Skip to content
1981
Cyberpunk 2077
  • ISSN: 1757-191X
  • E-ISSN: 1757-1928

Abstract

This article presents an analysis and interpretation of the digital game in the perspective of contemporary reflection on cyberpunk as a cultural formation. The main hypothesis is that the game offers a narration that immerses players in the experience of psychosis and the fear of otherness. The article focuses on the phenomenon of psychosis as a dominant element of the game narrative. Methodologically, the text is embedded within hermeneutics positioned at the intersection of literary, philosophical and game studies discourse. Clinical descriptions and psychological works on the phenomenon of psychosis were used to ground this reflection. Critical reading of the narrativized fear of the other in shows that the game nostalgically returns to the phobias projected by the cyberpunk cultural formation in the previous century.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00052_1
2022-04-01
2024-11-04
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ahmad, Aijaz. ( 2008;), ‘ Reconciling Derrida: “Specters of Marx” and deconstructive politics. ’, in M. Sprinker. (ed.), Ghostly Demarcations: A Symposium on Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx, London and New York:: Verso;, pp. 88109.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Baudrillard, Jean. ( 1996), The Perfect Crime (trans. C. Turner.), London and New York:: Verso;.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Baudrillard, Jean. ( 2001), Seduction (trans. B. Singer.), Montreal:: CTheory Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bauman, Zygmunt. ( 2017), Retrotopia, Cambridge:: Polity Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. BioWare ( 2021), Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Edmonton:: BioWare;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bogost, Ian. ( 2007), Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames, Cambridge, MA and London:: MIT Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Borges, Jorge L.. ( 1973), The Book of Imaginary Beings (trans. N. T. di Giovanni.), Harmondsworth:: Penguin Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Calleja, Gordon. ( 2011), In-Game: From Immersion to Incorporation, London:: The MIT Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. CD Projekt Red ( 2020), Cyberpunk 2077, Warsaw:: CD Projekt Red;.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Derrida, Jacques. ( 1981), Dissemination (trans. B. Johnson.), Chicago:: University of Chicago Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Derrida, Jacques. ( 2006), Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International (trans. P. Kamuf.), New York and London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Ferrari, Manuela,, McIlwaine, Sarah V.,, Jordan, Gerald,, Shah, Jai L.,, Lal, Shalini, and Iyer, Srividya N.. ( 2019;), ‘ Gaming with stigma: Analysis of messages about mental illnesses in video games. ’, JMIR Mental Health, 6:5, pp. 114, https://doi.org/10.2196/12418. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Fink, Bruce. ( 1997), A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Theory and Technique, Cambridge, MA and London:: Harvard University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Fisher, Mark. ( 2009), Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?, Winchester:: Zero Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Fisher, Mark. ( 2012;), ‘ What is hauntology?. ’, Film Quarterly, 66:1, pp. 1624.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Fisher, Mark. ( 2013;), ‘ The metaphysics of crackle: Afrofuturism and hauntology. ’, Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 5:2, pp. 4255, https://doi.org/10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.03. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Fisher, Mark. ( 2014), Ghosts of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures, Winchester:: Zero Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Foucault, Michel. ( 1986;), ‘ Of other spaces. ’ (trans. J. Miskowiec.), Diacritics, 16:1, pp. 2227.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Frelik, Paweł. ( 2020a;), ‘ Najbardziej oczekiwana gra: Witajcie w świecie cyberpunka. ’, Narodowe Centrum Kultury , 11 December, https://audycjekulturalne.pl/witajcie-w-swiecie-cyberpunka/. Accessed 10 October 2021.
