r/SocialistGaming • u/AutoModerator • 6h ago
[OFF-TOPIC DISCUSSION THREAD]
As previously requested, we're trying out a regular, automated discussion thread! Use this space to talk about things that don't fit the ordinary subject matter of the space, or for discussions that don't necessitate a full post! All rules besides the relevancy rule still apply!
For these first ones, please let us know what you think about it! Personally, I'm not sure how popular this practice will be, so I don't really know about the frequency at which they should be generated, so we're just gonna feel it out and figure it out, together. Any suggestions about how to run it, moving forward, are welcome!
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u/Dizzy_Tea5842 2h ago
It's too early to showcase anything from it yet but I'm several months into my first real game project and I'm feeling pretty good about it so far.
It's a game set in New Mexico, in the year 2012 but retrofuturistically dystopian such as a person from the late 90s might envision it, so really very similar to the reality of the present day but with anachronisms and alternate history stuff sprinkled in, as well as some limited cyberpunk technology like very rare and expensive cybernetics. I call it "Webpunk."
Gameplay-wise it's an immersive sim RPG like Deus Ex, but with a small open world and narrative pacing similar to Pathologic. The core gameplay loop is divided between realspace and cyberspace. I won't go into details about the narrative yet, but the primary focus is on hacking and social stealth rather than combat, and for the first half of the game the player is blackmailed into working as an asset for their handlers in the NIA (like the CIA/NSA but specifically tasked with cybercrime and mass surveillance), working through various contacts and factions to track down a malware-worshiping cybercult, all part of a domestic clandestine program which eventually goes completely off the rails. A big part of this is being encouraged by your handlers to work with far-right extremist groups to get the resources you need to continue your investigation, which begins with street crime and escalates into full blown terrorism. Think Aberration in the Heartland of the Real.
There's also a fully simulated internet and desktop computer system based on Unix, with real virtual file systems, networking protocols and packet transfers, and software services. You can find software on CDs or on the internet and install it. There's a shell/terminal app bundled with the OS and it functions identically to a real Bash terminal and is POSIX compliant. There is GUI, CLI, and TUI software. As opposed to trivial minigames, all hacking and digital forensics incorporates real world techniques such as rootkits, man in the middle attacks, buffer overflow exploits, binary patching, and SQL injection. There's also malware and it can brick your device if you aren't careful. Or it might just add a sentient luciferian gorilla assistant to your desktop.
The code for most of these mechanics has already been implemented, and the computer/networking system is fully functional, but I haven't started on implementing content yet except for testing purposes.
To summarize all the themes, it's a game about parapolitics, Y2K retrofuturism, internet culture and cybercrime, the surveillance state, the southwest United States, western esotericism and occultism, neo-nazi gangs and CI militia groups, new-age cults, 90s conspiracy theory culture, O9A, UFOs, Aztec and Egyptian mythology, and how all of these things are heavily interconnected from the Rosicrucians to the British Occupation of Egypt, to Aleister Crowley, to WW2 and the British-American intelligence community, to Operation Gladio and MKUltra and MHCHAOS, to Aman, to the Yugoslav Wars to 9/11 to Epstein trafficking network to 4chan to dark enlightenment think tanks and technofeudal billionaires and AI and the big data economy. I know this is pretty different from most socialist games out there since it's really a deep dive into the horror and insanity of right wing politics and their consequences, but hopefully you can see the vision