The world of Cyberpunk 2077: This is what awaits you - inspiration, backgrounds and more
Table of contents
1 The birth of the cyberpunk genre 2 Cyberpunk 2020 or: How the hell could the author foresee that ?! 3 Setting and mood: The dystopian cosmopolitan 4 The silver fist of the rebellionThe birth of the cyberpunk genre
First the basics: The word "cyberpunk" describes not only the world of the new game, but a whole sci- Fi genre. As a general rule, it is probably a cyberpunk story when sparkling high-tech meets dirty street canyons; a dystopian world ruled by money, permeated by cynicism and populated by ordinary people. Here outsiders make their way in the shadow of the overpowering group company by using their muscles or hacking skills at the service of the highest bidder. People's lives are becoming more and more modern - but by no means better.Even if there is no clear starting point, William Gibson and his novel "Neuromancer" from 1984 are considered the founders of the cyberpunk genre. After the novel received all the major sci-fi awards in its year of publication, other authors sat at their desks and emulated Gibson. Interesting: Neuromancer introduced terms such as "cyberspace", which are still firmly anchored in common linguistic usage today!
Everyday life in a cyberpunk setting is dominated by high technology, which seamlessly merges into the misery of a suppressed, almost stunned population. (1) Source: CD Projekt Films like the anime Akira (1988) and the feature film Blade Runner (1982) are also extremely influential. Both are based on books or manga - but it was the film adaptations that really got the genre going. However, if we had to pinpoint a single point in time when the word cyberpunk was born, it would be a short story aptly named "Cyberpunk" by Bruce Bethke (1980). As always, we will of course only list some of the most important pioneers of the genre: The books "Dreams of Flesh and Sand" by William Thomas Quick (1988), "Hardwired" by Walter Jon Williams (1986) and the film "Die Ratterschlange" by John Carpenter (1981) are also cyberpunk giants. We're excited to see your favorite inspirations!
Cyberpunk 2020 or: How the hell could the author foresee this ?!
If we trace back where Cyberpunk 2077 got its background and name such as "Night City" or its typical street slang, we end up with an inconspicuous table role game from 1988: "Cyberpunk" was set in the distant future of 2013. Two Years later, "Cyberpunk 2020", the most popular version of the P&P game to date, expanded the history of Night City and introduced some important concepts: The terms "samurai" or "solos" were coined and it was established that cybernetic limbs have a strong influence on the psyche of their wearer - with every piece of meat that the street samurai removes, it loses part of its soul. If you leaf through the role-playing system, you discover downright creepy parallels to our year 2020: The authors foresaw things like smartphones, tablets, international megacorporations, the trade in personal data and rapid urbanization. Other concepts, like the "screemsheets" (a daily faxed newspaper) or public "internet telephones", seem rather amusing these days.Interesting: Co-author Mike Pondsmith admitted in an interview that he was only years old read after the release of Cyberpunk Neuromancer. The main inspirations for the setting were the film Blade Runner and the aforementioned novel Hardwired - whose writer Walter Jon Williams also worked on the role-playing game!
Johnny Silverhand is such a legendary figure that he is a mixture of Robin Hood and Elvis Presley is the same - at least in people's minds. Source: CD Projekt
When the third edition of Cyberpunk appeared at the end of 2005, the date changed to the year 2030 and the background story continued. The fans, however, spurned the sequel and remained loyal to Cyberpunk 2020. One of the reasons for this was that the setting of the new edition drifted significantly in the direction of pulp sci-fi and lost its dark, down-to-earth roots. In addition, absolutely absurd design decisions were made: The artwork of the books consists of Ken and Barbie dolls with plastic assault rifles, which were provided with a green filter and draped against a city background. You don't believe us? Take a look at the pictures and try not to smile.
The toy doll artwork of the third edition of the table role game by Cyberpunk still makes the RPG community smile. Source: CD Projekt The role-playing game had a spectacular restart at Gencon 2019, where the new "Cyberpunk Red" project was presented. Now finally in the year 2077 and officially supported by CD Projekt Red, the role-playing game has taken the RPG community by storm and has been sold out regularly since then. And the best? There are already two extensions in the works. Good news for pen-and-paper fans!
