Game Analysis: Cyberpunk 2077
Summary
- This week I played Cyberpunk 2077 for a little bit. It’s a open world FPS RPG and I’m going to analyze it in this blog.
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | NOTES |
| Name of the game: | -Cyberpunk 2077 |
| The platform: | -PC |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes): | ~5 hours |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | -I would change the pacing of the game, the dialogue can be pretty slow at times. |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? Does it need to be an exact number? How does this affect play? | -1 -Yes -It makes the game feel more personal –The game is Single Player – like Solitare. |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | -Your goal is to get a one-of-a-kind implant. |
| Rules/Mechanics | NOTES |
| There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules: Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game. Progression of Play – what happens during the game. Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state. | –Setup – You decide who you are and start to discover the world of Night City –Progression of Play – You get to decide how you play, you can go in guns blazing or you can stealthily hack enemies. It’s up to you –Resolution – Your decisions can ultimately affect the overall experience. |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? Was there a clear introductory tutorial? Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | -Normal FPS controls, depends on platform you play on -Sometimes but most of it is intuitive -Yes |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are: Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.) Time (game time, real time, or both) Known information (like suspects in Clue) What kinds of resources do players control? How are they maintained during play? What is their role? | –Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.) You can decide what weapons you want and can upgrade them. You can only carry a limited amount so you have to choose wisely. |
| Game State | NOTES |
| The snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. More relevant to videogames, but good to think about in general. | |
| Information | NOTES |
| How much informaton in the game state is visible to the player? | -You can see all the info about your character and the entire city is available to you |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? How does play flow from one action to another? Some structures include: Turn-based – Standard board game technique. Turn-based with simulatneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down, or putting a card down in War). Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action based video games. Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn. | Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action based video games. |
| Player Interaction | NOTES |
| Some examples: Direct Conflict – I attack you. Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there. Trading – I’ll give you this for that. Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off. | -Direct attack, hacking, stealth attack, distract |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? Is it based on an historical event (or similar)? Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? Does it have emotional impacts? Also look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)? | -Yes -No -Yes -Yes -No |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| How do the different elements interact? What is the gameplay like? Is it effective? Are there any points where the design choices break down? | -Can be fast paced at times depending on your approach -Yes -Not really, it works well |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? Why this set of resources? What if they made different decisions? Does the design break down at any point? | -They wanted to make the player feel immersed and like they have a choice -By design it works good -It probably wouldn’t be as successful -No, the gameplay design works for the game |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? Did you find any bugs or glitches? What about sound? Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | -Yes very, the game is stunning -Quite a few bugs and glitches, it is expected on release and they are being fixed -Sound design is excellent and the music is wonderful -On last-gen consoles you can see the shortcuts they had to take for the game to run better |
| Various Stages of the Game | NOTES |
| To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play: | -The game at its current stage has many bugs but we can expect them to go away as the game gets updated. |
| What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them? | -Defeating enemies can be hard in certain levels but you have to learn how to save your ammo and not take damage. |
| Is the game fair? | |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | -The game is ~40 hours but it is repayable. You make decisions in the game that can affect the outcome and you also have different life paths you can take. |
| What is the intended audience? | |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? | -People who enjoy vast open world games with an interesting story and great game-play mechanics. |
Adapted from: https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/