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Your tone of voice determines the pronouns assigned to you in Cyberpunk 2077

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Glio

Glio

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Oct 27, 2017
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It seems that you do not choose your pronouns, you choose your voice, if you have a high voice you are automatically "she" and if you have a low voice you are automatically "he".

I don't even know what to say.

www.thegamer.com

Cyberpunk 2077's Voice Options Are Trans Nightmare Made Virtual

A bit of info that's come out has made me realize that Cyberpunk 2077's gender options are probably all in bad faith.
www.thegamer.com www.thegamer.com


EDIT: Also in Kotaku https://kotaku.com/cyberpunk-2077-is-complex-and-overwhelming-but-it-work-1844163262
 
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Potterson

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Oct 28, 2017
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I don't think that's true... I specifically remember reading in the creation menu that I could choose female character and then have a "male" voice for example.
 
Valcrist

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I don't recall this being the case. Can anyone clarify, or...

Edit: Hmm, maybe they can fix that. Seems like an oversight.
 
KOfLegend

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This can't be true, right? This goes against everything they've promised.

I feel like this has to be some sort of misunderstanding. I sure hope it is.
 
Blent

Blent

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I know a lot of people have been pointing out after those offensive tweets last year that CDPR's marketing team on Twitter are not necessarily representative of their development team, but if this really is the case, then this reflects even more badly on the organisation's attitude towards transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary people.

It just feels a little South Park to me.
 
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Glio

Glio

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Blent said:
I know a lot of people have been pointing out after those offensive tweets last year that CDPR's marketing team on Twitter are not necessarily representative of their development team, but if this really is the case, then this reflects even more badly on the organisation's attitude towards transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary people.

It just feels a little South Park to me.
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I really hope it's some kind of misunderstanding
 

Deleted member 60772

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Such a strange way to designate gender, if this is what they're doing.

Why not just do it based on whether the character wears more pink or blue, and really have done with the stereotyping?
 
PaulloDEC

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If this is the case, I'd be amazed if they made it to release without changing it. On top of being a weird choice, it seems like it'd be a trivial thing to change.
 
Musubi

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Yikes. Like.... Y.I.K.E.S

I really hope this is a miscommunication on some level and not actually the case.
 
Kotaku
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    • Rodrigues solitaire

    Rodrigues solitaire

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    Oct 28, 2019
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    Kotaku:

    kotaku.com

    Cyberpunk 2077 Is Complex And Overwhelming, But It Works

    Cyberpunk 2077 didnā€™t quite click with me until I met Certo.
    kotaku.com kotaku.com

    I was given the choice between two body typesā€”one that would traditionally be considered masculine and the other feminineā€”and then asked to choose my vocal tone, which would in turn decide the pronouns NPCs would use when referring to me. Again, there were just two choices that adhered to the limited male/female dichotomy. While this meant that V's body doesn't lock them into a gender, there's currently no way to, say, make a character with traditionally feminine features that uses masculine pronouns or vice versa.
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    • shadoclone

    shadoclone

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    I wonder what this article is based on, there is a not insignificant chance there may just be certain asshole characters who misgender your character, which in and of itself would be maybe misguided but i suppose not necessarily malicious. It's also possible it is currently an oversight, which speaks volume about the how important diversity is to have in the development process.

    All that said if this is an intentional, and universal thing in the game, it's a complete asshole move, and unfortunately wouldn't be all that surprising all things considered.

    I haven't watched any of the new preview/press footage, so maybe anyone who has can weigh in on if that was seen to be the case in any of it?

    edit: ^ posted as I was typing, that paints a much clearer picture, and limits it to either oversight or intentional, read: either ignorance or malice, both of which are serious and far too common sadly.
     
    ImaPlayThis

    ImaPlayThis

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    This does not sound good hopefully they give you the option to choose pronouns.

    On a side note due to dual sense built in mic when I first read the headline and thought it was player voice. Now that would of been an even major yikes
     
    TheGummyBear

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    You know what would avoid this whole mess in the first place? A simple pronoun option on the character creation menu.

    Did they think including one would upset terfs and other shitheads?
     
    Kyuuji

    Kyuuji

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    giphy.gif
     
    Ragnar

    Ragnar

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    Seems like the transphobic tweets from 2018 may have been more representative of CDPR's view on trans people than we were led to believe.
     
