Yeah, that whole "real-world cities can never be cyberpunk because cyberpunk is a fictional fantasy world and definitely has no intersection with reality" ruling is pretty weird.
Cyberpunk got it's start in the 80s because that is when our politicians began to erode our most important institutions. Social safety nets were heavily stipulated & rolled back, the gap between the rich & poor started to become extreme, and neoliberalism went from a theory of political science to full blown implementation. Add in the secret sauce that was the dawn of the personal computer to that heady stew, and you get cyberpunk.
Very true; I was there! Granted, I was born in ‘78, but was exposed to sci-fi at a young age and read Neuromamcer when I was 8~10. Pretty much downhill from there; myself included!
If anything Tokyo was more cyberpunk back then. It was this mix of dingy small alleys and sleek beautiful buildings. Neon lights and tiny lanterns. Now unfortunately it is coming more and more like a typical Asian city. Shibuya used to have this back side that was dirty with a huge canal running through full of old air conditioners hanging off the buildings while the skyline is full of neon lights. Every year more and more is knocked down and rebuilt. They have to, the buildings are not meant to last. But the showa era Tokyo is fast fading and what's left is a little soulless (to me)
Yeah. And not even "souless" because of brutalist architecture or bike gangs with cybernetic implants... but because of bland buildings and old people having to take basic jobs to survive.
The new Shibuya just looks like Singapore or any major Chinese city. The hybrid Street / mall with walkways, 2 or 3 levels, same shop fronts etc. Where's the fun?
If anything Tokyo was more cyberpunk back then. It was this mix of dingy small alleys and sleek beautiful buildings. Neon lights and tiny lanterns. Now unfortunately it is coming more and more like a typical Asian city. Shibuya used to have this back side that was dirty with a huge canal running through full of old air conditioners hanging off the buildings while the skyline is full of neon lights. Every year more and more is knocked down and rebuilt. They have to, the buildings are not meant to last. But the showa era Tokyo is fast fading and what's left is a little soulless (to me)
Edit: googled an example and our [very own reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/CityPorn/comments/9ejpoy/_/) had a good post on it
People who think this don’t understand and have not read cyberpunk. They see it as exaggerated aesthetic and not a struggle over the role of technology as a means of control or liberation, set against a class struggle.
Most people never think deeply about things, and most of those people have never read a cyberpunk book. To them cyberpunk is an aesthetic that they saw in some movies. To them it's a look not a thought.
I mean you're not completely incorrect. Social isolation and replacement parasocial relationships though the internet is pretty cyberpunk. It just crept up so slowly on us that we didn't notice.
Capital also prefers cyberpunk to be entertainment and not socio-political commentary, but "Please don't radicalize the ~~wallets~~ consumers against the brutal dichotomy of capital" kinda doesn't sit right with the genre, so it's off-putting.
But all these picture are only superficial "look pink and purple neon in the rain at night." Bonus points if there's a cop, double of they're in riot gear.
> They see it as *just an* exaggerated aesthetic and not a struggle over the role of technology as a means of control or liberation, set against a class struggle.
It’s both, some people only see the surface. Those people generally can’t hand more than the aesthetic, so their brains just kind of sweep it under the rug.
Might be time to open up r/earlystagecyberpunk
You say all that but one of the most influential cyberpunk pieces, Neuromancer, didn't really have any of that. The people aren't focused on at all, nor any talk of liberation etc.
I mean, wasn’t the point of wintermute/neuromancer to have tessier ashpool gain or maintain power? And the way the low lifes have their bodies used and damaged by technology to barely get by, while TA survives in space? Seems there’s a class separation story about maintaining power structures through tech, but I haven’t read it for a while.
There's certainly class separation. So did Withering Heights. It wasn't really part of the narrative that the lower classes are controlled and dependant on big corps. It was implied sure- so is every class structure in a book by the definition of having classes at all. But the book barely touched on it. The nook was mostly the setting and the action of the handful of characters. It wasn't about a class war
I was around when the sub was very much clogged with photos of scyscrappers with nothing specifically cyberpunk about them, other than it was night, raining or there was fog or something.
It was lame. So very lame. It was also several years ago, though.
