Category Archives: Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk (en sammansttning, s kallat teleskopord, av cybernetik och punk) r en genre inom science fiction med fokus p datorer eller informationsteknik, och ibland en degenerering av samhllet. Historierna i cyberpunklitteratur kretsar ofta kring konflikten mellan hackare, artificiell intelligens och megabolag i en snar framtid p jorden. Denna framtids stder prglas ofta av dystopiska knnetecken men ven av en extraordinr energi och mngfald. Det r resultatet av sjlvkorrigering i science fiction-genren, som traditionellt sett hade ignorerat betydelsen av informationsteknik.[frtydliga]

Cyberpunkfrfattare tenderar att anvnda sig av inslag frn hrdkokta deckare, film noir, japansk anime och postmodern prosa. De beskriver den nihilistiska, underjordiska sidan av det digitala samhllet som brjade utvecklas under 1900-talets tv sista decennier. Cyberpunks dystopiska vrld har kallats fr antitesen till de utopiska science fiction-visionerna frn mitten av 1900-talet som Star Trek var ett praktexempel p.

Termen myntades ursprungligen 1980 av Minnesota-frfattaren Bruce Bethke fr hans novell "Cyberpunk", som frst publicerades i Amazing Science Fiction Stories (volym 57, nummer 4, november 1983), men den kom snabbt att anvndas som en beteckning fr verk av Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, William Gibson, Rudy Rucker, Michael Swanwick och andra, som Gardner Dozois anvnde denna beteckning fr i sin Washington Post-artikel "SF in the Eighties" 1984.

I cyberpunklitteratur utspelar sig en stor del av handlingen online, i cyberspace - den klara grnsen mellan det verkliga och den virtuella verkligheten blir suddig. En typisk (dock ej universell) egenskap i genren r en direkt koppling mellan den mnskliga hjrnan och datorsystem.

Cyberpunkvrlden r en ondskefull, mrk och dystopisk plats med ntverksanslutna datorer som dominerar varje aspekt av livet. Gigantiska multinationella fretag har ersatt regeringar som maktcenter. Den alienerade outsiderns kamp mot ett totalitrt system r ett vanligt tema inom science fiction, men i konventionell sdan tenderade dessa system att vara sterila, ordnade och statskontrollerade. I skarp kontrast visar cyberpunk den moraliskt degraderade baksidan av fretagsstyrda samhllssystem och desillusionerade rebellers kamp mot detta. Protagonisterna i cyberpunklitteratur inkluderar ofta datorhackare och krigare inspirerade av japansk anime, inklusive cyborgs, samurajer (ronins) och ninjor. Dessa huvudpersoner tskiljs frn andra av deras ovrdade sprk, uppskattning av konst, och skurkaktiga charm. Hjltarna r skurkartade - aldrig vlfriserade "good guys".

Cyberpunklitteratur tenderar att vara starkt dystopisk och pessimistisk. Det r ofta en metafor fr nutiden, med reflektioner kring storbolag, rovdrift p naturen, korruption i regeringar och alienation. En del frfattare har ocks som avsikt att lta sina verk utgra varningar fr mjliga framtidsscenarion som kan vara konsekvenser av nuvarande utvecklingsriktningar. Som sdan r cyberpunk ofta skriven med avsikten att gra lsaren oroad och f honom eller henne att gra ngot.

Cyberpunkhistorier ses av vissa teoretiker som fiktiva prognoser fr utvecklingen av Internet. Internets virtuella vrld frekommer ofta i cyberpunk under olika namn, inklusive "cyberspace", "the Metaverse" (som i Neal Stephensons Snow Crash) och "the Matrix" (ursprungligen frn Doctor Who, och senare i William Gibsons Neuromancer, men nnu mer populariserad i rollspelet Shadowrun och senare av filmen The Matrix).

Bland fregngarna till genren kan bland annat Aldous Huxley som skrev Du skna nya vrld 1932 och George Orwell som 1948 skrev 1984 nmnas. Andra exempel r Alfred Bester, som skrev The Stars My Destination (Tiger! Tiger!) 1956 och William S. Burroughs som skrev Den nakna lunchen 1959 och Den mjuka maskinen 1961.

K. W. Jeter, som skrev Dr. Adder (publicerad p 1980-talet men skriven tidigare) anses vara den som myntade begreppet steampunk. Roger Zelazny skrev romanen Dream Maste], som han utvecklade frn sin kortroman He Who Shapes. Vernor Vinge, som skrev True Names 1981, var en av de frsta som skrev om cyberspace.

Philip K. Dicks Androidens drmmar frn 1968 filmatiserades 1982 som Blade Runner. David Drake (Lacey and His Friends, 1974), John Brunner (The Shockwave Rider, 1975), John M. Ford (Web of Angels, 1980) r ngra andra fregngare till genren.

"Allt som kan gras mot en rtta kan gras mot en mnniska. Och vi kan gra nstan vad som helst mot rttor. Det r svrt att tnka sig, men det r sant. Det frsvinner inte om vi blundar. Det r cyberpunk." /Bruce Sterling[1]

William Gibson med sin roman Neuromancer (1984) r frmodligen den mest knda frfattaren frknippad med termen cyberpunk. Han betonade stil, karaktrsutveckling och atmosfr framfr traditionellt science fiction-sprk, och Neuromancer belnades med tre stora utmrkelse: Hugo Award, Nebula Award och Philip K. Dick Memorial Award. Andra vlknda cyberpunkfrfattare inkluderar Bruce Sterling (som var rrelsens chefsideolog med sitt fanzine Cheap Truth), Rudy Rucker, Pat Cadigan, Walter Jon Williams och Neal Stephenson.

Raymond Chandler med sin bleka, cyniska vrldssyn och 'staccato'-prosa hade starkt inflytande p skaparna av genren. Cyberpunkvrlden r den dystopiska, hopplsa film noir-vrlden, men knuffad en liten bit in i framtiden. Philip K. Dick hade ocks starkt inflytande p genren; hans verk innehller de terkommande temana socialt frfall, artificiell intelligens och utsuddade grnser mellan verkligheten och ngon sorts virtuell verklighet. Dicks karaktrer r ocks ofta marginaliserade.

Filmen Blade Runner (1982), baserad p Philip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, utspelar sig i en dystopisk framtid dr syntetiska livsformer har frre rttigheter n vanliga mnniskor. Robocop-serien r i en mer nrbelgen framtid dr ett megabolag, Omni Consumer Products, har stor makt i staden Detroit.

Den kortlivade tv-serien Max Headroom introducerade ocks mnga tittare till genren.

Den japanska manga-skaparen Masamune Shirow skriver ofta i cyberpunk-stil. Hans mest betydelsefulla historier inom genren inkluderar Appleseed, Black Macic M-66 och srskilt Ghost in the Shell, som gjorts till en hyllad anime som p flera niver ifrgastter grnsen mellan liv och simulering. Ghost in the Shell har ocks gjorts till en animeserie fr tv kallad Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Den nyaste uppfljaren till Ghost in the Shell r Mamoru Oshiis anime-film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence frn 2004. Filmen r en av de mest filosofiska historierna relaterade till artificiellt liv. Berttelsen, fylld med historiska och litterra referenser, "har inte synen att vrlden kretsar kring den mnskliga rasen. I stllet kommer den fram till att alla livsformer - mnniskor, djur och robotar - r likvrdiga" (Mamoru Oshii).

Ett frsk att lista film- och tv-verk som kan klassificeras som cyberpunk fljer nedan.

tminstone tv rollspel med namnet Cyberpunk existerar: Cyberpunk 2020, av R. Talsorian Games, och GURPS Cyberpunk, publicerat av Steve Jackson Games som en modul i GURPS-familjen av rollspel. Cyberpunk 2020 designades med William Gibsons verk i tanke, och till viss utstrckning med hans godknnande, till skillnad frn FASAs mhnda mer kreativa instllning i skapandet av spelet Shadowrun (se nedan). Bda de Cyberpunk-titulerade spelen utspelar sig i en nra framtid, dr cybernetik och datorer r nnu mer vanligt frekommande n idag.

