New interview with CD Projekt Red about the Cyberpunk video game and the industry in general:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012...future-of-drm/
Tabletop Wisdom000
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
My history with Cyberpunk 2020
I didn't mention it when I announced the update to the site the other day, but in addition to Night City Amalgamated and updating the link list, I also added a page dedicated to all the Cyberpunk games I have ever run or been a part of, dating all the way back to the beginning. I didn't mention it on the front page of the site, or in the announcements because its more personal, not something that anyone else outside the people I have gamed with would really find important, and I am not really sure why I felt the need to right it all up other than impulse. It was actually while I was finishing this up that Mike Pondsmith got ahold of me last week, so I thought I would share this anecdote, just a footnote really, to my experience with the game.
Since 1989, I have been running or playing Cyberpunk in one for or another on an almost weekly basis. Sure there have been a few dry spells, like the first 6 months after I moved from Kansas City to NW Arkansas, or when Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition was new and no one wanted to play anything else. But as a whole, Cyberpunk was the game that got me into gaming, it has remained my one true gaming love all these years, and even now I am involved in 3 games a week... running two and actually playing in another. Sure I play in other games as well, occasionally I even run them... but there is no game I would rather be playing or running than Cyberpunk, though we use Interlock Unlimited rules now. And since it is pretty bloody rare that I am at a shortage for excellent players, I imagine I must be doing something right when it comes to running games.
Some of my friends, and several people I know online aren't as tied down as I am, one game to them is much like any other. One of my other friends, one of my oldest gaming friends in fact, has what I like to refer to as Gamer ADD. He is always on the hunt for a new game, a new system, a new setting. He has a massive library of games, but has never played or even attempted to run 90 of it. When he does convince himself to run a game, it rarely lasts more than a few sessions before he gets bored and he abandons it to stare dreamy eyed at whatever new purchase he has made. I have a friend who refuses to play anything but Dungeons and Dragons, and only the newest edition... which means that I haven;t gamed with him since they switched to 4rth edition. I could grin and bear it with 3rd and 3.5, but 4th edition is most definitely a system I cannot enjoy even on player basis. Not knocking it, just saying it has nothing to offer me.
But for me, its always Cyberpunk. The setting of Cyberpunk, and the Interlock system (well updated to IU) are so perfect for me, the hit me on such a visceral level, that nothing else even comes close. Hell, my love for the system was what led to the creation of IU in the first place, because I wanted to be able to use the system to run other genres every now and then.
Anyway, so on a whim, I decide to throw up the history of the campaigns I have been involved in, the vast vast majority of them as GM, just so I can have something to look back on and reflect. If anyone is interested, they can find it under the references section of the site, or they can just go here:
http://datafortress2020.oliwy.net/datafortressgamehistory.html
Since 1989, I have been running or playing Cyberpunk in one for or another on an almost weekly basis. Sure there have been a few dry spells, like the first 6 months after I moved from Kansas City to NW Arkansas, or when Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition was new and no one wanted to play anything else. But as a whole, Cyberpunk was the game that got me into gaming, it has remained my one true gaming love all these years, and even now I am involved in 3 games a week... running two and actually playing in another. Sure I play in other games as well, occasionally I even run them... but there is no game I would rather be playing or running than Cyberpunk, though we use Interlock Unlimited rules now. And since it is pretty bloody rare that I am at a shortage for excellent players, I imagine I must be doing something right when it comes to running games.
Some of my friends, and several people I know online aren't as tied down as I am, one game to them is much like any other. One of my other friends, one of my oldest gaming friends in fact, has what I like to refer to as Gamer ADD. He is always on the hunt for a new game, a new system, a new setting. He has a massive library of games, but has never played or even attempted to run 90 of it. When he does convince himself to run a game, it rarely lasts more than a few sessions before he gets bored and he abandons it to stare dreamy eyed at whatever new purchase he has made. I have a friend who refuses to play anything but Dungeons and Dragons, and only the newest edition... which means that I haven;t gamed with him since they switched to 4rth edition. I could grin and bear it with 3rd and 3.5, but 4th edition is most definitely a system I cannot enjoy even on player basis. Not knocking it, just saying it has nothing to offer me.
