Cyberpunk - a future in the future

I still remember reading my first piece of Cyberpunk. It was Neuromancer by William Gibson and the thing that stays with me to this very day is the opening line

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

Cyberpunk has evolved from its genesis in Blade Runner (the film by Ridley Scott, 1982 which was loosely based upon Philip K. Dick's book; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968) and the Sprawl trilogy by Gibson and continues its evolution today, and beyond. It is alive and well in many guises but particularly in the form of Shadowrun.

Shadowrun - Cataylst Game Labs

Shadowrun began life in 1989 as a tabletop roleplaying game, developed and published by FASA Corporation and continue today in its 5th edition (published by Catalyst Game Labs), remaining a popular choice in roleplaying circles.

It made the jump into cyberspace in 1993...

Shadowrun SNES box

Shadowrun SNES start screen

In 1993, Beam Software developed Shadowrun as an action RPG video game for the SNES.
In 1994, BlueSky Software developed Shadowrun for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
In 1996, Compile developed the game for the Sega Mega-CD.
In 1997, a Collectable Card Game was also developed that gained acclaim through the awards it won.
In 2007, FASA Interactive developed a FPS version for XBOX 360/PC (via Microsoft) as a multiplayer online game - it is outside of the official Shadowrun timeline.

Shadowrun Returns logo

Shadowrun Returned in 2013, it did exactly that! It let Shadowrun return; on Windows & OSX and then on IOS & Android. Harebrained Schemes, a company headed by Jordan Weisman, the creator of the Shadowrun tabletop roleplaying game, Kickstarter'd it into existence.

Shadowrun Returns desktop

In its new incarnation it got an 8/10 from GamesTM and a 'feel like Shadowrun Returns is only going to grow in value as time goes on' to propel it into the future.

crime scene screenshot

I have it on my hard drive, waiting - there's a future in the future - go play it...

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Great opening lines from SF - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Wikipedia - Shadowrun, a wealth of information for the tabletop game
Catalyst Game Labs - Shadowrun tabletop
Shadowrun Tabletop - blog
A Very Short History of Cyberpunk - by Marcus Janni Pivato
Shadowrun - Universe
Harebrained Schemes - Shadowrun Returns
Wikipedia - Shadowrun (disambiguation)
Moby Games - Shadowrun SNES
Moby Games - Shadowrun Sega Genesis
GamesTM - Shadowrun Returns review
Shadowrun - The Trading Card Game

Categories: Blade Runner, computer games, Cyberpunk, Neuromancer, Shadowrun Returns, William Gibson