Ett annat cyberpunk-RPG r Cyberspace frn Iron Crown[2]. Bolagskorruption r ett vanligt tema i dessa spelventyr. Karaktrerna kringgr ofta lagen, eller ignorerar den fullstndigt. Nyligen har "d20 Open Gaming Movement" kommit med flera nyheter, inklusive Mongooses d20 Cyberpunk och LRG:s Digital Burn.

1990, i en udda sammanstrlning mellan cyberpunk och verklighet, gjorde amerikanska Secret Service en razzia p Steve Jackson Games hgkvarter under Operation Sundevil och beslagtog alla deras datorer. Detta var - hvdade man - fr att boken till GURPS Cyberpunk kunde anvndas fr att beg datorbrott. Det var inte den egentliga huvudorsaken till razzian[kllabehvs] men efter hndelsen var det fr sent fr att ndra p allmnhetens uppfattning om det intrffade. Steve Jackson Games vann senare, med hjlp av det d nyligen grundade Electronic Frontier Foundation, en rttsprocess mot Secret Service.

En av de mer unika tolkningarna av genren kom 1989 i form av spelerien Shadowrun. Hr r det fortfarande en dystopisk, nra framtid som gller, men det inkluderar ven mnga stora element frn fantasylitteratur och fantasyspel, till exempel magi, alver och drakar. Shadowruns cyberpunksidor var till stor del modellerade efter William Gibsons verk, och spelets utgivare, FASA, har anklagats av mnga fr att ha snott Gibsons arbete utan att ens ha citerat honom som en influens. Gibson sjlv rapporteras inte ha varit srskilt imponerad av inkluderandet av fantasyelement i uppenbart derivativa miljelement och berttartekniker som han hade lagt grunden fr. Likvl introducerade Shadowrun mnga personer till genren och r fortfarande populrt n idag bland gamers.

Rollspelet Torg (utgivet av West End Games inkluderade en variant p en cyberpunkmilj (eller "cosm") kallad Cyberpapacy. Denna var ursprungligen en medeltida religis dystopi som undergick en pltslig "Tech Surge". I stllet fr stora bolag eller korrupta regeringar dominerades Cyberpapacy av "False Papacy of Avignon". I stllet fr ett Internet tog sig hackare fram p "GodNet", ett datorsystem fullt av religis symbolik och hem fr nglar, demoner och andra bibliska figurer.

Det finns ven ett svenskt rollspel vrt att nmnas, nmligen Neotech frn NeoGames. Sjlva spelet utgr frn r 2059 d vrlden r i upplsningstillstnd. USA har splittrats i ett blodigt inbrdeskrig, Sibirien har slagit sig fritt frn Ryssland och England har isolerats sig och blivit en diktatur. I mot denna bakgrund, samt flera sjuka hndelser som visar att allt kan kpas fr pengar, utspelar sig Neotech. Stderna har ofta en krna av frfall dr de flesta bor. Runt denna frfallna krna bygger sedan fretagen upp sina bostadsorter, fabriker och kontor dr man lever i hrligt ovetande om det lidande som pgr i stadskrnan. Som brukligt i Cyberpunk har megafretagen i stort sett all makt. De f starka regeringar som finns kvar lever under stndigt tryck frn fretagen som bara vntar p rtt tillflle att f kpa upp landet ifrga. En rolig sidonotering r att Skandinavien framstlls som ett rttvisans och frihetens land, som en sista utpost mot megafretagen.

Svenska ventyrsspel slppte 1989 en uppdaterad version av sitt klassiska rollspel Mutant. Detta "Nya" Mutant (ven knt som Mutant 2089 eller mer informellt "Nya Mutant") var starkt influerat av cyberpunkvgen. Spelvrlden var omgjort till ett mrkt framtidssamhlle dr befolkning lever ihoptrngd i Megacities (jttestora stder) som kontrolleras av megakorporationer (allomfattande storfretag).

Ett annat anmrkningsvrt RPG baserat p cyberpunk r Uplink, skapat av Introversion Software 2002, i vilket spelaren jobbar som en frilansande hackare r 2010 och jobbar fr olika bolag. Uppdragen varierar frn stld av filer frn konkurrerande fretag till det slutliga uppdraget dr spelaren ska frska att antingen frstra Internet eller rdda det frn total frstrelse.

Netrunner r ett samlarkortspel introducerat 1996, baserat p Cyberpunk 2020.

Datorspel har ofta anvnd cyberpunk som en inspirationsklla. De vanligaste av dessa r System Shock-serien, Deus Ex-serien och Shadowrun-videospelen.

En ovanlig undergenre till cyberpunk r steampunk, som utspelar sig i en anakronistisk Viktoriansk milj, men med cyberpunks bleka film noir-vrldssyn. The Difference Engine (av William Gibson och Bruce Sterling) var antagligen den bok som hjlpte till med att bringa denna genre till frgrunden.

En uppkommande genre kallad postcyberpunk fortstter med koncentrationen p datorers effekt, men utan antagandet om dystopi eller betoningen p cybernetiska implantat.

Cyberprep r en term som reflekterar den motsatta sidan av cyberpunk.

Under det tidiga 1990-talet dk biopunk upp, dr namnet r en sammanslagning av bioteknik och punk. Det r en derivativ undergenre som i stllet fr informationsteknik bygger p biologi, det andra dominerande vetenskapliga omrdet vid slutet av 1900-talet. Individer frndras inte med hjlp av mekaniska ting utan genom genetisk manipulation. Paul Di Filippo anses vara den mest framstende biopunk-frfattaren. Exempel p biopunk r filmerna Gattaca och The Island.

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Cyberpunk Wikipedia

For most science fiction aficionados, "cyberpunk" is a sub-genre epitomized by William Gibson's novel, Neuromancer (1984), and the movie Blade Runner (1982). One, furthermore, that popped into existence, climaxed, and surrendered to commercial dilution in the span of a single decade: the '80s. But cyberpunk's influence on literature and pop culture has spread like a high-level computer virus.

The origins of classic cyberpunk literature can be traced to the seminal works of such authors as Alfred Bester (The Stars My Destination [1956originally titled Tiger! Tiger!], The Demolished Man [1951]), Samuel R. Delany (Babel-17 [1966], Nova [1968]), and Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [1968], Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said [1974]). These writers wrote about the evolution of humanity's relationship to culture via technology. Pervasive elements in cyberpunksuch as disillusionment, the fusion of entertainment and politics, the blurring of the artificial and the organic, and rebellion against the systemare commonplace in these earlier writings.

The one-page newsletter Cheap Truth (1983-1986), edited by Bruce Sterling, was the start of cyberpunk as a literary movement. The term was coined by Bruce Bethke, whose short story, "Cyberpunk," was published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, Nov. 1983. The word was popularized by Gardner Dozois in a review of "hot new writers" for the Washington Post in Dec. 1984.

The defining characteristic of these works is the visceral nature of technology, the "cyber" in cyberpunk. It is personal and tangible, part of people's bodies and minds. The border between the organic and the mechanistic is blurred or dissolved, advanced technology integrates with culture, and citizens merge with machines. Instead of holding a position of antagonism and danger or isolated idealization, technology simply is. This techno-phenomenon culminates in "cyberspace," a word that first appeared in Gibson's novelette "Burning Chrome" (1982) meaning an information space within the machine, often more hospitable than the "real" world.

The protagonists are misfits, outlaws, rogues, rebels, and outcasts at odds with an oppressive regimein short, "punks." The heroes (or rather, anti-heroes) tend to be delinquents with an aptitude for manipulating advanced technology, who use their skills to widen the cracks that appear in an overloaded society.

These elements are present in the works published by the core cyberpunksWilliam Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley, Pat Cadigan, and Lewis Shineras demonstrated in Mirrorshades: the Cyberpunk Anthology, edited by Bruce Sterling (1986), sometimes referred to as the "Cyberpunk Bible." They are also in vivid evidence in other authors' works, such as: Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams (1986), Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick (1987), and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992).

