Neon Twilight Introduction

"I mean, WHICH IS IT? Either we live in a free society with freedom of speech in which case communication does NOT have a value because it is a means by which we live, OR, you live in a corporatist, essentially undemocratic society in which information has value and therefore you can't have real conversations because people are BUYING and SELLING what you want to be talking about."
— John Ralston Saul, Channel Zero

Neon Twilight is a strange and sinister world set in the near-future of 2038, when biotechnology has run amok, city-states have reemerged within vast confederations, police states have become prevalent, superstition rules over technology, and ethnic clans span the world. It's an ugly cyberpunk dystopia peppered with doses of hi-tek lo-life amidst the junkyards of the elites.

Welcome to the site. My name is Krypter, or Mateusz Krepicz in some dimensions. This databank holds information about a unique cyberpunk-ish world setting called Neon Twilight. For years I played Shadowrun and tinkered with Cyberpunk2020 but the mediocrity of both world settings always bothered me. My solution is to create an interesting near-future world that is a combination of traditional cyberpunk, Kafka-esque paranoia, and other weirdness. Unlike other cyberpunk worlds which basically make anything up to fill their plot holes, the predictions in Neon Twilight are based on rigorous political, social, military and economic models. Neon Twilight is supposed to be as realistic as possible while still being futuristically strange and exciting to play in. You won't find any power armour, spaceship battles, anime robots, or battlemechs here. Near future means limited tech, although Neon Twilight has plenty of interesting tek in itself. This world is more in the spirit of movies like Kafka, Gattaca, Dark City, Brazil and Bladerunner than Ghost in the Shell or Bubblegum Crisis. Neon Twilight comes with some basic rules but you are encouraged to use your favourite system. The emphasis is on the world setting, not on the mechanics.

Since I've gone to a lot of trouble to build this site and write all this data, I've decided to make Neon Twilight shareware. Half of the world will be posted here free-of-charge (but not freeware, I still retain full copyright) and if you find the world interesting, you can buy the complete version (in HTML format) for only $10. That's ten dollars, what you'd spend on a bad sci-fi book. Neon Twilight is definitely worth it. Please read my Shareware infosheet for more information. Enjoy!

Here are the highlights of the game:

THE PACIFIC WAR between the USA and People's Republic of China has altered the political landscape across Asia and made America into a colonial power. The Pacific Conflict Zone is an area of turmoil in Southeast Asia, while the American-backed Chinese Coastal Republic faces off against Confucian Zhongguo.

THE NEW MUTATION ushered in an era of disease, paranoia and strict biosafety controls across the world. As millions died from bioweapons and more succumbed to mutated parasites, nations and cities became isolated and undemocratic.

GREAT MINDS roam the digital landscape of the WEBWORKS, a seething ocean of evolving programs and self-structuring networks. Artificial Intelligence is a reality, but Great Minds have been cajoled by governments to nefarious ends...

THE RESEARCH CONTROL REGIME restricts genegineering and technological innovation after the horrors of the New Mutation, but the forces of change cannot be kept at bay forever, and strange stories emerge from the catacombs of the Central Intelligence Apparatus.

PARASITES & CHIMERICS consume humanity or act as specialized implants, genegineered warriors or horrific macro-parasites. Nature has been corrupted and now humanity must deal with the consequences.

SUPERSTITION AND RELIGION rule the world from the necrosis-infested corridors of the Apparatus in Washington to Protestant Sectarians in Sao Paolo to inflamed Triad Fists in Cathay. Man once again becomes prey to nature, and appeals to the gods for salvation.