Neuromancer

Overview

Neuromancer is an adventure game somewhat based on the rough, dilapidated world behind William Gibson's Neuromancer. Contained within the game's narrative are several quotes directly from Gibson's book.

Gameplay

The game uses the walking exploration of adventure games of the time, combined with text entry for interaction. You initially navigate through screens representing the city sprawl of Chiba, earning money to buy upgraded software and items.

The story is not initially evident, but is instead discovered over time as you explore the online communities and gain ever deeper access to connected systems.

Cyberspace

The game features cyberspace in its second half, where a player can sail in a virtual world. Data is the only real thing of worth in a world where everything is mass produced. You Hack through computer systems from data node to data node, trying to secure this valuable data,. In cyberspace the player navigates a 2D plane, and when entering data nodes can attempt to break through an AI defender's shields to crack open security access. This is abstracted through a series of attacks and counterattacks that are displayed in real-time. The real-time element does require some reaction time, but the events pause when in menus.

An important aspect of AI battles is analysis of the target AI. You will often find a weakness in the entity's mental makeup which will allow you to employ things like philosophy or sophistry to disable it. If you're successful, you gain access. If you fail, you flatline, winding up in a body bank where you're revived, sans cash.