Post-game content

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First: I don't understand why people assume that V will be alive in real world after main story quests is over?

Second: In my opinion open ending is overrated. You've beat up the bad guy, you saved your princess, you blew up the big robot (or whatever) and now you will go a finish this little fetch quest which was in your tracking log for half of the game? Anti-climax at its finest.
 
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Second: In my opinion open ending is overrated. You've beat up the bad guy, you saved your princess, you blew up the big robot (or whatever) and now you will go a finish this little fetch quest which was in your tracking log for half of the game? Anti-climax as it finest.

This I certainly agree with.
 
First: I don't understand why people assume that V will be alive in real world after main story quests is over?

Second: In my opinion open ending is overrated. You've beat up the bad guy, you saved your princess, you blew up the big robot (or whatever) and now you will go a finish this little fetch quest which was in your tracking log for half of the game? Anti-climax at its finest.
The lamest type of "end game".
 
Game end: you (the player) are Johnny Silverhand! You've been Johnny all along, simply manipulating some poor schmuck (aka. V) to do your dirty work. Eventually, after series of horrific incidents, V figures out that he can pull the stick from behind his ear. Pulls it out, throws it into the dumpster... Johnny ceased to exist.

Screen fades to black...

... roll credits.

 
I think this will probably be one of those games where the furthest you can continue the game after finishing it is in that state right before the very final mission. In that kind of perpetual state before undertaking it. Or not. Who knows. But yeah, I'd rather for the important NPCs we build relationships with to be treated more like an advanced form of our friends in GTAIV (haven't played GTAV, can you believe that??) or Saints Row. I hope there's plenty of bowling to be done.

Now seriously, a game in which you can get that attached to NPCs and where dialogue choices, romance and all that are so important? And vidphones and the net? And stuff? Like, there's no excuse. Come on!
 
For me it already starts quite early in open world games, long before the post-game content. I narrowed down the issue, at least for me, to the open world concept.

Nowadays we have gorgeous looking, ridiculous large open worlds, with the pretend of endless possibilities. Yet, we are put on rails, forcing us to travel along the predefined path, just like linear games, where we proceed through small separated maps without any way to go back. Non-open world games are even more satisfying to finish, because we know, we can't go back.

But open world games seem to mock us, by giving us access to huge worlds, but offer only the predefined path, guiding us through the story. Well, here is the twist. Putting us on rails so that we experience the main story in the right order, is by no means a bad thing.

No, the actually bad thing is, that the rest of the vast open world around the story is right there, just a few steps off the rail, seemingly unused due to just little things we can do with it, before we return onto the predefined rail. And the few things we can do, usually turn out to be tedious things, like collectibles or monotonous side quests. The open world is reduced to nothing more then a giant set piece, that we're mostly not supposed to interact with, just there as a beautiful background and the illusion of freedom. It's like: "Hey, here is a really big world, where you can go anywhere you want, free to explore every nook and cranny! Meaningful gameplay apart from main story and side stories not included...

It makes me sad, to see that the open world concept never seems to be developed further, allowing us to interact with the game world in meaningful ways, be it alongside the big main story, or post-game. I am going to end my, let's say moderate rant, with a question...

...why creating a vast open world, that swallows countless of hours, work and money to create, when there is barely any gameplay to interact with it, that could justifies the existence of said open world?
 
...why creating a vast open world, that swallows countless of hours, work and money to create, when there is barely any gameplay to interact with it, that could justifies the existence of said open world?
Simple.
Marketing.
 
Simple.
Marketing.
Currently yes.
Though, I kinda see more and more people complaining, more people being critical about open world games, worrying that it's going to be an empty world. I can imagine, that the open world marketing concept might not work for long anymore. It's like magic tricks, as soon the audience knows how they work, it stops being special.

Even the worries here, about post-game content, in my opinion, have a lot to do with empty open worlds. I kinda suspect, that a proper open world concept, with lots of interactions and (let's say, semi-) meaningful things to do, could satisfy the desire for post-game content before the game ends.
I think GTA San Andreas is a prime example among the big AAA games. The vast amount of things one can do, apart from missions, left me pretty satisfied with the open world concept, so much so that I started to push for the final missions in the last quarter of the game, willing to end the game for good. Post-game content didn't mattered to me anymore.

Though, it also made me see through the trick of empty open worlds as a marketing strategy, and I am sure that applies to others too...
 
I'd be happy if you'll still be able to live out your life in NC after the credits roll and after the you've gone to the last question mark. Maybe as post-content to leave room for replays. Companion or not, I'd even take on procedural generated jobs like bounty hunting from Max-tacs just to spend my time in the world.
 
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It makes me sad, to see that the open world concept never seems to be developed further, allowing us to interact with the game world in meaningful ways

That seems to be the idea the game is heading towards. And I agree with the quoted sentiment. Although, my idea of meaningful interaction might differ from yours.
 
That seems to be the idea the game is heading towards.
How so? They haven't shown us, nor advertised anything that could point in that direction...
Although, my idea of meaningful interaction might differ from yours.
Does it matter? I mean, ANY meaningful interaction to make empty open worlds more alive, would be the next step of progress. However, I suggest to go step by step, not all at once.
 
