Shadowrun (1993): Киберпанк и амнезия Джейка Армитэджа

1993 video game
the 1993 Super NES video game

Shadowrun is a cyberpunk fantasy action role playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, adapted from the tabletop role playing game Shadowrun by FASA. The video game was developed by Australian company Beam Software and first released in 1993 by Data East. The game is loosely based on the novel Never Deal with a Dragon by Shadowrun co creator Robert N. Charrette and set in the year 2050. The player takes on the role of Jake Armitage, a man suffering from amnesia after having been critically wounded by assassins. The plot then follows Jake as he attempts to uncover his own identity and the identity of the mysterious figure who wants him dead, and eventually complete his mission. Harebrained Schemes' 2013 Shadowrun Returns links the stories of this game and of Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis. A project to adapt Shadowrun for the Super NES had a turbulent history between 1989 and 1993, including having been halted in mid development before being resumed in late 1992 under a tight deadline. Its eventual lead designer was Pauli Kidd, creator of Beam Software's 1992 Nightshade, elements and a feel of which she then carried on to Shadowrun. The game was a critical success, winning a number of industry awards, but was a commercial failure nevertheless. It was retrospectively acclaimed by several publications as an "ahead of its time" milestone in the history of the role playing genre for the consoles and credited for having pioneered film noir style in video games.

Shadowrun is an action role playing game (RPG) that combines the statistical factor of the original tabletop game (with minor changes) with real time gameplay. The player is given direct control over the protagonist Jake and moves him around using the directional pad within the game's isometrically displayed world. A cursor system allows the player to scroll a pointer across the screen and perform various actions that include opening doors and passageways, examining and picking up objects, engaging in conversation with non player characters (NPCs), and utilizing firearms and magic commands while in combat. In interacting with other characters, Shadowrun allows the player to gain information using a bank of terms. Whenever Jake hears a new and unusual term, this word is highlighted and is then added to the bank that he can use; from that point on, when speaking with NPCs, Jake is able to ask them about this new word; only in this manner can a player progress with the game. As the title of the game implies, Jake is described as a "shadowrunner", a mercenary type of character common within the Shadowrun world. The player is given the option to hire other shadowrunners as henchmen with "nuyen", the game's currency that can also be used to purchase guns and certain key items scattered throughout various locations. Combat within Shadowrun often requires sharp reflexes, as practically every screen contains hidden assassins who, from random locations, open fire on Jake; the player may retreat or must otherwise immediately find the source of the attack and respond. Enemies typically drop nuyen, while at the same time, Jake builds up "karma". If the player retires to a bed to restore health and save one's progress, karma can be allocated into different attributes, skills, and magical powers. At certain points in the game, Shadowrun allows the player to enter cyberspace. Using an item called a "cyberdeck", Jake is able to hack into computers to retrieve information, as well as gain more nuyen. During such scenes, the gameplay switches to a top down perspective while an icon of Jake moves through cyberspace, fights intrusion programs, and retrieves data. If Jake dies in cyberspace, he dies in the outside world as well. While the setting and a lot of gameplay elements are taken from the original pen and paper variant, certain gameplay elements have been modified. One example is that the "Condition Monitor" has been replaced with a more traditional hit points system, and the removal of the "Essence" mechanic, which decreases when cyberware is installed. This would reduce a character's ability to use magic as the installation of cyberware is making one less alive, thus less in tune with magic.

Shadowrun is an adaptation of the FASA tabletop role playing game of the same name. The storyline of the video game is loosely based on the first Shadowrun novel, Never Deal with a Dragon, written by Robert N. Charrette. The narrative opens in Seattle, Washington in the year 2050, where the protagonist Jake Armitage is shown being gunned down in the street. A shapeshifting vulpine figure rushes to his side and is seen casting a spell over Jake before leaving hastily as the medics arrive on the scene. Jake awakens in a morgue with complete memory loss. Soon, he is approached by the "Dog", a shamanistic totem who gives him a warning before vanishing. The rest of the story is spent investigating the events leading to Jake's shooting, learning the identity of the shapeshifter who saved him, as well the person who ordered his assassination, a mysterious crime lord named "Drake". Most of the information is found by piecing together snippets of data found by hacking various protected computer systems. Along the way, he has encounters with gangs, criminals, and magically awakened creatures while under constant threat of attack from contract killers. Jake also discovers and develops his own latent magical abilities. Apart from his totem spirit, his only allies are the hired services of shadowrunners. It is eventually revealed that Jake is a data courier who was carrying a program in a computer built inside his brain. The program was designed to destroy a malevolent artificial intelligence, which the Aneki Corporation is trying to protect. The company is being aided by Drake, who turns out to be a dragon and the mastermind behind the plot.

Two co licensed role playing video games of the same name were released around the same time by different developers and publishers: the 1994 North America exclusive Sega Genesis title by BlueSky Software and Sega, and the 1995 Japan exclusive Sega Mega CD title by Group SNE and Compile. The storyline and gameplay of the Super NES Shadowrun are completely different from these two games. In 2007, FASA Studio and Microsoft Studios released a multiplayer first person shooter adaptation of the franchise for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The 1998 PC RPG Alien Earth was declared a spiritual sequel to Shadowrun by Beam Software (which developed both games), with producer David Giles saying he hoped to "Keep the original's gameplay RPG/combat/adventure elements that people liked, but up the graphic side of it." In 2012, Harebrained Schemes announced that it would be producing a new Shadowrun role playing video game, Shadowrun Returns, to be funded through Kickstarter. As a result of the Kickstarter appeal reaching a 1.5 million dollar target, Shadowrun original creator and FASA Corporation's founder Jordan Weisman announced that the game would now feature an additional storyline tying in the new game with both the Super NES and Sega Genesis versions. This extra content was initially made available only to backers, becoming generally available some time after release. The protagonist of the Super NES game, Jake Armitage, is featured in Shadowrun Returns as both part of the game's main plotline and as an NPC that the player can hire to accompany them on various missions.