this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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Fiction
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@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction
Capitalism? No thanks. Good cyberpunk is anti-capitalist. It's about how technology without ethics can make social inequality worse. The wealthy use it to cement their power and perpetuate the status quo, while marginalized communities are kept that way. The PCs want to use it to break the current system. They work against their enemies, not for them.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction
Cyberpunk should be relevant. It is a study of where our society could go in the coming years. The issues faced by people in a cyberpunk setting should have some relevance to issues faced by the audience, even if they're not the same. Retro future, present problems.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction
Cybernetics are not inherently good or bad. Like most tech, what matters is how it's used. The problem is that cybernetics often serves the needs of capital rather than people; Any alienating or dysphoric effects come from being reshaped into some corporation's property. There is no mechanic that suggests wearing a prosthetic makes you less human, or prone to mental illness; instead, the tradeoff of augments is adding to your financial burdens.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction
Cyberpunk is not just an aesthetic. Cyberpunk shouldn't just be about the neon-lit adventures of a group of trenchcoat futurists as they amass wealth and power through violence. Hard Wired Island is about a group of marginalized people using technology to try to change the status quo.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction
Many perspectives. Good cyberpunk examines how technology and power intersect in many different communities. As an orbital space station, the city of Grand Cross can and should include perspectives from all over the world. The setting includes cyborgs and androids, but they're not stand-ins for minorities; they have their own identities and issues, which can change depending on how they intersect with other things.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction this is a take on Cyberpunk I could actually get behind. I still would like them to go a step further, to imagine a world past the corporate capitalism, but as you can see _they are building it_ and they are aware of so many things within their society.
@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction also a review from the Gnome Stew: https://gnomestew.com/hard-wired-island-review/