The world of Cyberpunk 2077 is one where technological innovation has run wild. Its denizens are full of robotic parts, can send data with their minds, and can literally see other people’s dreams and memories. Yet despite all that, one aspect of everyone’s daily life is still incredibly picturesque (at least by these standards): the cars are full of buttons.
There’s a big trend in automotive design these days, spurred by Tesla’s reliance on giant touchscreens that cars don’t need buttons. That everything you need to do as a driver (or passenger), from checking a map to controlling the air conditioning to changing the song on the radio, can and should be done by tapping through the menus of a large computer screen (or with your Agree, although this is usually only helpful for a few select functions depending on the vehicle).
There is absolutely no valid reason for this. Using a screen while driving is slower, more difficult and most importantly more dangerous than using traditional buttons. Typing on an iPad is fine when we’re at work or on the couch, because that’s what we’re doing. It’s the only thing we focus on. Asking us to do this while driving a two-ton motor vehicle, taking our eyes off the road, and speeding down it at 70 miles per hour is borderline suicidal. Especially if you keep screwing things up trying to keep your eyes on the road And Tap the screen and keep missing the buttons and move your seat when you wanted to share albums on Spotify.
(I realize here that I’m talking about cars, specifically modern and upcoming electric vehicles that put these huge front and center screens. My 2018 Kia Sorento has a small touchscreen that I only use for Android Auto, with everything else on top of that buttons, and I think that’s fine and a nice balance!)
You know where a button is in a car. More importantly, you can feel it while driving, meaning you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to use it. Do you want to turn up the air conditioning? There is a large round dial for this. The same applies to the volume. These have their own place in the car – they’re not buried in a menu – and with their own shapes and haptics, they can be found and used immediately.
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This isn’t an “dude yells at cloud” attitude. It’s an “I’m sick of Silicon Valley influencing people to change things for their own sake instead of changing things because they’re actually better”. And of course I’m anything but alone here; Watch a car review on YouTube and you’ll often see the same complaints about too many features, from VW’s awful climate “sliders” to Tesla’s murderous insistence that your speed in some of its cars is only on the central screen is displayed, a are a pointless obstacle to safe and comfortable driving.
Something (sort of) proven in a Swedish study in 2022which tested 11 cars of different ages – from a Tesla Model 3 to an old Volvo V70 – to see which had the best “usability”.
During the tests, the drivers were assigned different tasks, such as changing the radio station or changing the air conditioning. In each case, the car was driven at 68 miles per hour, and the researchers measured the time and distance traveled by each car while performing the tasks.
The results? The 2005 Volvo V70 won easily, while the worst performing vehicle was the MG Marvel R, a modern car that has done so some buttons on its steering wheel, but relegates many other commands to its large central touchscreen. The Tesla Model 3 took twice as long to complete the same four tasks as the 18-year-old V70.
That’s my very long winded way of saying this, having just spent a lot of time gaming Cyberpunk 2077 (more on that in the coming weeks) I really appreciate the fact that his cars are full of buttons! Every car you get in has buttons everywhere. In front of you, beside you, all over the dashboard, all over the center console. And it looks great. There’s an aesthetic reason for this, of course, as Jakub Przybolewski is the Lead Vehicle Artist for the game explained:
We looked at car designs from the 1980s and 1990s as cars made during that era had a very minimalist look – so much to do without overdoing anything. They are simple, easy to spot and have a timeless look. For the world of 2077, this was a perfect starting point.
So the fact 2077 Cars are full of buttons partially to the fact that, like so much else in the game world, they are extrapolations of classic sci-fi art drawn in the decades before today’s touchscreens were invented.
But then there are many other things at play has was made ultra-futuristic. Many of 2077 Data transfers happen digitally via people’s brains, and almost every computer you interact with has a big, clean touchscreen, not a clunky old ’80s monitor.
Given that, I like to think that the buttons throughout the interior of the game’s cars are there not just as a visual throwback (and a very handsome one at that), but as a future realization that, shit, is as technologically tainted as 2077 World has gotten even they get a silly idea when they see one, and they’ve come back to the fact that cars are way cooler – and easier to use – when they’re full of buttons.