But for me, its always Cyberpunk. The setting of Cyberpunk, and the Interlock system (well updated to IU) are so perfect for me, the hit me on such a visceral level, that nothing else even comes close. Hell, my love for the system was what led to the creation of IU in the first place, because I wanted to be able to use the system to run other genres every now and then.
Anyway, so on a whim, I decide to throw up the history of the campaigns I have been involved in, the vast vast majority of them as GM, just so I can have something to look back on and reflect. If anyone is interested, they can find it under the references section of the site, or they can just go here:
http://datafortress2020.oliwy.net/datafortressgamehistory.html
Sunday, June 10, 2012
06-09-12 Dafortress 2020 Updated
Datafortress 2020 has been updated.
Night City Amalgamated. This is the first part of my ongoing project to expand and re-examine Night City. The material in this project will work in conjunction with and greatly add to the published material. Night City Amalgamated presents the new greatly expanded Night City Map, which was created by using the Night City map from the new German edition, and copying different parts of cities from around the world using Google Earth, and pasting and compiling them into one huge map, representative of Night City as a whole. Posted is not only the enormous new map itself, but a smaller version, broken up and detailing the individual districts within the city.
Also, the Hyperlinks page has been edited. We gained a couple of new sites (or at least ones that shad somehow escaped my radar), and we lost about 2 dozen... which is just sad. Sadder still is news of an old site webmaster, Micheal "Deadlock" Masten, who passed away a few years ago... I wish I had known sooner.
It makes me wonder the fate of many of those whom I could not contact for the archive. I hope they are all happy and well. It also makes me doubly glad I could save as many things from all the Cyberpunk 2020 sites as I did for the archive. The thought that all I have written and all the material I have collected could one day be lost is worrisome.
But I take heart, because the future may be brighter than that, watch this space for possibly big news in relationship to Datafortress 2020 coming in the near future.
In the meantime I am still hard at work on the first section of the Expanded Night City guide, the Combat Zone, specifically, the gangs of the Combat Zone. Its the section of this city with the most gangs, so I am getting the hard stuff out of the way first. Its been a beast, but I am for the most part almost done with the major gangs, and the smaller ones should be a breeze... hopefully... wish me luck...
Deric "Wisdom000" Bernier
Night City Amalgamated. This is the first part of my ongoing project to expand and re-examine Night City. The material in this project will work in conjunction with and greatly add to the published material. Night City Amalgamated presents the new greatly expanded Night City Map, which was created by using the Night City map from the new German edition, and copying different parts of cities from around the world using Google Earth, and pasting and compiling them into one huge map, representative of Night City as a whole. Posted is not only the enormous new map itself, but a smaller version, broken up and detailing the individual districts within the city.
Also, the Hyperlinks page has been edited. We gained a couple of new sites (or at least ones that shad somehow escaped my radar), and we lost about 2 dozen... which is just sad. Sadder still is news of an old site webmaster, Micheal "Deadlock" Masten, who passed away a few years ago... I wish I had known sooner.
It makes me wonder the fate of many of those whom I could not contact for the archive. I hope they are all happy and well. It also makes me doubly glad I could save as many things from all the Cyberpunk 2020 sites as I did for the archive. The thought that all I have written and all the material I have collected could one day be lost is worrisome.
But I take heart, because the future may be brighter than that, watch this space for possibly big news in relationship to Datafortress 2020 coming in the near future.
In the meantime I am still hard at work on the first section of the Expanded Night City guide, the Combat Zone, specifically, the gangs of the Combat Zone. Its the section of this city with the most gangs, so I am getting the hard stuff out of the way first. Its been a beast, but I am for the most part almost done with the major gangs, and the smaller ones should be a breeze... hopefully... wish me luck...
Deric "Wisdom000" Bernier
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Maximum Mike Pondsmith is the MAN!
So... according to the man himself, Mike Pondsmith, the reason Datafortress 2020 exceeded its bandwidth, is because he told the members of CD Projeckt Red, the guys working on the official Cyberpunk 2020 video game, to check out my site.
That is the greatest compliment I have ever received. The idea that something I have written may be used as inspiration in the game has me jumping up and down and grinning like an idiot.