One of cyberpunk's stylistic mainstays was visionary passion illustrated by information-packed descriptions and staccato prose. Ironically, this contributed to its transformation and evolution from a purely literary movement. Those who should have been its strongest supporters and fan basethe techno-savvy disaffected youthhad difficulty appreciating the oftentimes convoluted and dense literary style.

What has emerged is a scene that embraces more accessible entertainment media, like moviesThe Terminator (1984), Total Recall (1990), The Matrix (1999)the short-lived Max Headroom (1985) television series, and mainstream magazines like Mondo 2000 and Wired. Some of these post-'80s works are based upon literary cyberpunk (e.g. Johnny Mnemonic [1995]), but the majority of them have simply adopted the mood, imagery, and philosophy of the cyberpunk template (e.g. Lawnmower Man [1992], Strange Days [1995], Dark City [1998]).

It can also be argued that cyberpunk influenced or inspired recent technological advancespersonal computers, virtual reality games, clone research, stem cell applications, genetically engineered animals and crops. While we are a ways from Gibson's Neuromancer world, or the dark future of Blade Runner, as William Gibson himself said: "The future is already here; it's just not evenly distributed."

For further essays, commentary, and insight into all things cyberpunk, these are excellent online communities/resources: The Cyberpunk Project, The Official Cyberpunk Website, and the alt.cyberpunk FAQ.

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Cyberpunk - Issue

From Argentina, Rey Gazu's Cyberpunk is a simple Flash puzzle game disguised as an arresting and involving hacking simulation. Armed with four programs and some intuition, you'll have to sneak into a remote computer guarded by obscure (and not-so-obscure) passwords, as well as by some nasty puzzles.

The game begins when a mysterious message instructs you to "access the overlord terminal and retrieve the datacore". You are faced with what appears to be a window on a computer desktop containing two icons, one for your local computer and one for a remote host, atlantis. Four other icons, your toolbox, are at the bottom of the screen. Begin by clicking the shell icon and connecting to atlantis. Figuring out how to log in is the first of many puzzles ahead.

Analysis: Compared to some of the other entries in the contest, Cyberpunk is actually a fairly inviting and forgiving game... at first. The interface should be intuitive for anyone at all familiar with DOS or UNIX and the goals are usually clear, with plenty of hints. Several amusing easter eggs invite exploration while demonstrating that, despite Cyberpunk's sterile exterior, Gazu is not without a sense of humor. I wonder if he was laughing when he designed the incredibly punishing Hex puzzle near the end of the game?

I found it interesting that, while very different, both runners up dealt with puzzles in the form of simulated computer interfaces. Cyberpunk eschews Thief's exotic and colorful machines for a more familiar, and more believable, command line that does a fine job of tying the game's two larger puzzles together. It's a shame that Cyberpunk ends so abruptly, and I hope that Gazu decides to continue adding more puzzles to his already excellent work.

Jay: What I love best about Cyberpunk is that it seems a whole lot larger than it is. When dropped into the game at the very beginning with nothing but a command line at your disposal, the game gives the impression of being expansive and virtually limitless in possibilities. Closer examination, however, reveals that the commands available are few and quite logical to invoke. Yes, the game does favor anyone with even slight familiarity to DOS or Unix (cat being the Unix command to concatenate the contents of a file, in this case to standard output—the screen), and therefore it may be frustrating, or downright intimidating, to those with command line phobia. That being said, Cyberpunk can be completed with just a few well-placed commands and the solving of two (2) excellent puzzles, both of which require you to dig beneath the surface of what is happening on-screen relative to your actions. The presentation is gorgeous and the technical implementation exceptional. Cyberpunk is clearly one of the best puzzle games of this competition, even though it stretches the "simple puzzle game" idea virtually in all directions. 😉

John: Cyberpunk makes me feel cool. When I'm staring at the opening screen an entire world of possibilities lurks around the corner. With a few simple keystrokes I make things happen. Good things. Hacker-like things. Scanning for networks, cracking passwords, shuffling through file directories and causing computer crashes are only the beginning. The illusion of infinite possibilities is present, yet Cyberpunk follows a remarkably logical formula. So logical, in fact, the answer can sit right in front of you and you won't even realize it. Beyond the raw thrill of solving puzzles through a command line interface, Cyberpunk also features two visual puzzles that are forces to be reckoned with. With the excitement of discovery, the undeniably cool feeling of being a hacker, and lots of little surprises along the way, Cyberpunk is undoubtedly the most unique of our finalists. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put on some really black sunglasses and get back to hacking...

Play Cyberpunk

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Cyberpunk - Walkthrough, Tips, Review - Jay is games

Cyberpunk - R. Talsorian Games Licensed releases by Atlas Games | Interface Magazine Cyberpunk: The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future (1st edition) [BOX SET]

CONTENTS: Welcome to Night City: A Sourcebook for 2013 View From the Edge: The Cyberpunk Handbook Friday Night Firefight. 4 pages of player aids.

1988 ... Michael Pondsmith ... R. Talsorian Games CP 3001 ... ISBN 0937279056

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Version 2.01 of the rulebook was released in 1993, incorporating errata from prior printings and Screamsheets supplement into the text. -Wayne

"The Corporations control the world from their skyscraper fortresses, enforcing their rule with armies of cyborg assassins. On the Street, Boostergangs roam a shattered urban wilderness, killing and looting. The rest of the world is a perpetual party, as fashion-model beautiful techies rub biosculpt jobs with battle armored roadwarriors in the hottest clubs, sleaziest bars and meanest streets this side of the Postholocaust. The Future never looked so bad. But you can change it. You've got interface plugs in your wrists, weapons in your arms, lasers in your eyes, bio-chip programs screaming in your brain. You're wired in, cyberenhanced and solid state as you take it to the fatal Edge where only the toughest and the coolest can go. Because you're CYBERPUNK.

CYBERPUNK: the original roleplaying game of the dark future; a world of corporate assassins, heavy-metal heroes and brain burning cyberhackers, packed with cutting edge technology and intense urban action. Within this box, you'll find everything you need to tackle the mean streets of the 2000's in a game system that combines the best in realistic action and playability.

FEATURING: Rockerboys: Hard-rock heroes fighting for change with music & revolution! Solos: Corporate cybersoldiers more machines than men! Netrunners: Superhot hackers who can crack any Data Fortress! Medias: Hightech reporters going to the wall to get the truth! Nomads: Cyberbiking renegades cruisin' the lethal highways of the Postholocaust! Corporates: Slick business raiders playing the deadly corporate power game! Techies: Masters of cybernetics in the heavy-metal age! Fixers: Streetsmart middlemen who know all the angles! Cops: Maximum lawmen in the big-city jungle!"

1990, 1991, 1993 ... 222, 254(?), 260 pages ... CP 3002 ... ISBN 0937279137

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1990 ... CP 3801 ... ISBN 0937279145 (recycled into a Mekton RPG product)

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2005 ... 305 pages ... CP 4110 ... ISBN 1891933035

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1989 ... 80 pages ... CP 3101 ... ISBN 0937279064

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It's Hardwired.

Based on the best-selling science fiction novel by Walter Jon Williams, the Hardwired Sourcebook is the complete reference guide to one of the cyberpunk genre's most famous works. Written by Hardwired's creator himself, the Sourcebook lets you take your CYBERPUNK campaign into a whole new world of action and adventure. HARDWIRED. Become part of the legend.

A Supplement for R.Talsorian's CYBERPUNK"

1989 ... 94 pages ... CP 3201 ... ISBN 0937279072

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1989 ... 88 pages ... CP 3301 ... ISBN 0937279080

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1989 ... 80 pages ... CP 3401 ... ISBN 0937279102

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Maybe if you'd known this was Blood Razor turf, you woulda been smart enough to stay clear after dark. Maybe there was another way to get crosstown and infiltrate Arasaka's Japantown base, but you didn't know it. Maybe if you'd stopped to download some info from a dataterm before you walked right into the sharp end, you wouldn't be here now, waiting to become a booster's latest mutilation victim...

