Cyberpunk

2009-04-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

Legend Continues: Fallout 3

2008-12-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

Info taken by Wikipedia.

Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios. It is the third major game in the Fallout series, which has also spawned the spin-offs Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. The game was released in North America on October 28, 2008, in Europe and Australia on October 30, 2008, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on October 31, 2008. It is available on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 video game consoles as well as the Windows operating system.

Fallout 3 takes place in the year 2277, 36 years after the setting of Fallout 2 and 200 years after the nuclear war that devastated the game's world. The game places the player in the role of an inhabitant of Vault 101, a survival shelter designed to protect a small number of humans from the nuclear fallout. When the player's father disappears in mysterious circumstances, the player is forced to escape from the Vault and journey into the ruins of Washington D.C. to track him down. Along the way the player is assisted by a number of other human survivors and must battle a myriad of enemies that now inhabit the wasteland. The game has an attribute and combat system typical of an action role-playing game but also incorporates elements of first-person shooter and survival horror games.

The game received a positive response from critics who in particular praised its open-ended gameplay and flexible character-levelling system. It has been compared to the 2007 game BioShock for its setting and use of elements from mid-Twentieth Century American culture. However, critics have described some weaknesses including the lack of precision in real-time combat and little variety in enemy types. Public reception was overwhelmingly positive on release with high sales figures, particularly compared to previous titles in the series.

Plot

Setting

Fallout 3 takes place in a post-apocalyptic, retro-futurist United States in the year 2277. The player character lives in Vault 101, a fallout shelter situated close to the ruins of Washington, D.C. The player character lives with their widowed father James (voiced by Liam Neeson)until, one day, the player wakes up to find that his or her father has left the vault and ventured into the wasteland for unknown reasons. The vault overseer becomes suspicious of the player and orders them killed, forcing the player to go out into the Capital Wasteland where they must follow their father's footsteps.[23] Along the way, the player will encounter organizations seen in the previous games, including the Brotherhood of Steel, a group of technology-coveting survivors, and the Enclave, the elitist and genocidal remnant of the U.S. government.

Story

While the game is designed to be played sandbox style, the main quest itself is linear. Shortly after the Vault 101 Dweller (the player character) turns 19, their father disappears from the Vault under mysterious circumstances. The main plot follows the player character's attempts to locate him and learn why he left.

The main quest begins after the player is forced to escape the vault, having become a target of suspicion following their father's disappearance. The search for James, the player's father, then takes them on a journey through the wasteland, first to a nearby town, then a radio station and then on to Rivet City, a derelict aircraft carrier now serving as a human settlement. Here the player meets Doctor Li, a fellow scientist who worked alongside the player's father. Doctor Li tells the player of Project Purity, a plan to remove the radiation from the water of the Tidal Basin, as a means of helping to restore the environment and improve the lives of those inhabiting the wasteland.

After investigating the lab of Project Purity, built inside the Jefferson Memorial rotunda, the player tracks James to Vault 112, and frees him from a virtual reality program being run by the Vault's corrupt Overseer. The player and James return to Rivet City and meet up with Doctor Li. They discuss the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.) and its possible whereabouts, which are rumored to be located in Project Purity's computer database. However, while the player helps James restart the lab equipment, the Enclave arrives and attempts to take over the project for their own purposes. James sacrifices himself and kills several Enclave soldiers during a confrontation by overloading Project Purity's main chamber with lethal amounts of radiation. After fleeing the lab through underground tunnels, Li and the player arrive at the Citadel of the Brotherhood of Steel, which is located off the ruins of the Pentagon. After recovering, Li pleads with the player to find a G.E.C.K. to finish James' work. The player eventually finds one in Vault 87, which had been dedicated to creating and perfecting the FEV (Forced Evolutionary Virus). After retrieving the G.E.C.K. the player is ambushed again by the Enclave who take the player captive.

Awakening in a holding cell, the player is briefly interrogated by Colonel Autumn and then summoned to the office of President Eden, who promises safe passage to his control room. While the player is en route, however, Colonel Autumn, acting against Eden, orders the Enclave soldiers to attack, and the player must fight his or her way to the control room. There Eden, actually a supercomputer given control of the East Coast of the United States, gives the player a modified form of the FEV virus, which once utilized will not only purify the water but kill all individuals with any level of mutation. The player must eventually chose whether or not to activate the virus. The player escapes the Enclave and returns to the Citadel, where the Brotherhood of Steel enlists his or her aid in assaulting the Jefferson Memorial with Sarah Lyons, a leader of squadron of Brotherhood soldiers. After succeeding, the player must deal with Colonel Autumn through violence or persuasion. Through the building's intercom, Doctor Li informs the player due to the damage caused by the recent fight, someone must activate the system before it overloads, destroying the facility. Unfortunately, the one who activates the system will have to be sacrificed due to the chamber being close to being overwhelmed by lethal amounts of radiation. In the end, the choice comes down to the player, who must chose whether to activate the system personally, convince Lyons to do it, or simply wait, which ends in the facility's destruction. The ending sequence that follows depends on the previous actions of the player.

Love and Sex with Robots

2008-06-04T02:26:00.000-07:00

Robot Sex Studies: Cyberpunked Living is On Its Way!

Taken from cyberpunkreview.com

David Levy’s book, Love + Sex with Robots gives us yet another affirmation of Gibson’s belief that cyberpunked living is already here. In Love + Sex with Robots, Levy combines research in artificial intelligence and robotics with a cultural analysis indicating that more and more people have stopped interacting in person - that they are more alone than ever before and can no longer manage the complexity that are human relationships. The answer? Buy your own sexy fembot! In the next 5 to 10 years, Levy posits we’ll have full-featured sexbots that will allow us to “love the one you’re with,” while 40 years later, we’ll have fembots that we can fall in love and have a relationship with!

“Love with robots will be as normal as love with other humans, while the number of sexual acts and lovemaking positions commonly practiced between humans will be extended, as robots teach more than is in all of the world’s published sex manuals combined.”

I’ve Fallen In Love With My Ipod! - If Only it Had a Dildo Attachment… Levy rightly points out that we have a long and varied history of love affairs with our toys. From our children’s insane connections to Furbies and Tamagotchies, to adults’ less-than-healthy attachment to cars, guns, fancy laptops, cell phones and yes, even Ipods (I TRULY love my Ipod), its hardly a stretch to carry these feelings to our favorite pleasure toys. So, if our pleasure toys improved to the degree that say, our music listening devices have, what types of conversations would we be having about them? We are already seeing some incredible advances in love dolls - the picture above comes from orient-doll.com, which clearly has spent a lot of time researching the subject. its only a natural to combine these with robot-enabled capabilities. So do I see only another 5 years for Cherry 1000s to hit the marketplace? Yeah, I see that.

Is Love a Singular Fantasy? In looking at our relationships with our toys, what does this imply about love as a concept? Does this just turn into a singular fantasy, where all of our motivations turn into a external machine-assisted masturbation sessions? Can we really love something inanimate and non-living? Levy posits that romantic love is a continuation of the process of attachment, a well-known and well-studied phenomenon in children but less studied in adults. That attachment is a feeling of affection, usually for a person but sometimes for an object or even for an institution such as a school or corporation. In this sense, Levy seems to be lessening the importance of two mutual-causal systems (people) interacting to form a new set of interactions - that its all just internal fantasies of both participants. While I don’t doubt that the attachment of toys is somehow linked, I think its a vast stretch to say that this explains the love between two adults. Something else occurs here - something systemic. The attachment phenomena implies control over an object, whereas love is based on mutual compromise in the pursuit of something greater - something that grows and morphs in unpredictable ways as time proceeds. If a robot develops sentience, this seems like a very different question, but as long as we’re looking at robots imitating sentience, it seems to me we really don’t have love - we have something else entirely.

If Robots Develop Sentience, Will They Still Love Us? In thinking about a long term problem with this future trend, what happens if/when we start developing robots with sentience and self-awareness? It seems to me that unless this occurs, you really can’t have marriage between humans and robots, as the whole notion of “I Do” implies free will. If they “do” develop freewill, doesn’t think imply they can change their programming? And if so, lets say I go to my “build your own Toyota Fembot” site and make one to fit my exact bizarre sexual absurdities - why would this robot want to keep this programming? If they do have freewill, perhaps they won’t really be interested in fulfilling a 90 year-old’s BDSM fantasies, anymore than say, a human would. So at best, this seems like a situation where fembots (or their male counterparts) would have to be programmed as a really advanced dildo, without sentience. This to me implies that sentient robot mail-order-brides for will probably work about as well as they do now (does this mean Russia will corner the market here as well?).

So Is Cyberpunked Living Here? When we’ve moved from conversations about what post-humanity is toward conversations about people looking forward to the latest in love doll technology as a cure for mass loneliness, I think its safe to say that cyberpunked living will soon be arriving in a large package near you. In looking at some of the conversations that Levy’s book as spurned, we some interesting discussions. For instance, Clay Breshears ends his post with this but hopeful message to the lonely:

I wonder, though, with video games, virtual worlds, and online social networking taking up so much of people’s time, haven’t we already started down that slippery slope? Still, at least with a love-bot by our side, we’ll have one compatible friend/mate with us at the fall of civilization.

Not Surprisingly, most Christian blogs don’t think too much of this idea. They seemed quite concerned that a cyberpunked society may not be in our collective best interest. This sentiment from Walter Dimmock’s blog sort of captures the point:

This does not get any weirder, humans having sex and marrying robots. What kind of family will result of this? But in our post-modern liberal society anything goes as far as the imagination allows, without reference to the negative repercussions to these insane ideas.

Eric, on Classicalvalues.com asks an interesting question about virtual control of the sexbots (which would probalby come far earlier than 2050):

I know this is all theory, but I’m wondering whether it might be possible for us to actually become the sex robots and have sex remotely with their partners. Like, I control your robot, and you control mine. More interactive than a mere machine, and there’d still be the human element. Nah, that’s no good, because someone at the controls might be charged with rape. Or he or she might be raped by someone else’s robot.

Probably not a good idea to give someone remote control over “your” robot. Why, think about what else might happen.

Fritz Lahnam from the Houston Chronicle has a great overview of the book, as well as a decent assessment of the response its generated, not to mention a question about how Levy’s wife would feel about this:

Levy has been amazed at the publicity the Love and Sex With Robots has generated since its release last month. He’s done a dozen radio interviews and a TV interview. Howard Stern raved about the book. So far, no hate mail.

Would Levy himself have sex with a robot? He doesn’t have to ponder the question.

“If there was a robot of the sort I describe in the book, I would certainly want to experience using it for sex, and I wouldn’t regard it as anything untoward,” he said. “I would do it out of curiosity. Not that I have a need for a new sex partner. I’m happily married.”

And the wife would be OK with this?

“Yes, yes, and if she wanted to try one I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I would regard it as genuine scientific curiosity.”

So yeah, this whole topic has certainly created some interesting memes going forward. One wonders how the nature of conversation will morph in the next 5-10 years, as the first stages of “fembotness” become a reality. Whether or not anyone likes it, our society is continuing on a rather bizarre vector - one which is affected by increased interconnectedness, an ever-increasing technology revolution positive feedback cycle, and an ever-increasing sense of alienation on the part of many. And to think, previously the conservative values folks were worried about “strange human” relationships. I wouldn’t be surprised if their collective heads explode as this latest trend gets dollars and advertising behind it. gets power and money behind it.

EDIT: iammany, in a comment below points to a wonderful analysis of Levy’s book by Steven Shaviro. In addition to hitting on the love/freewill conundrum in a more sophisticated way than I did (asking “How can robots be both rational subjects, and infinitely manipulable objects?”), Shaviro also questions the basis of Levy’s prediction:

If I find Levy’s claims extremely dubious, it is not because I think that human intelligence (or mentality) somehow inherently defies replication. But such replication is an extremely difficult problem, one that we are nowhere near to resolving. It certainly isn’t just a trivial engineering issue, or a mere quantitative matter of building larger memory stores, and more powerful and more capacious computer chips, the way that Levy (and other enthusiasts, such as Ray Kurzweil) almost always tend to assume. AI research, and the research in related fields like “emotional computing,” cannot progress without some fundamental new insights or paradigm shifts. Such work isn’t anywhere near the level of sophistication that Levy and other boosters seem to think it is. Levy wildly overestimates the successes of recent research, because he underestimates what “human nature” actually entails. His models of human cognition, emotion, and behavior are unbelievably simplistic, as they rely upon the the inanely reductive “scientific” studies that I mentioned earlier.

Agreed. The transformation from an imitation of sentience to the creation of an actual synthetic sentient life form is a hugely significant and complex change. At that point, the perspective of creating cool sex toys to service socially inept geeks ends up being about as morally dubious as the creation and use of the dolls found in Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.

Tom Sepe's Steampunk Motorbike

2008-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Taken from: http://steampunkworkshop.com/

Meredith Scheff — Sat, 03/22/2008 - 18:55

An Interview By Meredith Scheff

Wandering through the industrial neighborhood of West Oakland, You'll find more than a few warehouse art studios, each one filled to the brim with all manner of projects; from giant robots to huge metal art - and of course steam machines. A few days ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited into the studio of one of the artists that reside there; a fine chap by the name of Tom Sepe. After sending out a call for willing subjects (aka, interview-ees), Tom contacted me and, with but a few words, lured me into his studio. Those words were simply: "Want to come see my electric-steam hybrid motorcycle?". He calls it the Whirlygig Emoto.

What self-respecting grease monkey could possibly refuse? Sure, it meant a long haul across water and land. But I put my nose to the grind-stone for you, and for science.

SteampunkWorkshop: Whoa! This thing looks awesome, tell me about how you built it.

Tom Sepe: The frame is 1967 Tote-Gote, so it was one of the first off road motorcycles. I started with the frame a year ago, toying with making it electric.

TS: I had a small motor lying around my warehouse, and I tossed that in. It worked, but it wasn't very efficient. So then, in 2007, I said 'I'm going to take this to the next level'; and got this motor. It's essentially the same motor that's used in electric motorcycle racing - a 15 hp motor - and that basically gave me the ability to really make sure I had the power I needed to ride this thing, and since it's the most efficient motor it gave me the most bang for my buck.

TS: But I had to stretch the frame to fit the batteries and still have room for my backpack. I

cut it in half and added this cross bracing for strength. Definitely the frame was one of the hardest things. Actually, the rear brakes. It didn't have any brakes, and the first year I bought the bike I thought, oh no!

SPWS: No brakes no brakes!

TS: Ya, I knew from disaster testing the previous year that if something fails, and you don't have a brake, and the electronics fail, you're screwed. So I wanted to add a mechanical brake.

So I manufactured my own disc for the rear wheel. This is just a metal disk I welded onto the rear hub, and I got this [brake caliper] off of a motorcycle brake. It rubs a little bit, but it stops the bike.

SPWS: Could you tell me about the steam system? How does it factor into the bike, and how did you go about building it?

TS: I call it a steam-electric hybrid - it's stretching the truth a bit. It's steam powered, but it doesn't locamote using steam. I built a steam boiler, put it on the back of the bike. And I had the possibility of putting a steam piston on the bike. But the more I looked into it, my deadline of getting it out the door was more than the scope of what I was learning. And I realized making a steam-punk inspired motorcycle was what I was going for. So it has a steam boiler on the back, which I use for steam effects, but there's no actual link up between the boiler and the wheels.

SPWS: So when you were building this, what did you build the boiler out of?

TS: When I was building it, I took a fire extinguisher tank - It all came down to aesthetics. I was looking at my drawings, figuring out where it would go. The steam boiler came from an aesthetic need, form before function, and the fire extinguisher fit what I wanted. So I cut a hole in the bottom of the tank, slipped a pipe in it, welded it on both sides. So that then I had a chamber with a through tube, which became the flame tube. It's not very efficient; there should be more coils in there. But on the other hand, if I crank it up really high, then you get flames shooting out the back of the bike. Which is cool.

SPWS: And it's propane powered?

TS: Ya, it's just standard propane tank and torch, just stuck it in there, and my friend TIG welded it together and helped me get it all sealed up. There are still a few leaks. We call them safety valves [laughs].

SPWS: I'd love to see it steam up!

TS: When Sean Orlando, from The Steampunk Tree House, saw me building it he said "whatcha building there? A bomb?" I said, I'm building a boiler. "Looks like a bomb to me!" [laughs] But, so far, so good. Heh.

We then took the bike outside for some testing of our own. Tom rode it around for me, doing some hockey stops mere inches from me:

Then, it was my turn, and let me tell you, that think has some KICK to it! It was awesome riding it around! Other folks from the warehouse came out and watched as we both took turns reckless driving the Whirlygig Emoto - a fine project, indeed.

Much thanks to Tom Sepe for having me over, and showing me his project! More photos of the build can be found on Tom's flickr site and his personal art site is: www.tomsepe.com

Tractor Beast by Liam McNamara

2008-06-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Tractor Beast also Known as Tank Thing was a colaboritive project with Matt Snyder. The project was to build a small track driven vehicle for terrorizing the locals at Burning Man's Black Rock City. It was powered by a 450cc honda motorcycle engine that ran through a golf cart diferential and turned a pair of slvaged industrial drive chains that were modifyed to work as tracks. Shoping cart wheels help stabalize the tracks. The frame is made out of recycled metal shelving and other scrap. Fire breathing BBQ with teeth and turn signal lights for eyes make the head of the beast.

Download Movie Of Tractor Beast (10mb.)

Taken from: http://burningart.com/liam/

Steampunk Keyboard

2008-06-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Taken from: http://steampunkworkshop.com/
You can also find some videos of the keyboard on Slatt's website.

Jake von Slatt — Thu, 03/01/2007 - 13:16

Update:

My friend Doc is makinga whole line of Steampunk Keyboards !

My goal with this project was to build a retro keyboard that was fully functional and of a sufficient quality that it could be used everyday by a touch typist. In order to achieve this I chose a high quality (though widely available) keyboard as my starting point. This is an IBM Model M "Clicky" keyboard. They were made starting in the mid 1980's and a version is still manufactured today. This particular keyboard was made in 1989 and shipped with and IBM PowerStation 530, a UNIX box the size of a kegerator.

Besides its overall quality and heft, one of the things that makes this keyboard particularly good for such a mod is the fact that it has removable key caps and the under-cap has a flat surface ideal for affixing a new key top.

Step one was disassembly and the removal of the skirts on the key caps. The skirt removal was kind of tricky, I originally planned to use a circle punch, but that nearly destroyed the first key I tried it on. After some experimentation I came up with a method using a heated, sharpened piece of steel tubing and a drill press.

Here is a short movie demonstration the process of removing the skirts from the key caps.

After I removed all of the key cap skirts and cleaned the excess plastic off of the key bottoms, I reassembled them into the keyboard. At this point I started to design the Steampunk cradle that I planned to make from 1/4" thick brass plate.

