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@earth_walker@mindly.social
For #BlackHistoryMonth I want to recognize contributions made by Black people to some of the things I care about. I'm gonna kick things off by shining the spotlight on #MikePondsmith, best known as the creator of the #Cyberpunk tabletop RPG. Pondsmith enjoyed playing traditional games as a kid, went to school for graphic design and behavioral psychology, and ended up working in publishing. [continued]
He eventually became interested in #TTRPG, with his first project in the space being a reworking of Traveller, a #ScienceFiction game, to improve the combat system. He went on to design various tabletop RPGs, notably including #CastleFalkenstein, an alternate-reality #steampunk fantasy game, and of course Cyberpunk. Pondsmith has also contributed to some #D&D sourcebooks including Forgotten Realms. [continued]
During a lull in the tabletop space, he worked on several #VideoGames for Microsoft including MechCommander 2. The Cyberpunk tabletop game was eventually adapted into the #Cyberpunk2077 video game, as well as a bangin anime #CyberpunkEdgerunners produced by Trigger. Oh, and the #Netrunner #CCG was also based on the Cyberpunk universe. I'm sure I'm missing some interesting things Pondsmith has worked on, there's too much to mention here! [continued]
Pondsmith's Cyberpunk universe has been a big influence on me. A lot of cyberpunk #fiction has aged like milk, but Cyberpunk still feels fresh, alive and relevant after 35 years because of its potent mixture of capitalism run amok, tragic love stories and brutal action. I definitely want to check out some of his more obscure titles such as Teenagers From Outer Space as well! [end of thread]