  20. Frelik, Paweł. ( 2020b;), ‘ Video games. ’, in A. McFarlane,, G. J. Murphy, and L. Schmeink. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 18492.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Gąska, Paweł. ( 2018;), ‘ Przejawy społecznych lęków przed technologią w grach cyfrowych. ’, Ruch Filozoficzny, 74:2, pp. 97114, https://doi.org/10.12775/RF.2018.016. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Gere, Charlie. ( 2016;), ‘ The hauntology of the digital image. ’, in C. Paul. (ed.), A Companion to Digital Art, Chichester:: Wiley Blackwell;, pp. 20325.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Gibson, William. ( 1987), Count Zero, New York:: Ace Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Gibson, William. ( 1989), Mona Lisa Overdrive, New York:: Bentham Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Gibson, William. ( 2000), Neuromancer, New York:: Ace Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Gray, Chris Hables. ( 2020;), ‘ Veillance society. ’, in A. McFarlane,, G. J. Murphy, and L. Schmeink. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 36272.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Gualeni, Stefano, and Vella, Daniel. ( 2020), Virtual Existentialism: Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds, Cham:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Herman, David. ( 2013;), ‘ Cognitive narratology (revised version; uploaded 22 September 2013). ’, in P. Hühn,, J. C. Meister,, J. Pier, and W. Schmid. (eds), The Living Handbook of Narratology, Hamburg:: Hamburg University;, https://www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/node/38/revisions/262/view.html. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Heuser, Sabine. ( 2003), Virtual Geographies: Cyberpunk at the Intersection of the Postmodern and Science Fiction, Boston:: Brill;.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Jahn, Manfred. ( 2005;), ‘ Cognitive narratology. ’, in D. Herman,, M. Jahn, and M.-L. Ryan. (eds), Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 6771.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Johnson, Mark R.. ( 2018;), ‘ The history of cyberspace aesthetics in video games. ’, in G. J. Murphy, and L. Schmeink. (eds), Cyberpunk and Visual Culture, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 13954.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Kadrey, Richard, and McCaffery, Larry. ( 1992;), ‘ Cyberpunk 101: A schematic guide to storming the reality studio. ’, in L. McCaffery. (ed.), Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk & Postmodern Science Fiction, Durham, NC and London:: Duke University Press;, pp. 1729.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Kępiński, Antoni. ( 2001), Schizofrenia, Kraków:: Wydawnictwo Literackie;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Kłosiński, Michał. ( 2018), Hermeneutyka gier wideo: Interpretacja, immersja, utopia, Warsaw:: Wydawnictwo IBL PAN;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Kubiński, Piotr. ( 2016), Gry wideo: Zarys poetyki, Kraków:: Universitas;.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Laing, Ronald David. ( 2010), The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness, London:: Penguin Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Maj, Krzysztof M.. ( 2019), Światotwórstwo w fantastyce, Kraków:: Universitas;.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Majkowski, Tomasz Z.. ( 2019), Języki gropowieści: Studia o różnojęzyczności gier cyfrowych, Kraków:: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego;.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. McFarlane, Anna,, Murphy, Graham J., and Schemink, Lars. ( 2020;), ‘ Cyberpunk as a cultural formation. ’, in A. McFarlane,, G. J. Murphy, and L. Schmeink. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 13.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. McHale, Brian. ( 1992;), ‘ POSTcyberMODERNpunkISM. ’, in L. McCaffery. (ed.), Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk & Postmodern Science Fiction, Durham, NC and London:: Duke University Press;, pp. 30623.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. McQueen, Sean. ( 2016), Deleuze and Baudrillard: From Cyberpunk to Biopunk, Edinburgh:: Edinburgh University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Mickiewicz, Adam. ( 1968), Forefathers (trans. Potocki of Montalk) , London:: The Polish Cultural Foundation;.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Momro, Jakub. ( 2014), Widmontrologie nowoczesności: Genezy, Warsaw:: Wydawnictwo IBL PAN;.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Monolith Productions ( 2014), Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Kirkland, WA:: Monolith Productions;.