Cyberpunk has been present for a long time, but in the last few years it has drawn more and more attention due to the release of a series of games in the genre.
But what is Cyberpunk? What does it have to do with TRPGs? Why now?
If you would like to find out, then this is your chance to explore this astonishing culture. Sit down, relax and open your mind to a futuristic universe!
What is Cyberpunk?
For all of you who don’t already know, Cyberpunk was originally born as a sci-fi subgenre, characterized by dystopian futuristic settings, where advanced technology and science are the normality of an urban world.
Nowadays, Cyberpunk is a whole culture, it’s a universe of games, paintings, music and many other types of art involved.
If you’ve ever felt like there’s a special beauty in nights with tall buildings, full of neon lights, rain, advanced technology or synthesized 80s music, then this is the place for you! Even though not everyone has this view on cyberpunk, (having experienced this universe for a long time) it’s safe to say that a lot of people in the Cyberpunk culture are strongly drawn to the quasi retrofuturistic nostalgia of the high-tech, low-life scenarios portrayed in the 80s movies and books. But still, even today it is constantly evolving.
“Okay but, what does this have to do with TRPGs?”
Well, like I said, Cyberpunk has been present all along…
Cyberpunk 2020
It’s finally the year Mike Pondsmith envisioned. Cyberpunk 2020 (besides being a masterpiece) is a tabletop role-playing game published in 1990, designed by Mike Pondsmith and inspired by another astounding piece of art: Hardwired, a truly beautiful Cyberpunk novel from 1986.
It’s not just recommended, it’s a must for every Cyberpunk fan or newcomer out there. And, as you may already know, yes this RPG has something to do with the upcoming video game…
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is an upcoming video game from CD Projekt RED that is not just inspired by Cyberpunk 2020, but it’s actually being co-created with Mike Pondsmith himself!
As the developers have shown over and over, Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a game that’s all about choices, just like with tabletop RPGs. The creators were actually players and fans of the old Cyberpunk 2020, and now they’re trying to re-incorporate their experience in the form of an extremely highly expected video game.
So, if you’re also curious about how the video game turns out, I strongly suggest you pick it up, because being DMs, this will most definitely help us bring new ideas to our storyline branches creation, based on our players’ choices.
But that’s not all…
Cyberpunk Red
Apparently Mike Pondsmith got just as excited as us after seeing all the attention the Cyberpunk genre is getting, so he decided to create a new edition of his old Cyberpunk game: Cyberpunk Red.
As of now, we don’t exactly know the release date of this game, but it seems like it’s going to take place in June 2020!
There will be a new core rulebook with new artists, and like its publisher R. Talsorian Games states: “The art will be full color and on par with any modern RPG.”
…BUT! Even though we have to wait until around June for this to fully come out, they have already released “The Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit”, which is a starter box that contains essential rules, world lore, pregenerated characters, an adventure, Screamsheets, dice, and more.
This is perfect for people who just can’t wait (like us) and now are really having a blast with this release!
Cyberconclusion
The universe of Cyberpunk is extremely rich, there’s video games, TRPGs, music like synthwave or retrowave, beautiful audio ambiences, astonishing visual art… and just like our universe, it’s only expanding, which is perfect for people interested in this beautiful culture.
This year is full of surprises, as we’re getting not only one but two potential Cyberpunk masterpieces in the same year! A year that is special for being the one Mike Pondsmith envisioned, and only one year after the story of Blade Runner took place (what?, I didn’t mention Blade Runner before? Go watch both of the movies now!)
Today, Cyberpunk is all about what we now believe is going to be true in a near future (theories about AI control? Anyone?). Yes, it is intriguing that our near future is always portrayed as an unwanted scenario, but then again, it also shows us that the best heroes are the ones who can thrive even in the worst dystopias, where there’s beauty even in the chaos.
This humble post is dedicated to Rutger Hauer, as we know he also was very fond of the Cyberpunk theme. Rest in peace legend!
[…] we know Cyberpunk 2077 is a videogame, but as we mentioned in this post, its core gameplay mechanic revolves around decision making and exploring, and just like classic […]