Okay, so, before you call me a pervert and send me to buy a premium subscription on PornHub, let’s discuss why nudity is generally added to films, TV shows and video games, how come that nudity in movies is a storytelling tool, and why it is not related to satisfaction of sexual needs. And then I’ll explain why nudity is an integral part of the narrative in Cyberpunk 2077, and why excluding nudity from the game turned out to be a mistake.

For the most part when a naked body or genitals of the characters are shown in films and TV series, this is done not to entertain the curiosity of the audience, but to strengthen the viewer’s emotional connection with the characters and the depicted world. Of course, the connection between the viewer and the characters and the world is created by a large number of techniques. But since we talk about nudity, we will focus on this element. The more reliable details the author depicts, the more the viewer will believe in the reality of this world, and therefore in the reality of the story being told.

This applies not only to the environment (when the so-called environmental storytelling is applied), but also to the story. Of course, just stuffing the world with details isn’t enough. This must be done in a right and believable way. For example, renowned anime director Makoto Shinkai creates hyper realistic versions of Tokyo in his films, and also devotes a lot of attention to trains and rail infrastructure. Through trains and travel on trains, Shinkai shows how far apart the main characters of the films are in space and time. And in order for the viewer to feel the same as the heroes feel, he draws the trains awesomely datalese. And although the journey of the hero on the train on the screen takes only a few seconds, thanks to such detailing, we are able to feel what distance the hero actually covered. This means that we better feel and understand his emotions, we empathize with him more sensitively, and in general we believe more in what is happening and are immersed in history deeper.

A similar idea lies in adding nudity to the scene. It makes us believe in what is happening, as well as telling us some details of the story through the environment. Although not always adding nudity will be appropriate. It is worth doing it when it works for the narrative. For example, the film 28 Days Later opens with a naked man lying in a hospital bed in a destroyed hospital (NSFW). He’s naked for a reason. Precisely because he is naked, the viewer begins to ask himself, “Why is he naked? Why is he lying in the posture of Christ? Why is he the only patient left in the hospital? ” Which ultimately brings the viewer to the most important question of the story, “is the hero alive at the start of the film, or dead?” But if you exclude nudity from the scene, then this series of questions disappears. And Jim turns into just a patient who was forgotten about in a hurry … But this is not so. Therefore, in this case, nudity works for the narrative.

Or here’s the famous scene from Game of Thrones where a young actor inspects his penis for warts (NSFW). And the camera shows his penis in close-up. It would seem that the scene is completely superfluous. However, this exact moment demonstrates to us the mores and the degree of moral decay of the society in which Arya found herself. The members of the theatrical troupe (who are the mould and the face of the crowd, the inhabitants of this city) find it permissible in the presence of other actors from the troupe to exhibit their junk. The scene causes rejection from the viewer, which is projected onto the characters from this scene. And it is in contrast to the general low moral character of the troupe that we feel the decency and inner beauty of Lady Crane, for whom Arya has feelings, and from whom she feels motherly care. This scene could have been eliminated, that’s true, but instead, something similar would have to be added, which in a few seconds would allow an unpleasant idea of the troupe and society to be formed. But given the limited screen time, a close-up wart on the penis works much better. In this case nudity is a great example of a storytelling and worldbuilding tool.

The HBO series Westworld also features nudity quite often. But their task is different. Here, with the help of nudity, the authors tell us that hosts do not visually differ from people, and it is very easy to confuse us even if we are completely naked (NSFW). Differences need to be looked for at a deeper level. How a host differs from a person are the questions that history reveals. And some of the answers to the questions, how we differ, the authors give through visual images.

And this is very close to what is happening in Cyberpunk 2077. The game raises important questions of transhumanism, personality and freedom of choice. The game explores in which part of a human’s body a human “lives”, and where is the border when a human ceases to be a human? That is why, in the process of character creation, the player gets the opportunity to determine the appearance of the genitals. Thus, the player, already in the process of creating a character, as if for themselves answers the question of what it means to them to be a human being. Is it important to you whether you have genitals or not in order to feel like a human being? And then the game begins to question the player’s decision, test the strength of beliefs, and turn the perception around. The nudity is important not only for the feeling of the realism of the world, but also for the history of Cyberpunk 2077. This is a world in which the objectification of a person reaches a brand new level. The human body turns into an instrument almost literally. And the question “how far are people willing to go in modifying their bodies?” is constantly present in the context. And one of the ways you can answer this question is to completely undress a person and see.

As with other examples, nudity in Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the storytelling tools. And along with other ways of immersion, displaying nudity helps the player to believe in what is happening, get a feel for the story, and better empathize with the characters. The story in Cyberpunk 2077 is very personal. It is not about saving the world, but rather about saving yourself and your soul. Therefore, by the way, the game is made with a first-person view. So that the player can experience everything personally. From such an angle, from which it is seen by a person, and not by a camera. In the details in which it is seen by the person with whom such events occur. Therefore, it was important to show everything as a person would see in reality.

