Cyberpunk 2077 - Interview @PC Gamer

An interview conducted by PC Gamer about Cyberpunk 2077.

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Another thing I noticed in that demo is there's a scene where you're walking down an alley and they point out a crime scene on the side and say "Night City's dangerous, crime's happening all the time." What I was curious about is how dynamic or how static Night City is. Is that crime scene something that's always going to be there in that district?

This stuff is going to depend on, we've got dynamic weather and day and night cycles. Things are going to happen differently depending on that time and weather. I can't go into too much detail, but there's going to be a sense of feeling a different space, and how it feels different in those time events, as well.

Okay, so returning to that same area, things will be changing as you go?

Yeah.

Because you're a level designer, I'm curious—this is a roleplaying game and a shooter, I feel like there's a massive challenge in combining those two very big genres and making both parts feel equally satisfying. Level design is so paramount to making a good shooter. How are you designing these environments that enable roleplaying, feel realistic and immersive, but also make for a good shooter experience? The two don't always go hand-in-hand, you know?

I think you hit the nail on the head when you say they don't always go hand-in-hand. But one of the things that's been great to work on this game, from my personal perspective, is that class system. We showed a bit today. There's the three you can have: netrunner, techie, solo. Each of these is going to have a different way to solve a combat encounter or an environmental challenge.

Having that makes this easier, in the sense that because it's about choice, that way there's more options for you to handle those situations differently. Because of that you'll be able to move through the space, and you'll have the traditional sense of that sort of shooter space, but to layer that extra stuff on top, that excitement when you use those abilities for that class system—that's what's made it an exciting thing, from my point of view, to make the levels. And I know the rest of the team, the other level designers, enjoy having those choices.

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