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Moonray Studios ( 2017), Debris, Hamilton:: Moonray Studios;.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Morgan, Richard. ( 2013), The Complete SF Collection, London:: Gollancz;.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Naughty Dog ( 2013), The Last of Us, Santa Monica, CA:: Naughty Dog;.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Negri, Antonio. ( 2008;), ‘ The specter’s smile. ’, in M. Sprinker. (ed.), Ghostly Demarcations: A Symposium on Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx, London and New York:: Verso;, pp. 516.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Ninja Theory ( 2017), Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Cambridge:: Ninja Theory;.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Nixon, Nicola. ( 1992;), ‘ Cyberpunk: Preparing the ground for revolution or keeping the boys satisfied?. ’, Science Fiction Studies, 19:2, pp. 21935.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Oshii, Mamoru. ( 1995), Ghost in the Shell, Japan:: Production I. G.;
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Pynchon, Thomas. ( 1999), V., New York:: Harper Perennial;.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. R. Talsorian Games Inc. ( 1993), Cyberpunk: The Classic Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future – 2020, , 2nd ed.., Kirkland, WA:: R. Talsorian Games Inc;.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Ricoeur, Paul. ( 1994), Oneself as Another (trans. K. Blamey.), Chicago and London:: The University of Chicago Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Ricoeur, Paul. ( 2006), Memory, History, Forgetting (trans. K. Blamey, and D. Pellauer.), Chicago:: The University of Chicago Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Rose, Nikolas. ( 2007), The Politics of Life Itself: Biomedicine, Power, and Subjectivity in the Twenty-First Century, Princeton, NJ and Oxford:: Princeton University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Ryan, Marie-Laure. ( 2014;), ‘ Story/worlds/media: Tuning the instruments of a media-conscious narratology. ’, in M.-L. Ryan, and J.-N. Thon. (eds), Storyworlds across Media: Toward a Media-Conscious Narratology, Lincoln, NE and London:: University of Nebraska Press;, pp. 2549.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Schmeink, Lars. ( 2020;), ‘ Haunted by the past: The nostalgic future of Cyberpunk 2077. ’, Los Angeles Review of Books , 31 December, https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/haunted-by-the-past-the-nostalgic-future-of-cyberpunk-2077/. Accessed 10 October 2021.
  59. Sharp, John. ( 2016;), ‘ Perspective. ’, in M. J. P. Wolf, and B. Perron. (eds), The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 10716.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Stiegler, Bernard. ( 2015), La société automatique: L’Avenir du travail, Paris:: Fayard;.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Szczęsna, Ewa. ( 2017;), ‘ O myśleniu narracyjnym i jego cyfrowej reprezentacji. ’, in K. Kaczmarczyk. (ed.), Narratologia transmedialna: Teorie, praktyki, wyzwania, Kraków:: Universitas;, pp. 25382.
    [Google Scholar]
  62. Vella, Daniel. ( 2015), The Ludic Subject and the Ludic Self: Analyzing the ‘I-in-the-Gameworld’, Copenhagen:: IT University of Copenhagen;.
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Wachowski, Lilly, and Wachowski, Lana. ( 1999), The Matrix, USA:: Warner Bros;.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Wachowski, Lilly, and Wachowski, Lana. ( 2003), The Matrix Reloaded, USA:: Warner Bros;.
    [Google Scholar]
  65. Wildt, Lars de,, Aupers, Stef,, Krassen, Cindy, and Coanda, Iulia. ( 2018;), ‘ “Things greater than thou”: Post-apocalyptic religion in games. ’, Religions, 9:169, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9060169. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  66. Zarzycka, Agata. ( 2017;), ‘ “Czy ja tak brzmię?”: Autokreacja i immunizacja w serii Mass Effect. ’, Teksty Drugie, 3, pp. 34662, https://doi.org/10.18318/td.2017.3.21. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Zuboff, Shoshana. ( 2019), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, New York:: Public Affairs;.
    [Google Scholar]
  68. Kłosiński, Michał. ( 2022;), ‘ Ghosts and mirrors: Devourment by the other in Cyberpunk 2077. ’, Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 14:1, pp. 6784, https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw_00052_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00052_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error