Cyberpunk narratives frequently scrutinize the implications of unfettered technological progress and rampant capitalism, forewarning a future fragmented by socioeconomic divides. The genre often delves into complex social dynamics, offering a stark reflection of our current world through a dystopian lens. By exploring the ethical and existential quandaries of a high-tech world, cyberpunk remains an ever-evolving genre. Cyberpunk doesn’t just predict the future; it offers a mirror to our present fascinations and fears About technology. Our perception is constantly challenged as we consider the impact of technology on the human condition.
The birth of cyberpunk is difficult to pin down, though William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) is often cited as, if not the first cyberpunk novel, one that was very close to the beginning and seminal in its importance. Akira, a popular cyberpunk graphic novel, was first published in Japan in 1982, followed shortly after by Ghost in the Shell in 1989. Interestingly, it’s not uncommon to see a kind of begrudging cooperation between the two spheres of society. Even though the megacorporations bitcoin wallet with the most currency bitcoin reddit introduction seek to shut down rebels and cultural insurgents, they’re also aware that these people are necessary to keep cash flowing, solve problems, and gain insight into the lower classes. Yes, cyberpunk frequently intersects with other genres, such as fantasy and horror, to create rich, hybrid narratives that explore a wide range of possibilities within speculative fiction. As we forge ahead, we’re excited to witness and analyze how cyberpunk will continue to unfold in literature, film, and beyond, constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual spectacle.
Society and government
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology. Another subgenre is “biopunk” (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology) from the early 1990s, a derivative style building on biotechnology rather than informational technology.
The “high tech, low life” concept of a cyberpunk world has been popularized by comics, films, animes, and books of the same genre. Writers like Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Katsuhiro Otomo, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, and many others in the 70s and 80s introduced different characteristics. Thin neon city lights, electronic music, dark streets, cyborgs, holograms, rugged and vibrant clothing style, drug syndicates, cramped apartments, illegal tech markets, and a broke society) — those are the tell-tale of a cyberpunk world that later became symbols of the genre. Cyberpunk protagonists are typically rebels, hackers, reluctant heroes clinging to individuality in a world where invasive control is the norm. Unsurprisingly, many see cyberpunk as more than just an artistic current, but rather as a social critique.
- Cyberpunk often incorporates current societal issues, such as data privacy, corporate governance, and artificial intelligence ethics, into its storylines, offering a speculative lens on potential futures.
- Some of William Gibson’s short stories were even made into movies, with Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and New Rose Hotel (1998) (they were box office failures).
- The Twitter account of Dear Esther developer The Chinese Room accused the game’s marketing of presenting women in a sexist manner, and CD Projekt Red recently tweeted a transphobic joke from its own Twitter account.
- The typical cyberpunk setting—as depicted in “Cyberpunk 2077”—is a neon-soaked metropolis where life is cheap, technology has penetrated the very bodies of its inhabitants and anything is available for the right price.
- As we forge ahead, we’re excited to witness and analyze how cyberpunk will continue to unfold in literature, film, and beyond, constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual spectacle.
Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, for example, saw characters spending time in the Metaverse, a virtual reality environment that spanned an entire virtual planet, where they could meet, talk, race motorcycles, exchange information, and do just about anything else you can do in real life. Snow Crash was released in 1992, long before Second Life, other virtual worlds, and the popularization of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, all of which echo the fictional Metaverse. Popular series include the Megami Tensei series, Kojima’s Snatcher and Metal Gear series, Deus Ex series, Syndicate series, and System Shock and its sequel. Other games, like Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and the Matrix series, are based upon genre movies, or role-playing games (for instance the various Shadowrun games). The film Blade Runner (1982) is set in 2019 in a dystopian future in which manufactured beings called replicants are slaves used on space colonies and are legal prey on Earth to various bounty hunters who “retire” (kill) them.
What Is Cyberpunk? An Introduction to the Sci-Fi Genre
Its influence leaked outward, and the genre mutated in a dozen different directions as it entered the mainstream. And for a genre where one of the key tenets is — to quote the rulebook of Cyberpunk 2020 — “break the rules,” that’s not necessarily a good thing. Invest in a variety of skills and perks to build a playstyle that fits your character. Use upgradeable weapons, hacking skills, and body-enhancing implants to become the best hired gun in town. Engage in guns-blazing combat, strike down enemies from a distance, or stealth your way through carefully guarded locations.
Style and ethos
V can allow Johnny to take over and stage the attack with Rogue, suppress Johnny and mount the attack with their nomad allies from the Aldecaldos clan, mount the attack solo, or simply commit suicide. If V chooses to make a deal with Hanako instead, they convince the Arasaka board that Yorinobu killed Saburo, and oust Yorinobu as CEO, with V defeating Smasher. Hanako honors her deal with V and, after inserting an engram of Saburo into Yorinobu to avenge Saburo’s murder, has Arasaka doctors extract the Relic from V. In all cases, it is revealed that the damage to V’s body is irreversible. Depending on player choice, V either requests Arasaka upload them into Mikoshi until a suitable host body is found, remains in their body with an uncertain life expectancy, or allows Johnny to take over permanently (only achievable through attacking Arasaka).
Showcase your vision with elegant shot lists and storyboards.
The films Johnny Mnemonic5 (1995) and New Rose Hotel67 (1998), both based on short stories by William Gibson, flopped commercially and critically. Other cyberpunk films include RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990), Hardware (1990), The Lawnmower Man (1992), 12 Monkeys (1995), Hackers (1995), and Strange Days (1995). Some cyberpunk films have been described as tech-noir, a hybrid genre combining neo-noir and science fiction or cyberpunk. A large part of this came via Japan, as Akira inspired a wave of cyberpunk-infused manga and anime, including Battle Angel Alita, Serial Experiments Lain, Cowboy Bebop and, perhaps most famously, Ghost in the Shell, which in turn inspired the Wachowskis to make The Matrix. Meanwhile in games, Deus Ex laid the foundations that CD Projekt Red seems to be building on with Cyberpunk 2077. And Hideo Kojima, who had created the cyberpunk game Snatcher a decade earlier, took elements like cybernetics and artificial intelligence and applied them to the hugely successful spy game Metal Gear Solid.
As Bruce Sterling, the movement’s principal theorist and provocateur, put it, the genre blends “low life and high tech”. The typical cyberpunk setting—as depicted in “Cyberpunk 2077”—is a neon-soaked metropolis where life is cheap, technology has penetrated the very bodies of its inhabitants and anything is available for the right price. Cyberspace, body modification and inhabitants who talk like characters in a Raymond Chandler novel make an ideal setting for page-turning pulp fiction. Unrestrained capitalism (giant corporations usually outmuscle governments) and virtual how to buy woo reality give space for political commentary and musings on the nature of experience and reality. And in 2020, in which a handful of giant corporations really do dominate cyberspace and computers really have taken over the world, the themes it explores have become the themes people worry about in the real world. “Snow Crash”, an influential cyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson, is itself partly a humorous send-up of the genre’s tropes.
In Neuromancer, having a health-monitoring implant is just another reason you might get mugged if you step into the wrong part of town. In Netrunner, body augmentation is something a corporation can force on its employees to improve performance. It looked like cyberpunk might have run its course — as early as 1993, a Wired magazine headline proclaimed how to buy on binance exchange “Cyberpunk R.I.P.” — but what followed, as the millennium raced to its conclusion, made for possibly the genre’s biggest moment in the spotlight.