Cyberpunk Day 2021: A Celebration of Everything Cyberpunk

 

Well folks, it’s October again, and with that comes a celebration of everything Cyberpunk: Cyberpunk day! Created by a coalition of Cyberpunk creators and fans, Cyberpunk Day was conceived to  help others discover new cyberpunk content like books, comics, shows, movies, and art. The team includes such cyberpunk writers Matthew Goodwin, Elias Hurst, Rachel Beck, and many more.

A Cyberpunk Lineup

This year Cyberpunk day has a really cool, revamped website, with a lineup is as follows:

11AM EST: Cyberpunk Games with Devs–Cyberpunk games showcase and game-dev interviews, hosted by FuzzyFreaks.

12PM EST: Cyberpunk Red GM Tips with GM Rob Mulligan.

1PM EST: Cyberpunk Roundtable with Cyberpunk authors Joseph & Marisha Cautilli, Tobias Cabral, and Matthew Goodwin.

2:30PM EST: Author readings (Block 1) with Cyberpunk authors Elias Hurst, Rachel Beck, Jon Richter, Jim Keen, Stu Jones, Marcos Antonio Hernandez, and Eric Danhoff.

4PM EST: Deus Ex Speedrun with Heinki.

5PM EST: Screening of Venus and Interview with Director Andrew McGee.

6PM EST: Author Readings (Block 2) with Mark Everglade, Craig Lea Gordon, Tanweer Dar, Matt Adcock and Cypress Butane.

7PM EST: Interview with Mike Pondsmith.

9PM EST: Cyberpunk Red One-Shot: Cyberpunk TTRPG creator Mr. Stidz refs a one-shot playthrough of Cyberpunk Red with players JonJon TheWise, Phil Harker-Smith, Rachel E. Beck and Miss Magitek.

With a full schedule of events, Cyberpunk day will be surely a day unlike any other, where people around the world can follow @cyberpunkday on Twitter to access all the events live as they happen every hour. I wonder what they will have planned for next year.

Celebrating Favorite Cyberpunk Media for World Cyberpunk Day

To celebrate everything Cyberpunk for World Cyberpunk Day, I thought I’d once again share my own favorite Cyberpunk media pieces, in addition to shining a light on some of my favorite, lesser known Cyberpunk content creators,  writers, and websites. Some of this has changed from last year, a lot of it hasn’t. Regardless, come celebrate Cyberpunk with your operator Alex, here on the Cyberpunk Matrix.

World Cyberpunk Day: Favorite Cyberpunk Media

1. The Matrix (the trilogy and the animatrix) by The Wachowskis
2. Ghost in the Shell (the original anime and live action remake, as well as the animated series) by Masamune Shirow (writer), Mamoru Oshii (anime film director) and Rupert Sanders (live action director).
3. Battle Angel Alita (the manga known as GUNNM, as well as the anime movie and the live action film) by Yukito Kishiro (writer), Hiroshi Fukutomi (anime film director), and Robert Rodriguez (live action director).
4. Altered Carbon (the novel, the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy, and both seasons on Netflix) by Richard K Morgan (writer) and Laeta Kalogridis (Netflix series director).
5. Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve
6. Ready Player One (both the book and the live action film) by Ernest Cline (writer) and Steven Spielberg (director).
7. Upgrade by Leigh Whannell

World Cyberpunk Day: Favorite Community Content Creators

1. NeoMatrixology–For a yellow-pilled approach to understanding everything to do with the Matrix, I always consult NeoMatrixology and his Matrix University series. While I tend to report Matrix news in batches when major things happen, NeoMatrixology is always first to report the latest news relating to the Matrix, no matter how big or small, including livestreams breaking down the latest news. He also has lots of high-quality, in-depth analysis on the philosophy and themes present within the Matrix Universe. We also had a really interesting hour-long discussion about his inspiration, beginnings, and our first Matrix viewing experiences which you can check out in our podcast here.
2. Matthew A Goodwin & Elias Hurst  — Both Cyberpunk authors in their own right, Goodwin and Hurst have joined forces to create Cyberpunk Day each year, creating an impressive lineup that helps other cyberpunk creators come together, while also helping cyberpunk enthusiasts find their content. They also help contribute content to the Cyberpunk reddit forums, Matrix forums, and Cyberpunk discord servers. Both are doing great work to keep the lifeblood of the cyberpunk community alive, and I was able to have both authors on recently for the Cyberpunk Matrix Podcast. You can listen to Matthew’s interview here, and Elias’ interview should be going live this weekend!

World Cyberpunk Day: Favorite Cyberpunk websites

1. Neon Dystopia–if ever you wanted in-depth, scholarly articles about all kinds of Cyberpunk content, look no further than Neon Dystopia. This is also where I first went the day I discovered the Cyberpunk genre. Covering philosophy, fashion, movies, music, video games, and news, Neon Dystopia doesn’t post as often as some other blogs, but when they do it’s always very in-depth and interesting. Neon Dystopia was also one of the first Cyberpunk websites I shared about, back in March 2018.
2. Cyberpunks.com–Cyberpunks has the highest amount of content of all cyberpunk websites I’ve seen to date on the ‘net. Going less in depth as Neon Dystopia but providing far more content, including also the occasional video, Cyberpunks provides articles and essays about all Cyberpunk genres–movies, tv shows, music, news, technology, video games, etc. It also has reviews, lists, recommendations–you name it, Cyberpunks has it! For more about the ambitious creator behind this incredible website, check out my interview with its founder Bradley B. here.

