Release and Inspirations!

Hi there, folks, and welcome to the launch of 199X: SHUTDOWN! This game is the payoff of my long-held love for the cyberpunk of yesteryear, but it's also the first full game I've been able to make since quitting my job. It doesn't exist without the support of my incredible partner, as well as all my friends who pushed it on with excitement and playtesting. The reason it isn't a hideous Google Doc anymore is because of Mina's work, which is always invaluable.

Mushy stuff aside, let's get on with the inspirational media!

• Shadowrun 3e's Renraku Arcology: Shutdown is the initial germ of this idea, a venerable old brick of a book that's nearly my age. I've always loved the ideas in it, even if the system isn't one I'm too fond of; I'm still mad I couldn't fit faux-Technomancers here.
• System Shock - the original, with the glorious polygonal graphics. SHODAN's mastery of the space station and its labyrinthine, varied interiors was at the forefront of my mind throughout.
• Mothership's Gradient Descent is one of the finest works in the tabletop horror space that I've ever seen. The way it conveys that industry and scale can be just as frightening as any malformed android or mutant creature... sticks with you. I hope I did it justice.

In general, anything where a Fucked-Up Place is the domain of an unkind artificial intelligence is part of SHUTDOWN's palette, and doubly so if unlucky hackers with jumpy trigger fingers are scurrying about under their watch. If you're a fan of any of the above, I hope this game lands for you!

I wanted to be sure 199X: SHUTDOWN was out before Halloween, so folks could cram in bloody one-shots for spooky season. This game is part of a trio with 199X: COMPLEX (about compromised super-cops) and 199X: INFEST (about wasteland mutants and scrappy psychics), which I hope to have released in the very near future; together, they all fit into a larger toolkit of options for 24XX play with a retro-cyberpunk flair. If they all do well, I even have vain ideas for one or two more that reach even further...