sup /tg/. Is there anything "original" left to be done in a cyberpunk setting? I'm planning a campaign but can't seem to come up with anything that doesn't feel like it's been done a million times before.
I guess the same goes for fantasy and space opera settings. Setting ideas general, I guess?
>>48300696
lazarus bump
>>48300696
Is there anything original left to be done in any settimg? The answer is of course yes, to both questions.
A more difficult question is whether you're capable of being the one to produce it.
Ultimately, though, uness you're trying to make some sort of artistic statement, I'd say that fun is more important than originality. I understand the two are often intertwined , but uniqueness is not a prerequisite for an enjoyable time.
>>48300696
http://babiruproject.tumblr.com/
>>48304217
... is this favelapunk?
>>48304269
Yep. Earth becomes Liberia/Morro da Rocinha, but with capoeira/parkour cyborgs performing to feral swarms of roachcams uploading it all to AlltubeIsso aí mano. Eu imagino que essas pilhas de barracos estão em volta de um elevador orbital indo pras colônias verdejantes.
>>48300696
>it's been done a million times before
Have you personally done it before? If so, who cares. Cliches are good, everyone knows what to expect and can play into them. Unless you're railroading the players will take the story in an unexpected, new, exciting, ~original~ direction anyway.
>>48300696
>I'm planning a campaign but can't seem to come up with anything that doesn't feel like it's been done a million times before.
Is that a setting issue or a campaign issue?
Trying to make a setting original for the sake of being original isn't the best - you should try and focus on executing it well first
>>48300696
Cyberbump
>>48304314
So what you're saying is Neill Blomkamp meets Racionais MC's
Are you involved in this project?
>>48300696
Instead of making the campaign all about Punks VS Corps, have the focus of the game be a treasure hunt. A hacker-thief, an eccentric tycoon, or notorious government official is supposed to have hid an absolute FORTUNE in cash, credits, antiques, technology or data, enough to instantly improve the lives of anyone smart enough and lucky enough to find it. The PCs have somehow stumbled upon the means to make this happen, but of course it will not go as easily as they might hope. The feds, the corps and other punks are all looking for this treasure too, and will do anything to get their hands on it.
Make your game a Cyberpunk Treasure Hunt.
>>48304217
>>48304314
>>48304506
So basically Elysium?
>>48304506
>Are you involved in this project?
No. I would have included some mix of sealed biosphere, arcology and condo complex to create contrast.
>>48304604
Looks like it.
>>48304610
Yeah, there should be contrast if you're going for a brazilian/latinoamerica aesthetics, michiko to hatchin setting. Like pic related
>>48304604
Something I fail to understand about the movie. Given the level of technology they had why weren't they colonizing the moon and working on going to Mars already or building multiple Ring colonies?
Is it just because they are the stereotypical evil capitalist who say fuck it to all you poor plebs back on earth make my shit and like the few pennies I give you?
>>48305567
>why weren't they colonizing the moon and working on going to Mars already or building multiple Ring colonies?
Maybe they were. The people on the Elysium, that is. We don't really see that.
All we see is literally the migrants trying to get through THE WALL, and ruining everything.
>>48305602
>We have a machine that can cure cancer in seconds
>We would have let you used it poor earth person but you had to ruin it for everyone
yep, sure.
>>48305686
More like:
>We have a machine that can cure cancer in seconds, but it isn't cheap to use, so you have to prove your usefulness
>Do you possess any useful skills besides doing what you are told to do? No? Into the Earth you go. Get the fuck out of muh Elysium, REEEEEEEE.
Of course, that particular theory falls apart as soon as you see the "politicians" living on Elysium that contribute nothing of worth.
>>48305714
>that particular theory falls apart as soon as you see the "politicians" living on Elysium that contribute nothing of worth.
I've not seen Elisium, but is that "we see them doing nothing, in the limited movie runtime in this Blomkamp poor = good world", or is that "nah, seriously they do fuck all"?
Because things like "being [vital group]'s advocate in the government" (say doctors or engineers) or being the guy who owns half the station won't make you look busy, but it'll mean you are important
A mission idea would be to steal the last surviving salmon Atlantic salmon from an aquarium because some CEO wants it for dinner. The aquarium is owned by another Eco who will try and intercept them.
>>48307656
So basically the opposite of Munch's Oddysee.
