You may or may not be surprised when I say that Cyberpunk is my favorite genre of RPG when it comes down to it. I was pleasantly surprised when the video game Cyberpunk: 2077 by CD Project Red was announced and rekindled interest in the tabletop RPGs that inspired it namely--Cyberpunk (2013) and Cyberpunk 2020--we don't like to talk about Cyberpunk 3.0 A.KA. CP203X or "Barbie Punk"; let's just say decisions were made...mostly decisions by the players to keep playing CP2020 instead of the new edition, but I digress.
Although there is a lot of cross-over between fans of video games and table top RPGs, not everyone enjoys both, so ICYMI, the company CD Project Red is apparently a big deal because of the critically acclaimed Witcher video game among others. CP2077 has been in development for years--even in danger of becoming so-called "vaporware"--but things really started picking up over the past couple of years culminating with an appearance by Keanu Reeves at this year's E3 gaming trade show/convention. Reeves was revealed to be starring in the game as the infamous Johnny Silverhand--a favorite Rockerboy character from CP2020. Maybe even more importantly, a release date was finally announced for April of 2020. Of course with popularity like that Cyberpunk needed a new tabletop edition and since there will be a forty plus year gap between 203X and 2077 what better way to create this new edition than by setting it in those gap years. This is where Cyberpunk: Red comes in
Cyberpunk:Red takes place between 203X and 2077 detailing the rebuilding of Night City after a small nuke was detonated therein during the 4th corporate war. The fallout from the blast created "Red Skies" and although most of the fallout has diminished, during sunrise and sunset the entire sky again becomes a blistering red--thus the punks call this era, "The Time of the Red". As of this entry, only the beginners box called the jumpstart kit is out. Physical copies sold out at Gencon, but more will be on the way. Drive-thru of course has the PDF ready for download. I really like what it looks like so far, and even if I don't get to play, I love reading the lore.
When I think about the Cyberpunk RPG--remember the fiction of "Cyberpunk" does take place before the game and authors of such works are even mentioned in the game--I am very surprised about how many future events and technological achievements were successfully predicted. Almost every crazy thing in the games has either already happened or is currently in development. Stories about: chimeras, bionic limbs, implantable skill chips, fully functioning A.I., Self-driving vehicles, designer drugs, rabid media reporters and savage corporations sometimes read like they are ripped from today's headlines--er, newsfeeds--from a game created back in the late 1980's. Almost everything is spot-on...except one thing--no, not the nukes or astroids--I'm talking about smartphones and a wireless net.
In the CP "universe" there is still a reliance on paper products--FAX Machines and even the, then futuristic, "print on demand" Screamsheets--for example are still prevalent and relevant. Today in the real 2019 you almost never need a FAX and newspapers are going the way of fidget spinners. Old guys like me still love the physical media, and--to a certain extent--I supposed there will always be a niche market for such, but the kids these days...they don't want it. Almost EVERYTHING is digital and you're using your wireless smart phone to do it--no hacking needed.
I have said for years that I now live in a dystopian present and the fact that I love the CP genre so much is one of the reasons I'm able to cope without going into technostress. In just four days in China I've seen things...seen things you little people wouldn't believe. First of all, right off the plane you buy a Chinese SIM card, if you're smart. The card activates your number and gives you X amount of time including data. You'll download a multitude of apps, the most important of which is called WeChat. They are practically in a cashless society now with this WeChat--it's everywhere--and it's so easy to use. ATM we have cash because we just got here, but once I start getting a salary it will all be deposited electronically into my account. I won't even have a check stub unless I print one off. Almost everything is purchased using this app to scan QR codes--even if you want to buy a little toy from a gumball machine or use a massage chair--you gotta scan the code. Coins don't work. (I'm only being slightly facetious, you can probably find an old machine somewhere, but I haven't seen them) There are other 'pay' apps but WeChat is the big one. I know it's available in the States as well, but it certainly isn't the big deal it is out here. Next, you get the Chinese version of Uber in an app called DiDi this connects to your WeChat which is connected to your bank. I book cars without ever talking to the guys. If I did have to talk, I could use the Youdao Fanyiguan app like a universal translator. They have robots in the mall that can give you directions...they recognize your face and know you're standing right next to them. They don't know that I don't speak a lick of Chinese (yet) and they aren't compatible with the translation app--possibly a user problem from my end--but still. Now all of this stuff happened...and continues to happen...before we reached the actual year 2020. Can you imagine what might come around by the time "real" 2077 gets here? If technology continues to advance the way it has, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of us are here to see what transpires first hand.
