I was a huge fan of the original game from R. Talsorian and actually ended up writing for one of the Chromebook collections. If the video game comes close to capturing the feel of the trailer it's going to be great.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Militech Crusher
Harrison Krix brings us another amazing creation- the Militech Crusher from the in-development Cyberpunk video game. The prop is based on the design from the teaser video for the game. That in turn was based on artwork from the old pen and paper Cyberpunk:2020 RPG.
I was a huge fan of the original game from R. Talsorian and actually ended up writing for one of the Chromebook collections. If the video game comes close to capturing the feel of the trailer it's going to be great.
I was a huge fan of the original game from R. Talsorian and actually ended up writing for one of the Chromebook collections. If the video game comes close to capturing the feel of the trailer it's going to be great.
That’s an outstanding build. That aside, some things mark a certain quaint obsolescence in the trailer (the Bladerunner and Judge Dredd lineage is highly visible) – the 1980s style ASCII monitor typing with the flashing cursor (it’s pretty nostalgic for me) and the fact that the Crusher still uses cased ammo. Even the US realized decades back that caseless loads were the way to go, but put full development on hold as it would require a retool and rearm for the weapon system. Hopefully by 2077, about a hundred years after caseless was being considered, they might have spent a credit or two to developing something nearly as modern as the biotechs they are fighting. Maybe even the 1840s Volcanic rocketball ammo, updated later to the gyrojet of the 1960s would be nice in 2077 rather than a shotgun.
ReplyDeleteMind you the 80s was a great time for movies, for RPGs and for cyberpunk. Remember Max Headroom? Ultimately things turned out differently and actual field technology fooled us as to what was (is) deployed. Actually I was more of a George Alec Effinger’s, Marid Audran series fan when it comes to cyberpunk. But then again first person shooters are 80’s too and who didn’t own a variant of Doom back then.
@ CoastConFan
ReplyDeleteI'd be the last one to argue that Cyberpunk had, and apparently still has, more than it's fair share of cheese.
My two favorite PnP RPG's are Cyberpunk and Traveller, both science fiction games that suffer from having their "futuristic" tech base become obsolete within the life of the game.
I loved the Marid series. The CP supplement based on it was one of the best they ever did.
I’ve got to agree with you, GDW’s Traveller is an old traveler of a game that is still being played today. Modding the game was pretty much taken for granted, but the only thing I really didn’t care for was the long and time consuming character generation system (which after three hours of generating your character could die in generation) – but folks just got around it with their own rules. Modifying is a major part of RPGs and one that allows changes easiest is one that will probably stay around too; perhaps as long as Traveller. Plus Traveller spawned a lot of support books and scenarios that really helped its appeal for those unequipped to create their own.
ReplyDeleteAbout six months ago I got drawn into a quick game (pre-rolled characters) at one of our monthly local game days. I am glad it is still around since it is one of the few survivors from the late 70s. I had a good time playing, because obsolete futures are sometimes. Besides, you really can’t have epic space opera without a chunk of cheddar in the mix.
Your point about technology in games not aging too well is pretty much underlined with the computers in the spaceship combat game by GDW (I’ve forgotten the name) about that same time as Traveller, where the computer could only handle one command at a time being an integral part of your space tactics. If they could have only looked two years into the future of computing, beyond the 8085 platform, ah well but that was science fiction then. You know with all the recent steampunk spin, I’m surprised that Space 1889 hasn’t made a big comeback, but then again, I’m out of the loop.