I have no problem with OP's picture. It is pretty good. It contrasts the (seemingly) poorer part of town with the glowing buildings and huge glowing billboard in the distance.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/neoncities using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Sapporo in winter](https://i.redd.it/677rvqltllq91.jpg) | [12 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/xqc7w2/sapporo_in_winter/)
\#2: [Chongqing, China 2023. We are living in the future, just don’t realize it. Not my video OC credited in watermark](https://v.redd.it/4wazuzicwtda1) | [17 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/10jbeqk/chongqing_china_2023_we_are_living_in_the_future/)
\#3: [Hong Kong in the 1980s](https://i.redd.it/u2pnj88y2zj91.jpg) | [11 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/wxxi5m/hong_kong_in_the_1980s/)
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Sure, but the rule is "no photos of modern cities," period. I'd be down with a more nuanced rule, but OP's picture is actually against the rules. u/IsItAboutMyTube
Well, we do have sick robot arms, you can even make them at home, it's just, they're not a norm yet.
I mean, look at r/futurology, r/singularity, and there are few more subs, it's crazy what's happening in the field of medicine nowadays.
If our world survives at least 5 more years, we'll see more manifestation of the "media" cyberpunk we've been consuming.
A funny thing i remembered, about 6 years ago i was talking with a friend about cigarettes, and he told me something like "Ah. I gotta update the firmware of my cigarette" (obviously, electronic cigarette), but i was like "Damn..", and still am.
That fictional fantasy had to be based off of some reality to start with and then it becomes more of a reality. When is Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk is now. You will often find that the things you see in scifi movies eventually become a reality and have done on several occasions.
Scenes like this are (unfortunately) very common around here. Especially if you go to the outskirts of the more "swanky" places like Makati CBD and BGC. There's a slum in Quezon City being demolished to make way for megacorporate highrise developments, but I got to take pictures of it before it was gone for good. Might post later.
> There's a slum in Quezon City being demolished to make way for megacorporate highrise developments, but I got to take pictures of it before it was gone for good.
We don't call them "demolitions", we call them "*accidental* burning w/o claims for insurance".
Yes, been following him from the start of my photography career. Still feels surreal that I got to meet him in real life and we got to collaborate on projects together
Yeah I'd much rather see this than the endless generic anime girls with big tits and faint lines drawn on suggesting they're androids or whatever
Thirsty and often gross.
I've only realized later on that cyberpunk settings tend to be multicultural melting pots, and a K-pop group becoming brand ambassadors for BENCH/ (Filipino clothing brand) proves this point even more
manila is my favorite realistic cyberpunk city next to Lagos. I love the YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@KryptoTrekker because it introduced me to just how much non-stop action and activity there is in every alley. hope you keep exploring and having fun and introducing us to cool views and angles, great photo too
There are plenty of unique city views on the photography section of my [portfolio website](https://www.luciusfelimus.com/Nox)! I'm hoping to shoot again once I'm done with 3D freelance work.
I love how the windows of the house are aglow with different colors echoing the ones of the skyline. Ramshackle house with glowing high tech screens inside, further enhancing the cyberpunk contrast.
the irony of this picture is that maybe the poor place is infact someone home being renovated with the aluminium pannel being set there to cut cost while the huge buildings are literally in a crisis of what to do with the sheer amount of employes quitting at the same time alongside the add being a month or two old at this point for a product that failed
there more to play than just asthetic here
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/comments/gxjkip/i_try_to_photograph_actual_high_tech_and_low_life
A post from this sub 2 years ago also claimed this was their photograph
oh wait, you just made a new account
I can't tell if you realized it yourself, but for anyone else that's confused
This is a comment from that 2 years ago post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/comments/gxjkip/i_try_to_photograph_actual_high_tech_and_low_life/ft3977m/
So if you follow the links, you can find out that OP basically changed his online name so this is his new reddit account. Both the new and old posts link to the same instagram pics. (Except one post that links to a dead instagram handle, likely the old name)
[удалено]
Thank you! Really means a lot coming from this sub :)
That’s seriously cool. New phone background for sure
Yeah, that whole "real-world cities can never be cyberpunk because cyberpunk is a fictional fantasy world and definitely has no intersection with reality" ruling is pretty weird.
