GamesBeat: Cyberpunk is pretty much the complete opposite of The Witcher.
Iwinski: Yeah, and I think that's really what a lot of people on the team are excited about. We want to have a world on which we can base the game, a great setting. You can go on and invent it - write a story, describe the world, pretty much what a lot of people are doing in the industry - but why do that if you have something really great that you can use?

GamesBeat: How difficult is it to translate over 5,000 pages of pen-and-paper mechanics into a video game?
Iwinski: Well, you're not talking about translating the 5,000 pages. It's more taking from it and building on it something that will feel good in the medium of computer games.
Michal Platkow-Gilewski: Using that in a wise way.
Cyberpunk creator Mike PondsmithIwinski: We are not recreating what Mike Pondsmith (pictured) did. We are making a game based on that, so we'll do some new things, and we'll probably change some things. Of course, it's great that Mike understands computer games. He was a game designer and still is, including computer games, so we are consulting on a medium-high level with him on certain design decisions.

GamesBeat: What's it like working with Mike?
Iwinski: We were talking for the last several months, and it's great. I think he's open to ideas. We were talking about a certain difficulty, for example, in the gameplay side. He totally digs it, and he's like, "Yeah, OK guys, maybe you should do this and that." So, it's a great benefit to work with a person that's experienced in computer games.

GamesBeat: During the press conference, you said you wanted to create "an outstanding new standard in the futuristic RPG genre." That's a pretty lofty ambition. How are you guys going to accomplish that?
Iwinski: I think we've created some new standards in terms of storytelling in the RPG genre, in terms of having no compromise in the way the story is being told, how we shape the world, how believable the characters are, how similar it is to what we see around us. We are really looking at totally new ideas on telling a story and involving the gamer in it. I think we're looking at what the critics were saying and what the fans were saying. I think we've delivered something totally new.
Second, we don't see any reason why RPGs should look worse than shooters. They should actually look better. The story's always the thing, because that's the thing which keeps you playing, but these days - and especially in the next generation when you have the new consoles, when you have the new HDTVs - you're going to want bells and whistles on the graphical side, and we want to deliver on that as well.

GamesBeat: How has your experience with The Witcher series helped you in making this game?
Iwinski: I think both The Witcher 1 and The Witcher 2 really were the fields where we learned how to tell a great story. We'll be taking all these lessons learned to build an even more gripping, non-linear experience in the same fashion, so no distinction between good and evil, no easy moral choices. We are making a game for a mature audience, and we are very vocal about it. I think it's very important, so we are treating our game right, and we are not insulting your intelligence.

GamesBeat: Is Cyberpunk going to be a PC exclusive when it first releases?
Iwinski: No, no. We are looking at Macs as well. Definitely. We come from a PC country, we are PC experts, but we wouldn't like to limit the experience and the audience.