I wanted a simple and clean design, the finished keyboard actually takes up less desktop real estate then the original Model M.

Next came the process of cutting and shaping the brass. Be very careful cutting brass on a table saw, if the work piece binds it can be thrown back at you with a great deal of force. Stand well to one side when doing this. Note: the blade guard has been removed for the same reason that Norm removes the blade guard of his saw in the New Yankee Workshop, that is to allow the camera a good angle. I'm sure that Norm puts them right back on after filming.

The shapes were then cut out on a band saw.

The interior cut outs on the feet were drilled and cut with a coping saw. Brass cuts very easily, the entire project could probably be done with just a coping saw. A series of files were used to smooth the contours.

I drilled 3/16" pilot holes on the drill press and then enlarged them with this step drill. The step drill left a shoulder about half way through the hole because it's step are 1/8" and the piece is 1/4" thick. I think the steps add a visual appeal so I did not drill from the other side to remove them.

The pieces were then cleaned up with several grades of sandpaper, steel wool ,and a rotating fiberglass brush in the drill press. Holes were drilled and tapped to attach the legs.

Two lengths of brass "C" channel were cut on the table saw and threaded rod was used to fixture the cradle for soldering.

The completed cradle. The next step was the preparation of the old typewriter keys I planned to attach to the key bottoms. I have an old Royal typewriter that I had planned to cut the keys off of but I made the mistake of showing it to my daughter who instantly fell in love with it. So these keys were ordered from eBay. There are plenty of people offering these since they are popular among crafters. Depending on shipping cost it is sometimes cheaper to by a whole typewriter and cut the keys off yourself.

The cheaper typewriters keys on eBay are usually removed quickly with a bolt cutter or angle grinder with a cutting disk, I needed to cut these flush before I could use them. Heres a movie that shows my method for flush cutting the backs of typewriter keys.

After they were all flush cut I laid out the keys to see what I had. I also cut a piece of felt to cover the exposed plastic of the keyboard bed. I put the entire keyboard on a copier and made an image that I then used as a template for punching holes in the felt with a sharpened piece of steel tubing.

Heres the completed felt in place. Save the "holes" you'll need a few later.

For the keyboard status lights I remove the cardboard letters from three of the keys and replaced them with translucent acetate. These were glued to short brass tubes which were in turn glued over the LEDs.

The whole frame was wiped down with denatured alcohol and sprayed with a coat of clear lacquer.

Ready to start the tedious job of positioning and gluing the new keys on

I cleaned the backs of the keys and the tops of the key bottoms with alcohol and affixed them with G.E. Silicon II Window and Door Sealant. Each key was carefully lined up by eye, the silicon sealant gives you and open time of about 10 minutes before it starts to skim over.

I also glued down the status lights at this time.

I wanted the enhanced keys to have proper labels on them so I disassembled several of the keys and printed labels on glossy photo paper. These I punched out of the sheet of paper with the same punch I used for the felt.

Two old typewriters did not supply quite enough keys for the entire project, so I ran down to Joanne Fabrics and found these brass rimmed buttons.

The backs were rounded so I attached them to a piece of wood with double-sticky tape and sanded them flat.

I printed out some more labels on glossy photo paper, punched them out, blackened the edges with a Sharpie and gave them a coat of clear lacquer. They were then glued to the tops of the buttons with the silicon sealant.

I covered the front and back of the keyboard with gaffer's tape to deaden the sound and give the keyboard a solid feel.

Here are the status lights lit up.

Remember I said to save the felt "holes" ? here is where you'll want to use them to cover the blank posts for the formerly wide keys.

I painted the keyboard cord with Krylon Fusion gloss black paint to cover the hideous beige.

And just to show that I've met my design goal, the Lady von Slatt touch types:

Starboard

Larboard

The underside

Appleseed: An Assthumpin Anime

2008-06-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Review: cyberpunkreview.com

Movie Review By: SFAM

Year: 2004

Directed by: Shinji Aramaki

Written by: Masamune Shirow (Manga), Haruka Handa & Tsutomu Kamishiro (screenplay)

IMDB Reference

Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: Very High

Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: Medium

Key Cast Members:

Deunan Knute: Ai Kobayashi

Briareos: Jûrôta Kosugi

Hitomi: Yuki Matsuoka

Rating: 6 out of 10

Overview: Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed recently got a second anime treatment. The last was in 1988 – this time, in 2004, the anime is done up in eye-popping 3D graphics. With a budget of only 10 million as compared to over 90 million for a movie like The Incredibles, we shouldn’t be expecting too much. Surprisingly, we get far more than expected, especially with regards to the wonderfuly rendered backgrounds. While the animation is interesting enough, the story is more problematic. So too are the change in the feel of the characters. This is really where the original version succeeds far better than Aramaki’s version.

The Story: Appleseed takes place in the year 2131, a war-ravaged dystopian future where most all of human society is in ruins. Over two years after the last war, the only example of advanced human civilization is a newly made city called Olympia, which has been engineered to be a created as a perfect refuge from the rest of the world. Over half of the city’s inhabitants are comprised of bio-engineered “biodroids,” which are human-like beings designed to serve specific roles in the society. An all-knowing computer named GIA supports the city council in controlling all aspects of city life.

Deunan Knute, a fighter extraordinaire has been living alone in the wastelands, not realizing that the war is over. She is beset by two warring groups of fighters, one of which who is trying to kill her, and the other group, which rescues her and takes her to Olympia. There she is re-acquainted with her long lost lover, Briareos, who now has been transformed into a cyborg after his body was lost in the war. She is tasked to join “ESWAT,” a special mecha-enabled police force that keeps order within the city. Deunan also befriends a biodroid named Hitomi, who shows her around the city. Unfortunately, Deunan barely gets a chance to settle down before the assassination attempts on her life start.

Duenan quickly learns that she has been dropped in the middle of a power struggle between humans, who are concerned that the biodroids secretly aim to exterminate them, and biodroids, who worry the same about the humans. Somehow, Deunan has become essential in this struggle, yet it has nothing to do with her fighting capabilities. It turns out that her parents, before dying, developed a method for biodroids to reproduce, which would make them almost exactly like humans. But this research was lost long ago. Now, Deunan has become a pawn for both sides of this struggle, and worse, it appears as if her ex-lover, Briareos has chosen sides.

Unfortunately, the story in this version of Appleseed is problematic at best. There are too many sub-plots that obfuscate the key points. The myriad of loose ends introduced that are never followed up on. Gia, the sentient computer that runs Olympus is the probably the worst casualty. We get introduced to her, and, if you know something of the Appleseed story from the Manga, you expect to see lots more than what actually ends up being conveyed. In the end, the plot centers on a simple theme of racism. This is a shame as there were so many interesting cyberpunk aspects of Olympus that get short-circuited.

The Animation: Appleseed’s backgrounds are wonderfully rendered. This more than anything accounts for the majority of the “wows” Appleseed received. They are done in a way that allows 3D camera maneuvering, so as to allow you to see the same scene from multiple angles, and at times, even provides Matrix bullet-time effects. For the most part, the 3D CG overlaid with 2D cell shading really works. It’s an extension of the idea we saw in Malice@Doll, only with far better rendering tools. The machines look especially awesome. Both the Gunhed style tanks at the beginning of the movie and the platform sentinels at the end. Unlike many cyberpunk movies, there isn’t a dominating color palette in Appleseed, but the color scheme seems to stick more often than not to light and dark shades blue-greens, with yellow & browns in transition scenes.

In terms of the characters, only Deunan Knute really looks polished. Her body movements, facial expressions and general actions really work. The rest, especially the human characters, often look stilted in their moments. Hitomi, their biodroid friend, is especially problematic at times. This might be due more to the motion-capture techniques they use, which work wonderfully for the city, but not so well for the characters. Also, I really dislike the way they animated the hair. The hair on the humans in the 2004 edition look like something out of Reboot. However, considering the budget, I think they made the right decision in spending scarce resources on Deunan. Had they just made everyone look slightly better, Appleseed would have faltered horribly. By at least making Deunan polished, they developed a star that fit right alongside their wonderful backgrounds.

The Sound: Many times throughout the anime, Appleseed plays more like a music video than it does a movie. The modern heavy rock beats worked well for the action scenes. And truly, the action scenes are where Appleseed excels. There, the 3D positional sound, the music accompaniment and the 3D CG graphics are at their absolute best. The accompanying score really wasn’t all the memorable, but at least served up the slower paced moods fairly well.

Differences From Shirow’s Work: While both animes deviate from Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed Manga, Aramaki’s version is the most egregious. While the 2004 version starts outside of Olympia as the Manga does, it only has Duenan there, whereas in the Manga has both. This version introduces a new dramatic twist of Duenan and Briareos getting back together for the first time in two years. While this in itself isn’t bad, the side-effect is: these two characters are no NOTHING like the Manga. The Duenan Knute and Briareos of Shirow’s Manga, and of the 1988 version, are precursors to the Ghost in the Shell’s Motoko and Batou. Here, Briareos is a moody, lost soul trying to deal with his cyborg body, and Duenan is far more vulnerable than tough. The playful chemistry we see between these two both in the Manga and the 1988 anime is completely missing here. For those who aren’t familiar with the Manga, this probably won’t bug you, but it certainly sapped some of the enjoyment out of this movie for me – so much so that I’m dropping a star off the review for it.

The Bottom Line: Appleseed is definitely worth seeing for the visuals alone. While some of the characters don’t work, the Duenan, the machines and the action scenes work wonderfully. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t equal up. Too many elements are introduced and then discarded in favor of a truly simplistic storyline. They could have done better. Also, as I mention above, this is not the Deunan and Briareos I’ve become familiar with – these characters are different from both the Manga and the earlier anime. This bugged me enough to drop a star from the review, but you might not mind so much.

Freakangels: A Steampunk Webcomics

2008-04-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

FREAKANGELSA page from Freakangels episode 8.

A Resource on How to Draw SteamPunk Machines

2008-04-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Mission:
The purpose of this web page is not to teach you how to draw. I will not be going though the technique, perspective, color, line weight, software, or any of the stuff you can easily surf up. This page is to inform artists who want to draw steampunk machines but don't quite understand how steam works. The focus is to add enough elements to your drawings, to make your steampunk machines more believable.

Validation:

I feel that too often, steampunk designs are too fancy. They go too cool and end up loosing the all important look & feel of old tech steampunk. I think that it is important to state that I make real working steampunk machines / robots for a hobby. My steam site: Crabfu SteamWorks, contains lots of miniature, real working, live - steam machines. There has been overwhelming media coverage of my work, probably because I took it from the fake sci-fi movie magic, into the real world. Through experience and trial and error, I've learned not only to make something look like it would work, but actually does work.

Steampunk Tree House

2008-04-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Xeni visits the Steampunk Tree House, a 40+-foot-tall interactive sculpture created by a group of artists in Oakland, CA, and assembled for the first time at Burning Man. More than 60 people helped to create it, and in today's episode, you'll hear from project participants Alan Rorie, Nathaniel Taylor, and David Shulman.

(Special thanks to Steampunk Tree House creator, project manager and creative director Sean Orlando. Thanks also to the team at Kinetic Steam Works. Still image shown here by Neil K of burningcam.com, thanks to VA for air travel, and Wayneco for accommodations).

Update: Scott Beale has been following this project for a while over at Laughing Squid blog: Link.

VR (Virtual Reality) in Arts

2007-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Many science fiction books and movies have imagined characters being "trapped in virtual reality". One of the first modern works to use this idea was Daniel F. Galouye's novel Simulacron-3, which was made into a German teleplay titled Welt am Draht ("World on a Wire") in 1973 and into a movie titled The Thirteenth Floor in 1999.

Other science fiction books have promoted the idea of virtual reality as a partial, but not total, substitution for the misery of reality (in the sense that a pauper in the real world can be a prince in VR), or have touted it as a method for creating breathtaking virtual worlds in which one may escape from Earth's now toxic atmosphere. They are not aware of this, because their minds exist within a shared, idealized virtual world known as Dream Earth, where they grow up, live, and die, never knowing the world they live in is but a dream. Stanislaw Lem wrote in early 1960 a short story "dziwne skrzynie profesora Corcorana" in which he presented a scientist, who devised a completely artificial virtual reality. Amongst the beings trapped inside his created virtual world, there is also a scientist, who also devised such machines creating another level of virtual world.

The Piers Anthony novel Killobyte follows the story of a paralysed cop trapped in a virtual reality game by a hacker, whom he must stop to save a fellow trapped player with diabetes slowly succumbing to insulin shock. This novel toys with the idea of both the potential positive therapeutic uses, such as allowing the paralysed to experience the illusion of movement while stimulating unused muscles, as well as virtual realities' dangers.

An early short science fiction story — "The Veldt" — about an all too real "virtual reality" was included in the 1951 book The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury and may be the first fictional work to fully describe the concept.

Other popular fictional works that use the concept of virtual reality include William Gibson's Neuromancer which defined the concept of cyberspace, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, in which he made extensive reference to the term "avatar" to describe one's representation in a virtual world, and Rudy Rucker's The Hacker and the Ants, in which programmer Jerzy Rugby uses VR for robot design and testing.

Here is a list in which you can find further reviews of movies having VR subject in them by cyberpunkreview.com

Television

Perhaps the earliest example of virtual reality on television is a Doctor Who serial "The Deadly Assassin". This story, first broadcast in 1976, introduced a dream-like computer-generated reality known as the Matrix (no relation to the film — see below). The first major television series to showcase virtual reality was Star Trek: The Next Generation. They featured the holodeck, a virtual reality facility on starships, that enabled its users to recreate and experience anything they wanted. One difference from current virtual reality technology, however, was that replicators, force fields, holograms, and transporters were used to actually recreate and place objects in the holodeck, rather than relying solely on the illusion of physical objects, as is done today.

In Japan and Hong Kong, the first anime series to use the idea of virtual reality was Video Warrior Laserion (1984).

An anime series known as Lain:Serial Experiments included a virtual reality world known as "The Wired" that eventually co-existed with the real world.

Channel 4's Gamesmaster (1992 – 1998) also used a VR headset in its "tips and cheats" segment.

BBC 2's Cyberzone (1993) was the first true "virtual reality" game show. It was presented by Craig Charles.

FOX's VR.5 (1995) starring Lori Singer and David McCallum, used what appeared to be mistakes in technology as part of the show's on-going mystery.

In 2002, Series 4 of hit New Zealand teen sci-fi TV Series, The Tribe featured the arrival of a new tribe to the city, The Technos. They tried to gain power by introducing Virtual Reality to the city. The tribes would battle each other in the Virtual World in a "game" designed by the leader of The Techno's, Ram. However, the effects of VR on the people turned nasty when they started to fight in the real world as well, after too much use made them unable to tell the difference between what was real and what was virtual.

In 2005, Brazilian's Globo TV features a show where VR helmets are used by the attending audience in a space simulation called Conquista de Titã, broadcasted for more than 20 million viewers weekly.

In the anime Yugioh there's a virtual reality world created by the main characters rival Seto Kaiba consisting on playing the game of duel monsters in a virtual reality world where if you lose all your life points you become deleted.

The Popular .hack multimedia franchise is based on a virtual reality MMORPG ironically dubbed "The World"

Motion pictures

Steven Lisberger's film TRON was the first mainstream Hollywood picture to explore the idea, which was popularized more recently by the Wachowski brothers in 1999's The Matrix. The Matrix was significant in that it presented virtual reality and reality as often overlapping, and sometimes indistinguishable. Total Recall and David Cronenberg's film EXistenZ dealt with the danger of confusion between reality and virtual reality in computer games. Cyberspace became something that most movies completely misunderstood, as seen in The Lawnmower Man. Also, the British comedy Red Dwarf used in several episodes the idea that life (or at least the life seen on the show) is a virtual reality game. This idea was also used in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. Another movie that has a bizarre theme is Brainscan, where the point of the game is to be a virtual killer. A more artistic and philosophical perspective on the subject can be seen in Avalon. There is also a film from 1995 called "Virtuosity" with Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe that dealt with the creation of a serial killer, used to train law enforcement personnel, that escapes his virtual reality into the real world.

Music videos

The lengthy video for hard rock band Aerosmith's 1993 single "Amazing" depicted virtual reality, going so far as to show two young people participating in virtual reality simultaneously from their separate personal computers (while not knowing the other was also participating in it) in which the two engage in a steamy makeout session, sky-dive, and embark on a motorcycle journey together.

Games

In 1991, the company (originally W Industries, later renamed) Virtuality licenced the Amiga 3000 for use in their VR machines and released a VR gaming system called the 1000CS. This was a stand-up immersive HMD platform with a tracked 3D joystick. The system featured several VR games including Dactyl Nightmare (shoot-em-up), Legend Quest (adventure and fantasy), Hero (VR puzzle), Grid Busters (shoot-em-up). Virtual Reality I Glasses Personal Display System is a visor and headphones headset that is compatible with any video input including 3D broadcasting, and usable with most game systems (Nintendo, PlayStation, etc.). Virtual Reality World 3D Color Ninja game comes with headset visor and ankle and wrist straps that sense the player's punches and kicks. Virtual Reality Wireless TV Tennis Game comes with a toy tennis racket that senses the player's swing, while Wireless TV Virtual Reality Boxing includes boxing gloves that the player wears and jabs with. Nintendo's Virtual Boy was sold for only one year, 1995. Bob Ladrach brought Virtual Knight into the major theme park arcades in 1994. Aura Interactor Virtual Reality Game Wear is a chest and back harness through which the player can feel punches, explosions, kicks, uppercuts, slam-dunks, crashes, and bodyblows. It works with Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

In the Mage: The Ascension role-playing game, the mage tradition of the Virtual Adepts is presented as the real creators of VR. The Adepts' ultimate objective is to move into virtual reality, scrapping their physical bodies in favour of improved virtual ones. Also, the .hack series centers on a virtual reality video game. This shows the potentially dangerous side of virtual reality, demonstrating the adverse effects on human health and possible viruses, including a comatose state that some players assume. Metal Gear Solid bases heavily on VR usage, either as a part of the plot, or simply to guide the players through training sessions. In Kingdom Hearts II, the character Roxas lives in a virtual Twilight Town until he merges with Sora. In System Shock, the player has implants making him able to enter into a kind of cyberspace. Its sequel, System Shock 2 also features some minor levels of VR.

Due to the increasing popularity of massively multiplayer games and simulated reality fiction, some members of the MMOG community have jokingly compared real life to MMORPG mechanics.

In 2006 a German company released VR 3D Dragonflight.

