In the inaugural post of this “game design diary” I promised to write about why I chose to develop a dice game that has a cyberpunk theme.

This is that post.

I love the genre of cyberpunk. Whether it’s books, films, anime, graphic novels. I love it.

As I’ve mentioned many times in the past I was a teenager during the 80’s. I grew up with the home computer boom. I was part of the home computer boom.

I learnt to code on my ZX-81 and Oric-1. Later on a PDP-11 and BBC Model B’s at college.

But that was me. I spent a lot of time bathed in the glow of the cathad ray tube of my tv typing away.

It can’t be stressed how amazing and wonderful a time this was. Every month there seemed to be a new home micro released trying to tempt you to part with your money. Computer games were exploring what a game was. Not only mechanically and gameplay wise but also theme wise.

I loved the movies Wargames and Tron.

Whilst studying in Brighton I came across William Gibson and cyberpunk in the form of his novel Neuromancer.

I loved the dystopian setting of mega corporations, hackers as lone wolf guns for hire.

Then I stumbled upon the Shadowrun series of books. Wait cyberpunk with fantasy elements! Wow!

Then I came across anime and manga, particularly the amazing cinematic and ground breaking Akira. Then there was Ghost in the Shell.

Hackers hit the cinema.

More recently (the last ten years or so) I came across Netrunner and the Android universe. Netrunner captured the whole cyberpunk genre so well, especially the runner (aka hacker) going up against the mega corporations and hacking their servers. It was fun having to play both sides in a game.

We have had some cool tv series and movies such as Tron Legacy, and Mr Robot. Black Hat was more action than hacker.

Somehow cyberpunk is meant to be this dystopian future with mega corporations running things. Law unto themselves. But somehow that seems to be now! I love how it has the little guy, usually a hacker as the hero fighting against the corporate big guy.

Inside me is this counter culture, anti-establishment rebel. Cyberpunk feeds that inner me.

So that is why I’m going with a cyberpunk theme.