The last thing CD Projekt wants in its Cyberpunk 2077 game is a bunch of Poles trying to sound American.
“It’s impossible to translate Los Angeles (or similar) street slang in a believable way,” says CD Projekt RED’s Sebastian Stepien, which is why CD Projekt is considering having each Cyberpunk 2077 in-game nationality played, and spoken, in its native tongue. It’s all about the world-building; if it doesn’t sound real, it won’t feel real, and the very last thing CD Projekt wants is a bunch of Poles trying to sound American.
“It’s just not possible to record voices in other languages, and give all emotions, behaviours, at the same time,” says Stepien.”It must be coherent.” Those worried they may not understand what’s going on needn’t panic, as CD Projekt is considering having translation chips available for sale to your protagonist. The better the chip, the better the translation. Something very similar was available in the original pen-and-paper RPG, which given CD Projekt’s fondness for its source material should come as no surprise.
This is all pie in the leaden dystopian sky for the moment, as CD Projekt is still heavily involved with Geralt. There isn’t so much as a confirmed release date for its Cyberpunk 2077 title yet, but if CD Projekt’s prepared to put this much thought into its world-building, the finished product ought to be something worth paying attention to.
Source: YouTube