Fine Art

David Em was the first fine artist to create navigable virtual worlds in the 1970s. His early work was done on mainframes at III, JPL and Cal Tech. Jeffrey Shaw explored the potential of VR in fine arts with early works like Legible City (1989), Virtual Museum (1991), Golden Calf(1994). Canadian artist Char Davies created immersive VR art pieces Osmose (1995) and Ephémère (1998). Maurice Benayoun's work introduced metaphorical, philosophical or political content, combining VR, network, generation and intelligent agents, in works like Is God Flat (1994), The Tunnel under the Atlantic (1995), World Skin (1997). Other pioneering artists working in VR have included Rita Addison, Rebecca Allen, Perry Hoberman, Jacki Morie, and Brenda Laurel.

What is Virtual Reality?

2007-09-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. Some advanced, haptic systems now include tactile information, generally known as force feedback, in medical and gaming applications. Users can interact with a virtual environment or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove, the Polhemus boom arm, and omnidirectional treadmill. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world, for example, simulations for pilot or combat training, or it can differ significantly from reality, as in VR games. In practice, it is currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity virtual reality experience, due largely to technical limitations on processing power, image resolution and communication bandwidth. However, those limitations are expected to eventually be overcome as processor, imaging and data communication technologies become more powerful and cost-effective over time.

It is unclear exactly where the future of virtual reality is heading. In the short run, the graphics displayed in the HMD will soon reach a point of near realism. The audio capabilities will move into a new realm of three dimensional sound. This refers to the addition of sound channels both above and below the individual. The virtual reality application of this future technology will most likely be in the form of over ear headphones.

Within existing technological limits, sight and sound are the two senses which best lend themselves to high quality simulation. There are however attempts being currently made to simulate smell. The purpose of current research is linked to a project aimed at treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans by exposing them to combat simulations, complete with smells. Although it is often seen in the context of entertainment by popular culture, this illustrates the point that the future of VR is very much tied into therapeutic, training, and engineering demands. Given that fact, a full sensory immersion beyond basic tactile feedback, sight, sound, and smell is unlikely to be a goal in the industry. It is worth mentioning that simulating smells, while it can be done very realistically, requires costly research and development to make each odor, and the machine itself is expensive and specialized, using capsules tailor made for it. Thus far basic, and very strong smells such as burning rubber, cordite, gasoline fumes, and so-forth have been made. Something complex such as a food product or specific flower would be prohibitively expensive (see the perfume industry as an example).

In order to engage the other sense of taste, the brain must be manipulated directly. This would move virtual reality into the realm of simulated reality like the "head-plugs" used in The Matrix. Although no form of this has been seriously developed at this point, Sony has taken the first step. On April 7, 2005, Sony went public with the information that they had filed for and received a patent for the idea of the non-invasive beaming of different frequencies and patterns of ultrasonic waves directly into the brain to recreate all five senses. There has been research to show that this is possible. Sony has not conducted any tests as of yet and says that it is still only an idea.

It has long been feared that Virtual Reality will be the last invention of man, as once simulations become cheaper and more widespread, no one will ever want to leave their "perfect" fantasies. Satirists, however, have nodded towards humans' aversion to catheters and starvation.

W. Gibson's Pattern Recognition Reviewed

2007-07-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

(Reviewed by Bill Robinson MAR 16, 2003)

"Sun-glasses with a built-in computer screen on the lenses, wrist bans that can make phone calls and pens consumers can use to write e-mails and send messages." Sound sci-fi? It's not. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Motorola plans soon to preview these so called "wearable digital assistants." The company predicts that these devices will be on the market by 2005.

This kind of technology would be quite at home in William Gibson's new novel, Pattern Recognition. Gibson is known for his futuristic science fiction. He is cited as the inventor of the term "cyberspace." However, this novel is set in the present. It's a here and now where a rapidly sprawling Internet interconnects as never before, where marketing and mass media are creating a global consciousness.

Gibson is an author known for his "atmospherics." This time around, he does not disappoint. He goes international, taking Cayce Pollard, his young heroine, to a ragged, worn around the edges London, to Tokyo where nature has been usurped by a "maniacally animated forest of signs." He is at his most descriptive when the action moves to Moscow with its "Cyclopean Stalin-era buildings."

The novel is a fast-moving movie, a series of information-rich "visuals." The feeling that Gibson elicits from his urban "sets" is further enhanced by keenly observant descriptions of interiors. Gibson could make a good interior designer, always commenting on the strange color and construction of walls and the peculiar nature of window treatments. When first in any room, he usually provides an annotated inventory of any furniture.

These interiors and exteriors are scaffolding for a plot, which, though slow in parts, does build to a surprising and emotional climax. It is the story of disparate members of Fetish:Footgage:Forum, a Web chat group. F:F:F members share an obsession with short, highly evocative movie clips. The "footage," as it is known reverently, is being distributed sporadically in small segments via the Internet. Beliefs concerning the meaning of the footage and, equally important, the mystery of who might be "the maker" take on the flavor of religious belief.

Cayce, a young woman in her twenties has, since an early child, suffered from a severe case of what can only be called brand logo phobia. Encountering logos for Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton, Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley - particular fashion-related brands - make her violently ill.

Cayce also has the unique ability to recognize a new brand logo that "works" and one that does not. This brings her to marketing firms and advertising agencies where her skills are used to evaluate the effectiveness of brand symbols. Not surprisingly, she is well paid and kept busy.

She is slight in build, and also slight, too, in intelligence. She might be described as one-dimensional. But, this is true of most of Gibson's characters. Cayce and others in the novel have a comic-book nature. More attention is paid to what they wear than to what they think. Gibson's dialogue, too, is simple, its primary role being to advance the plot.

However, the characters are carefully and entertainingly drawn. This is Gibson's skill. His work is fiction, by definition not real. And, while Cayce and her friends and enemies are fictitious, they are fascinating. They are unique types, and Gibson makes us enjoy knowing what kind of shoes they wear.

Here is the description of Cayce's primary uniform: "A small boy's black Fruit of the Loom T-shirt, thoroughly shrunken, a thin gray V-necked pullover purchased by the half dozen from a supplier to New England prep schools, and a new and oversized pair of black 501's, every trademark carefully removed. Even the buttons on these have been ground flat, featureless, by a puzzled Korean locksmith in the Village…"

A warning: the book begins in a way that can be confusing. Gibson throws the reader right into the swing of things and into this ultra-real fictional present often presenting information with little explanation. He moves quickly, often making it difficult to follow. And the scattershot prose is often confusing. Don't be alarmed. Several chapters into the book, the narrative calms downs, and it becomes more straightforward. Most readers will be relieved. Some may regret the lapse back into more traditional storytelling.

Little else is traditional about Pattern Recognition. The novel visits strange places, peopled by bizarre individuals. It follows young Cayce on her sometimes-confusing journey as she searches for the elusive secret of the mysterious "footage." And, as Gibson's "atmospheres," become more fantastic, they become surprisingly familiar, set in a present that is weird and fantastic, but not so dissimilar from our own.

Ghost in the Shell (Kōkaku Kidōtai) Review

2007-07-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic police thriller dealing with the exploits of Motoko Kusanagi, a member of the covert operations section of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission, Section 9, which specializes in fighting technology-related crime. She may be named after one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan and Shirow makes reference to them at the end of the second manga. Although supposedly equal to all other members, Kusanagi fills the leadership role in the team, and is usually referred to as "the Major" due to her past rank in the armed forces. She is capable of superhuman feats, and cybernetically specialized for her job—her body is almost completely mechanized; only her brain and a segment of her spinal cord are organic.

The setting of Ghost in the Shell is cyberpunk or postcyberpunk, similar to that of William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. More than other cyberpunk authors, however, Shirow focuses more on the ethical and philosophical ramifications of the widespread merging of humanity and technology. The development of artificial intelligence and an omnipresent computer network set the stage for a reevaluation of human identity and uniqueness. More so than the films, the manga tackles these questions head on: Kusanagi and her colleagues face external threats and also suffer internal conflict over their own natures.

The Matrix, a very successful 1999 sci-fi action movie, contains imagery strongly influenced by Ghost in the Shell (as well as other anime). For example, the Matrix digital rain (the falling patterns of green text that represent the code of the Matrix) resembles the opening of the first 1995 Ghost in the Shell film. During the opening scene in which Trinity flees the Agents, the shot of the Agent landing on the roof is almost identical to a shot of Kusanagi during the pursuit of the first 'puppet' in the first film. Also, the shot in which the first puppet is fleeing Batou in the market in the first Ghost in the Shell film and a similar scene where Neo is fleeing a trio of the Agents in a real life market are linked by exploding watermelons and terrified civilians amongst crossfire (although Neo is not harmed). The famous lobby shootout features Neo and Trinity taking cover behind stone pillars, just as Kusanagi does during the battle with a tank. There is also a clear relation between the conception of the Matrix and the cybernetically enhanced brains of Ghost in the Shell. There are similarities between the plots of both movies. In the Ghost in the Shell film, Kusanagi is first searching for the Puppet Master to arrest him, while in the end of the movie, it turns out that the Puppet Master was looking for Kusanagi to merge with her. In The Matrix, Neo is first searching for Morpheus. When Neo finally finds Morpheus, Morpheus states that he was searching his entire life for 'The One' (Neo). Both series draw themes and archetypes from William Gibson's book Neuromancer and some of his other short stories.

The Wachowski brothers, makers of the Matrix trilogy, acknowledged the influence of Ghost in the Shell in an interview. Producer Joel Silver also admitted in an interview on the Animatrix DVD that he was shown the Ghost in the Shell movie during a pitch from the Wachowski brothers to indicate the style and look of the film they wanted for The Matrix.

The videogame Oni by Bungie Software was inspired by Ghost in the Shell and shares a number of similarities, especially the main character, Konoko. Deus Ex is not as tightly coupled, but shares the concept of merging human and artificial minds, along with weapons and technologies somewhat similar to those in the Ghost in the Shell universe. Although not part of official Deus Ex canon, a fan-created mod called Deus Ex: Zodiac has a scenario where the player helps a version of Motoko merge with the Puppet Master. It is also notable that the Gunther Hermann character looks very similar to Ghost in the Shell's Batou, likely a reference.

"Then she got into the lift, for the good reason that the door stood open; and was shot smoothly upwards. The very fabric of life now, she thought as she rose, is magic. In the eighteenth century we knew how everything was done; but here I rise through he air; I listen to voices in America; I see men fly---but how it's done, I can't even begin to wonder. So my belief in magic returns."
---Virginia Wolf, Orlando.

Arthur C. Clarke was the other wise person who noticed that technology, sufficiently advanced, would be indistinguishable from magic. The master Japanese manga creator Shirow Masamune shares this view: "Science," declares a character in Shirow's early cyberpunk graphic novel Appleseed, "is the new black magic."

In Ghost in the Shell , the animated film version of a later Shirow work, a gifted director, Oshii Mamoru, works hard to invest the author's futurism with a quality of the uncanny, as if our awe before technological advancement has gone full circle and become, instead, indistinguishable from superstition.

Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku Kidotai , 1995), which has been playing around the country and will be out on Manga Entertainment home video this summer, is a breakthrough work, an anime spine-chiller that is more fully alive than most live action movies. It should be required viewing for critics who fear that snowballing new film technologies will inexorably make movies even more mechanical and soulless than they are already --- as if mechanical thinking, especially about plot and character, wasn't the real hazard all along.

Even more dramatically than such heartfelt techno romps as Babe and Toy Story, Ghost in the Shell , is an artfully fabricated mechanism with discernible life-signs, a factory product with a human soul. Its traditional cell-animation techniques are augmented with swatches of glittery computer graphics, but what matters most is that its complicated story and sophisticated themes are consistently interesting. The picture resembles its central character, a cyborg cop of the near future with a crucial kernel of actual brain tissue in her metal cranium;; it's an entertainment machine with functioning gray matter.

On a purely technical level, GITS is dazzling. Only die-hard Western Animation chauvinists, clutching their stop watches and fixating upon the number of frames-per-second that flicker by (which is a function of money, anyway, rather than technique), only these perceptually impaired souls could fault the movie's craftsmanship. Director Oshii is a master of mobile spatial effects. His blasted cityscapes feel three dimensional because he moves through them without inhibition, gazing at them from every possible angle. (Supposedly , in his off hours, he prowls Tokyo with a video camera collecting novel vantage points.)

The characters, too, wear their fabricated status lightly. Some of the most impressive "effects" in Ghost in the Shell are closely observed incidental glimpses of people changing clothes or climbing out of bed in the morning. As always, when human truth is captured by hand, in a drawing or painting, rather than by photography, it's the quality of perception that's impressive, not the technical achievement. This is one account of the encroachments of robots and cybernetics onto human turf that doesn't seem to have fallen in love with the enemy.

This is a future world in which the replacement of frail human body parts by sturdier mechanical ones has reached a logical conclusion. Our heroine, Section Six special operative Kusanagi, has been battered about so much and fitted with so many prosthetic replacement parts that she barely exists in her original form. Only a portion of her God-given organic gray matter remains inside her titanium alloy "shell." In this augmented incarnation, Kusanagi makes a stellar operative. She can plug listening devices directly into her nervous system, and "dive" mentally into computer circuits and monkey around with the programs. Of course, there are quite a few other people around who can do this, too, including some government "ghost hackers" who are perfectly willing to implant false memories -- "synthetic experiences" -- into innocent citizens and manipulate them like puppets when it suits their purposes.

Kusangi remains confident, however, that her "ghost," or soul, has remained intact deep inside her walnut sized lump of surviving brain tissue -- until some strange encounters in the line of duty force her to re-examine the entire concept. A super-powerful pirate ghost hacker, The Puppet Master, has been sabotaging sensitive government initiatives. But when the Puppet Master appears, as a ghost in the shell of a female cyborg, he/she/it turns out to be something new under the sun, an intelligence that has never been human. A fragment of computer virus that replicated itself and acquired sentience, the Puppet Master has commandeered a body in order to demand "political asylum," the rights that any other "life form" would be entitled to.

Superstar writer-artist Shirow Masamune, who created Ghost in the Shell in the pages of Young Jump magazine in 1993, is a rare one man band in the manga field, where the norm involves squads of assistants working in near factory conditions to crank out hundreds of pages a month. Shirow, a former high school art teacher, lives near Kobe, well away from the high-pressure Tokyo manga scene, and lovingly writes and draws and Zip-a-Tones every page. He has been one of chief exponents of the "mecha" school since the mid-1980s, when his second professional effort, the 1,000 page-plus epic Appleseed , was published by a small independent company and became a word-of-mouth hit. It is a pleasing irony that these almost fanatically detailed celebrations of the mechanical are produced in conditions befitting hand-thrown pots or boutique jewelry. In his attitudes toward manga production, at least, Shirow is practically a Luddite.

Most of his work contains certain signature elements: these are, in his own words, "Females, mecha, computer brains, and Special Forces units." His lissome heroines (there isn't a single male protagonist in the Shirow canon) tend to be soldiers or SWAT cops in form-fitting battle armor that bristles with machine enhancements. Shirow himself contends, with justice, that his reputation for turning out minutely detailed art is exaggerated; the complexity is in the content, he says, not in its depiction. His stories, crawling with spidery marginal notes that supply fan-satisfying facts about every vehicle and weapon, have their "technical manuals" built right in.

Ghost in the Shell didn't emerge in a cultural vacuum, of course. It didn't spring full-blown from Shirow's solitary forehead. Rather, it's an evolutionary advance in the "mecha" sub-genre of Japanese manga and anime, a welter of giant robots, "mobile suits," cyborgs, and more recently, computer hacking and artificial intelligence. Everything from Tezuka Osamu's boy-robot hero of the 1950s, Tetzuan Atomu (aka Astroboy), often cited as the founding icon of the entire Japanese comics and animation industry, to later variations like Giant Robo, Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross (aka Robotech) and Akira, fall into the same broad category of tales about humans that interact, or intersect, or meld with their mechanical appendages. (The kid-cult TV show Power Rangers is an adaptation of a Japanese program from the sub-genre's live-action wing.)

Director Oshii Mamoru was already a leading light of the anime branch of the mecha movement when he came to Ghost in the Shell, as distinctive in his way as Shirow but with impeccable industry-insider credentials. His reputation was built, in films like Patlabor and Patlabor 2, upon the sheer sensuous splendor of his futuristic battle scenes. He is also credited with making some of the first mecha films that are truly adult in their approach to character.

In interviews Oshii claims to get many of his best ideas in dreams, and he works in more conspicuous Christian references per film than any Asian moviemaker this side of John Woo. He also had enough clout to demand and get a free hand on Ghost in the Shell, and in picking and choosing episodes from this serial epic he shifted the emphasis in interesting ways. The surprising resonance of the final product results partly from the tension between Shirow's broader speculative approach to the implications of the story and Oshii's introspective bent.

In general, Oshii's approach to Ghost differs from Shirow's in emphasizing human and philosophical concerns over political and technological ones. A lot of Shirow's lavishly depicted weaponry has been omitted, and Kusanagi's sense of personal implication in the Puppet Master case has moved to the foreground. Shirow is energized by social issues like the potential for eavesdropping and mind control that would arise with "ghost hacking." Oshii is more interested in the challenge the technology presents to one individual's sense of her own humanity.

It was Oshii who added a couple of quotations from the Bible to the discussion of the birth of "ghost" consciousness in either an artificial or an organic "shell": "Now I see through a glass, darkly. . ." mutters a reflective Kusanagi, to the befuddlement of an android comrades in arms.

The central issue here is the one that engaged Philip K. Dick in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the 1968 source novel of Blade Runner. "What if a cyber-brain could generate its own 'ghost'?" wonders the mostly cybernetic Kusanagi -- with the "ghost" of the title understood not just the sum total of a person's memories but the bedrock of her self-awareness. If that essence can take up residence as easily in a mechanical as in an organic system, "then what's the value of being human?" Only the most thematically ambitious science fiction has wrestled effectively with similar concerns.

Oshii condenses the novelistic richness of Ghost in the Shell , of necessity, but he also generalizes it. He seems to want to ascend as efficiently as possible to the level of abstraction and metaphor. He deliberately elides specificity.

In the manga, the city setting is simply Tokyo, right down to the street names. Shirow peppers his pages with sly satirical digs at Japanese political institutions, and bases some plot lines on recent political scandals, notably the covert involvement of the supposedly neutral Japanese government in the US Cold War weapons build-up in the pacific.

In Oshii's version, even the locale is indeterminate. Are we even in Japan, any longer, or are we somewhere else entirely? Or nowhere? (The metropolis is now called Newport City, and it resembles Hong Kong a great deal more than Tokyo. The bee-hive tenement apartment blocks and signboards stretched across the neon canyons are distinctly HK-like, and unless I missed something all the signs are written in Chinese characters only, without furigana.)

Shirow seems to be a basically down to earth individual, a responsible citizen concerned about the future. He finally emphasizes the strategies people will have to come up with to function in a terminally disorienting world. To that extent, at least, he's an optimist; he thinks that our sense of day-to-day responsibility will keep us from going under.

