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   Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:57 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

   Wow, so, #Cyberpunk77 is pretty great.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:36 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     • Brian Merchant

     Interesting similarity between Johnny Silverhand and the legend of Ned Ludd.

     Enjoying "Blood in the Machine" by @brianmerchant!

     "Lludd Llaw Eraint... was a Welsh hero who lost an arm in battle and was exiled as god-king, only to receive a new silver replacement that allowed him to return as a sort of cyborg warrior deity..."

     Protestors bearing the name of "Ludd" rioted and smashed the machines degrading the lives of workers.

     Johnny would approve!

     #cyberpunk2077 #luddites

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:39 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     Anyway, I recommend checking out Noah Caldwell Gervais's video essay on #Cyberpunk2077, which I thought was insightful.

     https://youtu.be/lWEkeqJ2djM

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:41 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     To be honest, this is part of the reason I didn't participate in side quests. I *felt* the pressing need for V to save herself. Side missions for this life that was destroying me didn't seem relevant (I never really needed money.)

     But maybe that says more about me and what I was looking for in the game, than the game itself. I think other people are able to switch tracks from "story" mode to "game" mode easier than me - separate the plot from the entertaining mechanics.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:42 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     If anything, I think the #cyberpunk2077 story was *too* effective, because I have no interest in buying the DLC.

     The value add is, more flavor to this merc life, more ways to emerse yourself in this high tech, low life world, more ways to participate in the practice that brought about your own destruction.

     I internalized the story so much that the opportunity to experience more of Night City is actually repellant. My V got out, you want me to send her back?

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:43 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     *MY* V chose to leave, others chose to stay, others chose to be fully absorbed by the Corpo world. These are all viable outcomes to the same question; "what matters to you in this terrible world?"

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:45 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     It's been a month since finishing and I've had a chance to reflect on #cyberpunk2077's narrative.

     I think the branching-start-branching end model for storytelling is elegant. V can start in different places and end in different places. What results is a different perspective on fundamentally the same story: Night City and its hyper-capitalist, merc-dominated life, chews up individuals and destroys them as it perpetuates itself.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:46 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

     in reply to

     (If you couldn't tell this game left me with some *feelings*.)

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:47 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     Something that... haunts me a little about #cyberpunk2077.

     Johnny Silverhand did everything he could. He organized culture against the corpos through his rock albums; he organized riots; he detonated a nuclear weapon in Arasaka Tower... and fifty years later, the tower was rebuilt.

     I sometimes struggle to imagine #solarpunk succeeding in the face of capitalism. Game didn't help.

     Lesson learned; It's dangerous to consume #cyberpunk media if you're already on the edge.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:48 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     I'm beginning to realize that my #Cyberpunk2077 experience was very positive compared to many others, and that's because:
     - I followed the Nomad->Nomad storyline, which was the most "complete"
     - I didn't interact with gigs or any of the leveling mechanics

     Really, I lucked into the most satisfying aspect of the story, and I went deep on *just* the story.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:49 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

     in reply to

     My V lost her nomad group, came to Night City and decided to be the best merc and fill the void. But what she needed was family. Jackie was her family, and when she lost him she worked as hard as she could to build a new family. She joined Panam, found a family with the Aldacados, and after jettisoning the Relic, turned her back on Night City and the merc dream. (I thought I had romanced Panam, but turns out as a lady I didn't have that option.)

     Damn. What a game.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:51 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

     in reply to

     Holy cow. #Cyberpunk2077 was fantastic.

     My story was so fulfilling. I'm stunned.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:52 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     Can I just say, I find the presence of "shards" in #Cyberpunk2077 to be really charming.

     This is the future. Everyone has cybernetic implants. Even the cabs are robots! And yet, files in the game are often transfered through a physical medium.

     This is probably because the game is #cyberpunk, a genre which was created before the Internet was common in households. (Plus, watching V and Rogue try to pair bluetooth signals would be lame.)

     Data made into a material object is old school and fun.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:53 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

     in reply to

     Right now I'm working with a character who we first meet when an important mission goes south. Then, he is simply a threat, and we know he must be a particularly dangerous threat because of who he is working with. His primary function is to amp up the tension as we realize that things have gone out of control.

     Later, through various twists of fate, we're working with each other. While planning a mission, there is a beat that doesn't drive the plot forward, but dwells on the characters' pasts.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:54 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

     in reply to

     I think they do a really good job of setting up characters in Cyberpunk 2077. They'll be introduced, briefly, and the introduction plays some other purpose.

     You see a legendary fixer in a bar, and seeing her will prompt the characters to think and talk about what it means to be a legend (which is an important theme of the game). The scene stands by itself.

     Later, we'll meet and interact with her, and the introductory conversation helps us understand who she is.

     #Cyberpunk2077 #storytelling

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Nov-2023 05:34:56 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     My perception of #Cyberpunk2077 was largely determined by the negative press it received at launch. I took a gamble on a steam sale - thought I'd be disappointed.

     I'm... kind of astounded by the initial chapter. The characters of this game are really well crafted. I care about what happens to them.

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     Derek Caelin 🌱 (derek@social.coop)'s status on Tuesday, 20-Aug-2024 22:24:41 JST Derek Caelin 🌱

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     I picked up #cyberpunk2077 again after a while. Man, the themes of that game still reasonate with me.

     I particularly like how the oppressive cyberpunk city ends up being the backdrop for deep human interconnection. V's connection to Jackie is the obvious example. The Aldecaldos. Judy and Evelyn. River and his sister's family. Night City is dystopian, but the people in Vs circles care deeply about each other - pulling each other out of scrapes. Showing affection for each other. It's beautiful.

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     In #Flancia we'll meet (flancian@social.coop)'s status on Wednesday, 21-Aug-2024 06:56:02 JST In #Flancia we'll meet

     in reply to

     @derek thanks, you made me want to look into it more!