But you're never gonna know. Not now. You're not getting a second chance.

Because this is NIGHT CITY.

NIGHT CITY. A monster sourcebook containing over 180 jam-packed pages of information on the definitive CYBERPUNK setting! Hit the CONTROLLED URBAN ZONES with 3D maps and detailed, building by building descriptions to match. Each section also includes comprehensive overviews of FLOOR PLANS, PERSONALITIES, ENCOUNTERS and CONTACTS. The FLASHMAPS Section puts you "on the spot" at the hottest restaurants, clubs, and theatres, as well as SCHEDULES, TRANSIT MAPS and AREA VIEWS. the ARTICLES Section interfaces you with background on SECURITY, PEOPLE OF THE CITY, GANGS & TURFMAPS, plus a U.S. 2020 overview!

So, if you're looking for the ultimate dark future urban environment, take a trip to NIGHT CITY. because you may not live to get another chance."

1991 ... 184 pages + fold-out map ... CP 3501 ... ISBN 0937279110

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1992 ... 101 pages ... CP 3601 ... ISBN 0937279129

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1991 ... 96 pages ... CP 3701 ... ISBN 093727917X

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1992 ... William Moss ... 104 pages ... CP 3121 ... ISBN 0937279218

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1991 ... William Moss ... 88 pages ... CP 3111 ... ISBN 0937279185

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1992 ... 80 pages ... CP 3151 ... ISBN 093727920X

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PLUS-CORP WAR SPECIAL REPORT! When two titans collide in the ultimate in hostile business practice, the result is inevitable - Corporate War! Now learn the inside story on the Second Corporate War, with M, A&F's historical and military analysis of both sides in this savage Eastern Pacific conflict."

1992 ... 88 pages ... CP 3161 ... ISBN 0937279242

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Chromebook 2 showcases new electronics, chips, and software; plus bodyware - exotic biosculpting for the Euro-decadent and the Nuvo-riche. It's the cat's meow for those who want to be more than uniquely perfect... or just king of the urban jungle.

Also available for the first time ever: Total Body Conversions the ultimate in cybernetic replacement!

All this and more in this year's Chromebook You've already got the metal, now give it polish and an Edge!"

1992 ... 112 pages ... CP 3181 ... ISBN 0937279298

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1992 ... 144 pages ... RTG CP 3221 ... ISBN 0937279366

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1993 ... 104 pages ... CP 3191 ... ISBN 093727934X

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1993 ... Chris Young & Scott Hedrick ... 120 pages ... CP 3211 ... ISBN 0937279358

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1993 ... 192 pages ... CP 3251 ... ISBN 0937279404

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...and nobody knows it better than the man in the middle, the man who keeps the goods and the info flowing -- the Fixer. In this hot new supplement for everyone's favorite dealmakers, you'll get down to the dark underbelly of Cyberpunk; the "grungy, nervous, jury-rigged, and illegal" milieu of the urban go-between, where Money meets the Street and the real business of 2020 survival begins.

But being a Fixer's more than just shady alleyway deals. Wildside also lets you:

* Dive into the hi-rise world of the financial factors; the backstage manipulations of agents and managers, and the esoteric coinage of the info-bros, with their dataman networks.

* Specialize your Fixer in over a dozen of different ways from high-moving Salesmen and Moneybags to the lowlife Leeches and Go-Betweens.

* Create your own organizations. From setting up and running a "business" to a detailed dissection of the Street environment, Wildside gives you the details; up close and in your face.

Think you were Cyberpunk before? You don't know half, choomba. Now you're lookin' boga, dodgin' the gewalt, and fulfillin' your girl the hard way. Now you're walking the WILDSIDE."

1993 ... Benjamin Wright & Mike Roter ... 96 pages ... CP 3271 ... ISBN 0937279420

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1994 ... 112 pages ... CP 3291 ... ISBN 0937279455

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1995 ... 144 pages ... CP 3421 ... ISBN 0937279676

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1995 ... Derek Quintanar ... 48 pages ... CP 3461 ... ISBN 0937279757

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1997 ... 144 pages ... RT 3491 ... ISBN 0937279854

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1992 ... Scott Mackay ... 144 pages ... AG 5005 ... ISBN 1887801340

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1992 ... Thomas M. Kane ... 30 pages ... AG 5010 ... ISBN 1887801359

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The Chrome Berets features:

- Complete background on the Malagay Islands, a young pacific republic writhing under the twin hells of oppression and revolution. Isn't a tropical vacation just the thing for cyberpunks who've had too much of the big city? - Dozens of non-player characters -- dubious allies, formidable foes, self-interested politicians, and unscrupulous middlemen -- who will interact with the player characters. - An outline of plots, events, and NPC interests that gives the Referee all the information she needs, while judiciously avoiding a prescription of linear adventure. The characters' very goals, to say nothing of the story's resolution, are completely flexible. - KILL OR BE KILLED: a mass-combat system for the Cyberpunk game. It's suitable for large-scale operations that the Friday Night Firefight system in the rulebook can't very well cover. - New military hardware that your cyberpunks may put into action on the island -- maybe even bring home afterward. This source material could be used for any Cyberpunk campaign, anywhere in the world."

1993 ... Thomas R. Kane ... 96 pages ... AG 5025 ... ISBN 1887801375

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1992 ... Stephan Michael Sechi ... 64 pages ... AG 5035 ... ISBN 1887801383

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By 6:15, Arasaka has bought out an entire company--International Defense Alliance--because it owns the Sentinel, the submersible closest to the Eel's last known location.

By 6:24 your cyberpunks are on the Sentinel, and already descending into the Bonin Trench. They must recover Project 5. They don't know what's down there, waiting for them. They will know soon.

Very soon.

The Bonin Horse is a Cyberpunk technothriller, featuring:

Flexible entrances--Player characters may be Arasaka special operatives, crewmembers of a submarine-for-hire, or even stowaways. A new and dangerous adventuring environment--the deep ocean. Relentless pacing--a story of non-stop, heart-pounding action."

1993 ... Eric Heisserer ... 31 pages ... AG 5050 ... ISBN 1887801413

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1994 ... Eric Heisserer ... 48 pages ... AG 5065 ... ISBN 188780143X

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1995 ... Andrew Lucas & Jeff Ranger ... 64 pages ... AG 5070 ... ISBN 1887801448

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In this issue: * "Move On Maggot!!!" Cops walking a tough beat in Night City * Police Gang Profile: The Givers of Pain * Corporation Profile: OTEC Barons of the High Seas * ALSO: Details of the Cyber Psycho Squad by Officer Maddox * Book Reviews: Streetlethal and Vacuum Flowers"

1992 ... Prometheus

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: NEW TIPS ON GAMEMASTERING HUMANITY LOSS RIPPERDOCS WHO THEY ARE AND HOW TO FIND ONE WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKETS MORE CHARACTER BACKGROUND STUFF SKATEBOARDING A NEW SKILL FOR THE STREET ALTERNATE CHARACTER ROLES PLUS: NEW CYBER REVIEWS, CYBERWEAR AND LOTS OF NEWTECH FOR THE MAXIMALLY CYBERED."

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Cyberpunk - R. Talsorian Games - Wayne's Books RPG Reference

These days its difficult to find decent cyberpunk clothing unless you are willing to pay a shitload of money and search through the millions of clothes that have nothing to do with cyberpunk, yet still claim to be. Its a problem with the current dystopian western society weve found ourselves in no terminals to hack into with our brain stem but plenty of clothes that are goth, steampunk, rave or industrial that have little relation tocyberpunk clothing or the cyberpunk attitude. The other option you have is making the clothes yourself but for that you would need to be talented and, for ease, lets assume for the moment that you arent (or if you want to feel better about yourself, lets say you cant build a raid server or port scan companies in Japan at the same time as sewing pfft).

