Cyberpsychosis and you: how should it be implemented?

[blank_redge]

So, SPOILER ALERT - you know how in Witcher 2, they split the plot into two paths at a certain point, right?

Well, how about if you go cyberpsycho, the game doesn't tell you. At all. In fact, your game splits off from the main one and goes along the Cyberpsycho Plot Path, until you are caught and cured or, more likely, killed.

And while you are in the grip of cyberpsychosis, you can and will do all sorts of horrible things for what seem like perfectly good reasons. Only, it being psychosis, a distinct break from reality, you are seeing the wrong things and your actions only vaguely resemble your real actions. Until your inevitable end arrives and suddenly, briefly, you can see reality again.

You get images of what was really happening - setting fire to your building, cutting your flesh with glass and steel, strangling your loved ones - this whole time while you thought you were chasing bad guys or saving maidens or whatever.

Only at that point does the game let you know you have,in fact, been insane for the last ten hours of gameplay.

*nods*

Running with this idea: so far, we've discussed all sorts of fun ways to keep the player in the dark that they're slowing approaching / gone over the line (more rational dialogue choices becoming hidden / progressively more and more combative / violent dialogue options being the only ones,) random "threats" happening in public (because hey, Night City is a dangerous place, right?...), etc.

I think it'd be neat if there were secretly hard-coded areas around the city that triggered a wave of "hostiles" coming in to attack the player. At first, it'd be a few, but rapidly, they'd be pouring out of the woodwork.

If the player manages to survive, they can tune in to news reports later (which would be mostly pre-rendered scenes, and using the player's current character model) and they can see themselves going on a rampage.

If the player is taken down, they can watch another nice (mostly pre-rendered) scene, seeing their character going on a rampage at the mall, or at the train platform, or gunning down a schoolbus full of nuns, while C-SWAT takes them down.

 

[whipblade]

I really like the idea of being able to recover from Cyberpsychosis as a story element that evolves y our character. I mean, even in the trailer, it looks like that was the case for the woman they take down when they allude that she's now a member of the team.

However, I really like Wisdom's idea of it being a stay-alive mini-game too. That sounds hilarious.

So... they should do both!

Oh, this also makes me think of multiplayer. One side is C-Swat. The other side is one psycho. And.... go. =)

 

[Sardukhar]

I...want to get away from the GTA/SR mode of berserk mode play. Even as a minigame or sidething. CDPR makes pretty serious games - yes you can go on a kill spree in Witcher no problem, but it won't be "videogamey" if you know what I mean. And you'll probably die unless you're on Wimp Mode.

A certain fundamental murderous glee might be appropriate, but more coupled with a sense of doom, doom, doomy doomy doom.

Open world games like SR and GTA feel very much like video games to me, including a frequent sense of disconnect from my actions. I hope that is not the model that CDPR is using.

POMPOSITY METER NEARLY MAXED, PULL BACK, MAVERICK!

 

[blank_redge]

I...want to get away from the GTA/SR mode of berserk mode play.

Well... going with my previous example, instead of "baddies" pouring out in droves, how about a continual stream of "baddies," but only one or a few at a time?

For every "bad guy" you put down, there's a random number (say, 1 - 5) of actual civilian bodies left behind.

Still gives the "rampaging cyberpsycho" bodycount, doesn't feel like "Swarm" or "Survival" mode.

 

[Mister_Lizard]

Most games tack on some type of multiplayer these days and only a few of them work well. I would much rather have a well developed co op than multiplayer mode. besides deathmatching would get very old very fast if they implement a FNFF style combat mechanic.

 

[wisdom000]

I...want to get away from the GTA/SR mode of berserk mode play. Even as a minigame or sidething. CDPR makes pretty serious games - yes you can go on a kill spree in Witcher no problem, but it won't be "videogamey" if you know what I mean. And you'll probably die unless you're on Wimp Mode.

A certain fundamental murderous glee might be appropriate, but more coupled with a sense of doom, doom, doomy doomy doom.