Setting and mood: The dystopian cosmopolitan
Anyone who enters Night City as an armed and ready-to-go street samurai (also called "Bosozuki") is moving through a microcosm of the entire world. Instead of dividing itself into different countries of origin and individual districts, Night City eats its residents and practically mixes them up to form a nation of its own: on the street, different cultures blend into a chimera, as for the genre typical, borrowing words from all languages of the world and giving them a new meaning. Do you remember our sentence at the beginning? "Null persp" is an abbreviation for "No need to sweat", while "Choomba" or "Chombatta" Neo-African slang for “friend” or “family member.” A “netrun” means to chop, a “weefle” is an incompetent hacker and an “apogee” is a runner who is at the top of his or her performance has reached. As in Bladerunner, many cyberpunk street slang words are borrowed from Asia: For example, "Bakutos" are gamblers who, with a lot of bad luck, might become "bhikkhus" - mendicants who exist outside of society.Mit "Cyberpunk Red" puts the table role game on a new start, which is just as gloomy as its video game template - so it comes full circle. Source: CD Projekt Interesting: "Chew Two" (CHOOH2) is the name given to the synthetic alcohol with which the vehicles in Cyberpunk 2077 drive. If in doubt, the wheat from which the fuel is obtained (Triticum vulgaris megasuavis) can even be eaten! The pure methane fuel of 2020 has now been discontinued, as have all types of fossil fuels. Speaking of society: Every decent citizen in Night City has a "Single Identification Number" or "SIN" for short. Whoever is in the system receives all the advantages of a modern society, but has to cope with the fact that the corporations know at all times what they are doing, buying, eating and thinking - the SIN is both a key and a chain. The residents of Night City, in the truest sense of the word, are "SIN-less", on the other hand, move freely through the city without the yoke of corporations and slip through gaps in the system. However, the disadvantage of a SINless existence is that you do not exist. Anyone who gets into trouble with the police can be prepared for the absence of arrests and the lavish use of force.
The police itself has been privatized and is firmly in the hands of the corporations. Read that again: There are no state police in Night City! Above all, the powerful Arasaka Corporation dominates the private security market, which makes encounters with law enforcement officers an intimidating experience. Black armored guardsmen yell at you through voice-changer helmets and use SIN-less residents as target practice for their high-tech assault rifles. This makes the police practically the strongest and best-equipped gang in town - it is practical that they are just as corrupt as their criminal competitors.
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"Where's Johnny?" You have probably seen this sentence in the images of Cyberpunk 2077. If not, pay attention to one thing: it is in the background of almost every trailer on a wall or a bridge pillar. But who is Johnny Silverhand and why is he so important - apart from the fact that he is played by Keanu Reeves?Johnny Silverhand was originally called Robert John Under and served as G.I. in the Central American conflict in 2003; a war of aggression waged by the USA against the South American states. However, John was so disgusted by the brutality and corruption of his government that he deserted and fled to Night City, where he built up an existence under a new name - he took the street name Johnny Silverhand through his prosthesis acquired during the war. An impulsive veteran severely traumatized by the war, Johnny took up the fight against the megacorporations and spread his message the only way he knew: his music. The band "Samurai" (whose name also adorns V's jacket) achieved worldwide fame and Johnny in particular slowly but surely became a symbol of rebellion. The band broke up in 2008, but that didn't stop Johnny from embarking on a promising solo career. The rock star's life was set to change drastically in 2013, however.
Johnny Silverhand is such a legendary figure that he is a cross between Robin Hood and Elvis Presley - at least in people's minds. Source: CD Projekt Johnny's friend Alt Cunningham was torn from Johnny's arms by the guardsmen of the Arasaka Corporation in a brutal kidnapping. The aim of the group was to put the brilliant net runner on the "soul killer"; a piece of software that would allow the corporation to download the minds of corporate enemies and kill their bodies. Johnny's liberation failed and Cunningham's consciousness was integrated into the mainframe of Arasaka by the Soulkiller. But Johnny was a hardened war veteran. He would save what was left of Alt.
While the fourth corporate war raged in the background, Johnny broke into Arasaka headquarters one more time. However, when he met the heavily modified cyborg Adam Smasher, Silverhand finally found a worthy opponent. Adam emptied the magazine of an assault rifle in Johnny's chest and was only interrupted in his bloodlust by an attack by a second corporation: A bomber from the Militech Corporation devastated the Arasaka HQ. Johnny's body was never found.
Johnny Silverhand is such a legendary figure that he is a cross between Robin Hood and Elvis Presley - at least in people's minds. Source: CD Projekt
"Wake up, Samurai. We have a city to burn."
This brings us to the point when you enter the scene with V. As everyone knows by now, Johnny Silverhand will accompany you as a "digital ghost", often expressing his opinion and now and then even talking to you via hologram. Before you jump on the Johnny train with a loud hoot, consider the following: Johnny Silverhand is a driven man. As long as Asaraka is destroyed and his girlfriend is freed, he doesn't care who or what falls by the wayside. Or as Johnny would say, "We have a city to burn." It is up to you whether you trust Johnny or not.Regardless of which of the three paths in life you take: V lives in a world that wants to see him dead. Not because the world itself is evil, but because it has long since ceased to function any other way. Night City is a beast of shiny corporate towers, wage slaves and animalistic gangs. And now, to top it all off, you are dealing with the spirit of a legendary runner. So grab your Dorphs, you jocked Crystal Jockeys. Keep your Biomon close to you, take care of your Eddies and give the corpos a good load of Trip-Six. See you in the street.