The point is this; you want to go out and you want to change the worlds perception of fashion while at the same time remaining under the radar in the crowd as you get to the club to pick up another unsavoury job from your employer.

In the early days of public internet it was perfectly acceptable for cyberpunks to fit into the almost-cybergoth scene; wearing minimal black clothing, nails painted black and earning money from rich goths willing to pay for a little bit of hacking done from your Windows 98 laptop. This idea isnt too far-fetched it was stolen from reality by the creators of The Matrix.I was doing gigs like this before the film came out while I was visiting the same club they used for the down the rabbit hole scene (Hellfire in Chippendale, Sydney) all while having a high paying job at a software/internet company where I first saw the trailer for The Matrix. I admit; I saw myself more like Lenny from Strange Days totes cooler than anyone from theMatrix films. After this time, if you wore a long black or brown leather jacket people would call out to you, Hey Matrix idiot making you no longer anonymous. Thanks, Matrix you fuckfaces.

Fashion has caught up somewhat since those fucking days in the 90s but the idea of what cyberpunk fashion is has strayed in the public consciousness mostly because people dont understand the cyberpunk ethos or where it comes from. What impresses me are the costumes in cyberpunk films like Total Recall (2013) and, more recently, in games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and especially Remember Me. Nilins costume is outrageously gorgeous.

So how do you track down the ultimate cyberpunk fashion for that specific cyberpunk style? I was getting to that.

Start with the outrageously expensive places like Plastic Wrap (http://www.plastikwrap.com/) and Google cyberpunk clothing to get some ideas of what you would like to wear. Then, hit the markets (yes, I mean real life markets). Theres bound to be several places that you never thought of to go to buy cyberpunk or dystopian clothes because obviously retail is too expensive and buying low quality, overpriced shit online was the only way to get the cool shit. Well you were wrong.

Most young people trying to get a foot in the fashion industry are making some of the coolest shit and selling it at markets to get a leg up in the industry but what that means for you is you can buy awesome unique pieces that ultimately can fuel your dream outfit for your dark corner of our dystopia. I have been blown away at some of the functional and cyberpunkclothesIve been able to find of late in markets in Sydney. Wherever you are in the world there are bound to be similar places, you just need to find out where your local markets (usually in cities) are located.

There is also a heap of cool clothing waiting to be found in second-hand clothing stores. You just gotta look and usually its as cheap as a hooker in Chiba City, Japan Im not kidding.

Remember three things when searching for cyberpunk clothing:

If you just cant find anything outside, here are some potential online sources for decent cyberpunk clothing:

Cryoflesh http://www.cryoflesh.com

While promoting itself as Urban Future Wear theres clearly a lot of goth and rave wear to sift through with some interesting accessories. Reasonably cheaper than most online stores but difficult to put together a full outfit from this one site and still remain true to the cyberpunk ethos.

Cyberdog http://shop.cyberdog.net/

Cyberdog has come a long way since its inception but still focuses more on rave culture than actual cyberpunk clothing. Everything is in pounds so dont forget how expensive that makes everything.

Plastik Wrap/Plastic Army http://www.plastikwrap.com/

Plastik Wrap have been around for a long time and built up their brand and even had some costumes featured in Total Recall 2013 unfortunately this also makes them one of the most expensive brands out there. They have some amazing pieces but use them for reference only.

Eva Zolinar https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZOLNAR/ Via Etsy, Eva Zolinar has been creating some very interesting pieces that fit right into a cyberpunk underground. While some of the more detailed pieces are extremely expensive some of the smaller pieces and accessories are quite cool average out to the price of some of the pieces on cryoflesh.

Futurestate http://www.futurstate.com/

With a much more Industrial sometime borderline steampunk edge Futurestate does have some interesting torso pieces and jackets especially for men again the prices are right up there but its worthwhile for looking at the hoodies and jackets.

Siskatank http://www.siskatank.com/

Very expensive printed clothing.

Immoral Fashion http://www.immoralfashion.com.au/

An Australian fashion site with some amazing pieces and surprisingly low prices. Pants tops and jackets are all high quality from here. Again you are wading through steampunk and goth clothing but its all high quality.

Neurolab (non corporeal clothing) http://www.neurolab-inc.com/blog/en/category/categories/clothes-categories/

If you are fan of Second Life, which I am not, you might want to check out Neurolabs clothing and gear. Warning: this is strictly clothing for your avatar in second life not real life clothing.

There you have it plenty of advice and resources to get yourself going. If you cant find yourself anything to wear above, well, I guess youll have to learn to sew.

Read more:

Where To Get Cyberpunk Clothing | Neon Dystopia

Cyberpunk a short story by Bruce Bethke

Foreword

In the early spring of 1980 I wrote a little story about a bunch of teenage hackers. From the very first draft this story had a name, and lo, the name was--

And you can bet any body part you'd care to name that, had I had even the slightest least inkling of a clue that I would still be answering questions about this word nearly 18 years later, I would have bloody well trademarked the damned thing!

Nonetheless, I didn't, and as you're probably aware, the c-word has gone on to have a fascinating career all its own. At this late date I am not trying to claim unwarranted credit or tarnish anyone else's glory. (Frankly, I'd much rather people were paying attention to what I'm writing now --e.g., my Philip K. Dick Award-winning novel, Headcrash, Orbit Books, 5.99 in paperback.) But for those folks who are obsessed with history, here, in tightly encapsulated form, is the story behind the story.

The invention of the c-word was a conscious and deliberate act of creation on my part. I wrote the story in the early spring of 1980, and from the very first draft, it was titled "Cyberpunk." In calling it that, I was actively trying to invent a new term that grokked the juxtaposition of punk attitudes and high technology. My reasons for doing so were purely selfish and market-driven: I wanted to give my story a snappy, one-word title that editors would remember.

Offhand, I'd say I succeeded.

How did I actually create the word? The way any new word comes into being, I guess: through synthesis. I took a handful of roots --cyber, techno, et al-- mixed them up with a bunch of terms for socially misdirected youth, and tried out the various combinations until one just plain sounded right.

IMPORTANT POINT! I never claimed to have invented cyberpunk fiction! That honor belongs primarily to William Gibson, whose 1984 novel, Neuromancer, was the real defining work of "The Movement." (At the time, Mike Swanwick argued that the movement writers should properly be termed neuromantics, since so much of what they were doing was clearly Imitation Neuromancer.)

Then again, Gibson shouldn't get sole credit either. Pat Cadigan ("Pretty Boy Crossover"), Rudy Rucker (Software), W.T. Quick (Dreams of Flesh and Sand), Greg Bear (Blood Music), Walter Jon Williams (Hardwired), Michael Swanwick (Vacuum Flowers)...the list of early '80s writers who made important contributions towards defining the trope defies my ability to remember their names. Nor was it an immaculate conception: John Brunner (Shockwave Rider), Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange), and perhaps even Alfred Bester (The Stars My Destination) all were important antecedents of the thing that became known as cyberpunk fiction.

Me? I've been told that my main contribution was inventing the stereotype of the punk hacker with a mohawk. That, and I named the beast, of course.

[Note: If you want to find out more about the etymology of cyberpunk -- and quite a few other things, too -- take a look at Bruce's web page. Alternatively, why not just scroll down and read the story itself?]

The snoozer went off at seven and I was out of my sleepsack, powered up, and on-line in nanos. That's as far as I got. Soon's I booted and got--

--on the tube I shut down fast. Damn! Rayno had been on line before me, like always, and that message meant somebody else had gotten into our Net-- and that meant trouble by the busload! I couldn't do anything more on term, so I zipped into my jumper, combed my hair, and went downstairs.

Mom and Dad were at breakfast when I slid into the kitchen. "Good Morning, Mikey!" said Mom with a smile. "You were up so late last night I thought I wouldn't see you before you caught your bus."

"Had a tough program to crack," I said.

"Well," she said, "now you can sit down and have a decent breakfast." She turned around to pull some Sara Lees out of the microwave and plunk them down on the table.

