always designed in the same way: you can only rotate the camera, and even that in a limited range.
How would I fix Cyberpunk 2077 "always fpp" cutscenes:
1. Use the right tool for the right job-- not everything will work well in first person, don't be afraid to use normal cutscenes in conjunction with the first person view.
2. Give the player something to do-- sitting and moving the camera around is boring. The player has to be engaged, has to feel like they are contributing to the scene, not just BE in the scene.
3. Walk and talk is good, but not when you are being guided everywhere all the time-- every time when there is an important cutscene going on in a car, it's not the player who's driving. I know we all hate GTA here, but in every GTA it's the player who drives, while the other person sits as a passenger. Don't be afraid to learn from other games!
4. Let the player lead the way! If the player is being escorted everywhere, they feel like they are on a rollercoaster. There is no sense of participation. It's a live-action cutscenes on rails.
5. Giving the player full freedom of movement is great, but only when that freedom of movement gives the player some sort of advantage during the scene. Being able to see stuff from different angles, performing tasks while NPCs are performing theirs. DOING SOMETHING in a cutscene.
6. If you absolutely have to make the player sit in a chair, give them something to do. One point of view from a chair is not fun!
7. There are moments when you are being kept somewhere against your will for the sake of exposition. And that's OK, as long as it's not 99.9% of your exposition ideas.
8. Let the player have to make choices that matter in a scene! Because we as players want to feel clever! There is no bigger disappointment and feeling of betrayal than when a player learns that they were doing something for nothing. Especially in a game that was supposed to have choices and consequences! Remember telltale and their illusion of choice in The Walking Dead? Do you remember that a company called Telltale Games even existed?
9. If you REALLY have to create a "sweet spot" for a scene, at least make a couple of them? OR make the NPCs acknowledge where you're standing? So they would rearrange?
10. Make the NPCs react to the player. What's the point of being an actor in the scene when other actors are treating you like air, and only react to your presence when you have to chose a dialogue line?
Those are just some ideas that I just came up with on a spot. Maybe I should apply for cinematic designer?