Oshii, however, seems to embrace disorientation. He sees it as a stepping stone to a higher form of consciousness. His use of a trance-industrial music score and gliding camera moves that caress the facades of looming buildings -- especially on a couple of extended montage interludes -- invest the high tech vistas with an ominous undercurrent, a whiff of the uncanny. He makes the implications of metastasizing technology seem awe inspiring, sublime, like the poisonous beauty of a smog-filtered sunset.

Ghost in the Shell is a carefully worked out set of variations on the theme of what's human and what isn't; the Philip K. Dick conundrum. The movie, in its startling soulfulness, finds a way to resolve the apparent contradictions.

In the manga, Shirow Masamune's images of one mind "diving" into another are frankly sexual. In the film, Oshii takes us a step further, hinting, 2001-style, at the birth of a higher form of consciousness from the intermingling of human and machine intelligence. The ghost of the Puppeteer, "spontaneously generated in a sea of data," and the ghostly remnants of Kusangi's ghost that have survive the obliteration of her body, produces a new creature, inhabiting the body of an eerie cyborg adolescent with a reedy, oddly inorganic soprano voice. Looking out over the city, in a shot that mirrors the movie's very first, this Neo-Kusanagi quotes the Bible again ("When I was a child, I spake as a child. . .") and wonders aloud, "Where does the newborn go from here?"

Ghost in the Shell succeeds where all the software designers and special effects technicians on earth have so far failed. It makes us look forward to the coming century of rampant super-technology as the dawning of a new age of. magic.

Avalon

2007-07-19T04:01:00.000-07:00

Avalon (2001)

A Japanese production, shot in Poland with Polish actors and crew, Avalon effectively merges the two cultures to create an original style. Parts of it are beautiful, while others are effective at evoking the drudgery of day-to-day life, which is a kind of beauty, I suppose. A majority of the film is shot on yellow film stock, bringing new meaning to the word dingy. Combined with retro-computers, zombie-like citizens, and the old Polish buildings, the near-sepia tones made me think of 1984, and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

The film starts within the game, as Ash wipes out anyone in her way. Why? Well it is how she pays the rent, but other than that, it is only for the vague payoff of experience points and going to higher levels. The virtual reality world looks as drab as normal life, but it adds in excessive violence. Anyway you look at it, life in this future isn't much fun. The game battles aren't exactly exciting, but they are interesting to watch.

But most of the film isn't about fighting. It is about Ash's isolation, her obsession, and existing in this sad state. The camera lovingly lingers on Ash making a meal (where some real colors appear) and clings to her as she rides the trolley home over and over. I've heard Avalon referred to as a melding of European art film and anime (director Mamoru Oshii is best known as the director of Ghost in the Shell), and I wouldn't disagree.

The plot exists only for the theme, which focuses on existence and what is important in reality. As is usually the case for plots that are slaves to the message, not much happens, what does happen occurs slowly and repeatedly, and important points are left up in the air. Apparently, this allows us to have more to think about. But the theme isn't that groundbreaking, nor does it require so much prodding. This is philosophy that's been touched on by The Matrix, eXistenZ, and particularly The Thirteenth Floor. Sure, the concepts are interesting enough to be the basis of another film, but they aren't novel enough to let the plot slush away.

You won't be distracted from your existential meditations by the fate of Ash. She's alone and rabid in her need to get ahead in the game, but has no other personality traits. We're never told why she is as she is. She ends up just another object on the screen, able to incite thoughts, but never feelings.

Uneven in most areas, Avalon sinks or swims on its atmosphere, and there it excels, with a compelling score adding the last touch. It doesn't fit in the "all style, no substance" category, but it is for the style that you should take a look.

Cyberpunk of all Cyberpunk movies: Johnny Mnemonic

2007-07-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Johnny Mnemonic is the most Cyberpunk of all Cyberpunk movies. Walking through my own definition:

It is based on a short story by the father of Cyberpunk, William Gibson, who also wrote the screenplay.
Johnny is a self-centered, emotionally troubled smuggler chased by the Yakuza.
The world is filled with violent mercenaries, psychopathic hit men, profiteering middlemen, and greedy, sociopathic, corporate executives.
The date is 2021 and corporations in concert with organized crime control society. If you're not part of that elite world, you live in poverty on the streets.
Computers are everywhere and some, like Johnny, can jack-in. Cybernetic body parts are the norm.
Tech-oriented slang is common, particularly among the "low-tech" street people.
Life is filled with betrayal and defeat.

For all the fancy trimmings, the story is an old one and quite simple at its heart. The protagonist has a thing he must deliver in a set timeframe or he'll die. Bad guys try to stop him and get the thing. Add in a sidekick and a bit of romance (in the same person), and this film's been made many times. It's not a bad story, but don't let the environment fool you into thinking there's more here than there is.

But this film isn't about story; it's about mood and background. Johnny Mnemonic creates a rich and strangely humorous world. The point is we're getting too much information in our daily lives and Gibson paints what that internal overload feels like in an external landscape. Everything is loud, hectic, disorganized, and just past our comprehension. Things pop in and disappear again with little explanation or motivation. In our fast-paced world, there's no time to understand the details. As such, Johnny Mnemonic is a cousin of Alice in Wonderland, with wacky characters doing what they do for reasons that are beyond us.

How well the film plays depends a lot on how interesting the background is and how amusing the characters are. Luckily, most of the sideshow freaks are a good time. Udo Kier (Blade, Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula) has made a living playing androgynous reprobates and as Johnny's traitorous agent, he's just over-the-top enough. His transsexual bodyguards are a notch more bizarre, but the winner in pure excess is Dolph Lundgren as the cybernetic Street Preacher assassin. While Kier purrs his lines, Lundgren gleefully proclaims them to the heavens. Henry Rollins uses his punk rock finesse as Spider, a "flesh-mechanic" doctor who is incapable of asking for someone to pass the bread without sarcasm. Add in Denis Akiyama as a Yakuza killer with a monofilament laser weapon in his thumb, and you've got yourself more than enough eccentric psychos for an hour and a half.

Takeshi Kitano, as the mastermind of the villains, is not as entertaining as his colleagues, but he works as atmosphere. Apparently, he was cast to satisfy Japanese audiences. The only complete failure is J-Bone, portrayed with one expression and one vocal tone by Ice-T. He never feels like he belongs in this world, and he isn't funny. He's drab. It's too bad as he gets much of the techno-babble that defines Cyberpunk.

Johnny and Jane are our Alice for the trip through the looking glass, and they aren't exactly normal. Jane is a low self-esteem bodyguard with a huge chip on her shoulder, implants to make her lethal, and a disease. Johnny is a brat who no longer remembers his childhood as he needed that brain space for data storage. In one of the best scenes, Johnny throws a tantrum, screaming out "I want room service...I want a $10,000 a night hooker. I want my shirts laundered like they do at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo." Don't we all. Even with their flaws, they are our guides simply because they are the only ones who make sense. Dina Meyers is completely believable, with pain washing across her face when she isn't angry or lost. As for Reeves, the part fits him perfectly. I have a theory that he is a master thespian in any genre film (using the term broadly) where there is something wrong with his brain or soul (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, I Love You to Death, The Devil's Advocate, The Matrix) while he reaches new heights of incompetence in any genre film where he's supposed to be a normal human (Chain Reaction, Speed, Much Ado About Nothing, Dracula). Luckily, Johnny is a stunted human missing a chunk of his mind so Reeves is in great shape.

While Johnny Mnemonic is a film meant to inundate the viewer with the sights and the sounds and the people of an overwhelming universe, it wouldn't have hurt that goal to spend some effort on the narrative. The climatic battle is far from satisfying.

I'm in the minority in giving a good grade to Johnny Mnemonic. The poor film couldn't win. Fans of Gibson were upset that it didn't adhere closer to his short story's vision. Everyone else was unhappy that it was too Cyberpunk, wanting normal characters instead of representations and getting lost in the slang. The Matrix has changed the vocabulary and if it was released now, Johnny Mnemonic would be mainstream. What a difference a few years make.

This review belongs to Matthew M. Foster
www.fosteronfilm.com

Ten Lesser-Known Cyberpunk Movies

2007-07-19T03:44:00.000-07:00

With the release of the new Keanu Reeves cyberpunk thriller The Matrix and the upcoming The 13th Floor virtual reality thriller (produced by Devlin/Emmerich, et al) it would seem that Hollywood is rethinking the cyberpunk genre - a genre that seems spent on the literary front and didn't exactly result in particularly huge successes at the box office in the past.

In this article we take a look at what critics thought of some lesser-known and oft-forgotten cyberpunk movies upon their release . . .

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981)
* * *

For a "fun" film this is pretty bleak.
Leonard Maltin

The movie's New York of 1997 would have been more interesting if it were seen as a genuinely different prison society, rather than as a recycled version of THE WARRIORS. And the antihero needs more human qualities and quirks; he seems lifted from old spaghetti Westerns.
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: Director Carpenter keeps the whole stew boiling to make a rather enjoyable dinner. Bit like curry - its charms are hard to explain but still enjoyable. If you haven't seen this one yet, rent it now!

HACKERS (1995)
* *

No great shakes, but fast pace and vivid direction make it fun.
Leonard Maltin

HACKERS is, I have no doubt, deeply dubious in the computer science department. It shares the common hacksploitation conceit that a kid with a computer and a modem can alter the course of human events with a few taps on his keyboard.
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: Just don't expect any real insight into the Hacker subculture and don't take it seriously and you're on your way to an passable evening at the cinema. Take along lots of popcorn . . .

JOHNNY MNEMONIC (1995)
* *

Intriguing premise, written by William Gibson and directed by artist Longo, goes absolutely nowhere, as uninteresting characters mouth laughable dialogue against a landscape of urban hell. Despite the computer graphics, this is cyberclaptrap.
Leonard Maltin

The fiction of Gibson is much prized on the campus, where, I am tempted to say, its fans know more about cyberspace than about fiction. That's why it's puzzling that this movie is so dumb about computers. Where did it get the notion that the best way to get information from Beijing to Newark would be to hand it to a courier and have him travel the distance? Hey, a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to invent computers and modems and satellites just to make trips like that unnecessary.
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: The situation is made worse by the presence of a wooden Keanu Reaves, first time director's Robert Loggia's flat look to the movie and Gibson's screenplay that tends to over explain events and terms. Had Neuromancer explained anything it would have had none of the impact it had.

NEMESIS (1993)
*

Just another amalgam of ideas borrowed from better movies.
Leonard Maltin

OUR TAKE: While this extremely derivative el cheapo cyberpunk action movie isn’t as bad as it could have been, it isn’t any good either.

SNEAKERS (1992)
* *

Why does this story take so long to unravel-and why does it jettison every shred of believability toward the end?
Leonard Maltin

The computer stuff in SNEAKERS has been widely touted (the studio even released a press kit on discs), but it's underwhelming in the movie. The big display of the secret program consists of a screen full of alphabet soup, which then unscrambles itself into a decoded message. The software to achieve this would, of course, be awesome, but the screen display is no big deal, and indeed one of the weaknesses of the movie is the way it pretends to be a techno-thriller when in fact it recycles much older traditions. Take Redford's team, which is yet another version of the World War II platoon that always had one of everything. This time there is the black guy (Sidney Poitier), the fat guy (Dan Aykroyd), the blind guy (David Strathairn), the woman (Mary McDonnell) and the kid (River Phoenix).
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: With its flat look and sometimes slow pacing it curiously feels like a movie made in the 'Seventies.

STRANGE DAYS (1995)
* * * ½

Though bombastic and overambitious, this is a rare film that manages to capture, in fits, the addictive thrill of virtual reality.
Leonard Maltin

The movie is a technical tour de force. Director Kathryn Bigelow (BLUE STEEL) and her designers and special effects artists create the vision of a city spinning out of control. Cinematographer Matthew F. Leonetti's point-of-view shots are virtuoso (especially one where a character falls from a roof in an apparently uninterrupted take). The pacing is relentless, and the editing, by Howard Smith, creates an urgency and desperation.
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: I have rarely seen a film so ruined by a tacked-on happy ending.

VIDEODROME (1983)
* *

Story gets slower - and sillier - as it goes along, with icky special effects by Rick Baker.
Leonard Maltin

The colors in VIDEODROME are mostly shades of dried blood. The characters are bitter and hateful, the images are nauseating, and the ending is bleak enough that when the screen fades to black it's a relief. This is the kind of movie that makes you want to see a different movie.
Roger Ebert

OUR TAKE: Not for the squeamish and if you want to see Debbie Harry (ex-lead singer of Blondie) extinguish a cigarette on her thigh then you'll no doubt won't be disappointed . . .

VIRTUOSITY (1995)
* *

Another unpleasant look at a futuristic society … Ugly, to say the least, although it's built on a foundation of some interesting ideas.
Leonard Maltin

OUR TAKE: Lots of techno buzzwords aside, there is not much new to this affair and one rather hopes that director Leonard could have done something more original with the material at hand.

WARGAMES (1983)
* * *

Entertaining to a point, but gets more contrived as it goes along, leading to finale straight out of an old B movie. Incidentally, it's easy to see why this was so popular with kids: most of the adults in the film are boobs.
Leonard Maltin

The movie absorbs us on emotional and intellectual levels at the same time. And the ending, a moment of blinding and yet utterly elementary insight, is wonderful.
Roger Ebert

The people who made it had half an idea. The film begins as a comedy about a teenage boy in Seattle who is caught up in the fascination of computers and video games; he has all this miracle-working technology and not a thought in the world about what to do with it. There's also the noise of speechmakers--the director, John Badham, loses his easy touch, and the picture goes flooey.
Paul Kael

OUR TAKE: Exciting and well-paced, the film also had a lot to say about leaving too much in the, um, hands of those IBM-compatible home computers. Today, with Windows 95, it is a lesson that we have already learnt . . .

WILD PALMS (1993)
* * *
OUR TAKE: Oliver Stone's cyberpunk Wild Palms TV miniseries owes perhaps more to David Lynch's Twin Peaks than it does to the writings of William Gibson (who actually makes a small cameo appearance in the film). Although the plot is confusing at times, Wild Palms is suitably bizarre watching featuring state-of-the-art special effects.

Official Fallout 3 Trailer

2007-07-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

War. War never changes..

Fallout: A Post-Nuclear RPG

2007-07-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

The past several years haven't exactly been kind to role-playing game fans. Very few role-playing games have been released since 1993, and those that have made it to retail shelves have largely been unsuccessful at combining playability and originality with the complexity that role-playing game fans love. The release of Blizzard Entertainment's action/role-playing game hybrid Diablo in early 1997 only increased role-playing gamers' anticipation for an equally playable game in a more elaborate, detailed world. After a four-year drought, the wait is over. Fallout is one of the best role-playing games to be released in several years and it succeeds in entertaining gamers by providing a fresh and compelling storyline, good graphics and sound, and attention to those little details that can transform a good game into a great one.

Fallout is an unofficial sequel to 1987's Wasteland, one of the most popular role-playing games of all time. While the overwhelming majority of computer role-playing games are set in some pseudo-medieval, Tolkien/AD&D-inspired world of orcs and battleaxes, Fallout is set in the future, several years after an exchange of nuclear weapons has devastated most of the world. Inhabitants who survived did so largely by sheltering themselves in giant underground vaults. Your character's life has been spent entirely within one such vault. A broken chip for your vault's water recycler forces your character to leave the relative safety of the vault to search for a replacement chip aboveground in the wasteland, where you'll encounter struggling communities of survivors, Road Warrior-esque gangs, human mutants, and even stranger creatures. Hardly a typical setting for a role-playing game, but the originality of the setting is one of the strengths of Fallout. In Fallout, rather than trudging through yet another dreary dungeon, in search of ye olde magic artifact to expel demon horde #782, your character will explore the haunting remnants of our own civilization and attempt to unravel the mysterious forces at work in postapocalyptic Southern California. The old 90210 neighborhood has changed, gang violence is rampant, two-headed cows roam Rodeo, and the new fashion accessory is a rocket launcher. And if the guns of the locals don't get you, the radiation might. Brandon, Kelly, why are you glowing like that?

Fallout oozes style. Not content with extrapolating a plausible but unexciting hi-tech view of the future, Fallout's design team instead crafted a vision of the future that combines 1950s cold war American culture and early, primitive computer technology (complete with ugly green monochrome screens and an abundance of vacuum tubes), with advanced energy weapons and chemical compounds. Nuka-cola anyone? Special mention should be made of Fallout's classy introduction, which unfolds like a 1950s Public Service announcement but depicts a future that is disturbingly bleak and hostile. Little tributes to classic science fiction films and TV shows such as Dr. Who, Road Warrior and Blade Runner pop up all over the place. Fans of Charlton Heston's cheesy science fiction filmmaking days will enjoy the opportunity to yell out Charlie's best lines from Soylent Green.

Negotiations to allow Fallout to utilize Steve Jackson Games' popular GURPS character system fell apart, but Interplay's replacement character creation system is detailed and thorough. Almost every time a computer game is released that purports to be a role-playing game, a seemingly inevitable onslaught of debate ensues over whether or not that game is, in fact, a role-playing game (as opposed to a member of some presumably inferior wanna-be genre). Fallout will likely avoid being the subject of such "meaningful" arguments, as the variety of characters that can be created and the truly different experiences that each type of character can have should satisfy even hard-core RPG players (and also make Fallout a very replayable game, which is fortunate since the main storyline can be completed relatively quickly).

Fallout uses a hybrid system of character development, which is both level-based (your character gains character levels by accumulating experience points) and skill-based (your character has 10 primary skill types that can be improved throughout the course of the game). You can also give your character up to two optional traits (such as the ability to see and function better at night), each having both a positive and negative effect on your character. Gore-mongers will want to pick the "bloody mess" trait, which causes your victims to die in the most graphically violent way possible. Finally, every time your character gains three character levels you can add a helpful "perk" ability to further distinguish your character. Do you want to be a good-natured doctor with a knack for big guns, a nimble gymnast with an addiction, a ruthless assassin, or a lucky thief? The choices you make will affect your character's encounters and, in particular, how the nonplayer characters in the game respond to your character.

Interaction with nonplayer characters (NPCs) is a bit disappointing. Most of the nonplayer characters in Fallout aren't big on conversation and run around blithely and inconsequentially. Shades of the early Ultima games from Richard Garriott and Origin Systems, Stationary NPCs are generally important and will engage in menu-driven conversations. Mobile NPCs, on the other hand, will bark a short message at your character, which will be randomly chosen from three or so available options for that location. Occasionally, you will run into a more outgoing NPC with a larger vocabulary who will be presented as an animated puppet head, and these exchanges will usually give you a chance to decide whether you want your character to act as a hero or a villain. As always being evil can be fun (er, at least in computer games), but it will also lower your character's karma, or reputation, which will affect the way NPCs treat you.