>>48305714
Other anon here. The people of Elysium are probably all working. They are the CEO's or board members of some megacorporations. Their fortune is probably a mix of salary/bonus, plus revenue from shares and stock options, plus inheritance. I see Elysium like Cyberpunk 2020's Crystal Palace - the most luxurious and safest place to stay. The earth is polluted, the air is full of toxic gases, the ozone layer has more holes than a Swiss cheese, governments are weak and unstable, crime and corruption are rampant. So the best place for all billionaires is outside of earth.
>>48308025
So basically an Arcology taken to the next logical step and the heads of the Megacorp able to send their private security forces down to exercise their power at will.
>>48308025
>>48308330
That's a thing in pic related, only more so - in the backstory the corps did a lot of work in space, asteroid mining, harvesting gas from Jupiter and the gas giants, and using the cleanliness of space for manufacturing - eventually they became so rich and independant there was a war with Earth, and there's a reason it was called the Rock War.
Now the orbital corporations rule over the dirt people from on high, not caring about fixing pollution or any other problem on the earth that was - and there's begining to be some portion of the orbital aristocracy and the execs in power who have never set foot on earth and look at all the people there with contempt
>>48308712
And the thing in full
>>48305929
They basically sit around and live in their little utopian bubble. Seems like most things are automated in terms of manufacturing and such. The only prominent jobs you see are security and military.
The politicians are basically evolved armchair politicians now floating in spess. Not as many techs or maintenance engineers as you'd expect in a giant space colony. as in none shown at all, unless the soldiers and mercs were also engineers even though none of them seem to be able to troubleshoot/fix any machine. Then again they couldn't shoot either so yeah.
>>48308025
>the ozone layer has more holes than a Swiss cheese
The planet looks fine besides that they chose to use Mexico or somewhere to shoot the movie and made it look like a dystopian wasteland. If it was really as bad as it was with toxic gases and shit most people would probably be dead, not to mention none of the space mercs coming in ever bother to wear a mask and breathe just fine.
>>48300696
The more cliched it is, the easier the players adjust to it and the more they seem like actual characters in the world who know what to do.
>>48308732
Hey thanks, been looking for a new novel
>>48308712
Except Elysium is not oppressing the earth militarily like the Orbital blocks do.
>>48311200
>having covert murder machines on call in earth
>having robotic police force to brutalize population
>missiles and shit
not oppressing even a little bit
>>48314135
That does sound oppressive, but then the Orbital blocs wiped out cities and split the US with rocks even after the whole world surrendered just to make a point (the bombardment started on the other side of the planet), so he has a point - militarily, the Orbitals are much more oppressive than the guys in Elysium
>>48309906
You're welcome man, hope you enjoy it
>>48314135
The USA already have cops brutalizing the population. If someone was to hijack a plane and fly it in direction of the USA, he might get shot down. The USA were kidnapping people all around the world, detaining and torturing without legal basis.
Despite this, I don't really feel oppressed by them. In Elysium the earth is treated like a Third-World country - at least the poor parts we have seen. Also, nothing says that the police robots are taking orders from Elysium, they might just as well have been sold to the local government.
>>48300696
Something original or new is a good idea for a "passive" form of media like a book or a movie, but not necessarily a great idea for a medium where the primary form of interaction is making choices.
The more exotic a setting is, the more difficult it is to make meaningful choices within it since every player must then take the time to try and understand what their decisions impact.
Trying this with a tabletop setting is a bad idea. The reason tabletop settings often tend towards the cliche is because the newness and originality will come from how your group interacts with the setting - but if your setting is too exotic, you'll never have the chance to actually make any choices, because you'll be busy trying to explain and wrap your mind around these new concepts.
The entire purpose of campaign settings to begin with are to have a common baseline set of genre assumptions and expected tropes so you don't have to spend too much time on special snowflake differences - maybe you'll have one or two, but the entire point of doing "cyberpunk" or "high fantasy" is that someone else has done all the hard work painting the pictures for you (other films, books, etc.). If you try for something "original" you are essentially sabotaging all that shortcut work.
>>48318748
Thank you anon. This is the first good explanation/justification for why TTRPGs tend towards cliche that I've ever heard. I sincerely appreciate you sharing.
I still think originality should be pursued, but it's helpful to understand what the problem I'm wrestling with actually is.
It's like your regular cyberpunk, except in eastern slovakia.
>>48304547
wasn't this more or less canon in shadowrun's lore, with dunkelzahn's will being a massive clusterfuck of really weird orders, preparations and near prescient requests?
it sounds like it could be a hilarious game to run
>>48318871
Personally I find Bangkok to be the most cyberpunk city. It has everything. Luxury corporate areas, squalid slums, red light districts, luxury condominiums, etc.
