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.
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.
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