The Creation of Cyberpunk 2077’s Famous Date Scene

One of the most iconic scenes in Cyberpunk 2077 is the underwater scuba dive with Judy Alvarez, the tech wizard. However, according to a lead developer, this scene was not as straightforward to create as it may seem. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, CD Projekt Red’s acting lead quest designer Sarah Gruemmer revealed that a limitation within the game posed a challenge when trying to implement this particular quest.

Gruemmer explained that the team did not have diving animations for NPCs in the game, which presented an obstacle. Despite this limitation, the developers were determined to include the underwater dive with Judy in the game. To overcome this hurdle, they came up with a creative solution. They utilized their scene system to execute the entire sequence and found a way to work around the lack of diving animations.

The development team decided to animate everything in the scene and divide it into shorter segments. In this way, Judy would wait in an idle animation while the player could engage in various gameplay activities around her. This approach allowed players to interact with Judy underwater, have conversations, and progress through different sections of the quest seamlessly.

Despite the technical constraints, the team managed to create an immersive and realistic experience for players during the underwater scuba dive scene. By utilizing clever animation techniques and leveraging the scene system, they were able to maintain the illusion of depth and immersion throughout the sequence. Everything from Judy’s movements to the player’s interactions with her felt organic and engaging, despite the behind-the-scenes challenges faced during development.

The creation of Cyberpunk 2077’s famous date scene with Judy Alvarez serves as a testament to the creativity and problem-solving skills of the development team at CD Projekt Red. By thinking outside the box and leveraging the tools at their disposal, they were able to overcome technical limitations and deliver a memorable and impactful moment in the game. This behind-the-scenes look at the creation process highlights the dedication and ingenuity required to bring complex scenes to life in the world of game development.