For Black History Month, I want to shout out a huge influence on my TTRPG writing and one of the best to ever do it, Maximum Mike Pondsmith. A towering talent and all around cool dude, Mike is the brains behind Cyberpunk2020/Cyberpunk RED/Cyberpunk2077. - ThreadSky

bsakat.bsky.social • 21 days ago

For Black History Month, I want to shout out a huge influence on my TTRPG writing and one of the best to ever do it, Maximum Mike Pondsmith. A towering talent and all around cool dude, Mike is the brains behind Cyberpunk2020/Cyberpunk RED/Cyberpunk2077.

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spinny.bsky.social•21 days ago

And Fuzion, and Mekton, and TFOS, and XXVc...

just gobs of brilliant stuff.

tinselfire.bsky.social•20 days ago

I've never played Mekton, but the fanmade Transformers Mekton conversion is one of the main reasons I got into game design later in life.

bsakat.bsky.social•20 days ago

And, yeah. Of course he's behind all the other killer stuff from RTG. I just went with CP2020 'cause it's my fave.

tfsmith1091.bsky.social•19 days ago

One of my favorite game designers. He was always ahead of trends - he wrote not 1 but 2 anime-themed RPGs in the 80s (Mekton & Teenagers from Outer Space), Cyberpunk in 1988 & a steampunk RPG (Castle Falkenstein) in the early 90s, well before any of those genres became mass-popular.

bsakat.bsky.social•19 days ago

Yeah, he's always been on the bleeding edge. I just can't say enough good things about him, you know?

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•20 days ago

Was always fun to talk to! [He's still alive, natch, I just haven't been doing the Convention scene for _years_, and the comic store he would sometimes frequent closed in 2019...]

bsakat.bsky.social•20 days ago

Man, I stopped doing convention stuff when I stopped being /paid/ to do convention stuff. I think my last GenCon was '16? '17 maybe? We have a little local con that's real good (UCON in Ypsilanti, MI), but other'n that...

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•20 days ago

Yes, well, I was in a rather abusive non-romantic relationship with gaming until 2008, so I think that was the final year for me.

cass-izzy.bsky.social•21 days ago

All hail Maximum Mike!

001zlnv.bsky.social•21 days ago

He's also consistently interesting to talk to or listen to if you ever see him at a con

rhea-anthea.bsky.social•21 days ago

Legitimately one of the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting

wyrddrgn.pookiepower.org•21 days ago

I've been GMing CP2020 since about '95.

much respect for Maximum Mike

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Cybergenerations is no slouch, either.

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

CP2020 is and always will be my favorite Cyberpunk game. FNFF is such a killer combat system, and the world Mike came up with is so compelling to me. I've tried RED, but I always go back to my first love.

wyrddrgn.pookiepower.org•21 days ago

The lethality, and lack of instant healing, do really set the tone.

Sure, you can wear a helmet. Gonna wear it to a bar, Choombs?

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Oh, you're gonna sleep in that hardsuit? You sure? Like, super /duper/ sure?

wyrddrgn.pookiepower.org•21 days ago

You gonna sit in your hideout and eat kibble all the time?

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Man, choom. Sounds miserable. We'll be at the clurb if you need us.

savean.bzky.team•21 days ago

Mike Pondsmith is a legend.

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

He is. I've only met him a couple times professionally, but he's so cool and so gracious. His writing had a profound influence on mine.

olgapostsholga.bsky.social•21 days ago

You can absolutely see how well versed he is in leftist theory just by the nuances and attention to detail in how Cyberpunk's universe is crafted as a hyper-capitalist hell hole

Also being one of the few sci-fi dystopias to acknowledge that police are racist

kanchosuper.bsky.social•21 days ago

Cops being a playable class in the ttrpg is really interesting because the book straight up tells you that you’ll be an alienated violent weirdo that everyone hates on immediate impression and encourages you to do secret plotlines with the DM to narc on the other players

olgapostsholga.bsky.social•21 days ago

Yea like playing a cop is the route for evil characters in this game

kanchosuper.bsky.social•21 days ago

it’s also an extremely fun table dynamic, especially in an era where any mechanical avenues for hidden knowledge or player to player distrust are pretty absent from most mainline ttrpgs

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Oh, one /hundred/ percent. I don't know if he's a hardcore leftist in his daily life, but CP2020 is one of the only 'punk genre games to actually be, you know, /punk/.

olgapostsholga.bsky.social•21 days ago

100%

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Another thing that really infuses his work is Goldman's, "If this revolution doesn't have dancing then it's not my revolution." Pondsmith 100% understands the importance of art in any revolution. Hell, one of the career options is musician!

drglatin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Great call!!

bsakat.bsky.social•20 days ago

Jesus, damn near 500 people have seen/shared this post. A: You all rule. B: Uh, hi! I'm Jason, I'm a long-time TTRPG writer/designer, freelance motojournalist, and professional motorcycle toucher from Detroit. If you've liked anything that's come out of FFG/Edge since 2009, I likely wrote it.

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Man, you guys really liked this one. It makes me so happy to see such a big outpouring of love for Maximum Mike.

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Also, as I posted on someone else's thread, this is footage of every nerd ever meeting Mike for the first time.
https://youtu.be/LNTw3x40I0o?si=Tu3Avsz3ewwa8jDf&t=20

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Also, ALSO, if you've played Cyberpunk2077, you've probably heard the ranting, conspiracy theory spouting DJ on the heavy metal station. That guy? That's Maximum Mike, baby!

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Also, he's 71? What the /fuck/!? He's my parents' age! That can't be right (he says staring down the barrel at 49 this year)

alchemist64.bsky.social•21 days ago

He's 71?!?!?!

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

Right? I don't care for this information!

bsakat.bsky.social•21 days ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pondsmith

madbeardman.bsky.social•20 days ago

Back in 2017 when we visited GenCon for the first time, we spoke with Mike at his tiny stand they had, as back then they were the tiny RPG publisher - he was so cool, spoke openly with us brits and cemented the fact he's a great guy who runs a wonderful company.

lunchpunk.bsky.social•20 days ago

wow!!

candidgamera.bsky.social•20 days ago

I'm not a Cyberpunk guy, but I /am/ a Mekton guy. Mike is a hero.

satyrosphilbrucato.bsky.social•21 days ago

Mike is an awesome human being and one of the true greats of game design.

traveller-in-black.bsky.social•20 days ago

It's true!! Always kind, has time for everyone...

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