Let's leave the obvious discussion of the ethics of transhumanism aside for a second and address something literally no one ever talks about.
Why the fuck would I want proprietary corporate hardware in my fucking head with proprietary software running on it? Why would I want my brain implant forced to update Windows 10 style? Why would I want to live in a future where every time I want to use my eye-camera(tm) I have to watch a 30 second ad projected into my consciousness?
Even if people aren't anti-transhumanism (and they should be) why is no one considering the obvious pitfalls that come with any new tech? I don't want Google to be able to access my brain and thoughts, actually.
This is what bothers me about cyberpunk in fiction.
They sometimes casually mention it, but mostly they just make it look so cool and badass with almost no strings attached. And I hate that they leave that lying on the ground but then force their corporate dystopia in other ways.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution kind of did it with the neuropozine but it always felt a little tacked on. It doesn't really play into the player's experience. I mean in large part because the player literally has magic genetics that don't need it for no reason.
So like, what I'm talking about is, from a gameplay point of view:
You have Company X cyber eyes and ears installed. You have to pay a monthly fee to "unlock" all the features. The eyes are bought on payment plans and if you miss a payment your eyes turn off. The eyes beam advertisements directly into your brain. When you are looking at products, brands Company X doesn't like are blurred out or have popups advertising their own better product. The eyes are tracked and recorded and sold to Las enforcement or other companies if you commit a crime or something. You have to pay for special licensing fees to enjoy copyrighted content or else it's replaced with blurs or white noise.
Constant "system updates" that change the performance of cyberware, and force installs whenever it wants, taking it offline for minutes at a time.
You buy a SmartGun with target tracking. But it doesn't work on some people because they paid for a plan to disable smart tracking against them.
Stolen from a BlackMirror episode, but the ability to be "blocked", so people who blocked you can't be seen or heard much like how you can't see posts on social media from people who have you blocked.
People hack your cyberlegs and match you in to traffic. Or cops press a button and you freeze in place.
You literally can't even get a car with remote start without paying a monthly fee but I can get anything I want without any strings?
Does anyone remember that really mediocre mid 2000s shooter Haze? Dreadful as the story was, the one thing I really liked about it was the concept of the corpo soldiers having implants that would show them a curated version of reality, erasing their downed comrades from their view to prevent loss of morale, for example.
There isn't a shadow of a doubt it my mind that Google or Microsoft would show you their curated version of reality if they could get away with it.
The Syndicate (Wars) games also played with that idea, just in the intro videos. The citizens get a curated view of reality that shows white picket fences and robo-police as friendly neighborhood beat cops.
I have actually heard that excuse used for other shooters when it comes to bodies disappearing or the enemy being repetitive-looking clones, but I'll admit it always did feel like a bit of a gimmick to explain shortfalls in the game's technology. I think Deus Ex (the good one) had that as a fan excuse for the copy-pasted looking NPCs but uh, I think that was actually just because the game was really old and had texture and memory limitations.
Let's leave the obvious discussion of the ethics of transhumanism aside for a second and address something literally no one ever talks about.
Why the fuck would I want proprietary corporate hardware in my fucking head with proprietary software running on it? Why would I want my brain implant forced to update Windows 10 style? Why would I want to live in a future where every time I want to use my eye-camera(tm) I have to watch a 30 second ad projected into my consciousness?
Even if people aren't anti-transhumanism (and they should be) why is no one considering the obvious pitfalls that come with any new tech? I don't want Google to be able to access my brain and thoughts, actually.
This is what bothers me about cyberpunk in fiction.
They sometimes casually mention it, but mostly they just make it look so cool and badass with almost no strings attached. And I hate that they leave that lying on the ground but then force their corporate dystopia in other ways.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution kind of did it with the neuropozine but it always felt a little tacked on. It doesn't really play into the player's experience. I mean in large part because the player literally has magic genetics that don't need it for no reason.
So like, what I'm talking about is, from a gameplay point of view:
You have Company X cyber eyes and ears installed. You have to pay a monthly fee to "unlock" all the features. The eyes are bought on payment plans and if you miss a payment your eyes turn off. The eyes beam advertisements directly into your brain. When you are looking at products, brands Company X doesn't like are blurred out or have popups advertising their own better product. The eyes are tracked and recorded and sold to Las enforcement or other companies if you commit a crime or something. You have to pay for special licensing fees to enjoy copyrighted content or else it's replaced with blurs or white noise.
Constant "system updates" that change the performance of cyberware, and force installs whenever it wants, taking it offline for minutes at a time.
You buy a SmartGun with target tracking. But it doesn't work on some people because they paid for a plan to disable smart tracking against them.
Stolen from a BlackMirror episode, but the ability to be "blocked", so people who blocked you can't be seen or heard much like how you can't see posts on social media from people who have you blocked.
People hack your cyberlegs and match you in to traffic. Or cops press a button and you freeze in place.
You literally can't even get a car with remote start without paying a monthly fee but I can get anything I want without any strings?
Does anyone remember that really mediocre mid 2000s shooter Haze? Dreadful as the story was, the one thing I really liked about it was the concept of the corpo soldiers having implants that would show them a curated version of reality, erasing their downed comrades from their view to prevent loss of morale, for example.
There isn't a shadow of a doubt it my mind that Google or Microsoft would show you their curated version of reality if they could get away with it.
The Syndicate (Wars) games also played with that idea, just in the intro videos. The citizens get a curated view of reality that shows white picket fences and robo-police as friendly neighborhood beat cops.
I have actually heard that excuse used for other shooters when it comes to bodies disappearing or the enemy being repetitive-looking clones, but I'll admit it always did feel like a bit of a gimmick to explain shortfalls in the game's technology. I think Deus Ex (the good one) had that as a fan excuse for the copy-pasted looking NPCs but uh, I think that was actually just because the game was really old and had texture and memory limitations.