Cyberpunk 2077 now needs time, not persistence

Cyberpunk 2077 now needs time

It was back in 2013 when CD Projekt RED began to unveil its new project called Cyberpunk 2077, with a decidedly intriguing teaser. After the success of The Witcher game series, the public began cheering on the development month after month, year after year, creating a stratospheric hype that over time has proved to be a double-edged sword. After 8 years that promising game was released creating a lot of discontent among the public who attacked with every means at his disposal. The bad ratings from users caused the Polish stock exchange firm to collapse and it immediately took action with patches and apologies, a move that in part did not have the desired results.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a fabulous game on paper, an experience that, if exploited with the right means, will remain etched in the hearts of millions of players around the world. It must be said that CD Projekt RED did the biggest step of the leg, sponsoring the title for what it is reluctantly not. The work suffers from all kinds of technical problems that still undermine the general experience, so much so that Sony has decided for the first time to temporarily remove it from its store pending compliance with the guidelines, sometimes very strict.

In recent days, however, the Polish studio has been unfairly attacked by a series of clips posted online showing a huge amount of problems. This suggested that CD Projekt RED itself was aware of these defects well before the official release. In the videos published online, some removed in a few hours, it is possible to see NPCs stuck in doors, flying characters, heads that lengthen and shorten and so on and so forth. But is it right to attack the team in this way? Did CD Projekt RED really become the "big bad wolf" of videogames in the short term? The answer is a sharp "NO", and we also explain why. Let's start immediately from the base, that is to say how the process of creating a video game can be divided into four distinct phases: Conception, pre-production, production and post launch.

Concept

In this phase the core features are defined, that is to say the pillars on which the whole videogame will rotate. In the conception process, the watchword is "creativity" with the figures of the Creative Director and Game Designer who are the real protagonists. Ideas, characteristics, history, characters, in this phase whatever passes in the mind of the programmers is taken into consideration, which will then be added or castrated over time. Depending on the type of video game, a playable prototype will be shown that demonstrates its operation, or a movie, a paper product or much more. The important thing is that at the end of the discussion the fundamental characteristics on which the title will be based at the end are considered.

Pre-Production

The objective of this phase is to plan all those activities that must be completed to obtain the final product. Definition of the work pipeline, i.e. the process of producing assets for the various areas of development (graphics, sound, animated sequences, etc.). The intense work carried out by human resources does not lead to a first officially playable version during pre-production, with the possible technical problems obviously attached.

Production

The phase of production is obviously, as the name suggests, the one following the pre, that is to say, dividing the title into four distinct versions: Alpha, Beta, Candidate Master and Gold Master. Usually in this state it is already possible to start playtesting, this is done by a small number of players who are selected by the team with the aim of having feedback "on the field". Given the nature of the video game, it is logical to think that the version is constantly updated and improved with corrections that are gradually being implemented to somehow improve the general experience.

Alpha version: The video game can be played in its entirety , it is not necessary to have excellent quality so much that many parts turn out to be quite crude and full of bugs of all kinds. Beta version: all the video game features are integrated and functional but still presenting many bugs. Master Candidate Version: final rendering that will be examined by those who publish the title on the various gaming platforms. Gold Master version: the game can be said to be finished and ready to be distributed.

Post Launch

Unlike several years ago, this last phase is one of the most important. After the game has been purchased by buyers, the team can assess any remaining issues on a large scale and release constant updates from day one to one or more years after release.

After this little explanation , also very short and summary to give a general idea of ​​how some studios can work on a title, we ask ourselves: Is it still right to shoot at zero on the title of CD Projekt RED now months after its release? After all, Cyberpunk 2077 proceeded following the exact same steps as any other video game. But above all is it really so right to blame the individual guys who worked on the title? Or did the problem lie elsewhere? For some time we have no longer wanted to have to go back to the subject, but following the "leak" that took place a couple of days ago, we felt compelled to have our say. Not only because, as expected, users have taken those footage as another problem, when in reality it is not. But above all because we want to give correct information on what is happening around a title that has already been criticized so much. These latest criticisms are not fair towards the hundreds of people who have worked on Cyberpunk 2077 for years, also because they simply come from mere ignorance on the subject. It is not fair to say that CDPR was aware of the bugs before the release, citing these videos, because it is normal that certain "imbalances" are seen in the pre-production phase. On the other hand, we are talking about ragdolls riding giant cats and fighting with larger than normal chickens.

Feeding this type of content to users without explaining anything, simply brings about the return of a media fuss that is not needed. Another issue of the last few weeks is also that of the source code which seems to have been definitively published on the net. This represents not only an economic damage for the company, but also an ethical problem for all programmers who work on every single line of code day by day. Rejoicing as some modder will get their hands dirty with the "stolen" code, is absolutely not a suitable behavior and above all to be supported. The real problem can be traced back to the hype created on Cyberpunk 2077 also due to the communication used by the team and gamers. This probably led to work faster than necessary (also certainly due to pressure from above) leading to a work that was certainly not optimal, indeed disastrous at times, not only from a technical point of view. We are aware that Cyberpunk 2077 was not supposed to be sold in these conditions, but it is also true that the team is working head down trying to solve the big problems as quickly as possible. Criticizing the production videos released online several days ago and laughing loudly about the bugs presented hurts both the gamer and the development team.

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