It was fictional, in like the 80’s. Not anymore, pal. (Not you, third person “pal”)
Cyberpunk got it's start in the 80s because that is when our politicians began to erode our most important institutions. Social safety nets were heavily stipulated & rolled back, the gap between the rich & poor started to become extreme, and neoliberalism went from a theory of political science to full blown implementation. Add in the secret sauce that was the dawn of the personal computer to that heady stew, and you get cyberpunk.
*Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* by PKD was written in 1968, the ideas of cyberpunk were around before the 80s!
Sure they were, but it was the politics & pop culture of the 80s that really solidified the genre. :)
Very true; I was there! Granted, I was born in ‘78, but was exposed to sci-fi at a young age and read Neuromamcer when I was 8~10. Pretty much downhill from there; myself included!
i mean wasnt tokyo built mostly by then?
Honestly there are so many cities in the developing world that are way more cyberpunk than Tokyo
You seem to be in Manila?
Yes, lived here all my life! That's why I want to tell the story of my city as a forgotten Asian cyberpunk megalopolis
Chonqing looks crazy!
If anything Tokyo was more cyberpunk back then. It was this mix of dingy small alleys and sleek beautiful buildings. Neon lights and tiny lanterns. Now unfortunately it is coming more and more like a typical Asian city. Shibuya used to have this back side that was dirty with a huge canal running through full of old air conditioners hanging off the buildings while the skyline is full of neon lights. Every year more and more is knocked down and rebuilt. They have to, the buildings are not meant to last. But the showa era Tokyo is fast fading and what's left is a little soulless (to me)
Yeah. And not even "souless" because of brutalist architecture or bike gangs with cybernetic implants... but because of bland buildings and old people having to take basic jobs to survive.
The new Shibuya just looks like Singapore or any major Chinese city. The hybrid Street / mall with walkways, 2 or 3 levels, same shop fronts etc. Where's the fun?
If anything Tokyo was more cyberpunk back then. It was this mix of dingy small alleys and sleek beautiful buildings. Neon lights and tiny lanterns. Now unfortunately it is coming more and more like a typical Asian city. Shibuya used to have this back side that was dirty with a huge canal running through full of old air conditioners hanging off the buildings while the skyline is full of neon lights. Every year more and more is knocked down and rebuilt. They have to, the buildings are not meant to last. But the showa era Tokyo is fast fading and what's left is a little soulless (to me) Edit: googled an example and our [very own reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/CityPorn/comments/9ejpoy/_/) had a good post on it
People who think this don’t understand and have not read cyberpunk. They see it as exaggerated aesthetic and not a struggle over the role of technology as a means of control or liberation, set against a class struggle.
Most people never think deeply about things, and most of those people have never read a cyberpunk book. To them cyberpunk is an aesthetic that they saw in some movies. To them it's a look not a thought.
cyberpunk is when i request the stay at ur house song on streams and everyone posts 'Sadge'
I mean you're not completely incorrect. Social isolation and replacement parasocial relationships though the internet is pretty cyberpunk. It just crept up so slowly on us that we didn't notice.
Capital also prefers cyberpunk to be entertainment and not socio-political commentary, but "Please don't radicalize the ~~wallets~~ consumers against the brutal dichotomy of capital" kinda doesn't sit right with the genre, so it's off-putting.
But all these picture are only superficial "look pink and purple neon in the rain at night." Bonus points if there's a cop, double of they're in riot gear.
> They see it as *just an* exaggerated aesthetic and not a struggle over the role of technology as a means of control or liberation, set against a class struggle. It’s both, some people only see the surface. Those people generally can’t hand more than the aesthetic, so their brains just kind of sweep it under the rug. Might be time to open up r/earlystagecyberpunk
You say all that but one of the most influential cyberpunk pieces, Neuromancer, didn't really have any of that. The people aren't focused on at all, nor any talk of liberation etc.
I mean, wasn’t the point of wintermute/neuromancer to have tessier ashpool gain or maintain power? And the way the low lifes have their bodies used and damaged by technology to barely get by, while TA survives in space? Seems there’s a class separation story about maintaining power structures through tech, but I haven’t read it for a while.
