Keys to an Innovative Cyberpunk RPG

+
Here are my keys to an innovative/new/interesting cyberpunk game, for the devs to digest and work into future titles.

1. Abandon or Minimize scripted scenes/moments unless there are impactful choices within
No one wants to be a stage actor in a video play. This is an old method used to trick players into feeling "the moment" and it's tired and players see through the veil. Any scripted scenes need uncertain outcomes that the player has to navigate with choices. This can be done by pure action of the player, meaningful dialog, or QTEs. But the point is that without making "the right" choices or actions, the outcome is negative. There has to be consequences.

2. Rather than a forced campaign story with little to no choice, favor a world with many interrelated but optional stories.
Linear SP campaigns are nothing revolutionary. However, a better approach is to ditch the "game as movie" paradigm and instead let the player choose their interactions with different NPCs or factions and let the stories therein play themselves out. This would be "open ended" in some sense vs. the one and done approach. And the benefits of it, should be obvious.

3. Crafting over procedurally generated loot.
Again, favor the player doing something they find interesting rather than making them into pack rats digging through dumpsters. Less physical items and more skills, parts and recipes to combine in interesting ways to enhance (both visually and gameplay) weapons, items etc. That whole mechanic is a game into itself.

4. Throw out the current cybernetics system in favor of more diversity, crafting, combinations etc.
Let players craft augments to cybernetics, find combinations of parts that have different effects and others can be done at ripper docs, etc. This whole ecology should be a MAJOR part of the game. Starting with none or one cybernetics and finding components and recipes to build new ones. Allowing for experimentation. Some might be just boring stat increases (augments to a cybernetic), but different cybernetics SHOULD AND MUST open up new and different gameplay elements. Without that its just window dressing, which nobody wants.

5. Everything can be modified
No one cares about customizing genitals. That was a complete waste of time. Rather, everything important to gameplay SHOULD AND MUST be customizable. cars, bodies, weapons, apartments, etc. Those customizations SHOULD AND MUST affect something about the game play. Modify your apartment and it gives timed bonuses for resting there. Modify your car and it becomes faster to elude the police (who also should have modified cars), etc. Withou all this, we just have a pretty, bland, yesteryear adventure game. Which no one really wants.

6. Factions and reputations
Depending where a player chooses to go and what factions they want to mingle with can unlock certain "reputation bonuses" as well as access to special missions, NPC's, stores, items, upgrades, etc. THIS should be integral to the game, making alliances with certain factions a strategic decision by the player. Even with a small number of factions, the combinations of playthroughs grows to be quite large.

I'll leave it here for now, but I do have more. And please don't flame me saying "if they had enough time they wanted to do this". They had plenty of time to do these things, but lacked a creative director and game design lead who understands the importance of them.
 
Last edited:
This is solid, this makes the game way more special (innovation) instead of the regular things that all games have.
 
I agree with all of those points. I am having a hard time imagining Cyberpunk 2077 universe has so much potential. Ripper doc can be linked to your body modification that way you can rely on outfits for just looks. For example, making skin bullet resistance, etc. I have so many things I want to suggest because CDPR were touting from day one of the most immersive RPG experience. Just look at going into shops compare it with RDR2 where you can inspect stuff this is called immersion. I still believe CDPR has so much talented staff probably they already have all these ideas and working on them. It's shame we got Cyberpunk 2077 in this state.
 
Allow me to expand on #1 with a concrete example.

In the current game there is a scripted sequence where a white van chases you and you shoot at it from outside the passenger window. Nothing you do changes the outcome, the van will eventually crash. You don't even have to shoot.

In order to be meaningful we need to add two things to this scene. 1) An obstacle 2) Options to overcome it

So the fix for this scene would go like this.

1) If you do nothing, then the obstacle is that your car will eventually crash and you die.
2) Before the car crashes you have to decide how best to disable the chasing van.

You could choose one or more of the following before time runs out.

1) Hack the van or driver and disable it
2) Shoot the driver and/or all the assailants
3) Hack the weapons of the shooters disabling their weapons
4) Shoot the tires of the van

Each of these requires a combination of real (you) and character skills to accomplish. This is when games are at their best. Not 100% relying on either.

So now we have kept the basic essence of the scene, but made it 100% better, choice driven and with a sense of urgency and consequence. It also has replay value and trophy opportunities (skill based achievements: for example like one shotting the driver or something).

If the game must have scripted scenes, then approach all of them like this and it will be good. But if all you do is choose a meaningless dialog option to push the cutscene forward or watch it unfold like a spectator, then that is rather obsolete 1990's style of game. Which most savvy gamers today just don't want more of.
 
Last edited:
In addition, keep the stories on "family level. More existential and down to earth.

Pondsmiths cyberpunk universe is based on small stories and saving yourself and your friends and family to fight another day.
 
After reading so many posts on the forum of people making suggestions compared to the game CDPR made it makes me wonder if the people who made the game ever played games before.

I wouldn't say that. I guarantee you a lot of the people working on this game wanting to build the greatest open world rpg you've ever seen, and had tonnes of cool ideas they were working on developing for the game. Most likely management needed the game to come out before christmas, because they obviously wanted to make money and because the game had already been pushed back. The devs undoubtedly had to cut out a lot of cool things that they weren't gonna have time to finish and get the game released. I'm 100% certain that plenty of the devs were kinda crushed that all their little pet projects weren't going to make into the launch game.