Although there is a lot of cross-over between fans of video games and table top RPGs, not everyone enjoys both, so ICYMI, the company CD Project Red is apparently a big deal because of the critically acclaimed Witcher video game among others. CP2077 has been in development for years--even in danger of becoming so-called "vaporware"--but things really started picking up over the past couple of years culminating with an appearance by Keanu Reeves at this year's E3 gaming trade show/convention. Reeves was revealed to be starring in the game as the infamous Johnny Silverhand--a favorite Rockerboy character from CP2020. Maybe even more importantly, a release date was finally announced for April of 2020. Of course with popularity like that Cyberpunk needed a new tabletop edition and since there will be a forty plus year gap between 203X and 2077 what better way to create this new edition than by setting it in those gap years. This is where Cyberpunk: Red comes in
Cyberpunk:Red takes place between 203X and 2077 detailing the rebuilding of Night City after a small nuke was detonated therein during the 4th corporate war. The fallout from the blast created "Red Skies" and although most of the fallout has diminished, during sunrise and sunset the entire sky again becomes a blistering red--thus the punks call this era, "The Time of the Red". As of this entry, only the beginners box called the jumpstart kit is out. Physical copies sold out at Gencon, but more will be on the way. Drive-thru of course has the PDF ready for download. I really like what it looks like so far, and even if I don't get to play, I love reading the lore.
When I think about the Cyberpunk RPG--remember the fiction of "Cyberpunk" does take place before the game and authors of such works are even mentioned in the game--I am very surprised about how many future events and technological achievements were successfully predicted. Almost every crazy thing in the games has either already happened or is currently in development. Stories about: chimeras, bionic limbs, implantable skill chips, fully functioning A.I., Self-driving vehicles, designer drugs, rabid media reporters and savage corporations sometimes read like they are ripped from today's headlines--er, newsfeeds--from a game created back in the late 1980's. Almost everything is spot-on...except one thing--no, not the nukes or astroids--I'm talking about smartphones and a wireless net.
In the CP "universe" there is still a reliance on paper products--FAX Machines and even the, then futuristic, "print on demand" Screamsheets--for example are still prevalent and relevant. Today in the real 2019 you almost never need a FAX and newspapers are going the way of fidget spinners. Old guys like me still love the physical media, and--to a certain extent--I supposed there will always be a niche market for such, but the kids these days...they don't want it. Almost EVERYTHING is digital and you're using your wireless smart phone to do it--no hacking needed.
I have said for years that I now live in a dystopian present and the fact that I love the CP genre so much is one of the reasons I'm able to cope without going into technostress. In just four days in China I've seen things...seen things you little people wouldn't believe. First of all, right off the plane you buy a Chinese SIM card, if you're smart. The card activates your number and gives you X amount of time including data. You'll download a multitude of apps, the most important of which is called WeChat. They are practically in a cashless society now with this WeChat--it's everywhere--and it's so easy to use. ATM we have cash because we just got here, but once I start getting a salary it will all be deposited electronically into my account. I won't even have a check stub unless I print one off. Almost everything is purchased using this app to scan QR codes--even if you want to buy a little toy from a gumball machine or use a massage chair--you gotta scan the code. Coins don't work. (I'm only being slightly facetious, you can probably find an old machine somewhere, but I haven't seen them) There are other 'pay' apps but WeChat is the big one. I know it's available in the States as well, but it certainly isn't the big deal it is out here. Next, you get the Chinese version of Uber in an app called DiDi this connects to your WeChat which is connected to your bank. I book cars without ever talking to the guys. If I did have to talk, I could use the Youdao Fanyiguan app like a universal translator. They have robots in the mall that can give you directions...they recognize your face and know you're standing right next to them. They don't know that I don't speak a lick of Chinese (yet) and they aren't compatible with the translation app--possibly a user problem from my end--but still. Now all of this stuff happened...and continues to happen...before we reached the actual year 2020. Can you imagine what might come around by the time "real" 2077 gets here? If technology continues to advance the way it has, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of us are here to see what transpires first hand.
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