I would prefer:

(1) Post game content like TW3 (basically any unfinished side-quests, activities & exploration), but where NPCs are still around as are the consequences of your actions. Kinda like Fallout 4 with the big hole where the institute used to be. However, please, please, pretty PLEASE no radiant quests. Being able to talk with major NPCs for small post-story beats like in RDR2 would be nice. The last bit is unnecessary however if there is an explicitly post main-quest expansion planned to take place in Night City. That would mean just add in the NPCs there with the epilogue content.

(2) If not the above, probably would prefer just an fixed ending. No post main quest content. Sometimes having a specific place the story ends is a good thing. NG+ instead to keep playing.
 
How so? They haven't shown us, nor advertised anything that could point in that direction...

Every time world intereaction has been a topic (that I've heard), they've shrugged it off, or talked about weapon ranges and boxing training.

I've so far heard very little in terms of interactivity, and everything kinda points towards the city being mostly a nice looking prop.

Does it matter? I mean, ANY meaningful interaction to make empty open worlds more alive, would be the next step of progress.

I think the way in which it happens is a crucial question.

Not just being able to do stuff, but it having a gameplay function and reason beyond just being able to (i.e. the interactivity being tied to the character build).
 
I would prefer:

(1) Post game content like TW3 (basically any unfinished side-quests, activities & exploration), but where NPCs are still around as are the consequences of your actions. Kinda like Fallout 4 with the big hole where the institute used to be. However, please, please, pretty PLEASE no radiant quests. Being able to talk with major NPCs for small post-story beats like in RDR2 would be nice. The last bit is unnecessary however if there is an explicitly post main-quest expansion planned to take place in Night City. That would mean just add in the NPCs there with the epilogue content.

(2) If not the above, probably would prefer just an fixed ending. No post main quest content. Sometimes having a specific place the story ends is a good thing. NG+ instead to keep playing.
I agree about radiant quests and feel that radiant quests are horrible nightmares, and I still have uncomfortable feelings lingering from skyrim. It was that uncomfortable realization that the game has had me wasting my time and effort running around in circles with no real goal in mind for no reason, other than to trick me into feeling like I was still playing, when really, I wasn't doing anything. It got me really angry because I thought I was playing real missions that really mattered, but they were all false endless loops that were not enjoyable. I'm glad someone else understands my pain. :think:
 
I think the way in which it happens is a crucial question.

Not just being able to do stuff, but it having a gameplay function and reason beyond just being able to (i.e. the interactivity being tied to the character build).
Well, the reason is already there: Entertainment. With that in mind, the gameplay function is, for me at least, not really necessary for literally everything in a game. Sure, it can be awesome to have well made functions behind it (looking at you, MGS :whistle:) but fun (aka: entertainment) already provides a lot of meaning, otherwise we wouldn't play games, right?

Plus, the open world concept has the potential to provide a nice variety of (potentially more action packed) activities which can stretch to post-game. I even say, that most side/post-game content, that is not tied to the main story, should have (in terms of character build/story progression) as less function as possible to keep it optional, because not everyone will like it. Gamers (me included) can get really grumpy, when a game forces them to do something they don't like, and/or deem as "not fun", in order to progress, or to get the 100%, or to get to the fun stuff.

After all, the "You can't make everyone happy!" rule is always relevant.
 
What if the post credit scene is V "coming back to reality" , revealing that the entire game was a brain dance session. V all this time has been playing Cyberpunk 2077 in the year 2020. Now, people would riot hard
 
What if the post credit scene is V "coming back to reality" , revealing that the entire game was a brain dance session. V all this time has been playing Cyberpunk 2077 in the year 2020. Now, people would riot hard
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Now, understand, I don't have a problem with that, as long as it doesn't happen at the end of the game. Remember, Neo woke up from the matrix, not at the end of the movie. Somewhere near the start/middle. Then there was fun places to go with that narrative.;)
 
I know I'll love some of the characters in 2077 too and I really hope CDPR allows us to continue living in this world and engaging with our favorite characters in a meaningful way after the main storyline.

I hear what you're saying but I'm not sure what 'meaningful' means in this context. Does finding npcs in their home sitting watching TV count? Then you ask how they are and they repeat the same lines they did the last time you visited them?

I mean, you can only have so many quests, write so much dialogue, have a certain amount of interactions, you know? Material for characters you get attached to has to run out at some point and its the same with every game I've ever played. No disrespect intended, but it feels like what is being requested is similar to wanting a book that, when finished and the writer's tale is over, continues to magically write itself.

The problem with keeping characters around after all the quests and story are finished is that they end up being shallow automatons who walk about their 'patch' and spout the same limited lines again and again when you talk to them. It kind of takes away the magic and illusion, imho.
 
I hear what you're saying but I'm not sure what 'meaningful' means in this context. Does finding npcs in their home sitting watching TV count? Then you ask how they are and they repeat the same lines they did the last time you visited them?

I mean, you can only have so many quests, write so much dialogue, have a certain amount of interactions, you know? Material for characters you get attached to has to run out at some point and its the same with every game I've ever played. No disrespect intended, but it feels like what is being requested is similar to wanting a book that, when finished and the writer's tale is over, continues to magically write itself.

The problem with keeping characters around after all the quests and story are finished is that they end up being shallow automatons who walk about their 'patch' and spout the same limited lines again and again when you talk to them. It kind of takes away the magic and illusion, imho.
Better to just wait for heaven. :rolleyes:(y)
 
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