I feel really bad for the people who actually worked their butts off making cool stuff for this game and then catching a lot of flak from the internet. They got flak for being too slow and having to push the launch date back. They would've caught more flak if they pushed the date back even further. They got flak for the game launching in its current state, despite probably wanting to hold off and make it even better. The actual devs aren't the ones who make decisions on release dates, cutting out content and 'minor' features, shoehorning certain things into the story line to help boost the marketing hype, etc.
 
6. Factions and reputations
Depending where a player chooses to go and what factions they want to mingle with can unlock certain "reputation bonuses" as well as access to special missions, NPC's, stores, items, upgrades, etc. THIS should be integral to the game, making alliances with certain factions a strategic decision by the player. Even with a small number of factions, the combinations of playthroughs grows to be quite large.

This! In witcher Geralt was neutral and got along with everyone. Although, you did have to choose a faction in Witcher 2. C:77 I think is different, and think given all the various gangs, and corporations how this would have really been a game changer. And I feel like on paper implementing factions via a reputation seem ideal.
 
You pretty much put into words how I feel about this game. Too bad they didn't have you directing this game's design during development.
 
I agree with all of those points. I am having a hard time imagining Cyberpunk 2077 universe has so much potential. Ripper doc can be linked to your body modification that way you can rely on outfits for just looks. For example, making skin bullet resistance, etc. I have so many things I want to suggest because CDPR were touting from day one of the most immersive RPG experience. Just look at going into shops compare it with RDR2 where you can inspect stuff this is called immersion. I still believe CDPR has so much talented staff probably they already have all these ideas and working on them. It's shame we got Cyberpunk 2077 in this state.

I have always thought it strange that armor was on clothing.
Let clothes have mods for other things and no armor - let people dress how they want.

Armor could reside within obvious armor clothing pieces - flak jackets and armored vests or rely on mods to normal clothes for armor - but by default they have none.
You want more armor - your style may suffer unless you don't mind looking like a decked out riot squad member.

Leave the true armor as options for the cyber modifications. Subdermal (like currently in the game) - but allow for the various other slots to be armored too - and give people the choice of survival vs. other cool functions.
If you want to be a tank, then you'd need armor cyber mods in at least one of each of the available body slots etc.

More choice is always better than less in an RPG - er - ahem - Action/Adventure game?
 
I have always thought it strange that armor was on clothing.
Let clothes have mods for other things and no armor - let people dress how they want.

Armor could reside within obvious armor clothing pieces - flak jackets and armored vests or rely on mods to normal clothes for armor - but by default they have none.
You want more armor - your style may suffer unless you don't mind looking like a decked out riot squad member.

Leave the true armor as options for the cyber modifications. Subdermal (like currently in the game) - but allow for the various other slots to be armored too - and give people the choice of survival vs. other cool functions.
If you want to be a tank, then you'd need armor cyber mods in at least one of each of the available body slots etc.

More choice is always better than less in an RPG - er - ahem - Action/Adventure game?

The way I would design armor system would go something like this (and I have over 20 years of RPG play, design, coding).

1. Armor comes in different kinds, styles, shapes. But within those shapes can have different cosmetic skins (shiny, dull, rusty, chrome, etc)

2. Some armor is heavy and this detracts from stealth. Thus the player must decide ahead of time how to approach a potential situation that might go sideways fast. If they show up to a negotiation decked out in heavy armor, it might even change the tensions in "the room". Thus, even armor can affect peoples reactions.

3. If you want "the best of all worlds" - style, stealth and damage reduction, then you're gonna need cybernetic "skin" or sub-cutaneous sheathing. If you are poor, then heavy metal plates, or stealth jackets. In other words, there are always tradeoffs to consider which makes approaching scenarios thought prevoking. You go into a drug deal in heavy armor and a shoot out happens, you might survive the first volley, but you're not gonna outrun anyone.

4. Clothes should indeed be separate from armor, but again, if you want to wear stylish clothes and be heavily armored you're gonna need costly cybernetic enhancement. None of this "fur hat" with 300 defense crap.

5. Power armor - cybernetic frames. Imagine stealthing into a company, hacking their prototype cybernaut exoskeleton then jumping in it.

More ideas later.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't say that. I guarantee you a lot of the people working on this game wanting to build the greatest open world rpg you've ever seen, and had tonnes of cool ideas they were working on developing for the game. Most likely management needed the game to come out before christmas, because they obviously wanted to make money and because the game had already been pushed back. The devs undoubtedly had to cut out a lot of cool things that they weren't gonna have time to finish and get the game released. I'm 100% certain that plenty of the devs were kinda crushed that all their little pet projects weren't going to make into the launch game.

I feel really bad for the people who actually worked their butts off making cool stuff for this game and then catching a lot of flak from the internet. They got flak for being too slow and having to push the launch date back. They would've caught more flak if they pushed the date back even further. They got flak for the game launching in its current state, despite probably wanting to hold off and make it even better. The actual devs aren't the ones who make decisions on release dates, cutting out content and 'minor' features, shoehorning certain things into the story line to help boost the marketing hype, etc.
Maybe, maybe even likely but that's just speculation. The reality is the bare bones of CP2077 is not even a good skeleton. Nice skin though.
 
Top Bottom