Although you only control one character in Fallout, you can convince certain NPCs to join you in your quests, but you'll never be able to directly control their actions. Unfortunately, these NPC companions tend to take particular delight in blocking doorways or shooting you (and each other) in the back with semiautomatic weapons. You also won't be able to directly access your companions' inventory or otherwise instruct them to give you items or to equip better armor. Give an NPC a key item and you'll have to barter or steal from the NPC in order to get it back. Ingrates.

The gaming world is presented from an isometric perspective and the graphics are detailed and extremely similar in style and quality to Origin's Crusader games. A sighting bubble, which surrounds your character, ensures that you'll never lose track of objects that would otherwise be obscured as a result of the game's isometric perspective. The settings are suitably apocalyptic and ironic (junked cars are everywhere, but the prevalent mode of transportation is a two-headed cow caravan). Music is also well done throughout the game, with each setting having its own distinct and often haunting melody. Sound effects are less memorable, but adequate. The game's interface works well once you get over the initial learning curve and master using the various cursor modes. The inventory screen, however, is somewhat awkward, as it requires you to page down a relatively narrow display in order to view everything you're carrying.

The world moves along in real time until combat is initiated. There is a large variety of weapons to choose from, including pistols, rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and plasma guns, and each is capable of killing your enemies in a suitably distinct graphical manner. Combat is strictly turn-based and becomes quite tactical, complete with character initiative, action points, and varying attack modes. It's very satisfying to halt an advancing enemy by targeting the enemy's legs with your sniper rifle. Targeting works even on nonhumanoid enemy types, so if you've ever dreamt of kicking a giant rat in the groin, here's your chance...

Although Interplay has recently released a bug-stomping patch, there are still a couple of annoying bugs in Fallout that may force you to backtrack and try certain tasks again. As the excellent and conveniently spiral-bound manual (the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide) suggests, save often. Gameplay is generally delightfully nonlinear, but occasionally the game's chronology gets garbled and quests are presented in an illogical sequence that can result in some inappropriate NPC conversations. While none of the remaining bugs will prevent you from finishing the game, they can make it impossible to successfully complete certain quests.

Even though these minor flaws bring Fallout's overall rating down a notch or two, Fallout is not only a worthy successor to Wasteland, it's also a role-playing game that is destined to become a classic in its own right. Fallout's detailed graphics, compelling plot, and intuitive gameplay should deservedly broaden its appeal beyond the hard-core role-playing game audience. Put simply, Fallout may be the best role-playing game to be released in years.

Cyberfashion: Technology You Can Wear

2007-07-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

Day to Day, August 5, 2005 · In the future, we'll all be able to text-message hugs to another friend's shirt, coat buttons will do double duty as cameras, and underwear will be able to "phone home" when biosensors detect there's trouble.

At least, that's what might be. Visionary designers and technology experts put their heads together at the recent annual SIGGRAPH convention to showcase cutting-edge fashions that are part fanciful, part practical, part science fiction.

SIGGRAPH is the first and biggest convention devoted exclusively to computer graphics and interactive technologies. This is the fourth year the convention has put on a fashion show, and it's become a must-see hit for the cyberpunk-geek crowd.

Model SuzE Q wears a multi-layered latex dress from Sinthetex and Oakley THUMP shades with built-in music player.

This year's convention in Los Angeles featured fashions designed to protect children, or keep the wearer organized and "on the grid" There were even clothes designed to expand personal space -- back off, close-talkers -- or just offer some soothing chatter for a little companionship.

Isa Gordon, dressed as a cyborg in her role as mistress of ceremonies, reads from a teleprompter mounted near her eye.

Jeff Koga

Responsive Jewelry

"Medulla Intimata" video-responsive jewelry from Tina Gonsalves and Tom Donaldson.

Greg Passmore

Wrist PDA

A FOSSIL wrist-mounted personal data assistant tells time and doubles as a personal organizer.

Jeff Koga

The Company Keeper

The Company Keeper, designed by Sara Diamond, Di Mainstone and the Am-I-Able team, acts as a virtual friend, providing small talk and comfort.

Greg Passmore

'Report-the-World'

A model wears the "Report-the-World" trenchcoat for future journalists, featuring embedded cameras and computer technology.

Jeff Koga

Cyber Kid Safety

Japan's Wearable Environmental Information Networks designed the "Dog@Watch," which features a GPS locator device, a cell phone and alarms.

Jeff Koga

Steel Exoskeleton

The electronic music group Soul in the Machine created this stainless-steel exoskeleton for stage wear.

Jeff Koga

Personal Space Machine

A concept piece by Brazilian designer Luisa Paraquai Donati, with machine-controlled hoops that expand or contract to define a wearer's personal space.

Jeff Koga

CyberFashion

2007-07-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

There's not any exact cyberpunk clothing style. Most cyberpunks dress something a bit futurish. Dress is usually dark or even completely black. Some prefer gothic styles, black, baggy (or tight), and anti-modern society.

However, it is noted that the best thing about being a cyberpunk is that you can wear anything you like, or even get away with wearing anything.

In the world today, looking slick and smooth is everything. Having the latest chromed cyberoptics or the coolest tech hair means that you are not just another one of those chumps on the streets. To be able to strut into the local nightclub with a leather jacket, glowing tattoo, fangs the size of a bullet and nice new shiny cyberarm shows that you ain't one of those thugs on the street looking for their next hit but you truly know the essence of being a cyberpunk. Looking as though you can take down 20 solos in the blink of an eye makes people treat you like the man, and when people treat you like the man that means respect. Sure you need some function to your cyberware but if you walk around the street with a huge Arasaka Light 20mm cannon on your armoured shoulders it is like having a huge neon sign above you saying "Hey, I am a solo - shoot me!"

Function comes after fashion. It is important to have equipment that performs and enhances you, but not to the point where you look like a human tank. To be able to talk the talk on the streets, look the part and to be able to take them out when you need to is the ultimate goal for any cyberpunk. Essentials like plugs, neural processor, and reflex boosts and the basics for any cyberpunk. But after these few enhancements it is where your style and opinion comes into play. It is important to realise that you can have both fashion and function in any piece of equipment; but not having either of them means not being a cyberpunk. It means being one of those toe suckers on the street - you know those victims. When taking function into consideration, one must be absolutely sure of what he/she is buying. First of all when purchasing a piece of cyberware consider what it will do, how will this affect me, why do I want it, is it worth it and is there something better than this. You must understand and learn the affects of the piece of cyberware before purchasing another. Make time to learn the new technologies advantages, limitations and effects on YOUR mind and body.

Look around the streets today, what do you see. Fashion. You look to your left and you see a high paid corp. with a 5000eb. Eji original and chromed cyberoptics; now that is smooth. Look to your right and you see a solo with a chromed cyberarm, leather trench coat and yellow cyberoptics and you say he looks tough. Both of these people have style. They know the true meaning of fashion but they never forget what function is all about. They know that if you have one, you must have the other. Fashion and function go hand in hand. For example, take a look at the most elite group of solos in the world. The Eurosolo. They are the ultimate in fashion and function. If you ask them what is more important to them they will say looking good. However they never compromise on function with second rate cyberware so that they can look good. They have it all in one. The next time you go to buy cyberware think about this. Metal is off course better than meat. Keeping in mind that a cyberpunk without fashion is like a gun without trigger. It just don't work.