    Kyuuji

    Kyuuji

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    Ragnar said:
    Seems like the transphobic tweets from 2018 may have been more representative of CDPR's view on trans people than we were led to believe.
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    Or this that's still plastered across the city in the latest trailer.
    www.resetera.com

    This fetishized in-game ad from Cyberpunk 2077 raises some questions about how the game may depict LGBT (NSFW) [See Staff Post Before Posting]

    Note the crotch of the person in the enlarged image. This is really yikes. It might not be so bad when divorced from context of the company's issues with transphobia, but even then it's disheartening to see. It reeks of fetishism. :/ Image in question:
    www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
     
    Rotobit

    Rotobit

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    munchie64 said:
    I kinda just assumed every would use "V" no matter what to be all inclusive.
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    That would have been a good way to go about it, but seconds into this gameplay a character says "you're a man of little faith".




    I imagine this'll be somewhat easy to fix, though. Just have an extra "pronoun" menu that overwrites whatever data is pulled from the voice selection now.

    Still suggests no non-binary option though.
     
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    Glio

    Glio

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    Rotobit said:
    That would have been a good way to go about it, but seconds into this gameplay a character says "you're a man of little faith".




    I imagine this'll be somewhat easy to fix, though. Just have an extra "pronoun" menu that overwrites whatever data is pulled from the voice selection now.
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    The problem may be if the protagonists speak of themselves with expressions like "I am a man of my word". You would need to record new lines of dialogue.
     
    RowdyReverb

    RowdyReverb

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    Falchion said:
    Just give the players an option for which pronoun in the character creator.....
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    I'm thinking it has to do with deciding which dialogue tracks to play so they fit together appropriately. For example maybe the "female" voice actor may talk slightly slower and the "male" NPC responses could result in NPCs stepping on your character's lines. I'm not sure how to fix the options though, because naming them "male" and "female" is problematic, especially given the customization available elsewhere. Naming them by the "he/him/his" and "she/her/hers" for instance would still change the player's voice actor apparently
     
    Rotobit

    Rotobit

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    Glio said:
    The problem may be if the protagonists speak of themselves with expressions like "I am a man of my word". You would need to record new lines of dialogue.
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    Ah true.

    Really hope they can change it because I know of a few people who were looking forward to playing as someone resembling themselves.
     
    Falchion

    Falchion

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    RowdyReverb said:
    I'm thinking it has to do with deciding which dialogue tracks to play so they fit together appropriately. For example maybe the "female" voice actor may talk slightly slower and the "male" NPC responses could result in NPCs stepping on your character's lines. I'm not sure how to fix the options though, because naming them "male" and "female" is problematic, especially given the customization available elsewhere. Naming them by the "he/him/his" and "she/her/hers" for instance would still change the player's voice actor apparently
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    Yeah that's a good point. I'm sure there are some implementation challenges no matter what.
     
    Box

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    Falchion said:
    Just give the players an option for which pronoun in the character creator.....
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    Absolutely this. If they've gone to the effort in the first place. Also I would totally be ok with assholes misgendering the player like another poster said. If done correctly this would be a fantastic little touch for the game. The straw that broke the camel's back when deciding if you're going to kill an NPC for example. Unfortunately this reads like this isn't the case. I will await more information but this is not a good look and they need to clarify asap.
     
    EatChildren

    EatChildren

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    It's a pretty tone deaf way of applying it dual pronouns. I get the intention, ascribing traits to masculine/feminine, and permitting players to craft an avatar around that as a spectrum to whatever the fuck they want. But it completely misses the mark in what really should be a slider toggle for pronoun titles. Even if it was inherently limited to him/her due to production limitations (they're not going to delay the game to re-record lines of dialogue as inclusive of all pronouns), it'd be a far more suitable option than defaulting it to voice, which inherently does not make sense in pronoun assignment.
     
    liquidmetal14

    liquidmetal14

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    Maybe this will also mean there will be more options for this but if it means listening to your voice and figuring that out, that part is cool on a tech level.
     
    Razmos

    Razmos

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    Oh look its a pile of shit like I expected, I gave them the benefit of the doubt with the whole "whatever genitals you want" thing.

    Basically its just a normal "choose a boy or girl" character creator that they added the pronoun stuff too as a band aid.

    Shitty company continues to be shitty, surprise
     
    Zellia

    Zellia

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    liquidmetal14 said:
    Maybe this will also mean there will be more options for this but if it means listening to your voice and figuring that out, that part is cool on a tech level.
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    I think you have misread this.

    You pick a tone of voice for your character in-game, which then determines what pronoun the game uses for your character. There's no vocal recognition or anything.

    Also, assuming gender as a result of someone's voice is incredibly transphobic.
     
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