What a thread to make my introduction in...
Well, having played and been GM many times over the years, the thing I've come to love most about Cyberpunk is the simple fact that I've been able to recruit first time players from all walks of life. Let them know the roles, and the flexibility within, and I've yet to have a first time player not find a role, and a twist on that role, that suited them just fine. Often, in fact, I'd get my brain (and storyline) broken by some genius idea/move/scheme/epiphany. Like the cop team who, upon easily foiling a bank robbery, got to chatting about how much better at it they'd be. End result: A series of escalating bank heists that only ended when things were getting hot, so they then framed another crew and walked away with promotions *sigh*.
Or the Medtech near-cyberpsychotic drug manufacturer/slaver. Or my character, hovering on .5 humanity, cybered to near invulnerability and convinced he was an actual super-hero (his teammates had to spin lies on a minute to minute basis to keep him on target). Or...
There was this one very, very well played rockerboy, played by a random hip-hop loving flatmate of a friend I had just talked into playing. This homeboy played a gangsta-rapper, and chose to use/play his main skill as a peer-pressure based intimidation/fasttalking/motivational tool. Having someone freestyle rap threats in front of his crew for intimidation, or to hype them up when they were less than enthused about the job at hand. He ended up being the standout hero of the group, and was also the only surviving member of the original team after 2 years. He'd played partly as the jester/power behind the throne, partly as the enforcer of the code of ethics among the gang, and partly again as some kind of real-world DnD Bard type, both demoralising opponents and whipping up his homies.
I really don't mean to sound in any way contentious or standoffish, nor do I wish to offend anybody with the following sentence, but it follows nonetheless, and on my own head be it: If you lack the imagination to see beyond guns and chrome, if you cannot see the vast potential in every last role, then that is fine. That's why they're all there. For those of us who enjoy more of a challenge than simply shooting through anyone in our way, for those who also don't want to just breeze through speech checks to talk out way out of trouble, there are options. Not just a third way, but many, many paths. If the developers lives up to their highly ambitious goals (and I for one wish them all the best on this perilous, but wonderous road), then, judging by their stated aims and proven ability, I for one do not wish for them to whittle down the replayability and overall complexity of my favorite PnP game.
There are plenty of linear "RPG" computer games, and very, very few games that even come close to the true nature of PnP rpg's. Almost all fall because of deadlines, and the cutting down of options for gameplay other than pure, combat-oriented Solo-style warfare. Whole patches of Fallout 2 (my favorite of all the computer "RPG" games) are almost impossible to play with a character without some significant degree of combat skill. To continue with the overshare, I once met someone who'd loved Fallout 2, but got bored with it afrer, and I quote, they'd killed everyone. When I asked which followers he had, he looked confused. When I asked which NPC's he'd enjoyed talking to the most (mine's Harold BTW), he asked "You can talk to people in Fallout?" *Headdesk*
In conclusion, while I like a bit of violence in games of this type, I usually use it for the first playthrough. Let's face it, if solos are anywhere near as chunky as in PnP, going for the big kill style of story isn't all that hard, especially if it's an FPS-style game. Taking the time to think, to plan, to come up with novel ways around difficulties without guns being drawn is where the writing and plotting really get a chance to shine, and that's where I'll spend the rest of my playthroughs. Hopefully, those will include at least one rockerboy. Just because you don't like them or see their value is no reason to ditch them altogether. Unless you just want your game sooner with minimal plotting and writing, and more linearity, in which case you might want to just make your own reskin of some FPS or another, and everyone can get what they want.
Peace out.