World Cyberpunk Day: Favorite Up-and-Coming Cyberpunk Book

Despite the title sounding like a Cyberpunk Cosmopolitan Cocktail, Bubbles in Space: Tropical Punch is a delightful Cyberpunk Noir Detective story following Cyborg Private Investigator Bubbles Marlowe as she investigates a mysterious crime ring and new drug that hit the market. Starting in dystopian slums, her investigation brings her to a luxurious interstellar yacht, where not everything is as it seems. I read this book incredibly quickly, and particularly loved the interactions with the PI and her sassy android pig companion. Read the complete review for Tropical Punch on the blog, fortunately it’s only book 1 of 5 in the series by Canadian Cyberpunk author S.C. Jensen!

World Cyberpunk Day: Favorite Cyberpunk Video Game

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon by Ubisoft

If you ask most Cyberpunk fans what their favorite Cyberpunk game is, they will probably answer System Shock, Shadowrun, or Deus Ex (see the speed run in the Cyberpunk Day lineup above). While I haven’t played System Shock (it’s a little dated to play now unless you have that nostalgia factor) or Shadowrun (a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, think blade runner meets LOTR from what I’ve heard), I have actually played Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Unfortunately, I felt both Deus Ex games were a lot more stealth and RPG-focused for my tastes, with the gameplay considerably less fun than the usual fast-paced First Person Shooters I usually go for. Considering I’m a FPS player at heart, it should come with no surprise that Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is actually my favorite Cyberpunk video game of all time (even more than Cyberpunk 2077, surprisingly, although it was close). Sold as a stand-alone expansion to Far Cry 3 (another favorite FPS game of mine), FC3: Blood Dragon is a hilarious, over-the-top parody of 1980s action films featuring corny lines, fast paced action, dragons shooting laser beams, and cyborg ninjas.

Your Favorites

So what are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

 

In exactly one week, you will be able to participate in a 3 day incredible music festival called Neon, in Rhode Island. Neon describes itself as a cutting-edge Synthwave music festival with a massively themed video arcade, cult and genre film festival, console gaming time capsule, and iconic guests and panelists. It’s a Retrofuturism love letter to late 20th century entertainment, an aesthetically and sonically immersive experience.

What is retrofuturism, though?

According to their website, Retrofuturism is a term coined in 1983, defined as “a revived enthusiasm for depictions of the future created in the past; also, the use of a style considered futuristic in the past.”

This enthusiasm for the future in a past aesthetic, it just so happens, is a perfect home for Cyberpunk as well, although Neon makes sure to distinguish between the genre we love and Retrofuturism at Neon.

It’s essence is Stranger Things, epic synths, midnight drives, obsolete tech, hard video games, faded summer polaroids, and neon-drenched danger. It’s flickering neon, killer robots, rain-soaked pavement, eternal sunsets, cyberpunk skylines, and obsolete technology.

This festival sounds like a retro gamer or cyberpunk fan’s dream. I so wish I could go, but unfortunately I’ve left the United States already and will be out of the country for quite a while.

Neon will have seventy-five 80s and 90s restored video game and pinball arcade cabinets, for hours of fun. It’ll have non-stop screenings of weird and terrible old movies. It’ll have workshops for electronic projects so you can learn how modular synths work. It’s discussions about the genre and what’s to look forward to. There will be a retro computing time capsule, and a LAN room. It’ll also have themed shopping, vendors, and artists, as well as a Yacht Rock lounge for when you need to ‘sail away from it all’.

Musical guests will include Waveshaper, Glitch Black, Protector 101, Rolly Mingwald, Neuron Spectre, Future Holotape, Dana Jean Phoenix, Let Em Riot, and more. Guests include cyberpunk illustrator and game designer Rob Shields

I’m not personally familiar with any of these artists, but the great thing about conventions is that it gives you the chance to discover new artists!

Neon will take place in the Crowne Warwick Plaza, not far from the airport.

The Neon team is led by Grant Garvin, a veteran of immersive events who always wanted to create a festival focusing on synthwave and nostalgic things. In 2013 he created a cyberpunk Synthwave event with Arcade High and Let Em Riot. Unfortunately, only 20 people showed up, indicating that the movement was still a bit premature. However, in subsequent years when Synthwave became popular with the likes of artists such as Perturbator, things have changed.

I can’t wait to see if Neon is a success, and if so (which I hope it will), what future conventions and festivals Garvin or others have in store.

To buy tickets and learn more about Neon Rhode Island, check them out here.

To read more about news of the event, check out this article from Vehlinggo here.