Cyberpunk 2077’s first-person focus is ‘the right choice’, says designer

CD Projekt Red believes the decision to make Cyberpunk 2077 “100% first-person” is the right choice for the game, a designer has said.

CD Projekt Red revealed in September that it had decided to focus on a first-person view for Cyberpunk 2077, both in terms of gameplay and storytelling.

Players will still be able to view their character in the game’s inventory screen, during driving sequences, in mirrors and in “some of the cut-scenes”, it said.

Although Cyberpunk 2077 had clearly been focused on first-person from the start, the recent statement’s confirmation that players will have limited third-person options was received negatively by some fans.

Speaking to VGC at Tokyo Game Show on Thursday, level designer Max Pears said he hopes players will understand the decision when they play the game.

“I hope people understand that we have thought about this and there is logic to our process,” he said. “We’ve not just thrown this in randomly: there is a lot of thought that’s gone into it.

“In last year’s demo you saw the interactive dialogue system, where somebody pulled a gun on your face. I don’t think you would necessarily get that same impact in third-person.

“It’s moments like that which make it feel like it’s your story and your character.”

The designer added: “There are clearly some people who are really strong and passionate [about this issue], but we believe that this is the right choice for this game.

“Hopefully when people get the chance to experience it for themselves, they’ll understand why we’ve gone in that direction.”

Asked if existing third-person cinematics, such as those seen in the e3 2018 demo, have been changed to first-person, Pears said: “From my experience, no. But most of the levels I worked on featured cut-scenes in a first-person perspective anyway.”

In its initial statement on the first-person camera focus, CDPR said it believed the decision was “something that will benefit it greatly from gameplay and story-telling perspectives.”

CD Projekt Red has placed a renewed focus on character customisation for Cyberpunk 2077 following feedback from the public, a spokesperson said in a recent interview.

Pears also explained to VGC how gender customisation works in Cyberpunk 2077 during our interview this week. Players will be able to mix and match gender voices and body types, but genitalia will be defined by the latter, he said.

The Cyberpunk 2077 release date is April 16, 2020 for PC and consoles. It’s available to pre-order now at both Amazon and Game UK.

For more on the game, check out VGC’s recent interviews with CD Projekt Red senior concept artist Marthe Jonkers and Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith.