Cyberpunk 2077, or: How To Market Your Game Like Whoa

   Let's talk about video games. A new and rising media that has the potential to be the media of the future, more possessing than books, more engaging than films, more sincerely gripping and spellbinding than anything that's come before. And yet, lot of this is crippled by the industry's hesitancy to expand and explore for financial reasons. It's easier to cling to tried-and-true IPs than to branch out and try something new. If it ain't broke, well... make as many sequels of it as you can. It's such a shame, really, because given the nature of a video game you can really turn it into a cinematic masterpiece if you know what you're doing. All the knowledge that goes into film and painting production can be applied to video games, arguably to an even higher extent given the immersive nature of games themselves.

   Now let's talk about Cyberpunk 2077. Or, more specifically, its incredible teaser trailer that came out not too long ago. Produced by CD Projekt Red, known for the highly successful The Witcher, this trailer is, for lack of a better word, awe-inspiring in its switchback narrative. There are a few little... hiccups now and then, but I'll discuss that later. First off, let's take a look at the thing itself.

   I'll start at the beginning. We get the establishing shot, which, unlike most establishing shots, starts on the most intimate part of the scene. We're brought into the situation suddenly by this woman who's breaking the fourth wall by looking directly at us, catching our attention right away. It's pretty personal. Then, in the second shot, we see a bit more about her; she's in a hazily hinted-at city environment, and- is that a bullet?
   Hold on a second. Suddenly, things just got a lot more sinister. Who could possibly be firing on a woman who seems not only harmless but entirely defenseless, as evidenced by her bare shoulders? With James Bond opening-style panache the bullet explodes on her cheek and bursts into a thousand coruscating shards and we think, oh, it's symbolic. But no, the following shot shows a heavily-clad SWAT-style policeman wielding what looks like a pretty damn serious gun and we're forced to think again. As the bullets fly past the screen, we can see what definitely looks like blood, as well as a discarded pink shoe. All previous conclusions we had go right out the window.
   We get a more in-focus shot of the actual environment, which proves to be a high-tech futuristic city complete with comedically unselfconscious CYBERWARE branding. Up until now, we haven't been given any information about the place itself; a second environment shot shows this city to be highly cyberpunk, with its Babel-high towers and criss-crossing bridges. Finally, a concrete idea we can latch onto. Previous experience of cyberpunk media like Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner inform us that this city must be at least bordering on dystopian, if not a full-blown police state. This is hammered home by the shot of more SWAT teach members crowded behind a barrier.
   Now, we're shown more of the woman and her situation. As the bullets fly past and burst like tiny metal fireworks in the sky, we get a slow-moving shot downward and understand a bit more. With the cyberpunk environment comes cyberpunk people, and if the fine join lines along her shoulders didn't give it away then the scythes coming out of her arms sure did. And look, a giant floating police car making a noise not unlike a tazer! We certainly aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto.
   With all this established, and what seems like most of the twists out of the way, we introduce our hero. We can tell it's him because he's a lot more casually dressed than the other policemen, in essentially jeans and a sweatshirt, and the camera lingers on his face almost as much as it did on the scary scythe-arm-lady's. He's also in the thick of the action instead of standing back, so he must have a similar bullet immunity. We get an inkling about what this game must be about: you play this guy, a specialist cop of some sort with robot parts, and you run around sorting out errant evil robot part people by shooting them. Sounds pretty regular, doesn't it? I mean, plenty of games have done that before. Deus Ex springs to mind, for instance.
   But hold on a bit. Wait just one second. Wait until after the title drops, and the music fades...
   Another scene.
   The eyes again, this time in a darker lighting scenario. We know it's the woman, not just because of the shot but because of the metallic scarring on her cheek where the bullet hit her. She's in a van with the Obvious Main Character Fellow, and they share a glance before... she puts on the same visor he's wearing. The rollercoaster that is this trailer has one final switchback to throw at you before it comes to a halt. Suddenly, this game has gotten more interesting! Perhaps the Obvious Main Character was a throw-off, and you actually play as this crazy femmebot with scythe-arms and an obvious sworn vengeance on this city? Wouldn't that be something! There's been a bit of controversy regarding female leads in video games, and it would be fantastic to get another successful game out there to hammer home the idea that yes, games with female leads can sell, and they will sell. But I'll stop myself there; it's just a teaser trailer, not a promise.

   So what do we have? We have a brilliantly rendered trailer which successfully sets the scope and environment of the game whilst still remaining ambiguous about its true nature. The build-up and music are flawless, and the effects are incredible. Some more demonstrations about the actual gameplay itself would be nice, however; we can assume the game itself doesn't look this fantastic. I mean, look at the details on the guns. It would take forever for that to render in real-time. I also personally feel a bit squeamish about the blatant sexualisation of the woman in the situation (for the love of God, don't read the comments on the video on Youtube. Eugh.) and her distinct lack of agency in the first part. Hopefully I can be proved wrong when more information about the game comes out, but if it turns out she's merely some useless sidekick to be ogled at in low-cut Lycra skinsuits you'd best watch your tables because I'm going to flip at least three.