This is a suggestion for a feature which, in a way, adds NG+-like mechanics to the game. Mild spoilers ahead.
Feature summary:
After certain conditions are met during a given playthrough, a braindance (BD) wreath appears in an appropriate spot inside each of V's apartments.
Initially, the device's catalogue of scrolls is empty. It may include a short promotional video, serving as an advertisement for the manufacturer of the device and/or a usage tutorial.
Whenever V completes certain types of activities in the game, a new BD is added to the device's catalogue. The BD can then be used as a means of replaying said activity.
Gigs are probably the most suitable type of activity to replay via BDs as many of them have strong scripts and unique settings.
Allowing players to quickly and easily revisit those, possibly trying out different skills and equipment each time, will bring immense value to Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay loop.
In-game requirements:
One or more of the following can be prerequisites for the unlocking of this feature:
Ideas for implementation:
The feature may be tied to a number of in-game events which already exist. Some of those cannot be skipped and are particularly useful for presenting the player with this feature no matter what.
If, say, the "V meets Judy" prerequisite is chosen, a message (holocall, e-mail) can be sent to the player after their first encounter with Judy, where she gives some reason for sending V a spare BD wreath for personal usage. For example:
Here we have a reason for delivery + behaviour which may seem suspicious to some players (what if Judy's wreath is "hack-riddled"?) + a nice nod to the "Sweet Dreams" mission.
The wreath may have an options menu which allows V to select how intense they want a given braindance to be - a subtle way of allowing the player to choose the difficulty of the replay without breaking immersion.
One possible way to create the illusion of an actual BD during a replay is to have dedicated instances of in-game locations excised from Night City and placed somewhere where the player cannot reach them by normal means. To make the boundaries of those instances look better both from the inside and from the outside, a visual effect of a cyberwall rippling upon contact may be used. This has two positive side effects:
A nice bonus for players who decide to romance Judy (a.k.a. BD scroll queen) would be them getting a unique BD from her after they finish "Pyramid Song".
The contents of the BD may be:
Feature summary:
After certain conditions are met during a given playthrough, a braindance (BD) wreath appears in an appropriate spot inside each of V's apartments.
Initially, the device's catalogue of scrolls is empty. It may include a short promotional video, serving as an advertisement for the manufacturer of the device and/or a usage tutorial.
Whenever V completes certain types of activities in the game, a new BD is added to the device's catalogue. The BD can then be used as a means of replaying said activity.
Gigs are probably the most suitable type of activity to replay via BDs as many of them have strong scripts and unique settings.
Allowing players to quickly and easily revisit those, possibly trying out different skills and equipment each time, will bring immense value to Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay loop.
In-game requirements:
One or more of the following can be prerequisites for the unlocking of this feature:
- V meets Judy
- Any of a number off side missions which involve the use of a BD wreath is completed
- V buys or loots a BD wreath somewhere in Night City. May be as hard as looting a specific NPC or visiting a specific store
Ideas for implementation:
The feature may be tied to a number of in-game events which already exist. Some of those cannot be skipped and are particularly useful for presenting the player with this feature no matter what.
If, say, the "V meets Judy" prerequisite is chosen, a message (holocall, e-mail) can be sent to the player after their first encounter with Judy, where she gives some reason for sending V a spare BD wreath for personal usage. For example:
Here we have a reason for delivery + behaviour which may seem suspicious to some players (what if Judy's wreath is "hack-riddled"?) + a nice nod to the "Sweet Dreams" mission.
The wreath may have an options menu which allows V to select how intense they want a given braindance to be - a subtle way of allowing the player to choose the difficulty of the replay without breaking immersion.
One possible way to create the illusion of an actual BD during a replay is to have dedicated instances of in-game locations excised from Night City and placed somewhere where the player cannot reach them by normal means. To make the boundaries of those instances look better both from the inside and from the outside, a visual effect of a cyberwall rippling upon contact may be used. This has two positive side effects:
- An excuse for the presence of invisible walls surrounding the instance
- A plausible relation to the game's story, characters and events both past and future. Think Rache Bartmoss, Alt Cunningham, Placide and Co., adventures beyond the Blackwall and consequences of those (e.g. cyberworld leaching into realworld and vice versa)
A nice bonus for players who decide to romance Judy (a.k.a. BD scroll queen) would be them getting a unique BD from her after they finish "Pyramid Song".
The contents of the BD may be:
- A brief (and awkward) love confession from Judy
- A replay of "Pyramid Song" in its entirety or a very specific sexion <wink-wink>
- A montage of the moments Judy and V were together prior to the BD's acquisition. The memento may be accompanied by some music, similar to the montage with Jackie at the beginning of the game
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