"If you'd do your schoolwork when you're supposed to you wouldn't have to stay up all night," growled Dad from behind his caffix and faxsheet. I sloshed some juice in a glass and poured it down, stuffed a Sara Lee into my mouth, and stood to go.

"What?" asked Mom. "That's all the breakfast you're going to have?"

"Haven't got time," I said. "I gotta get to school early to see if the program checks." Dad growled something more and Mom spoke to quiet him, but I didn't hear much 'cause I was out the door.

I caught the transys for school, just in case they were watching. Two blocks down the line I got off and transferred going back the other way, and a coupla transfers later I wound up whipping into Buddy's All-Night Burgers. Rayno was in our booth, glaring into his caffix. It was 7:55 and I'd beat Georgie and Lisa there.

"What's on line?" I asked as I dropped into my seat, across from Rayno. He just looked up at me through his eyebrows and I knew better than to ask again.

At eight Lisa came in. Lisa is Rayno's girl, or at least she hopes she is. I can see why: Rayno's seventeen--two years older than the rest of us--he wears flash plastic and his hair in The Wedge (Dad blew a chip when I said I wanted my hair cut like that) and he's so cool he won't even touch her, even when she's begging for it. She plunked down in her seat next to Rayno and he didn't blink.

Georgie still wasn't there at 8:05. Rayno checked his watch again, then finally looked up from his caffix. "The compiler's been cracked," he said. Lisa and I both swore. We'd worked up our own little code to keep our Net private. I mean, our Olders would just blow boards if they ever found out what we were really up to. And now somebody'd broken our code.

"Georgie's old man?" I asked.

"Looks that way." I swore again. Georgie and I started the Net by linking our smartterms with some stuff we stored in his old man's home business system. Now my Dad wouldn't know an opsys if he crashed on one, but Georgie's old man--he's a greentooth. A tech-type. He'd found one of ours once before and tried to take it apart to see what it did. We'd just skinned out that time.

"Any idea how far in he got?" Lisa asked. Rayno looked through her, at the front door. Georgie'd just come in.

"We're gonna find out," Rayno said.

Georgie was coming in smiling, but when he saw that look in Rayno's eyes he sat down next to me like the seat was booby-trapped.

"Good morning Georgie," said Rayno, smiling like a shark.

"I didn't glitch!" Georgie whined. "I didn't tell him a thing!"

"Then how the Hell did he do it?"

"You know how he is, he's weird! He likes puzzles!" Georgie looked to me for backup. "That's how come I was late. He was trying to weasel me, but I didn't tell him a thing! I think he only got it partway open. He didn't ask about the Net!"

Rayno actually sat back, pointed at us all, and smiled. "You kids just don't know how lucky you are. I was in the Net last night and flagged somebody who didn't know the secures was poking Georgie's compiler. I made some changes. By the time your old man figures them out, well..."

I sighed relief. See what I mean about being cool? Rayno had us outlooped all the time!

Rayno slammed his fist down on the table. "But Dammit Georgie, you gotta keep a closer watch on him!"

Then Rayno smiled and bought us all drinks and pie all the way around. Lisa had a cherry Coke, and Georgie and I had caffix just like Rayno. God, that stuff tastes awful! The cups were cleared away, and Rayno unzipped his jumper and reached inside.

"Now kids," he said quietly, "it's time for some serious fun." He whipped out his microterm. "School's off!"

I still drop a bit when I see that microterm--Geez, it's a beauty! It's a Zeilemann Nova 300, but we've spent so much time reworking it, it's practically custom from the motherboard up. Hi-baud, rammed, rammed, ported, with the wafer display folds down to about the size of a vid casette; I'd give an ear to have one like it. We'd used Georgie's old man's chipburner to tuck some special tricks in ROM and there wasn't a system in CityNet it couldn't talk to.

Rayno ordered up a smartcab and we piled out of Buddy's. No more riding the transys for us, we were going in style! We charged the smartcab off to some law company and cruised all over Eastside.

Riding the boulevards got stale after awhile, so we rerouted to the library. We do a lot of our fun at the library, 'cause nobody ever bothers us there. Nobody ever goes there. We sent the smartcab, still on the law company account, off to Westside. Getting past the guards and the librarians was just a matter of flashing some ID and then we zipped off into the stacks.

Now, you've got to ID away your life to get on the libsys terms--which isn't worth half a scare when your ID is all fudged like ours is--and they watch real careful. But they move their terms around a lot, so they've got ports on line all over the building. We found an unused port, and me and Georgie kept watch while Rayno plugged in his microterm and got on line.

"Get me into the Net," he said, handing me the term. We don't have a stored opsys yet for Netting, so Rayno gives me the fast and tricky jobs.

Through the dataphones I got us out of the libsys and into CityNet. Now, Olders will never understand. They still think a computer has got to be a brain in a single box. I can get the same results with opsys stored in a hundred places, once I tie them together. Nearly every computer has got a dataphone port, CityNet is a great linking system, and Rayno's microterm has the smarts to do the job clean and fast so nobody flags on us. I pulled the compiler out of Georgie's old man's computer and got into our Net. Then I handed the term back to Rayno.

"Well, let's do some fun. Any requests?" Georgie wanted something to get even with his old man, and I had a new routine cooking, but Lisa's eyes lit up 'cause Rayno handed the term to her, first.

"I wanna burn Lewis," she said.

"Oh fritz!" Georgie complained. "You did that last week!"

"Well, he gave me another F on a theme."

"I never get F's. If you'd read books once in a--"

"Georgie," Rayno said softly, "Lisa's on line." That settled that. Lisa's eyes were absolutely glowing.

Lisa got back into CityNet and charged a couple hundred overdue books to Lewis's libsys account. Then she ordered a complete fax sheet of Encyclopedia Britannica printed out at his office. I got next turn.

Georgie and Lisa kept watch while I accessed. Rayno was looking over my shoulder. "Something new this week?"

"Airline reservations. I was with my Dad two weeks ago when he set up a business trip, and I flagged on maybe getting some fun. I scanned the ticket clerk real careful and picked up the access code."

"Okay, show me what you can do."

Accessing was so easy that I just wiped a couple of reservations first, to see if there were any bells and whistles.

None. No checks, no lockwords, no confirm codes. I erased a couple dozen people without crashing down or locking up. "Geez," I said, "There's no deep secures at all!"

"I been telling you. Olders are even dumber than they look. Georgie? Lisa? C'mon over here and see what we're running!"

Georgie was real curious and asked a lot of questions, but Lisa just looked bored and snapped her gum and tried to stand closer to Rayno. Then Rayno said, "Time to get off Sesame Street. Purge a flight."

I did. It was simple as a save. I punched a few keys, entered, and an entire plane disappeared from all the reservation files. Boy, they'd be surprised when they showed up at the airport. I started purging down the line, but Rayno interrupted.

"Maybe there's no bells and whistles, but wipe out a whole block of flights and it'll stand out. Watch this." He took the term from me and cooked up a routine in RAM to do a global and wipe out every flight that departed at an :07 for the next year. "Now that's how you do these things without waving a flag."

"That's sharp," Georgie chipped in, to me. "Mike, you're a genius! Where do you get these ideas?" Rayno got a real funny look in his eyes.

"My turn," Rayno said, exiting the airline system.

"What's next in the stack?" Lisa asked him.

"Yeah, I mean, after garbaging the airlines . . ." Georgie didn't realize he was supposed to shut up.

"Georgie! Mike!" Rayno hissed. "Keep watch!" Soft, he added, "It's time for The Big One."

"You sure?" I asked. "Rayno, I don't think we're ready."

"We're ready."

Georgie got whiney. "We're gonna get in big trouble--"

"Wimp," spat Rayno. Georgie shut up.

We'd been working on The Big One for over two months, but I still didn't feel real solid about it. It almost made a clean if/then/else; if The Big One worked/then we'd be rich/else . . . it was the else I didn't have down.