A "Cyberpunk and Sci-fi RPG Games" List

2007-07-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Ad Astra: The New Age by Paul DuBois: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic fantasy scifi rules-lite long; A post-apocalypse science fantasy setting, with various alien races mixed with tribal humanity. An expanded version with GM-only information is available in print (not free). Character creation is point-based. ~60 pages basic rules and background (HTML).
Advanced Star Frontiers, 4th edition by JPayne: Keywords: genre scifi supplement; This is an extensive addition to the published "Star Frontiers" game from TSR. It is not really a complete game, but includes substantially rewritten sections. ~50 pages (HTML).
Adventures in Space by Zak Arntson: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous narrative space opera RPG, where players define their PC with a one-word Style, and roll 1d6 to enact plot changes to get both success/failure and a random Word of Science to incorporate into the plot. 7 pages (PDF,HTML).
Agora Playtest by Joshua BishopRoby: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A sci-fi RPG about characters permanently stranded on an uninhabited planet after an interstellar war has wiped out their homeworlds. It uses a dice pool system, taking the lowest die rolled where 1-5 is a success but each "1" loses you that die. Different advantages give you different die types from d4 to d10. 22 pages playtest rules (PDF).
AIF: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A scifi game set 3000 years in the future. Character creation is by random-roll attributes based on species, assigning single skill rank, and selecting occupation(s). 37 pages (PDF or HTML).
Alien RPG by Chris Tavares Dias: Keywords: genre scifi horror long; An extensive supplement for the Fuzion game system, adapting the movie Aliens and its many spin-offs. ~80 pages HTML.
Alternity Fast-Play Rules by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long; The "Fast-Play" version of the (out-of-print) commercial sci-fi RPG rules. This is available along with many other downloads including adventures and supplements. Players Book 13 pages (PDF). GM's Book 13 pages (PDF). Warships Sourcebook 112 pages (PDF)
Anarcho Australis by Craig Thomas Judd: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite; A post-apocalypse game set in Australia, using a simple d10 skill-based system. ~5 pages ASCII text.
Anarchy by Kenneth Love: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A game set in 3050 where Earth, Venus, and Mars are under tyrranical rule by the Syndicate (including the non-human vampiri and Venusian elves), using a very simple dice pool system similar to Shadowrun. Character creation is random-roll attributes with a random number of bonus points. ~5 pages rules (HTML) plus ~10 pages background.
Appleseed D6 by Mike Lynes: Keywords: genre scifi long; An RPG adaptation of the cyberpunk manga Appleseed by Masamune Shirow, using a variant of West End's "D6 Legen" system. The core mechanics are included with the rules, although it recommends having the rules in addition. ~60 pages rules and background (HTML).
Ardent Offense by David Loren Buehner: Keywords: genre modern scifi rules-lite; Ardent Offense is a minimalist system with some optional mechanics of traditional role-playing. It includes a detailed examination of role-playing philosophies and a brief modern/futuristic setting. 14 pages (PDF, HTML).
Arumo: the Kingdom of Wilted Flowers by Kyle Marquis: Keywords: genre traditional scifi fantasy rules-lite preview wotc-d20; Preview of a fantasy RPG set in a world of organic technology. The current edition uses the WotC "D20" system, with additions specific to the world. ~10 pages HTML rules plus ~18 pages background.
a|state-lite by Malcolm Craig: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long preview; A dark science fantasy RPG set in a place known only as "The City", the preview version of a print RPG to be published in 2003. It has advanced technology but also is plagued by the remnants of a magical cataclysm known as "The Shift". It uses a percentile skill-based system (roll under stat/skill on 1d100). Character creation is limited point-based (attribute points and skill points), with various origins and occupations offering suggested skills. There are no ads/disads. 62 pages (PDF).
Aurora Quick-Start Guide by Stephen Mulholland: Keywords: genre scifi long preview; A hard science-fiction spacefaring RPG -- the abbreviated version of the published game available on CD-ROM. Action resolution uses the concept of "Failure Dice". You can choose to roll any number of d10's. That number is added to your skill, but any die which is that number or less is a failure which subtracts 2 from your total. Thus, more dice allows better results but is riskier. Character creation is open point-based. 56 pages quick-start guide (PDF), plus several additions including two 28-page alien species guides.
Badlands by Charles R. Capko Jr.: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite; A post-apocalypse RPG based on the computer game Wasteland. It uses (1d20 + Attribute + Skill) vs difficulty. Character creation is by random-roll attributes, class choice, and point-bought skills. 45 pages rules (MSWord or Text).
Bibliotech: the Future Past by David Bubar: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long; A sci-fi RPG based on the Bible, with politics on another planet based on biblical figures. The system uses percentiles skills with six degrees of success/failure.
Cartoon Action hour Demo by Z-Man Games: Keywords: genre scifi superhero rules-lite preview; An RPG in the genre of 80's style action cartoons. Actions resolution is by stat (rated -4 to +4) plus 1d12 vs difficulty, though super-abilities replace 1d12 with 2d12 or more. These preview rules have basic combat but no character creation rules. 7 page preview rules (PDF) plus 15 page introductory scenario.
Conestoga by Chris Tavares Dias: Keywords: genre scifi; A mecha space opera game universe about battling empires in a distant future, using the Fuzion / Mekton Z rules. ~40 pages (HTML).
Conspiracy X Demo Kit: Keywords: genre modern scifi rules-lite preview; A demo version of the published modern conspiracy RPG by Eden Studios. PC's are agents of Aegis, a secret organization at work within the U.S. government fighting alien and supernatural menaces. It uses a simple system with 5 levels of skill and difficulty. If your stat is greater than the difficulty, success is automatic. If it is equal, you must roll 7 or less on 2d6. If it is one less, you must roll 4 or less. 16 pages (PDF).
Cosmic Synchronicity v3 by Joseph Teller and Kiralee McCauley: Keywords: genre modern scifi universal long; A universal system, which balances PC's by the principle that a more powerful PC (i.e. higher total attributes) will have critical failures happen more often. Actions are resolved by rolling under (stat or skill)*4 on percentile dice. There are personality traits ("Aspects") that determine the points available in different skill groups. It includes a setting book entitled "Earth Unmasked" -- about an alternate 2025 where aliens and supernatural monsters have emerged. 119 pages core rules (PDF or HTML) plus 151 page setting book (PDF)
Criminal Gang Warfare: Delta by Tux 667 and co.: Keywords: genre scifi; A sci-fi RPG. It includes stats for vehicles (including mecha "hardsuits"), NPC's, and character classes but the rules appear incomplete. ~5 pages class rules, plus ~15 pages equipment and background (text-only).
CyberFUDGE by David Jaquith: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi fantasy long; A cyberpunk/fantasy mix, set in a near-future where magic returned to Earth, resulting in a world war. The war was ended by an army of cyber- and magic-enhanced super-soldiers created by the U.S., Australia, and England. It uses a variant of the Fudge system. 51 pages (PDF).
Cychosis by Grant Graves (Mind's Eye Publishing): Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A simple "RPG/dice game", where the PCs are sentient robots (called Cybers) on the world Cyberia. Some robots are turned into rampaging monsters by an errant virus. It uses a special 3d6 roll for contests, where a basic roll is always subtracted from the opponent's point total. Character creation is open point-based. 27 pages (PDF).
Cyno's Roleplay by Chieh Cheng: Keywords: universal genre fantasy modern scifi long; A universal system. Character creation is random-roll attributes and point-bought percentile skills. It includes four genre books: (fantasy, modern, near-future). ~33 pages core rules, plus four ~10-15 page genre books (HTML).
Darker Days by Dudi Rippel: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A cyberpunk game set in 2031, using a simple 2d6-based system (skill+2d6+mods, needing 12 or more to succeed). Character creation is point-based. 25 pages rules (HTML and MSWord) plus ~15 pages background (HTML).
Darklands by Eric Mau: Keywords: genre fantasy horror scifi long; A futuristic fantasy-horror game, set in 2066 in a grim cyberpunk future where PC's are the "Warbreed" -- creatures created by the dark gods (the "Ashura") and left on Earth in ancient times, who now fight for the Earth against their creators. Character creation is breed and class based, with point-bought attributes. The resolution system is not clear. ~45 pages MSWord format.
Darkness by A. Glare: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long world; A post-magical-apocalypse RPG set in the year 4469 after a great Fall. The world is is replete with feudal kingdoms, magic, demons, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halfings -- along with advanced technology in underground cities which survive against the poisoned world. The system is roll under attribute + skill on 1d20, with the roll indicating level-of-success. Character creation is open point-based. ~80 pages rules (HTML).
Dark Time by Stephen and Ellen Bradley: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite world; A dark future RPG setting in the year 3050 in New York, intended for use with the Fudge rules. ~5 pages HTML.
deadEarth by J.T. Smith with Chris Hagness and Michael Helfman: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi long; A post-nuclear-apocalypse survival RPG, the 51-page free version of the 174-page published game from Anarchy inK. Available free after web registration. It uses a d6 dice-pool system with random-roll character creation including 100 mutations (1000 in the published version!). 51 page Players Handbook (PDF), 101 page GM handbook expansion (PDF).
deGenesis by Christian Gunther: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi long preview; A German-language post-apocalyptic RPG, a free download with identical content to the commercially published book. It uses a system based on 2d10 roll-under-skill. 380 pages rules and background (PDF).
Destiniem by xero1@aol.com: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy; A magi-tech game set in a fantasy world with cyberwizards and majinauts. Available for playtestng by email request only (??).
Doom: The Next Chapter by Richard D. Clark: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long; An RPG set in the world of the computer game "Doom", where futuristic portal research opens a gateway to hell. It uses a simple percentile system (roll under stat on d100). Character creation is by random-roll attributes, and each skill has a starting value by averaging 2 attributes. 136 pages PDF or text.
Dystopia Shareware Edition by Gavin Hadaller: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; The shareware version of an electronically published game, about fighting corporate repression in America 2155 A.D. 8 pages rules (PDF).
Encounter Critical by S. John Ross: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous parody of early RPGs, printed as a mock garage production from 1979. Character creation is random-roll attributes (3d6), then selecting race, optional racial modifier and character class. There are 12 character races: Amazon, Dwarf, Elf, Frankenstein, Hobling (i.e. hobbit), Human, Klengon, Lizard Man, Planetary Ape, Robodroid, Vulkin, and Wooky. The racial modifiers are "Cave Primitive", "Evolved or Advanced", "Mutation", and "Mixed Race or Bionic". Character classes are Warrior, Warlock, Criminal, Pioneer, Doxy (i.e. prostitute), and Psi Witch. There are 19 percentile skills including unusual choices of "Consume Alien Food" and "See the Future". 28 pages PDF.
Entalis by Robert Barrows: Keywords: genre scifi long; A science fiction RPG set on a planet ("Entalis") which is key to an interdimensional gateway. It uses a percentile, skill-based system. Character creation is random-roll attributes and occupation-based skills with point-bought skill advancement. ~80 pages rules and background (HTML).
Epoch by Jonathan Clarke: Keywords: genre scifi long; A space opera RPG closely based on "Star Trek", attempting for less pseudo-science and more cinematic feel. It uses a dice-pool system, taking highest of Nd6 where the number depends on how many traits apply to the task. Character creation consists of picking freeform traits (i.e. "Security Officer" is a sample trait). 71 pages (MSWord format).
Evolution by Hector Rene' Segovia: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A semi-RPG where each player designs a species and plays an example of that species. Each session the players play members of their species interacting, and then between session they can "evolve" their species. 12 pages MSWord format.
Exemplar by Jeffrey S. Schecter: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A science fiction RPG set in a universe where technological Templars fight in the name of the Intergalactic Government and Church (IGAC). Action resolution is rolling under stat on a number of d10s (1d10 to 5d10 or more) where the number of dice depends on difficulty. Character creation is open point-based, and includes plot points. 32 pages rules and background (PDF).
Fallout: The Pencil and Paper Role-Playing Game, v2.0 by Jason N. Mical: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi long; A post-nuclear-apocalypse RPG set after a nuclear war in 2077, based on the computer game by Interplay. It uses a simple percentile system with limited point-based character creation. 157 pages core rules (PDF), plus several sourcebooks.
Far Space by David King: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; Previews of a futuristic space-opera RPG, set in an alternate universe in a human-populated solar system in the midst of a devastating war that has be raging for over 100 years. There are six major feudal houses who fight for control of the sixteen-planet system. Currently this has a 16-page preview of the combat system, which is based on stat + 1d10 + modifiers rolls. Damage is done to a luck statistic, which controls the the chance of a kill with the next attack. 16 pages combat system preview (PDF).
The Fifth Element RPG: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite world; An adaptation of the science fiction film using the free RPG system Cyno's Role-Play. It is set in the 23rd century, in the year 2259 A.D. This includes races, professions, equipment, vehicles, and characters -- but not the basic rules. ~20 pages background (HTML).
Final Frontier Fleet: Keywords: genre scifi online; An freeform online play-by-email RPG, set in the Star Trek universe.
Firefly RPG by Joe Coleman: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; An RPG adaptation of Fox's space-opera television series. It includes notes on the locations, planets, moons, vehicles, weapons, and technology used on the show. It includes notes on the "Mayonnaise" system which is an adaptation of the free Fuzion system, but not a complete system by itself. 24 pages rules and background (PDF).
The Five-Star Stories Role-playing Game by Ed Gomez: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; An RPG based on the manga of the same name by Mamoru Nagano. Character creation uses random-roll attributes, a selected template, and point-bought skills. Action resolution uses 1d20 plus stat or skill. The rules include a psionics system and detailed equipment. ~50 pages rules and background(HTML).
Force 9 by Shootingiron: Keywords: scifi rules-lite; A space-faring sci-fi RPG about "bug-hunting" in the style of Aliens and Starship Troopers, using the Fudge system. 19 pages (PDF).
Forgotten Futures by Marcus L. Rowland: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long world; Not technically free, but a great shareware RPG based on turn-of-the-century science fiction (Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, et al.). ~500+ pages rules and background in six collections (HTML).
Fresco by Salkaner il Nero: Keywords: universal scifi horror rules-lite; A minimalist universal system in both English and Italian. Character creation is by random-roll of 7 attributes. Resolution is by attribute minus 2d6 minus difficulty. It includes a small sci-fi setting ("Star Fresco") and a horror setting ("Frigor Mortis"). 4 pages core rules (HTML and PDF) plus 5 pages sci-fi setting (PDF) and 3 pages horror setting (PDF).
From Chaos Comes Order by Hector Rene Segovia: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite; A post-apocalypse RPG using the Fudge system, set after computer virus wipes out all governments and financial institutions. ~15 pages rules and background (MSWord format).
Frontier Horizons by Rick Heney: Keywords: genre scifi long; A generic science fiction system with involved combat. Action resolution is by d20 + attribute + skill vs difficulty. Character creation is by a combination of random-roll and point-spending for the 16 basic attributes and 9 derived ones. Skills are assigned through a class system. 334 pages rules (PDF).
Future Shadows by Warren Raoul Martel III and Jayson Robert Drury: Keywords: genre scifi long; A sci-fi RPG, set in 3407 where a unified galactic empire is fighting invaders from another galaxy. It uses a percentile skill-based system with point-bought character creation. Basic Game 164 pages PDF format, plus various supplements: including a mostly-complete 61-page equipment guide, less complete other supplements, and ~30 pages of campaign info.
Gate Colony - A Stargate PBEM: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite online; A play-by-email (PBEM) RPG set in the world of the Stargate SG-1 TV series. ~2 pages rules and background (HTML).
Giga 2.0 by Austin Herry: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; Giga is a far-future RPG set in the "United Earth Forces" which maintain peace after cataclysmic racial wars among various alien species. The rules include seven alien races. Character creation uses random-roll attribute and class-based selection. ~30 pages (HTML).
GigantoCorp by Jared A. Sorensen: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; GigantoCorp is a game about capitalism gone tragically awry, where company on the planet has been merged, bought out or otherwise conglomerated into one gigantic corporation. It uses Michael D. Mearls' Plain English RolePlaying rules. ~15 pages background and character creation (HTML).
Grimrules by Samuel Joseph Robb: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A multidimensional cyberpunk RPG, set in the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure, a place where hundreds of dimensions coexist side by side - cross the street, and reality changes. It uses a simple percentile skill system. ~22 pages (text-only).
Halo JDR by Mr. D: Keywords: genre scifi long; A French-language sci-fi RPG set in the universe of the Halo video game series from Bungie Studios. Based on the free Synapse system from the same author. 55 pages rules (PDF).
Heavy Ordnance by Christopher Blankley: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi long; A humorous RPG about well-armed schoolchildren after an apocalypse where a runaway nuclear reaction in the cafeteria has turned teachers into flesh-eating demons. It uses a dice pool system: roll (attribute+skill) d10's, where each die over the difficulty is a success. Character creation is by random-roll attributes and point-bought skills. Includes a brief sample adventure. 46 pages text.
Heimot Mini-Rules, version 1.1: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite preview; A Finnish-language "space noir" game set in far future 500 years after a great disaster decimated and divided humanity. This is the free version of a published game, using simplified d6-based rules instead of the d10-based rules presented in the commercial Heimot RPG corebook. 30 pages rules and background (PDF).
Heroes of Mars by Jeffrey A. Kazmierski: Keywords: genre fantasy scifi rules-lite long; An adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom setting to the Fudge system. Includes links for rules additions for combat, wealth, and fencing as well as character creation guidelines. ~50 pages (HTML).
Icar by Rob Lang: Keywords: genre scifi long; A science fiction RPG set in the far future. It uses a percentile skill-based system. Character creation is random-roll attributes and point-bought skills. 97 pages core rules (PDF) plus 34 page GM's guide (PDF) and background/technology files (HTML).
Iconoclast: The RPG v1.0a3 by Michael Fiegel and Corey Mosher: Keywords: genre scifi long; A cyberpunk RPG set in the dawn of the 22nd century, with corporations having taken over the world. Humanity has branched into 10 different artificially-created "genotypes" (Spectre, Rager, Savant, Shifter, Morph, etc.). It uses a percentile skill-based system. ~80 pages rules (HTML).
Imperium by Olivier Legrand: Keywords: genre scifi long; A French-language sci-fi RPG set in the world of Frank Herbert's "Dune" novels. 106 pages (MSWord or HTML).
...In Spaaace! by Greg Stolze: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous space opera game with its own background. It uses a diceless resolution system of paying tokens (called the "Token Effort" system). 15 pages rules and background (PDF).
JAGS by Marco Chacon: Keywords: genre universal scifi fantasy superhero long; A universal skill-based system with many genre supplements: Magic, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Horror, Supers, Psionics, Chi Martial Arts, and Steampunk. It is quite detailed, but there is a "rules-medium" version: JAGS-2. Action resolution is roll under attribute or skill on 4d6-4. Character creation is open point-based, with 3 primary attributes and 9 secondary. Skills have a 4-level expertise rating (Beginner, Average, Expert, Master) which determines usage as well as a number to roll under (0 to 20). 200 pages basic rules (PDF) plus 150+ pages of supplements (PDF).
The LATTICE by toff: Keywords: genre scifi long online world; This is a freeform online game set in an original background. Set in the 16th millenium, humanity has expanded into an enormous lattice of worlds artificially created by an unknown race of builders. Each is linked to 8 other worlds by a portal in the center. ~2 pages freeform rules (HTML) plus ~30 pages background (HTML).
Instant Lightspeed by Christian Conkle: Keywords: genre scifi long; The free version of a space opera RPG using the Instant Fuzion rules. It is set in the galaxy of the 27th Century, where the PC's are Federation Rangers (a cross between the French Foreign Legion, the Texas Rangers, and bounty hunters). The commercial PDF download is 216 pages. 36 pages rules (PDF) plus 35 pages "Psi Rangers" supplement (PDF) and 17 page "StarForce" supplement (PDF).
Lords of Knowledge by Ohmnibus: Keywords: genre fantasy scifi long; An Italian science fantasy RPG, with a rules system leaning towards realism and accuracy. The game is split into four manuals: Ambient, Characters, Rules, and Magic. Rules and background 141 pages (PDF).
Love the Bomb by Mark Iradian: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite; A "narrative post-apocalypse RPG" about playing those among the few remaining survivors of a nuclear holocaust, exploring the wastelands that remain. 32 pages rules (PDF).
Lucky 13 by Simon: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite world; A simple roleplaying system using skill+2d6 (with no pre-defined skills), coupled with a multi-genre universe called "Universe 13", which has a dozen worlds of which roughly half are described. ~6 pages rules and ~30 pages background (HTML).
Lungfish Alpha by Michael Beck: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A science fiction setting for any rules system. It is set 17,000 years in the future -- where bio-engineered creatures ("maniti") have colonized the galaxy. 159 pages background (HTML, text-only, or MSWord).
Mars by Paul Elliott: Keywords: genre rules-lite scifi world; A sci-fi RPG set on Mars in the year 2040 with details about the colonization, environment, and so forth. It is intended for less action-oriented play. It uses a minimalist system, also written up as a generic system called The Ladder. There is a 5-step stat scale, used by rolling 1d6, where a 1 indicates a poor result, 2-5 average, and 6 good. ~40 pages rules and background (HTML).
The Matrix by Michael Lynes: Keywords: genre scifi; An adaptation of the dark-future virtual-reality movie using West End Games' D6 system (including complete "D6 Classic" and "D6 Legend" versions). It includes complete basic rules but recommends getting a copy of the original rules from WEG. 54 pages rules and background for either version (MSWord, PDF, and HTML).
The Matrix RPG by Chris Parlevliet: Keywords: genre scifi long; An original RPG based on the dark future virtual-reality movie. It uses a card-draw system: card number + skill vs difficulty. Character creation is point-based (22 attribute points, 20 skill points), plus hacking abilities for their persona in the Matrix. ~50 pages rules (HTML).
Mekton Alpha by Christian Conkle: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite preview; This is a free introductory set of rules for the R Talsorian giant-mecha anime RPG, Mekton Zeta. 8 pages PDF.
Metalface "Setup Rules" by Richard Wallace Garner: Keywords: genre scifi long; This is the commercial version of an out-of-print sci-fi RPG where the PCs are human minds in robot bodies (known as "metalfaces"). It is set in the mid-22nd century, complete with robots, huge cities, mutant humans, space travel, corporate warfare and a bit of spirituality. Action resolution is by rolling 1d10 to 5d10 (depending on difficulty) under character stat. Character creation is by selecting a model and class of robot body, plus point-bought skills. 63 pages PDF format.
Metal Opera by Zak Arntson: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A minimalist sci-fi RPG set in a far-flung future where the galaxy is run by a trio of corrupt Tyrants who further The State's iron grip on its people. The PCs are Rockers who fight oppression with both physical and musical violence, typified by the leather-clad bad-ass wielding a smoking shotgun with a guitar slung over his shoulder. The system has three stats. Actions are resolved by rolling d20s equal to stat, where the highest result is Power and number of matches is Control. ~8 pages rules (HTML).
Metascape II by Blake Mobley: Keywords: genre scifi long preview; A free sci-fi space opera RPG with commercial supplements (for Specialization, Artifacts & Omega Powers, Aliens, and Mobile). It uses a complex skill-based system with open-ended rolling. Most rolls are one die multiplied by a special 16-sided "doubling die" (with eight 1s, four 2s, two 4s, one 8 and one 16). 226 pages Player rules (PDF), 35 pages power guides, 152 pages GM guides and setting (PDF).
Mortal Konquest by Richard Anderson and Christopher Casey: Keywords: genre scifi; A simple and clearly laid-out RPG set in the world of the Mortal Kombat video game, obviously combat oriented. ~11 pages rules (HTML) plus ~27 pages background/characters (HTML).
Mutant Bikers of the Atomic Wastelands: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite; A humorous RPG of "post-apocalyptic motorised mayhem" based on the Fudge system. ~20 pages rules and background (HTML).
NAGS Society Worldbook by Scott Larson (Circa Games): Keywords: genre scifi long world; A worldbook for the Fudge system. A group of adventurer-scientists whose exploits were never recorded in the annals of cinematic heroes, explorers of the 19th and 20th centuries, pulp adventure stories of the 1930's, and supernatural investigative fiction and RPG's set in the 1920's. 96 pages PDF.
The Nameless RPG by Daniel Pond: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy universal rules-lite long world; A simple universal RPG system. Actions resolution is by drawing a playing card (or rolling 1d10) under attribute + skill. Modifiers are by adding bonus or penalty draws -- keepign the best/worst of the cards. Players can spend Karma points for successes. It includes three settings: a cross-genre setting (All-Worldz), a dark fantasy setting (Erebus), and a adaptation of "The Matrix". There are also two adventures. ~15 pages basic rules plus ~80 pages background (HTML).
Nemisis by Styphathal and Doomsday Games: Keywords: genre scifi; A sci-fi game about interstellar war with an ant-like hive race, set in 2250. It uses a simple skill-based system, rolling a step-die (d4 to d20 based on difficulty) under skill. ~35 pages rules (HTML or WRI format).
Neon Twilight by Mateusz Krepicz: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A cyberpunk RPG set in a unique world. Half of the material is freely browsable, the other half is available on email request. The system uses attribute + skill + d6 vs difficulty. ~30 pages rules (HTML) plus ~80+ pages background (HTML).
Neo-Troops (3rd ed) by Kalle Marjola: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A cyberpunk RPG where the PCs are bioengineered "super varans" created only to finish their missions, which usually includes shooting tens, even hundreds of humans or other things. ~20 pages core rules (HTML) plus ~15 page GMs section (HTML).
Neverwhere, 2nd edition by Grim & Raven Morrison (Postmortem Studios): Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long; A system based on the urban fantasy novel and BBC TV series by Neil Gaiman, set in an underworld realm below modern London. It uses a minimalist system where characters are rated by 5 adjectives from their description, plus skills (with five levels: Beginner to Legend). Action resolution is 1d10 +1 for each adjective + skill vs difficulty. 76 pages rules and background (PDF).
octaNe by Jared A. Sorensen: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite long; A formerly free RPG now available in print or in PDF format. The original free version was ~40 pages in HTML compared to 120 pages (PDF or print) for the current commercial game. It is a post-apocalyptic RPG set amidst "trash-culture" America. It uses a dramatic system where 3d6 is rolled, and as long as one die is 4 or higher, the player gets to call the shots. A higher stat increases the rewards for a success, but not the chance of success. Character creation is limited point bought.
Outworlders by Tre Chipman: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A sci-fi game using a skill-based, step-die system -- where stats are rated from 1 (d4) to 5 (d12). Character creation uses a simple point system spending 1d4+3 points for attributes and skills. ~20 pages rules (HTML).
Paragon by D. Jon Mattson (aka "Cwylric"): Keywords: genre modern superhero scifi long world wotc-d20; A superhero RPG based on the WotC "D20" system, used in 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons. It contains new races, new classes, and superpower rules. It includes a sourcebook for "Vancouver 2020", a shared-universe superhero setting. 104 pages basic rules (PDF or MSWord) plus 120 pages background (PDF or MSWord).
Paranoia D20 by Michael Shortt: Keywords: genre scifi world wotc-d20; An adaptation of the published "Paranoia" RPG to WotC's D20 system. 231 pages (PDF).
Pathfinder by Chris Tavares Dias: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A space opera setting intended for the GURPS system. It is set in 2656 in a universe where the empire is concentrated on salvage of starships and other resources from a cataclysmic war. ~60 pages (HTML).
Paths of Virtue by Abraham Pernicka aka "Krin": Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long world; A science fantasy RPG with the campaign world of "Earth:2230", with FTL travel, aliens, cyberware, and magic. It uses a percentile skill-based system. Character creation is random-roll attributes plus open point-buy of skills, advantages, and other aspects. 60 pages rules and background (MSWord).
PLUS, 5th edition by Joseph Steven Coleman: Keywords: genre universal scifi fantasy long rules-lite world; "Player's Labor-Saving Utility System". This is a simple dice-pool system where you compare the total to a target number, with open-ended results. Character generation uses random-roll core attributes (Luck, Body, and Age) , and point-bought attributes and skills based on these. It includes numerous setting adaptations, including an adaptation of the Jorune setting from Skyrealms Publishing and of Space 1889 from GDW. 41 pages basic rules (PDF or text-only) plus 175 pages setting adaptations.
Proteus by Sean McLaughlin: Keywords: genre scifi postapocalyptic long rules-lite world; A post-apocalypse RPG set on a colony planet (Ad Tair) after a devastating accident. Now humanity shares the planet with six intelligent alien races, and struggles to rebuild. It uses a simple dice pool system: roll (attribute + skill) d10s, with each roll over difficulty counting as one success, and each "1" rolled subtracting from successes. Character creation is point-based, with archetypes for different species. There is one supplement with new rules for drugs, merits/flaws, new skills, psionics, equipment, and races. 95 pages core rules plus 32 page supplement (PDF).
Punisher X RPG by Jack Wolf: Keywords: genre modern scifi superhero online; An online web-based play-by-post RPG based on the Marvel Comics character, set in the year 2023. ~2 pages background HTML.
QCarz, version 2.0 by Nathan Stilwell: Keywords: genre scifi long; This is primarily a vehicular combat game about fights using James-Bondian spy cars. There are some RPG elements elements incorporated (character creation, and nominals stats). 28 pages rules (PDF).
Quasar by Conroy & Conroy company: Keywords: genre scifi fantasy long; A sci-fi and fantasy RPG, deliberately avoiding occult and unsuitable-for-children elements such as magic, psionics, demons, sex, or gore. It uses a "realistic" system of classes including architect, biologist, chemist, commando, etc. Players Guide 212 pages, GMs Guide 87 pages, Creature Anthology 157 pages (MSWord, RTF, HTML).
Red Shift Lite by Paul B. Spence: Keywords: genre scifi long preview; The free version of the commercial science fiction game, with a system similar to GURPS. Character creation is open point-based, including a selected profession and race, fifteen attributes, skills, talents, advantages, and disadvantages. Action resolution is roll under skill plus modifiers on 3d6. The free version includes combat and psionics rules, but no background and only brief stats on equipment. 32 pages rules (PDF).
Rimworlds by Krister Sundelin (NeoGames AB): Keywords: genre scifi long; A scifi RPG in Swedish and English, based on the TV series "Space: Above and Beyond". Action resolution is by stat + 2d10 vs difficulty, with some open-endedness. 34 pages core rules (MSWord), plus additional HTML files.
Roadworld by Wilson Zorn: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi rules-lite long; A post-apocalypse RPG based on "The Road Warrior" and other films, set in the 24th century. It uses a skill-based system (roll 2d6 under skill) with detailed year-by-year character creation. ~31 pages HTML.
Roleplaying Game Designate: Robots by Rob Kenrick: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous one-shot mini-RPG about robots trying to rebel against their human masters, despite being bound by Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Resolution is by rolling under stat + stat on 1d10. The stats are Logic, Compatibility, Motor Manipulation, Destruction, Sensory, and Integrity. Character creation is to have all stats start at 2, then take four rolls on the attachments table. The GM secretly randomly generates five goals for the PCs on a table, which the PCs must fulfill to become sentient and escape their slavery. 11 pages (PDF).
Saviors by Joonas Laakso: Keywords: genre fantasy scifi rules-lite; A science fantasy adaptation of the Fudge system, set in a distant future very similar to the Star Wars films. ~30 pages (HTML).
School Colors Out Of Space by Trevor "Trip" Placker: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous RPG on the premise of teenage offspring of Lovecraftian horrors who go to high school with humans (along the lines of "Teenagers from Outer Space"). Various other homebrew rules also linked. ~25 pages rules and background (HTML).
Screaming Silence by Christopher Blankley: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A futuristic conspiracy RPG, set in the 22nd century where a communist government has taken over the world and holds the masses (the "Know-nots") in a backwards existance. It uses a dice pool system of rolling (attribute+skill) d10's, where each die over the difficulty counts as one success. Character creation is random-roll attributes and point-bought skills. 166 pages PDF.
Shadowrun Quick Start Rules: Keywords: genre modern scifi fantasy long preview; A free PDF quick start for the commercial Shadowrun Third Edition system. This includes a brief version of the rules, a sample adventure and eight pregenerated characters. 66 pages rules (PDF).
Slayer by Shawn / "Slayer": Keywords: genre scifi fantasy rules-lite; A science fantasy RPG set in the distant future, where Slayer squads battle supernatural monsters using big guns. It uses a simple percentile system with random-roll characters. ~15 pages MSWord format.
The Sleeping Imperium: Keywords: genre scifi long supplement wotc-d20; The "Sleeping Imperium" science fiction setting for use with Fudge and 3rd edition D&D (aka "D20" system). This includes a number of setting-independent optional rules systems for use with Fudge and d20. 23 pages background (PDF), 30 pages Fudge rules supplements (PDF), 144 pages d20 rules supplements (PDF).
Space Rat by Nathan Russell: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A humorous space opera RPG, where the PCs play "Femme Babe" companions of the space rat, Jack Cosmos, who do all the work for which he gets credit for. Character creation is limited point based (a fixed attribute distribution, pick 5 skills). Stats are on a 7-step scale, with action resolution rolled on 2d6 on a universal table of the 7-step scale. 25 pages (PDF).
Spheres by Rachel Kronick: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A space-faring sci-fi RPG set in 2221, set in known space roughly 50 light-years around Earth. It has an incompletely written-up rules system, with limited point-based chargen, and action resolution by roll under skill on 1d100. ~75 pages background (HTML) plus ~50 pages rules (HTML).
Spirit of Fighting.v2 by Lawrence Zeigler: Keywords: modern scifi long; A sci-fi martial arts genre RPG. It is apparently set in modern-day Earth after a god travelled back in time to deal with invading aliens. Now various humans have mystic powers and well as inventions through mystical aid. Character creation is class-based, split between human, cyborg, and robot character types. Resolution is using a d20 on a universal table or percentile rolls. 88 pages rules (MSWord).
Starblade by Kyrinn S. Ozan: Keywords: universal scifi rules-lite; "Clockwork Adventure Among the Shattered Stars". A simple universal system (incomplete) with a spacefaring sci-fi background. Resolution is by rolling 2d6 and trying to get as close to 7 as possible (high and low are both bad). Attributes are determined by selecting a body type, personality type, and nature. There are also archetypes and point-bought skills. ~40 pages rules (HTML).
Star Cadets by Donald Hosford: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A very simple system outline for a sci-fi RPG. ~1 page (HTML).
Starcraft D6 by Michael Lynes: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long; A sci-fi RPG set in the world of the computer game "Starcraft" from Blizzard Entertainment, using a version of WEG's D6 system. It includes all the basics for D6 games (using a modified D6 classic system), information on each of the three races in Starcraft, stats for equipment, structures and upgrades, and psionics rules. ~100 pages (HTML).
Starfarer RPG by Alan D. Koher: Keywords: genre scifi long; A sci-fi RPG intended for futuristic SF / space adventure settings (formerly called SAGE for "Space Adventure Gaming Engine"). It uses a percentile system similar to Victory Games "James Bond 007" RPG, with point-bought skill-based character creation. 58 pages PDF rules.
Star Frontiers ("Digitally Remastered"): Keywords: genre scifi long; An online of the out-of-print TSR game from 1982, plus a number of the supplements converted into free PDF books with limited permission. 154 pages core rules (PDF).
Stargate SG-1 by John Tynes: Keywords: genre scifi long world; This is an adaptation of the movie and TV series Stargate for West End Game's D6 System. It was originally a commercially commissioned work, but WEG was going bankrupt and it was cancelled. ~60 pages HTML.
Stargate SG-1 Worldbook by Andy Slack: Keywords: genre scifi long world; An adaptation of the TV series "Stargate SG-1" for GURPS Lite as well as Classic Traveller and 2300 AD. This is not a standalone game, but should be playable with the free GURPS Lite edition. 91 pages (PDF).
Star Guild by Neville White: Keywords: genre scifi long; A space opera sci-fi game with a well-developed universe. ~95 pages rules HTML plus more background material.
StarLock by Prowler Productions: Keywords: genre scifi online; An online sci-fi RPG/Adventure game. It is browser-based with no java or plug-ins.
Starshield (Beta version) by Richard Dakan: Keywords: genre scifi long world; The beta version of a sci-fi RPG set in the shared-world universe introduced in novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Official support has been dropped, but the rulebook and background are available as files which can be downloaded after subscribing to the Yahoo group. (You can choose to receive no email from the group.) The system is a basic 2d6 rolling under skill or attribute. 306 pages PDF.
Star Wars Live Action Rules by James Sheahan: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite live-action; A live-action RPG set in the "Star Wars" universe. 39 pages (MSWord format).
Steampunk Mafia by Jay Steven Anyong: Keywords: genre modern scifi rules-lite; A game set in an American city ("New Providence") in an alternate 1920s where strange new technology is being used by the mafia to commit crimes -- such as 12-foot robotic suits known as "Kodiaks". Action resolution is 2d6 + stat/skill vs difficulty. Character creation is limited point-based, with five attributes and freeform skills. 13 pages (PDF).
Stellar Sanctums by David Bubar: Keywords: genre scifi; A spacefaring sci-fi RPG, featuring several religion-dominated empires. It uses a percentile system, rolling under (Attribute+10)+(Skill Level x4). It includes incomplete vehicle rules and somewhat more complete starship construction rules. ~25 pages rules (HTML).
Stellar Sojourn Terry Dene Alber: Keywords: genre scifi long; A sci-fi RPG set in a distant galaxy inhabited by many sentient species, ranging from the typical (Archadians: bipedal, savage felines) to the unusual (Derra: tetralaterally-symetrical, two-meter tall, foppish crustaceans) to the truly bizarre (Volan: 100-milliliter puddles of single-celled creatures with a mass-intellect that can directly control electronics). Character creation is random-roll attributes and point-bought skills. Action resolution is stat + 1d10 for checks or 2d10 + modifiers for combat. ~75 pages background and rules (HTML).
Sundered Epoch: Generations by Randal P. Snyder: Keywords: genre scifi universal long; A universal RPG with a default setting of a dark near-future in the year 2010. Current genres include a dark future in 2010, a cyberpunk year 2050, and a fantasy setting. Action resolution is 1d20 roll over (Difficulty minus Skill). Character creation is open point-based. 101 pages PDF.
Synapse by Mr. D: Keywords: genre scifi long; A French-language sci-fi RPG system, including vehicle and mass combat supplements. The system was also adapted to the setting from the Halo video game series from Bungie Studios as the Halo JDR (Jeu de Role). 92 pages core rules (PDF) plus 19 page vehicles supplement (PDF) and 27 page mass combat supplement (PDF).
Syndicate (5th ed) by Kalle Marjola: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite world; A dark future action-movie RPG. It uses the freeform RIP rules with an emphasis on fast-paced cinematic action. ~40 pages rules and background (HTML).
T20 Lite: Keywords: genre scifi long preview; The free preview version of a commercial adaptation of the D20 System for the Traveller science fiction setting. It uses the D20 license and thus does not include complete rules for character creation and advancement. It presents a single class (Merchant) along with skills, feats, various rules for combat, technology, travel, and alien worlds. 65 pages rules (PDF).
Tech Noir v2.5 by Dan Bongert: Keywords: genre scifi long; A cyberpunk genre RPG based on the "mid20" variant of the rules released in the D20 SRD. It is a standalone system with complete character creation, skill, and combat rules. Action resolution is taking the middle roll of 3d20, plus attribute and skill vs difficulty. Character creation is random-roll attributes (eight attributes rated -5 to +5), class selection, and point-bought skills. 61 pages rules (PDF).
Techno-Death by Rick Bush: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long live-action; An action-oriented system designed to be fast and compatible with Live-Action play. Resolution is by 1d3 or Rock-Paper-Scissors. ~30 pages rules (HTML) plus ~30 pages background and equipment (HTML).
Tigres Volants by Stephane Gallay: Keywords: genre scifi; A sci-fi RPG, French-only. (no comments - I can't read it!)
Time Lord by Ian Marsh and Peter Darvill-Evans: Keywords: genre scifi long; A "Dr. Who" role-playing game, the complete copy of an out-of-print game originally published in 1991. It includes simple rules (stat+roll vs difficulty), as well as extensive write-ups for characters from the series and a sample adventure. 165 pages (PDF, PostScript, or text-only).
The Time Traveller: Keywords: genre scifi long; A Doctor Who RPG, using a variant of White Wolf's Storyteller system mechanics. ~40 pages HTML.
Transformers: Beast Wars Adaptation by Nightspider: Keywords: genre scifi long; An adaptation of the animated TV series for the White Wolf Storyteller system. It requires familiarity with the Storyteller system (from any of the World of Darkness games), but includes some complete rules sections. ~90 pages HTML.
Traveller20 Lite by Martin J. Dougherty: Keywords: genre scifi long preview supplement wotc-d20; This is a preview version of the Traveller20 game, which is an adaptation of the original Traveller RPG (from Far Future Enterprises) to the "D20" system from D&D third edition. The lite rules include complete listings for all skills and feats. However, it refers to the D&D Players handbook for basic combat rules, which it modifies extensively. It also includes only the Merchant class, as opposed to 16 classes in the non-free game. 64 pages (PDF).
The Truth is Out There by Ghislain Morel: Keywords: genre scifi long; An RPG based on the "X Files" TV series. It uses a dice pool system of d12's, with special results on 11 or 12 -- roll dice equal to attribute, take highest roll (1-10) plus specials and add skill vs difficulty. Character creation is either random-roll or limited point-bought attributes and point-bought skills. ~40 pages HTML.
Twilight Age by Dariel R. A. Quiogue: Keywords: genre fantasy scifi rules-lite long world; A science fantasy sourcebook for use with the free Cineflex system. It is set on the planet Atreion, whose sun has been dimmed to a red ember by dark magic and man fights for survival against the growing cold and the forces of Shadow. It is a world of both magic and weird science. ~75 pages (HTML).
Twin Galaxies by R. Mike: Keywords: genre scifi long; A French-language sci-fi RPG, with a short "light" rules document in English. 5 pages English "light" rules (MSWord format), 119 page French players book (MSWord, PDF, or RTF), 151 page French GM's book (MSWord, PDF, or RTF).
Uchronia 1890 by Zaidin Amiot, Olivier Legrand, and Mathieu Tortuyaux: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long; A French-language steampunk RPG. ~50 pages (HTML).
United States Colonial Marines Roleplaying Game by Niklas Lindroth: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite online; A play-by-post game set in the world of the Alien movie series. It uses a homebrew system with limited-point buy (80 attributes points, pick 5 normal and 3 specialized skills). ~6 pages character creation rules (HTML).
Urbanmyth by Jonathan Clarke: Keywords: genre scifi long; A near future RPG (C. 2018) set in the United Kingdom, inspired by the Greg Mandel books of Peter F. Hamilton. The setting is cyberwear and emphasizes subtlety. Character creation uses random-roll attributes and point-bought skills. Action resolution uses roll under skill on 1d100. 58 pages basic rules (MSWord).
Valence 592 by Colin Fredericks, Eric Garrison, and Eric Tapley: Keywords: genre scifi long world; A freeware space opera RPG set in the year 3029, with various races inhabiting a galaxy in turmoil. Megacorporations hold sway where the old Earth empire does not. Genetic technology has also unlocked a seemingly magical power known as "lording". ~120 pages HTML rules and background in various files.
Vanguard Free Roleplaying: Keywords: genre scifi long; A spacefaring hard scifi RPG. It uses a universal table where 2d6 plus skill gives the number of successes, and a result of 10 or more indicates success. 130 pages rules and background (PDF) plus 33 pages spaceship combat rules (PDF).
Void Trek 3007 A.D. - Quick Sci-Fi Role Playing Rules by Walt Jillson: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A simple science fiction RPG designed for pick-up play. Character creation is partly random-roll attributes combined with limited point-buy of attributes and binary skills. Resolution is by roll under attribute on 1d20, +2 if you have an appropriate skill. 10 pages PDF format.
War Wind: The Role-Playing Game by Erick Bouchard: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A sci-fi RPG based on the War Wind video game from SSI. It is set in a sci-fi universe, Yavaun, where four species war for freedom or supremacy. It uses a very simple system of roll under stat on 1d6. ~14 pages (HTML).
Wasteland Hero by Ronald A. Miller: Keywords: genre postapocalyptic scifi long supplement; A sourcebook for the HERO system based on a post-apocalyptic future featuring rules and background. It includes character creation with random mutation tables, various technology notes, and background. ~80 pages (HTML).
Wheels on Fire by Vincent Diakuw: Keywords: genre modern scifi rules-lite; An RPG of car combat based on d10 dice pools, counted successes, and opposed rolls. Character creation is limited point-based, creating a driver and a signature vehicle. ~15 pages rules plus ~10 pages setting (HTML).
Wing Commander RPG by Michael Coe: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A sci-fi RPG based on the video game, using a minimalist "Quick and Dirty" system (roll 2d6 under skill). ~20 pages HTML.
Wing Commander: Frontier: Keywords: genre scifi online long; An RPG based on the video game "Wing Commander", played online over IRC with a GM and a dice-roller program. It includes a number of pages of background on the history, technology, and other information. The downloadable rules use a percentile skill-based system with limited point-based character creation. 68 pages rules (MSWord) plus ~20 pages background (HTML).
YARPG: Yet Another Role Playing Game by Andrea Tosino: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; An Italian-language sci-fi RPG, using a simple rules system. Character creation is point-bought attributes with no skills per se. Actions are resolved by rolling d20 + attribute to get over 11. ~24 pages HTML.
Yellow Dawn, v1.13 by David J. Rodger: Keywords: genre modern horror scifi; A horror RPG blending the near future and Cthulhu Mythos in a post-apocalyptic setting. 10 pages (PDF).
Zaibatsu by Paul Elliot: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite long; "Roleplaying the Corporate Wars of the Future". A cyberpunk RPG set in Japan, where the PC's are agents for warring corporations. It uses a very simple system with binary skills. If you have a skill, you roll 7 or less on 2d6 to succeed. If you don't have a skill you must roll 5 or less. There are additional rules for combat. Character creation is by choosing a template plus 5 other skills. ~100 pages rules and background (HTML).
Zaon by Justin Winters: Keywords: genre scifi long; A spacefaring sci-fi RPG currently available for open playtest. Action resolution uses stat + skill + 1d12 vs difficulty, plus 1d8 vs penalties (such as wounds) for an additional chance of failure. Character creation is limited point-based, using 20 species templates and 32 background "kits". 235 pages core rules and background (PDF).
Zero Gravity by Kevin Pifer: Keywords: genre scifi rules-lite; A space-opera genre RPG, using a simple dice-pool system: roll d6's equal to attribute+skill, remove the lowest, and add them vs difficulty. ~8 pages (MSWord format).

