Cyberpunk 2077 – Storytime with Mike Pondsmith

Mike Pondsmith, the original creator of the Cyberpunk pen and paper RPG who’s now working together with CD Projekt on a digital adaptation of his system in Cyberpunk 2077, was this year’s PAX Online keynote speaker. Over the course of half an hour, he talked about his early career, the tabletop role-playing industry and how it differs from its more Hollywood-like digital cousin. Check it out:

You may also want to read this PC Gamer article that summarizes the whole thing. An excerpt:

“When I did my first really large videogame project,” he said, “I went in and I said ‘What are we budgeted for?’ And they said twenty million dollars. And I went… ‘I am now responsible for figuring out what to do with twenty million dollars. Oh, crud.’ So, the stakes are higher.”

With so much money on the line, Pondsmith says budding videogame designers will probably meet fewer helpful people than they’d meet in the tabletop industry.

“I think that’s partially because videogames are a little more like Hollywood. The stakes are ridiculous, and there’s a lot more of a problem with reaching and talking to fans directly. There’s a wall there between you and the people who use your game.”