However, for some reason, the authors of the game decided to eliminate one of the most important details of perception, significantly cutting the nudity in the game to the point that it began to harm the narrative, immersion and perception of the story. Let’s look at a few examples, good and bad.

Minor side-quest spoiler ahead. At the very beginning of the game, V goes on a mission to save the girl from the hands of bandits who kidnap people in order to gut their bodies and take them apart. Being in the den of bandits, we see how unprincipled and cruel they are. Their operating rooms are like a slaughterhouse. They rip off the skin from people (NSFW), pull out implants and internal organs. They do not care at all that it was a living person before. That they have relatives. They do not care in what form the relatives will receive the body, and whether they will have something to put in the coffin, or that the body is ever found. They do not bother with procedures, because the count goes on for minutes. They simply lay the body on the table, rip the flesh along with the clothing, and rip out the implants (NSFW). However, they worry that whoever visits their slaughterhouse might see a man’s cock, so they carefully pull underwear over the corpse before tossing it into the bathtub to cool. And while the examples from the previous screenshots worked for the atmosphere and aroused anger towards the bandits, the corpse in his underpants destroyed everything. The player is ripped out of the immersion, now this is just a game, and we came here not to save lives, but to earn exp. In the bathtub there are not corpses, but mannequins, and we are fighting not ruthless and immoral bastards, but AI dummies.

A story of the implant and organ trade on the black market is a big part of the game’s plot. We encounter scavengers quite often, learn terrifying details about them, and we are forced to dislike them. In one of the side quests, the player himself becomes their victim. However, in the process, we learn that for all their cruelty and unscrupulousness, the scavengers are still Puritans. They took all the player’s things, but left underpants (although the player is displayed completely naked in the inventory). They leave underwear on the corpses when they operate on them, and before burning the corpses, they take off all their clothes except underwear. And although the story told by the game remains terrible, it ceases to be personal, because it lacks details that a person who lived through it could see with their own eyes. And you stop believing in such a story and personal experiences disappear from it.

The same thing happens in the scene when V takes a shower after a series of traumatic events. The player and the hero are in shock. V is mentally and physically exhausted. V goes to the shower to at least try to wash off all the horror V has experienced. But the whole scene is falling apart because we see us taking a shower in our underpants… We are ripped out of the atmosphere again. Again, this is just a game. And this is especially harmful to the game precisely at such moments, when the player is emotionally vulnerable and ready to immerse themself in the story. And it would work great, and would enhance the experience and connection of the player with the character if V showered the way most of us do.

And there is an example in the game where it works! Where the presence of a nude character in a scene increases the believability of what is happening a hundredfold. There’s a little main story spoiler next, so you can skip to the end of this paragraph. I’m talking about the sex scene between johnny and alt (I deliberately write their names with a small letter so as not to catch the eye of those who want to skip the spoiler), after which a conversation turns into a quarrel between them. And it is the fact that alt is naked in this scene that makes this scene authentic. And we believe that such a scene could have been, and it would have developed that way. And this is a strong artistic touch. While he did not even take off his pants, and after intercourse he simply buttoned his fly, she remained in the same form, naked and vulnerable (NSFW). And when a quarrel begins between them, it is her nakedness that reinforces our negative impression of him. And when she begins to feel her weakness, she goes out and dresses in order to add protection to herself with clothes. Eliminate nudity from this scene and it will fall apart like a shower scene.

And the most annoying thing is that judging by what we see in the game, the creators were understanding why nudity is an important narrative tool. And they used it very skillfully! However, we also see that something forced them to turn on self-censorship and they cut the nudity very rudely, at the same time destroying a solid part of the atmosphere of the game.

I think the way the authors cut through the nudity is doing a lot of damage to the game. Most of the game’s technical issues will be fixed eventually. And when that is done, the flaws that harm the atmosphere and the narrative will come to the fore. The game will be remembered and become a classic only if the game is able to withstand the same high class of immersion and atmosphere at all levels. If you think CDPR should reconsider its decision to reduce in-game nudity, please make this post visible. If the post finds support, then I will write a petition and send it to CDPR.

Especially lousy if the decision to censor the game is influenced by Sony and / or Microsoft. While streaming services such as Netflix and HBO allow their creators to tell their stories as intended, Sony and MS still believe that games are fun for children, who are allowed to see internal organs smeared on the floor, but not allowed to see genitals. Let’s say no to this hypocrisy together?

Today, when many have already finished the game, I stand that the way the authors of the game censored nudity is causing serious damage to the game. And I urge the authors to reconsider their decision, and return nudity to the game:

allow V to be completely naked outside the inventory screen (in photo mode, in mirrors, when looking at own body from the first person, in cutscenes where V is naked);
where corpses should be completely naked, make them completely naked;
in places and districts of the city devoted to sexual exploitation, to make naked those characters who were intended to be naked (strippers in bars, on the streets, diving dancers, etc.).

For our part, we, as a gaming community, promise full support for this solution and, if required, a significant voice to put pressure on publishers and holders of digital distribution platforms.

TL;DR: nudity is sometimes the opposite of gratuitous: rather than being something that distracts from the narrative, it can be something that would harm the narrative if it weren’t there.