Georgie and me scanned while Rayno got down to business. He got back into CityNet, called the cracker opsys out of OurNet, and poked it into Merchant's Bank & Trust. I'd gotten into them the hard way, but never messed with their accounts; just did it to see if I could do it. My data'd been sitting in their system for about three weeks now and nobody'd noticed. Rayno thought it would be really funny to use one bank computer to crack the secures on other bank computers.

While he was peeking and poking I heard walking nearby and took a closer look. It was just some old waster looking for a quiet place to sleep. Rayno was finished linking by the time I got back. "Okay kids," he said, "this is it." He looked around to make sure we were all watching him, then held up the term and stabbed the RETURN key. That was it. I stared hard at the display, waiting to see what else was gonna be. Rayno figured it'd take about ninety seconds.

The Big One, y'see, was Rayno's idea. He'd heard about some kids in Sherman Oaks who almost got away with a five million dollar electronic fund transfer; they hadn't hit a hangup moving the five mil around until they tried to dump it into a personal savings account with a $40 balance. That's when all the flags went up.

Rayno's cool; Rayno's smart. We weren't going to be greedy, we were just going to EFT fifty K. And it wasn't going to look real strange, 'cause it got strained through some legitimate accounts before we used it to open twenty dummies.

If it worked.

The display blanked, flickered, and showed:

I started to shout, but remembered I was in a library. Georgie looked less terrified. Lisa looked like she was going to attack Rayno.

Rayno just cracked his little half smile, and started exiting. "Funtime's over, kids."

"I didn't get a turn," Georgie mumbled.

Rayno was out of all the nets and powering down. He turned, slow, and looked at Georgie through those eyebrows of his. "You are still on The List."

Georgie swallowed it 'cause there was nothing else he could do. Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.

We got a smartcab outside the library and went off to someplace Lisa picked for lunch. Georgie got this idea about garbaging up the smartcab's brain so that the next customer would have a real state fair ride, but Rayno wouldn't let him do it. Rayno didn't talk to him during lunch, either.

After lunch I talked them into heading up to Martin's Micros. That's one of my favorite places to hang out. Martin's the only Older I know who can really work a computer without blowing out his headchips, and he never talks down to me, and he never tells me to keep my hands off anything. In fact, Martin's been real happy to see all of us, ever since Rayno bought that $3000 vidgraphics art animation package for Lisa's birthday.

Martin was sitting at his term when we came in. "Oh, hi Mike! Rayno! Lisa! Georgie!" We all nodded. "Nice to see you again. What can I do for you today?"

"Just looking," Rayno said.

"Well, that's free." Martin turned back to his term and punched a few more IN keys. "Damn!" he said to the term.

"What's the problem?" Lisa asked.

"The problem is me," Martin said. "I got this software package I'm supposed to be writing, but it keeps bombing out and I don't know what's wrong."

Rayno asked, "What's it supposed to do?"

"Oh, it's a real estate system. Y'know, the whole future-values-in-current-dollars bit. Depreciation, inflation, amortization, tax credits--"

"Put that in our tang," Rayno said. "What numbers crunch?"

Martin started to explain, and Rayno said to me, "This looks like your kind of work." Martin hauled his three hundred pounds of fat out of the chair, and looked relieved as I dropped down in front of the term. I scanned the parameters, looked over Martin's program, and processed a bit. Martin'd only made a few mistakes. Anybody could have. I dumped Martin's program and started loading the right one in off the top of my head.

"Will you look at that?" Martin said.

I didn't answer 'cause I was thinking in assembly. In ten minutes I had it in, compiled, and running test sets. It worked perfect, of course.

"I just can't believe you kids," Martin said. "You can program easier than I can talk."

"Nothing to it," I said.

"Maybe not for you. I knew a kid grew up speaking Arabic, used to say the same thing." He shook his head, tugged his beard, looked me in the face, and smiled. "Anyhow, thanks loads, Mike. I don't know how to . . ." He snapped his fingers. "Say, I just got something in the other day, I bet you'd be really interested in." He took me over to the display case, pulled it out, and set it on the counter. "The latest word in microterms. The Zeilemann Starfire 600."

I dropped a bit! Then I ballsed up enough to touch it. I flipped up the wafer display, ran my fingers over the touch pads, and I just wanted it so bad! "It's smart," Martin said. "Rammed, rammed, and ported."

Rayno was looking at the specs with that cold look in his eye. "My 300 is still faster," he said.

"It should be," Martin said. "You customized it half to death. But the 600 is nearly as fast, and it's stock, and it lists for $1400. I figure you must have spent nearly 3K upgrading yours."

Go here to see the original:

Cyberpunk - a short story by Bruce Bethke

SJ Games vs. the Secret Service

On March 1, 1990, the offices of Steve Jackson Games, in Austin, Texas, were raided by the U.S. Secret Service as part of a nationwide investigation of data piracy. The initial news stories simply reported that the Secret Service had raided a suspected ring of hackers. Gradually, the true story emerged.

More than three years later, a federal court awarded damages and attorneys' fees to the game company, ruling that the raid had been careless, illegal, and completely unjustified. Electronic civil-liberties advocates hailed the case as a landmark. It was the first step toward establishing that online speech IS speech, and entitled to Constitutional protection ... and, specifically, that law-enforcement agents can't seize and hold a BBS with impunity.

On the morning of March 1, without warning, a force of armed Secret Service agents accompanied by Austin police and at least one civilian "expert" from the phone company occupied the offices of Steve Jackson Games and began to search for computer equipment. The home of Loyd Blankenship, the writer of GURPS Cyberpunk, was also raided. A large amount of equipment was seized, including four computers, two laser printers, some loose hard disks and a great deal of assorted hardware. One of the computers was the one running the Illuminati BBS.

The only computers taken were those with GURPS Cyberpunk files; other systems were left in place. In their diligent search for evidence, the agents also cut off locks, forced open footlockers, tore up dozens of boxes in the warehouse, and bent two of the office letter openers attempting to pick the lock on a file cabinet.

The next day, accompanied by an attorney, Steve Jackson visited the Austin offices of the Secret Service. He had been promised that he could make copies of the company's files. As it turned out, he was only allowed to copy a few files, and only from one system. Still missing were all the current text files and hard copy for this book, as well as the files for the Illuminati BBS with their extensive playtest comments.

In the course of that visit, it became clear that the investigating agents considered GURPS Cyberpunk to be "a handbook for computer crime." They seemed to make no distinction between a discussion of futuristic credit fraud, using equipment that doesn't exist, and modern real-life credit card abuse. A repeated comment by the agents was "This is real."

Over the next few weeks, the Secret Service repeatedly assured the SJ Games attorney that complete copies of the files would be returned "tomorrow." But these promises weren't kept; the book was reconstructed from old backups, playtest copies, notes and memories.

On March 26, almost four weeks after the raid, some (but not all) of the files were returned. It was June 21, nearly four months later, when most (but not all) of the hardware was returned. The Secret Service kept one company hard disk, all Loyd's personal equipment and files, the printouts of GURPS Cyberpunk, and several other things.

The raid, and especially the confiscation of the game manuscript, caused a catastrophic interruption of the company's business. SJ Games very nearly closed its doors. It survived only by laying off half its employees, and it was years before it could be said to have "recovered."

Why was SJ Games raided? That was a mystery until October 21, 1990, when the company finally received a copy of the Secret Service warrant affidavit at their request, it had been sealed. And the answer was ... guilt by remote association.

While reality-checking the book, Loyd Blankenship corresponded with a variety of people, from computer security experts to self-confessed computer crackers. From his home, he ran a legal BBS which discussed the "computer underground," and he knew many of its members. That was enough to put him on a federal List of Dangerous Hoodlums! The affidavit on which SJ Games were raided was unbelievably flimsy ... Loyd Blankenship was suspect because he ran a technologically literate and politically irreverent BBS, because he wrote about hacking, and because he received and re-posted a copy of the /Phrack newsletter. The company was raided simply because Loyd worked there and used its (entirely different) BBS!