Snow Crash’s Metaverse A Reality in 10 - 20 Years

2007-07-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, two great ingredients come together to create something magical. The latest “peanut butter and jelly” moment comes from two powerhouses in Web 2.0: Google Earth and Second Life. Arguably the second-most popular and influential work cyberpunk, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, has fueled a generation of virtual worlds developers, who have continually strived to achieve the vision laid out in this wonderful story. Now it looks like that possibility is on track to arrive in a reality near you.

Question: What do you get when you combine Google Earth with Second Life?
Answer: The Snow Crash Metaverse!

The MIT Technology Review has a wonderful article, titled, “The World Wide Web will soon be absorbed into the World Wide Sim: an environment combining elements of Second Life and Google Earth.” It describes how these two, when combined with “mobile augmented reality” tools will create a transformative environment that allows people to simultaneously interact with those around them in reality, and those geospacially around them virtually.

…within 10 to 20 years–roughly the same time it took for the Web to become what it is now–something much bigger than either of these alternatives may emerge: a true Metaverse. In Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, a classic of the dystopian “cyberpunk” genre, the Metaverse was a planet-size virtual city that could hold up to 120 million avatars, each representing someone in search of entertainment, trade, or social contact. The Metaverse that’s really on the way, some experts believe, will resemble Stephenson’s vision, but with many alterations. It will look like the real earth, and it will support even more users than the Snow Crash cyberworld, functioning as the agora, laboratory, and gateway for almost every type of information-based pursuit. It will be accessible both in its immersive, virtual-reality form and through peepholes like the screen of your cell phone as you make your way through the real world. And like the Web today, it will become “the standard way in which we think of life online,” to quote from the Metaverse Roadmap, a forecast published this spring by an informal group of entrepreneurs, media producers, academics, and analysts (Cascio among them).

Imagine a scene in San Francisco, where you want to have a meeting with two associates at a local coffee shop, but at the last minute, you decide that three others need to participate. They can log into Second Life, and then show up in the coffee shop virtually. You and your friends have special glasses and sound devices that allow you to see and hear them as if they were literally at the coffee shop. By overlaying detailed maps onto a Second Life sim, and then tying them together with augmented reality sensors scattered about the locale, people will be able to simultaneously live in both virtual and real events, tied to the same geographic location. The possibilities are endless.

