gh0st, if you're watching this, I'm still looking for the rabbit hole.
The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
281–290 of 404 posts
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gibson has a cameo in Wild Palms . PAIGE: This is William Gibson, Harry. HARRY: Oh, yeah... Neuromancer , right? PAIGE: He invented the word "cyberspace." GIBSON: And they'll never let me forget it.
Wow. Wild Palms .... I don't hear that one mentioned often (or ever). Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's seen this weird, obscure, flawed gem of a series.
I remember watching this on Fox and being transfixed. I curious how my reaction to it would be today. Need to watch it again.
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're a 38 year old metaphor. Neil Stephenson's Smartwheels don't exist either, and we still don't have "professional road surfers", but that doesn't make Snow Crash any less relevant: "Smartwheels use sonar, laser range finding and millimeter wave radar to identify mufflers and other debris. Each one consists of a hub with many tiny spokes. Each spoke telescopes into five sections. On the end is a squat foot, rubb…
if you like that, you should definitely check out the tornado chasers' car in Heavy Weather by Bruce Sterling.
username checks out
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve come to disregard Gibson’s disdain for deviated works. Disregarding Gibson’s authority and deviating on his art in a way that pleases the creator is very punk in spirit.
In his defense, there are few things more punk than disdain for derivatives and veneration for originality and progenitors. Punks are a conservative bunch. They're still playing the same records from 50 years ago like they came out today.
Plenty of punks are making and listening to new music. Your nearest major city undoubtedly has a punk scene in which people play shows, record and put out each other's albums, and otherwise build a community very much focused on the present and future. Are they stuck 50 years in the past or is your idea of them?
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#285I’m constantly amazed at how Metaverse aficionados quote Snow Crash and and other 1990s works as cornerstones of cyberspace, when Gibson invented the term and Neuromancer was written in 1984. Gibson is the original. The passage where Case connects to the matrix (also a Gibson term) again for the first time once his nervous system is repaired is heartbreakingly beautiful. I relate to it as a young phone phreak growing…
One of the famous lines from the movie Hackers (1995):
“Hack the Gibson!”
Must have been a call-out :)
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#286So I really like this book and reread it every other year. High octane fun that tickles my programmer's fancy. I like really well made books, so the edition I have is the Easton Press https://www.eastonpress.com/signed-editions/william-gibson-n... , from Ebay although mine is unsigned. There is an a Suntup Editions version that is to drool over https://suntup.press/neuromancer , especially the Numbered Editions. Comp…
Go get it signed at one of his talks..
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#287One thing I read somewhere -- and it might have been an interview with Gibson or with someone else talking about his work -- is how much William Gibson despises derivatives of cyberpunk in the books, videogames and movies that followed. Specifically, he dislikes the focus on the aesthetic, neon lights, mirror shades, etc. I think Gibson really dislikes Cyberpunk 2077, for example. Gibson argued they are missing the p…
Maybe it was Action Button who put it best when he said Cyberpunk 2077 is the gamer chair of cyberpunk, and I'm paraphrasing.
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
Try to gatekeep all you want; but punks failed to defend their anti-corporate credibility and not only tolerated, but embraced corporate appropriation of their culture. They rode out punk's credibility while riding on boards from Zumies, wearing Hot Topic, and listening to Sum 41 . CDPR is about as authentic as you'll find in high-budget video game development; and as I enjoy high-fidelity entertainment, as well as P…
It's tragic that you refer (erroneously) to "punks" so firmly in the past tense, while awarding credibility to a company best known for its exploitative overtime practices. How's the view from Arasaka Tower?
It's best known for its award-winning games and its digital distribution network.
The alleged egregious overtime was acknowledged as a voluntary undertaking by several team members, and it seems as though the journalists didn't bother to investigate into the allegations they received from a couple of complainers and opted to report them at face value. The subsequent response from the company affirmed my understanding, where they publicly apologized for bugs, reported to shareholders about their efforts to correct internal development processes, and so forth.
As though working an extra 8h a week during the final months before a hard deadline is either unheard of or intolerable. There was no exodus of talent from CDPR.
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#289The Sprawl trilogy is my favorite series of books. Probably the only books that I've read over and over... and over.
Re: The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk
#290One thing I read somewhere -- and it might have been an interview with Gibson or with someone else talking about his work -- is how much William Gibson despises derivatives of cyberpunk in the books, videogames and movies that followed. Specifically, he dislikes the focus on the aesthetic, neon lights, mirror shades, etc. I think Gibson really dislikes Cyberpunk 2077, for example. Gibson argued they are missing the p…
Cyberpunk 2077 receives too much grief for its rejection of the mainstream state of affairs, making it quite punk. IMHO. The crux of the story, the full arc and conclusion of your character, is that you are a nobody who seeks to become an influencer, comes to believe that you have a big role to play in world events, but ultimately even your greatest possible achievements amount to being either inconsequential or the…
The main character, and therefore the player, is actually warned about this conclusion when a similar character does early on.
The problem with playing the capitalist game is that it demands all of you, and never guarantees anything back.