As for GURPS Cyberpunk, it had merely been a target of opportunity ... something "suspicious" that the agents picked up at the scene. The Secret Service allowed SJ Games (and the public) to believe, for months, that the book had been the target of the raid.

The one bright spot in this whole affair was the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In mid-1990, Mitch Kapor, John Barlow and John Gilmore formed the EFF to address this and similar outrages. It's a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the Constitutional rights of computer users. (For more information, look at the EFF web site, or write them at 454 Shotwell St., San Francisco, CA 94110.) The EFF provided the financial backing that made it possible for SJ Games and four Illuminati users to file suit against the Secret Service.

Two active electronic-civil-liberties groups also formed in Texas: EFF-Austin and Electronic Frontiers Houston, which have since merged to become Electronic Frontiers Texas.

And science fiction writer Bruce Sterling turned his hand to journalism and wrote The Hacker Crackdown about this and other cases where the law collided with technology. A few months after it was published in hardback, he released it to the Net, and you can read it online.

In early 1993, the case finally came to trial. SJ Games was represented by the Austin firm of George, Donaldson & Ford. The lead counsel was Pete Kennedy.

And we won. The judge gave the Secret Service a tongue-lashing and ruled for SJ Games on two out of the three counts, and awarded over $50,000 in damages, plus over $250,000 in attorney's fees. In October 1994, the Fifth Circuit turned down SJ Games' appeal of the last (interception) count ... meaning that right now, in the Fifth Circuit, it is not "interception" of your e-mail messages when law enforcement officials walk out the door with the computer holding them.

Originally posted here:

SJ Games vs. the Secret Service

A role-playing game by CD Projekt RED based on the pen and paper RPG known as Cyberpunk.

An upcoming cyberpunk RPG from the makers of Serpent in the Staglands

Following up two years after Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mankind Divided sees Adam Jensen working to thwart a terrorist organization bent on promoting human augmentation. It serves as a prequel to Deus Ex, the first entry in the series.

A sci-fi RPG set during the 'War of Water' on Mars.

An enhanced re-release of Flying Wild Hog's cyberpunk shooter. The Redux version includes new weapons, abilities, and remixed level designs not seen in the original release alongside graphical improvements.

A stylish sci-fi team-based first-person shooter from Blizzard in which players can choose from over 20 "action figure"-esque Heroes, each with their own unique weapons and abilities.

A top-down, cyperpunk shooter from 10tons.

An episodic neo-cyberpunk thriller about former deep-space miner Clara who has to uncover a mystery with her hacking skills and make some tough decisions to find out what happened.

Aerannis is a mission-based stealth action game set in a world of conspiracy and full of action and assassinations.

A real-time, class-based strategy game, set in a cyberpunk open world.

A new Shadowrun CRPG by Harebrained Schemes partially funded through Kickstarter.

A visual novel developed and published by 5pb. Taking place during the first six episodes of the anime series, featuring an original story starring a new male and female protagonist.

Technobabylon is a cyberpunk point-and-click adventure game by Technocrat and Wadjet Eye. The game is set in 2087, in a world of surveillance, drugs and artificial intelligence.

A political thriller stealth game from David Pittman and Minor Key Games. Coming early 2015 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

A spy and espionage themed turn-based tactics game from Klei Entertainment.

Dex is a sidescrolling cyberpunk action/stealth-RPG funded through Kickstarter. Inspired by classic cyperpunk novels, the game lets players explore the hand-drawn city of Harbor Prime.

Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown is a tactical role playing game that was funded using Kickstarter, formerly known as Shadowrun Online.

StarCrawlers is an RPG similar to classic dungeon crawlers but in a futuristic, sci-fi setting.

The episodic sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

A standalone version of Shadowrun Returns's expansion, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, with new quests and areas, and improved combat and UI. Also includes a game editor that allows players to create their own SR adventures and share with others

Read Only Memories is a cyberpunk adventure game focused on the dark side of technology in the year 2064.

A third-person open-world game from Ubisoft, set in a dark alternate version of the US where corporations track and catalog all online behavior over a vast data network. A vigilante group called the Watch_Dogs hacks into this data, using it to hunt criminals.

Strider Hiryu must assassinate Grandmaster Meio in this action-adventure game from Double Helix and Capcom.

An indie cyberpunk themed taxi driving game.

The Director's Cut of Deus Ex: Human Revolution features redone boss battles, improved graphics, A.I. and combat, and all DLC released for the original game. The Wii U version makes use of the controller's screen to allow new features like map notes.

Shadowrun Returns is a turn-based RPG created by Harebrained Schemes.

An RPG Maker game about Kanye West.

Developed by Dontnod Entertainment, Remember Me is a futuristic game set in Neo-Paris. The protagonist Nilin is up against a tyrant company Memorize with the technology to manipulate peoples memory to their will. It is up to Nilin and her friends to fight against Memorize to break the bind it has on society.

Inspired by the sci-fi action movies of the 1980s, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a standalone expansion to 2012's Far Cry 3, switching a modern tropical setting with the neon-covered retro-future of 2007.

A visual novel, intended as a spin-off to Steins Gate. It was written by Naotaka Hayashi once again, as a collaboration with Zero Escape writer Kotaro Uchikoshi.

Continued here:

Cyberpunk Games - Giant Bomb

If you havent seen it yet, heres a link to a very insightful behind-the-scenes material showing all the details and nuances that went into making of the Cyberpunk 2077 debut teaser trailer.

Jan17

City lights, fog, strangers passing by Watch Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the pen-and-paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020 and learn about his inspirations for creating a dystopian metropolis of Night City.

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Jan14

The long-awaited video for Cyberpunk 2077 has finally arrived! You can watch it here in all its glory.

Jan11

Two weeks ago we asked you to share with us your favourite CyberPunk dish.The response was excellent, and there were some succulently lengthy posts. Read more

Dec7

Here at CD Projekt Red we are inspired by many different types of games, not only cyberpunk games. And INSPIRED is the key word here. Taking one feature from game A, another from game B and yet another from game C doesnt mean that final product will be a game of A+B+C quality. There is actually a high chance that if the process of adapting features wasnt done carefully or mixed properly, then the final game will be a disaster the sum of a bunch of things that do not work well together. And no one want to end up with Cyberpunk game like that, right?

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Nov30

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Cyberpunk Blog

Introduction The world of Cyberpunk is a violent, dangerous place, filled with people who'd love to rip your arm off and eat it. The traditional concepts of good and evil are replaced by the values of expedience-you do what you have to do to survive. If you can do some good along the way, great. But don't count on it. Individual selves trying to survive, maintain control and even to preserve honor and dignity in a threatening world. The dominant human emotions are greed and hatred. Positive emotions arise from experiencing. Strive for experiences : "It's the question that drives us, Neo." Aesthetic style permeates everyday life and high and low cultures implode in a commodity universe. In the future world of cyberpunk the Modern world has not died but ruthless capitalist-modernists still economically dominate the world of cyberpunk. What is human identity if it's programmable ? The rules : 1) Style over Substance. 2) Attitude is Everything. 3) Always take it to the Edge. 4) Break the Rules. About Few people still play Cyberpunk 2020. His publisher hasn't released new sourcebooks for ages and the old ones accuse their age. I attempt through this website to keep alive the genre. It gather an incalculable amount of knowledge gleaned from many websites (see credits). Similarities with these sites are obvious but there are hundreds of hours of work to correct errors and inconsistencies, rewrite parts, edit drawings, translating and above all recast it in a interface in PHP/MySQL. Last update : January 07, 2015 Credits Cyberpunk 2020 is a registered trademark of R.Talsorian Corporation Some from SDEN, Blackhammer Cyberpunk Project, Datafortress 2020, Serena Dawn Spaceport and various others websites. Some artworks come from Masamune Shirow, Talsorian Games, Wizards of the Coast and various sources. Artworks are credited by name (example : CMax_-_Bandolero.jpg artwork from CMax...) All original material are properties of their respective owners.

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Cyberpunk 2021