He also made me an offer I would be an idiot to refuse, but I am gonna keep that one to myself until it actually happens.
I am never going to be able to sleep now. Back to work on the Gangs of Night City....
That is the greatest compliment I have ever received. The idea that something I have written may be used as inspiration in the game has me jumping up and down and grinning like an idiot.
He also made me an offer I would be an idiot to refuse, but I am gonna keep that one to myself until it actually happens.
I am never going to be able to sleep now. Back to work on the Gangs of Night City....
Friday, June 1, 2012
Cyberpunk 2020 - Official video game anounced
CD Projekt Red, the company behind the VRPG games Witcher and Witcher 2 have just announced that they will be putting out a Cyberpunk game based directly on our favorite pen and paper RPG. From what I have heard, the Witcher games are plenty awesome, and were a breath of fresh air in how RPG's are handled. I can't say for sure, because I have never played them, but it sounds like they are one of the few companies I would trust to do this...
The best news is that not only was the main man Mike Pondsmith himself there at the announcement, but he is going to be directly involved with the project as well. Some of you may recall Mike was involved with another video game no one ever heard of, a little game called Halo...
Here is the video footage of the announcement! They announce development of the game at around the 12 minute 38 second mark, but it gets amazing at the 18:17 mark when Mike Pondsmith takes the stage and rocks the mic like a vandal.... I never imagined he would have such an awesome voice...
At the presentation it was promised that the game would be mature, non-linear, and feature a host of weapons, gadgets, implants and toys.
If this doesn't invigorate the line again, I can't imagine anything will. For years I have dreamed the dream of having my name published in an R. Talsorian book, and after V3 that dream looked not just foolish, but hopeless, as R. Talsorian went pretty silent on the silent. But now, for the first time in years, a tiny candle has been lit that makes that dream just a little less foolish than it was yesterday.
I cannot wait for this game. Saints Row 3 had me more excited than I had ever been for a video game, it was to be the closest thing to a perfect video game the world had ever seen, and as near to a Cyberpunk 2020 game as I thought would ever come about, what with the aerodynes and all in a GTA style sandbox game. But Saints Row 3 utterly disappointed me by being so ridiculously silly and juvenile. It left me pretty depressed about video games as a whole and the direction the industry is headed Little did I know, that I would be soon staring at a future where an official Cyberpunk 2020 video game would be a reality.
I am now more excited than I have any right to be... I only pray that by non-linear they mean its going to be a sandbox style game, and that vehicles will be available to drive. If that turns out to be the case, no one may ever see me outside my house again...
For more coverage of the announcement, go here:
Forbes
Kotaku
Gamasutra
Rock Paper Shotgun
Wisdom000
Datafortress 2020 is back online!
Somehow, on May 22nd 2012, Datafortress 2020 was hit for over 2.14 gig of bandwidth in one day. I have no idea how this happened, as I have never seen anywhere near that amount of traffic in a month, much less in one day. So the sight was temporarily suspended until Yesterday. But we are up again and running, and all is well.
I was also receiving messages that some people were getting warning errors for malicious content when going to my site. I have gone through and deleted anything that even looked like it might even think about causing an issue, and I am happy to say that according to my sources the problem has been solved. Hoooray.
I would have posted about this sooner, but I just got back from a trip to Steamboat Colorado. Steamboat itself was awesome, but the best part was the two 19-hour Cyberpunk 2020 sessions I ran for my friend on the trip there and back... talk about some old school hardcore gaming...
Anyway, things are up and running again, enjoy and sorry for the inconvenience.
Wisdom000
I was also receiving messages that some people were getting warning errors for malicious content when going to my site. I have gone through and deleted anything that even looked like it might even think about causing an issue, and I am happy to say that according to my sources the problem has been solved. Hoooray.
I would have posted about this sooner, but I just got back from a trip to Steamboat Colorado. Steamboat itself was awesome, but the best part was the two 19-hour Cyberpunk 2020 sessions I ran for my friend on the trip there and back... talk about some old school hardcore gaming...
Anyway, things are up and running again, enjoy and sorry for the inconvenience.
Wisdom000
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)