Open world games like SR and GTA feel very much like video games to me, including a frequent sense of disconnect from my actions. I hope that is not the model that CDPR is using.

POMPOSITY METER NEARLY MAXED, PULL BACK, MAVERICK!

I would agree.... except that disconnect is kinda the point with cyberpsychosis? A murder spree you didn't ask for, where suddenly everyone around you appears armed and aggressively trying to kill you..... so yuo0 cut them down like ants, only to find out after wards you just mowed down a hospital full of patients, nurses, and doctors... you are a monster...

 

[Sardukhar]

Well, I meant more a disconnect for the player, not the character. So you don't have any sense of a psychosis, but instead more of a "wheee! Slaughter mode GO!" feeling.

 

[wisdom000]

Well, I meant more a disconnect for the player, not the character. So you don't have any sense of a psychosis, but instead more of a "wheee! Slaughter mode GO!" feeling.

Well... except when you die it's game over...

Oh, and you shouldn't be allowed to save one you cross the line of humanity loss...auto save switches off, so if you reload your autosave it takes you back to just before you got the latest tech installed...

But yeah, I see where you are coming from.

 

[gregski]

I...want to get away from the GTA/SR mode of berserk mode play. Even as a minigame or sidething. CDPR makes pretty serious games - yes you can go on a kill spree in Witcher no problem, but it won't be "videogamey" if you know what I mean. And you'll probably die unless you're on Wimp Mode.

A certain fundamental murderous glee might be appropriate, but more coupled with a sense of doom, doom, doomy doomy doom.

Open world games like SR and GTA feel very much like video games to me, including a frequent sense of disconnect from my actions. I hope that is not the model that CDPR is using.

POMPOSITY METER NEARLY MAXED, PULL BACK, MAVERICK!

Agreed. For me cyberpsychosis is such an integral and important part of the setting that I wish it was treated seriously, not as a gamey mini-game. Yes, it ends up with a killing spree, which for some will be "ZOMG fun shooting everything that moves", but that's ok as long as there are serious consequences coming after.

 

[wisdom000]

Agreed. For me cyberpsychosis is such an integral and important part of the setting that I wish it was treated seriously, not as a gamey mini-game. Yes, it ends up with a killing spree, which for some will be "ZOMG fun shooting everything that moves", but that's ok as long as there are serious consequences coming after.

Agreed...

Although man, kill everything that moves minigame, only to find out what a heartless and soulless monster youa re, and that you are now dead and you have to reload from an hour ago sounds bloody awesome to me...

I know I know, its all kinds of silly and sacrifices "serious gameplay" for a bit fo fun.... but it would send an effective message... sure you can go psycho, but you lose up to an hour of game time you have to redo because of it... which makes a pretty good deterrent not to do it again...

 

[Mikedudeh]

From the source book:
"At an Empathy rating of 0 or less, the character is fully in the grip of cyberpsychosis - the character is taken over by the GM who plays it as a NPC called a cyberpsycho."
It would be interesting if this was taken literally and the game takes control of your character, and just can't do anything but watch yourself kill people till psychosquad shows up.

 

[Decatonkeil]

I would be very interested in seeing different takes on what cyberpsychosis is. In our Cyberpunk Short Film Theater topic I commented, talking about the short film "Sight" that what happens there could be some kind of cyberpsychosis that doesn't involve killing. It's also a kind of psychopathy that has always existed, and it's the one that people that don't think of others as people but as meanings to an end, as things they can control, have. This one happens in the field of social interactions when, without cybernetics, one of these people would know which buttons to push to get "some action", he or she would be reading the other ones reactions which, if this was a situation of life or death in which he or she was negotiating with a terrorist or something it wouldn't be bad, but here it would be tainting affective relationships. Now, with cyber it goes even beyond that.

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

I can see where you are going with that. Kind of an extreme case of Cyberpsychotic Narcissism.

That could work.