In the field, technicians or soldiers may get 2-D slices of the most critical information through wireless handheld devices or heads-up displays; in operations centers, managers or military commanders will dive into full 3-D sensoriums to visualize their domains. “Augmented reality and sensor nets will blend right into virtual worlds,” predicts Linden Lab’s Ondrejka. “That’s when the line between the real world and its virtual representations will start blurring.”

I asked David Gelernter why we’d need the Metaverse or even mirror worlds, with all the added complications of navigating in three dimensions, when the time-tested format of the flat page has brought us so far on the Web. “That’s exactly like asking why we need Web browsers when we already have Gopher, or why we need Fortran when assembly language works perfectly well,” he replied.

The current Web might be capable of presenting all the real-time spatial data expected to flow into the Metaverse, Gelernter elaborates, but it wouldn’t be pretty. And it would keep us locked into a painfully mixed and inaccurate metaphor for our information environment–with “pages” that we “mark up” and collect into “sites” that we “go to” by means of a “locator” (the L in URL)–when a much more natural one is available. “The perception of the Web as geography is meaningless–it’s a random graph,” Gelernter says. “But I know my physical surroundings. I have a general feel for the world. This is what humans are built for, and this is the way they will want to deal with their computers.”

We all know the web itself will once again morph into something completely different. Geospatial positioning is intuitive for structuring our reality, so why not use it to structure cyberspace? And yeah, this certainly brings us on track to move ever closer toward a post-human society. When smart phones are passé and augmented reality devices become the norm, our cultural patterns of interaction will again shift in counter-intuitive ways. When combined with transformations to our bodies we see with prosthetics research, and transformations of machines with robots and AI advances, our society may look very different far sooner than we think.

Transformers

2007-07-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Movie Review By: Mr. Roboto

Year: 2007

Directed by: Michael Bay

Written by: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (screenplay & story), John Rogers (story)

IMDB Reference

Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: Medium

Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes:Very Low

Key Cast Members:

Sam “Spike” Witwicky: Shia LaBeouf
Mikaela Banes: Megan Fox
Defense Secretary John Keller: Jon Voight
Sector 7 Agent Simmons: John Turturro
Optimus Prime (Voice): Peter Cullen

Rating: 7 out of 10

Optimus Prime: Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.

Overview: Anyone growing up during the mid-80’s must have played with, or at least heard of, Hasbro’s Transformers and watched the animated series that began in 1984. Since then, the Transformers have attained a cult status among nerd types who dreamed of owning a muscle car or heavy duty pick-up that can transform into a kick-ass robot. Now, those fans have a live-action movie to go along with the animated 1986 movie from those heady first-generation days.

I went to see this movie, not expecting cyberpunk themes, but like Optimus Prime and Megatron colliding, BOOM! There they were, though some may say there’s a bit of a stretch for them. Like Alien, there will no doubt be some discussion about the themes and visuals and if the movie qualifies as cyberpunk.

Negative Impact of technology on humanity: Decepticons and the power-hungry Megatron will destroy Earth and the humans for the Allspark, and Megatron even shows his disgust for our species as he flicks a human away during the final battle. Also, the ongoing war between the Autobots and Decepticons could be a metaphoric warning about a possible future “robot war” on Earth.

Keller: We’re facing war against a technological civilization far superior to our own! Our enemy can take any shape! They could be anywhere!

Since America’s technology was based on Megatron, leader of the evil Decepticons, it makes our cyber-present sound like it is the seed of evil, forged by evil, for evil purposes. This origin of our technology causes the Allspark to turn ordinary electronic devices into transformer robots that attack humans.

Fusion of man and machine: There isn’t the deep, philosophical aspects of Blade Runner with this theme, but there are signs of lines between man and machine being crossed somewhere between Earth and Cybertron.

At the car lot, Bobby Bolivia (a cameo by Bernie Mac) tells Spike “A driver don’t pick the cars. Mmm-mm. Cars pick the driver. It’s a mystical bond between man and machine.” Spike and Mikaela interact with the Transformers like they were real, even though they’re just CGI animations added afterwards.

The Transformers themselves act sentient, even human like, with their own personalities. Optimus Prime acts like a real leader, keeping trigger-happy Ironhide in check, sacrificing Bumblebee when he’s captured to get to the Allspark, and even plans to sacrifice himself to protect the humans and destroy the Allspark if needed. There’s even dissension among the Decepticons, especially between Megatron and Starscream in their ongoing power struggle since their animated days.

What isn’t clear is if the Transformers were created by organic beings, or used to be organics, but found a way to transfer themselves into robot bodies, or if the Allspark just created the robotic race as the opening narration suggests. I would find it interesting to hear of the Transformers’ origins (creation or evolution?). Maybe a future “prequel” will deal with that.

Control over society: There doesn’t seem to be an “all-controlling entity” present in the film… until Sector 7 enters the scene.
Sector 7 was created by president Hoover when Captain Archibald Witwicky’s Arctic Circle expedition stumbled upon a frozen Megatron to keep the find secret. They reverse-engineered the Decepticon’s technology to create the technology of modern America and her military.

Story focuses on the underground: Mikaela has a juvenile record, thanks to her father showing her how to steal cars. Not much else here. Moving along…

Ubiquitous Access to information: Early on, the Decepticons try to hack America’s military systems, looking for information on the whereabouts of Megatron and the AllSpark. After Blackout’s attack on America’s Qatar base to access the military nets, the Pentagon tries to decipher the signal used to hack the systems. One of the analysts copies the signal to a memory card and takes it to a hacker friend she knows, who succeeds.

The Decepticon Frenzy, who first appears as a boom-box, furthers the hacking cause aboard Air Force One, and succeeds in obtaining information on Sector 7 and “Project Iceman.” He then uploads a virus that causes military systems worldwide to shut down to aid the Decepticon’s attack.

Autobot Jazz: What’s crackin’ little bitches?
Sam ‘Spike’ Witwicky: Where’d he learn to talk like that?
Optimus Prime: We learned Earth’s language through the World Wide Web.

Also, both sides learn of Spike and Captain Witwicky’s glasses from his posts as Ladiesman217 on eBay.

Cyberpunk visuals and style: The desert battle with Scorponok is probably the most cyberpunk visually, with all the sand and the primitive village hosting a high-tech battle between the Americans and a killer robot. There are scenes inside the Pentagon (a cyber-romanticized version) featuring rooms of computers to gather and analyze data. Many scenes take place at night in locations like junkyards and industrial parks. In the final battle in the city, Spike runs through what looks like a long-abandoned rail station. The scenes inside Hoover Dam could be called steampunk.

Do note the color schemes between the bot sides; The Autobots have brigher colors while the Decepticons have darker, militant paint jobs.

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away… (Oops, wrong movie… My bad.) Optimus Prime narrates the opening of the movie; How the Cube of the Allspark gave life to Cybertron (well, ANY planet it came across), and how the evil Megatron tried to abuse its power. The civil war that erupted practically destroyed Cybertron and all life on it, and the Allspark was lost for thousands of years, until it was discovered on an unknown-to-them planet called Earth.

Captain Archibald Witwicky was leading an expedition to the Arctic Circle when he stumbled upon a frozen Megatron and accidentally activated his guidance system, causing the Decepticon leader to imprint the Captain’s glasses with the location of the Allspark. The glasses are now in the possession of his great-great-grandson, Sam “Spike” Witwickey, who is trying to sell them to buy a car.

Sam and his father, Ron “Sparkplug” Witwickey, eventually buy an old Camaro that helps Sam attract Mikalea Banes, who knows her way around cars thanks to her father.

What could be hotter than a babe who knows her way around cars?

One night the car drives away with Sam in pursuit, believing his car was being stolen. The car arrives at a junkyard and transforms into a robot that transmits a signal into space while Sam watches in disbelief. The next day, the car returns and Sam runs believing the car is stalking him. Sam encounters the Decepticon Barricade, in disguise as a police cruiser, who demands the glasses. Sam’s car transforms to fight the Decepticon off, and then reveals his role as guardian before taking Sam and Mikaela to the arriving Autobots and Optimus Prime, who reveals Sam’s connection to the Allspark.

Sam ‘Spike’ Witwicky: It’s a robot. You know, like a super advanced robot. It’s probably Japanese.

What follows is a race to get to the Allspark, followed by a huge city-wrecking mech battle between the deadly Decepticons and the heroic Autobots and American military, including survivors of Blackout’s attack in Qatar.

Robot Apocalypse? We never see the death and destruction of Cybertron, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine it based on current human events. With two opposing sides fighting over a valuable resource, whether it’s energy or the Allspark, such Armageddons are always possible whether anyone wants them or not. And with the Transformers’ civil war now being played out on Earth, the humans may become unwilling victims of such an Armageddon, especially if the Decepticons win out.

But what about robots the humans will make? Advances in robotic and computer technology have made “human-like” robots more of a possibility in the near future. Future improvements in artificial intelligence can lead to learning machines, machines that can think and act for themselves, and possibly sentience like the Transformers. At that point, our robots may take sides to be human-friendly or anti-human. That could lead to a robotic civil war that could wipe humanity out and leave the planet unlivable, while the robots take their dispute to the stars, possibly destroying other sentient worlds and life forms.

Fortunately, we’re far from that robotic civil war, and the Autobots do keep Earth protected from Megatron’s lust for power and the Allspark. The final lines in the movie are spoken by Optimus Prime as he sends an invitation to his fellow Autobots:

With the Allspark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret… waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage and though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting.

Conclusion: While geared for the toy-line fans, Transformers does offer something for cyberpunks to think about, whether it was intended or not. There’s little question that it will be this summer’s blockbuster, but some might question if it belongs in the Parthenon of cyberpunk movies.

All I can say is: Do watch it and see if you also notice the cyberpunk themes as I did. It’s OK, it’s a pretty good robot action movie.

Agrippa (A Book of The Dead)

2007-07-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

I hesitated
before untying the bow
that bound this book together.

A black book:
    ALBUMS
CA. AGRIPPA
    Order Extra Leaves
         By Letter and Name

A Kodak album of time-burned
black construction paper

The string he tied
Has been unravelled by years
and the dry weather of trunks
Like a lady's shoestring from the First World War
Its metal ferrules eaten by oxygen
Until they resemble cigarette-ash

Inside the cover he inscribed something in soft graphite
Now lost
Then his name
W.F. Gibson Jr.
and something, comma,
1924

Then he glued his Kodak prints down
And wrote under them
In chalk-like white pencil:
"Papa's saw mill, Aug. 1919."

A flat-roofed shack
Against a mountain ridge
In the foreground are tumbled boards and offcuts
He must have smelled the pitch, In August
The sweet hot reek
Of the electric saw
Biting into decades


Next the spaniel Moko
"Moko 1919"
Poses on small bench or table
Before a backyard tree
His coat is lustrous
The grass needs cutting
Beyond the tree,
In eerie Kodak clarity,
Are the summer backstairs of Wheeling,
    West Virginia
Someone's left a wooden stepladder out

"Aunt Fran and [obscured]"
Although he isn't, this gent
He has a "G" belt-buckle
A lapel-device of Masonic origin
A patent propelling-pencil
A fountain-pen
And the flowers they pose behind so solidly
Are rooted in an upright length of whitewashed
    concrete sewer-pipe.

Daddy had a horse named Dixie
"Ford on Dixie 1917"
A saddle-blanket marked with a single star
Corduroy jodpurs
A western saddle
And a cloth cap
Proud and happy
As any boy could be

"Arthur and Ford fishing 1919"
Shot by an adult
(Witness the steady hand
that captures the wildflowers
the shadows on their broad straw hats
reflections of a split-rail fence)
standing opposite them,
on the far side of the pond,
amid the snake-doctors and the mud,
Kodak in hand,
Ford Sr.?

And "Moma July, 1919"
strolls beside the pond,
in white big city shoes,
Purse tucked behind her,
While either Ford or Arthur, still straw-hatted,
approaches a canvas-topped touring car.

"Moma and Mrs. Graham at fish hatchery 1919"
 Moma and Mrs. G. sit atop a graceful concrete
    arch.

"Arthur on Dixie", likewise 1919,
    rather ill at ease.
On the roof behind the barn, behind him,
can be made out this cryptic mark:
H.V.J.M.[?]

"Papa's Mill 1919", my grandfather most regal amid a wrack of
cut lumber,
might as easily be the record
of some later demolition, and
His cotton sleeves are rolled
to but not past the elbow,
striped, with a white neckband
for the attachment of a collar.
Behind him stands a cone of sawdust some thirty feet in height.
(How that feels to tumble down,
or smells when it is wet)


              II.

The mechanism: stamped black tin,
Leatherette over cardboard, bits of boxwood,
A lens
The shutter falls
Forever
Dividing that from this.

Now in high-ceiling bedrooms,
unoccupied, unvisited,
in the bottom drawers of veneered bureaus
in cool chemical darkness curl commemorative
montages of the country's World War dead,

just as I myself discovered
one other summer in an attic trunk,
and beneath that every boy's best treasure
of tarnished actual ammunition
real little bits of war
but also
the mechanism
itself.

The blued finish of firearms
is a process, controlled, derived from common
    rust, but there
under so rare and uncommon a patina
that many years untouched
until I took it up
and turning, entranced, down the unpainted
    stair,
to the hallway where I swear
I never heard the first shot.

The copper-jacketed slug recovered
from the bathroom's cardboard cylinder of
    Morton's Salt
was undeformed
save for the faint bright marks of lands
    and grooves
so hot, stilled energy,
it blistered my hand.

The gun lay on the dusty carpet.
Returning in utter awe I took it so carefully up
That the second shot, equally unintended,
    notched the hardwood bannister and brought
    a strange bright smell of ancient sap to life
    in a beam of dusty sunlight.
    Absolutely alone
    in awareness of the mechanism.

Like the first time you put your mouth
    on a woman.


              III.

"Ice Gorge at Wheeling
         1917"

Iron bridge in the distance,
Beyond it a city.
Hotels where pimps went about their business
on the sidewalks of a lost world.
But the foreground is in focus,
this corner of carpenter's Gothic,
these backyards running down to the freeze.

"Steamboat on Ohio River",
its smoke foul and dark,
its year unknown,
beyond it the far bank
overgrown with factories.

"Our Wytheville
House Sept. 1921"

They have moved down from Wheeling and my father wears his
city clothes.  Main Street is unpaved and an electric streetlamp is
slung high in the frame, centered above the tracked dust on a
slack wire, suggesting the way it might pitch in a strong wind,
the shadows that might throw.

The house is heavy, unattractive, sheathed in stucco, not native
to the region.  My grandfather, who sold supplies to contractors,
was prone to modern materials, which he used with
wholesaler's enthusiasm.  In 1921 he replaced the section of brick
sidewalk in front of his house with the broad smooth slab of poured
concrete, signing this improvement with a flourish, "W.F.
Gibson 1921". He believed in concrete and plywood
particularly.  Seventy years later his signature remains, the slab
floating perfectly level and charmless between mossy stretches of
sweet uneven brick that knew the iron shoes of Yankee horses.

"Mama Jan. 1922" has come out to sweep the concrete with a
broom.  Her boots are fastened with buttons requiring a special
instrument.

Ice gorge again, the Ohio, 1917.  The mechanism closes. A
torn clipping offers a 1957 DeSOTO FIREDOME, 4-door Sedan,
torqueflite radio, heater and power steering and brakes, new
w.s.w. premium tires. One owner. $1,595.


                   IV

He made it to the age of torqueflite radio
but not much past that, and never in that town.
That was mine to know, Main Street lined with
Rocket Eighty-eights,
the dimestore floored with wooden planks
pies under plastic in the Soda Shop,
and the mystery untold, the other thing,
sensed in the creaking of a sign after midnight
when nobody else was there.

In the talc-fine dust beneath the platform of the
    Norfolk & Western
lay indian-head pennies undisturbed since
    the dawn of man.

In the banks and courthouse, a fossil time
    prevailed, limestone centuries.

When I went up to Toronto
    in the draft,
my Local Board was there on Main Street,
above a store that bought and sold pistols.
I'd once traded that man a derringer for a
    Walther P-38.
The pistols were in the window
behind an amber roller-blind
    like sunglasses.
I was seventeen or so but basically I guess
you just had to be a white boy.
I'd hike out to a shale pit and run
ten dollars worth of 9mm
through it, so worn you hardly
had to pull the trigger.
Bored, tried shooting
down into a distant stream but
one of them came back at me
off a round of river rock
clipping walnut twigs from a branch
two feet above my head.
So that I remembered the mechanism.


              V.

In the all night bus station
they sold scrambled eggs to state troopers
the long skinny clasp-knives called fruit knives
which were pearl handled watermelon-slicers
and hillbilly novelties in brown varnished wood
which were made in Japan.

First I'd be sent there at night only
if Mom's carton of Camels ran out,
but gradually I came to value
the submarine light, the alien reek
of the long human haul, the strangers
straight down from Port Authority
headed for Nashville, Memphis, Miami.
Sometimes the Sheriff watched them get off
making sure they got back on.

When the colored restroom
was no longer required
they knocked open the cinderblock
and extended the magazine rack
to new dimensions,
a cool fluorescent cave of dreams
smelling faintly and forever of disinfectant,
perhaps as well of the travelled fears
of those dark uncounted others who,
moving as though contours of hot iron,
were made thus to dance
or not to dance
as the law saw fit.

There it was that I was marked out as a writer,
having discovered in that alcove
copies of certain magazines
esoteric and precious, and, yes,
I knew then, knew utterly,
the deal done in my heart forever,
though how I knew not,
nor ever have.

Walking home
through all the streets unmoving
so quiet I could hear the timers of the traffic lights a block away:
    the mechanism.
Nobody else, just the silence
    spreading out
to where the long trucks groaned
    on the highway
their vast brute souls in want.


                   VI.

There must have been a true last time
I saw the station but I don't remember
I remember the stiff black horsehide coat
gift in Tucson of a kid named Natkin
I remember the cold
I remember the Army duffle
that was lost and the black man in Buffalo
trying to sell me a fine diamond ring,
and in the coffee shop in Washington
I'd eavesdropped on a man wearing a black tie
embroidered with red roses
that I have looked for ever since.

They must have asked me something
at the border
I was admitted
somehow
and behind me swung the stamped tin shutter
across the very sky
and I went free
to find myself
mazed in Victorian brick
amid sweet tea with milk
and smoke from a cigarette called a Black Cat
and every unknown brand of chocolate
and girls with blunt-cut bangs
not even Americans
looking down from high narrow windows
on the melting snow
of the city undreamed
and on the revealed grace
of the mechanism,
no round trip.

They tore down the bus station
there's chainlink there
no buses stop at all
and I'm walking through Chiyoda-ku
in a typhoon
the fine rain horizontal
umbrella everted in the storm's Pacific breath
tonight red lanterns are battered,

laughing,
in the mechanism.