CD Projekt Red has added to its frame by frame breakdown of Cyberpunk 2077's E3 trailer. The ongoing blog series' latest entries explore Night City's sociopolitical divide, and how technology influences its civilians. Compare the trailer above to the details below.
First up, the shadowy high-rise housing scene that features 28 seconds in.
"In Night City, people want to dream big. The rat race is never over. The verticality of the city represents the social ladder," says CD Projekt Red. "People at the bottom are literally living on the streets. They look up to those inside high buildings, as they look at the common folk from above. The city dictates the rules. It creates dreams and fuels people’s aspirations. They are fed advertisement, they can peek into lives of those more fortunate and are always pushed towards the, often unattainable, dream of fame and luxury."
That's followed by the holographic female performers that appear at 0.33.
"The social ladder concept can be seen in every aspect of life in Night City. The less fortunate folks, albeit with a less-than-ideal quality of life, still have access to technology thanks to charity shops, which hand out tech to the poor," says the dev of the above. "Old computers are also fairly easy to get a hold of. This is crucial to the overexposure of advertisement and jump-starting people’s dreams, which ultimately keeps them within the borders of Night City—in the trailer, we see exclusive fashion brands using holographic female models to show off their product line."
A separate blog post turns its attention to the Mohawk-sporting, glistening-skinned celeb introduced at the 1.01 mark. CD Projekt Red reveals her identity.
"Lizzy Wizzy—A modern and controversial star, head of the band 'Lizzy Wizzy and the Metadwarves', where she’s the only human member," says the post. "On one hand, poverty and homelessness are real problems in Night City. On the other, the life of luxury and showbusiness are thriving. Advances in technology allow for sharing memories and emotions, using only a small piece of tech—braindance.
"It enhances consumed mass media and, in many cases, leads to braindance addiction as people crave the life of luxury. Actors are hired specifically to perform these superficial memories, and celebrities are completely stripped of privacy as everyone can “become” them with the use of braindance. The demand for extremes also opens up an entirely new range of products you can find on the Night City black market."
The post wraps up with the dude in the 'Samurai' jacket, who features at 55 seconds.
"Samurai," it reads. "A legendary rock band of the past, for which music was a way to show rebellion and fight the system."
As reported by Andy this week, the Cyberpunk 2077 demo at E3 was "earlier" than alpha and a full release could be years away. That demo hasn't been released to the public—its audio has since leaked—but here's everything we learned from E3 2018 and more.
