Racism and Homophobia have become major issues in the western countries these days and quite strongly in some parts of the world. Society is now trying its best to give equality to everyone whether it would be race, gender, or age. This can be reflected in many types of media whether it would be a book, film, or video games.
A few games developed by CD Projekt RED actually depict those issues like racism and homophobia. They also show the consequences of doing so and what humans are capable of when they believe they can act with such malice.
CD Projekt RED Game Director Adam Badowski shares how the issues of tolerance are treated in their key videogames and what to expect in upcoming Cyberpunk 2077.
Badowski revealed that author Andrzej Sapkowski actually dealt with racism in a fairly harsh manner. The Witcher game series depicts such antagonism between the humans and non-humans quite clearly especially in The Witcher 3.
While the game director could not tell more details about upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077, he did say that it has a similar vibe. The source of inspiration for developing the new game is actually from Mike Pondsmith’s manual that was published in the 1980s. It was quite liberal when it came to gender modification.
Badowski stated:
The whole issue is regarded as relatively minor compared to the need to express one’s personal style — and this provides for much greater fluidity.
Just like from The Witcher series, players can expect how discrimination is being depicted in the game’s story. It might just mirror what is happening in reality right now, but more on a fictional setting.
Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on Nov. 19 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Google Stadia, and PC.
Interview source: CD Projekt RED Official Website