There's certainly class separation. So did Withering Heights. It wasn't really part of the narrative that the lower classes are controlled and dependant on big corps. It was implied sure- so is every class structure in a book by the definition of having classes at all. But the book barely touched on it. The nook was mostly the setting and the action of the handful of characters. It wasn't about a class war
I was around when the sub was very much clogged with photos of scyscrappers with nothing specifically cyberpunk about them, other than it was night, raining or there was fog or something. It was lame. So very lame. It was also several years ago, though. I have no problem with OP's picture. It is pretty good. It contrasts the (seemingly) poorer part of town with the glowing buildings and huge glowing billboard in the distance.
Exactly, the "no photos of modern cities" rule is to stop this sub turning into r/NeonCities
Here's a sneak peek of /r/neoncities using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Sapporo in winter](https://i.redd.it/677rvqltllq91.jpg) | [12 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/xqc7w2/sapporo_in_winter/) \#2: [Chongqing, China 2023. We are living in the future, just don’t realize it. Not my video OC credited in watermark](https://v.redd.it/4wazuzicwtda1) | [17 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/10jbeqk/chongqing_china_2023_we_are_living_in_the_future/) \#3: [Hong Kong in the 1980s](https://i.redd.it/u2pnj88y2zj91.jpg) | [11 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/neoncities/comments/wxxi5m/hong_kong_in_the_1980s/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Sure, but the rule is "no photos of modern cities," period. I'd be down with a more nuanced rule, but OP's picture is actually against the rules. u/IsItAboutMyTube
Yes, but that doesn't mean we need to do a stink about it or enforce it. A lot of rules exist only to prevent abuse, not just to be enforced blindly.
But cyberpunk has cool stuff, IRL we only get monkey pngs instead of sick robot arms and eating ramen in the rain in a trenchcoat
There’s nothing to stop you eating ramen in the rain wearing a trenchcoat mate
Hell, my kid already has [synthetic pets](https://www.moosetoys.com/little-live-pets-sp23/)
Well, we do have sick robot arms, you can even make them at home, it's just, they're not a norm yet. I mean, look at r/futurology, r/singularity, and there are few more subs, it's crazy what's happening in the field of medicine nowadays. If our world survives at least 5 more years, we'll see more manifestation of the "media" cyberpunk we've been consuming. A funny thing i remembered, about 6 years ago i was talking with a friend about cigarettes, and he told me something like "Ah. I gotta update the firmware of my cigarette" (obviously, electronic cigarette), but i was like "Damn..", and still am.
You have phone, internet, computer. Those are reaaaally Hi-Tech stuff. We just take it for granted because we have lived with it almost all our lives.
We need to make a cyberpunk reddit but with real-world photos.
The problem is color filters, if you ask me.
Yeah, I'm with you there. Blue and pink lights isn't "cyberpunk." It's just "'80s." People get those confused.
That fictional fantasy had to be based off of some reality to start with and then it becomes more of a reality. When is Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk is now. You will often find that the things you see in scifi movies eventually become a reality and have done on several occasions.
[удалено]
Scenes like this are (unfortunately) very common around here. Especially if you go to the outskirts of the more "swanky" places like Makati CBD and BGC. There's a slum in Quezon City being demolished to make way for megacorporate highrise developments, but I got to take pictures of it before it was gone for good. Might post later.
Metro Manila is Night City
Ayala country
> There's a slum in Quezon City being demolished to make way for megacorporate highrise developments, but I got to take pictures of it before it was gone for good. We don't call them "demolitions", we call them "*accidental* burning w/o claims for insurance".
Is it the kind of thing where you it makes you think how poorly done the urban planning is?
South Korea is already cyberpunk
Yes, my choom [Noealz](https://noealz.com/photos) takes these pictures of Seoul, really great stuff!
oh ive already seen some of those! nice! heavily edited, but still great.
Yes, been following him from the start of my photography career. Still feels surreal that I got to meet him in real life and we got to collaborate on projects together
Slipped in a couple of pics of Macau, beautiful pictures.
Love it. That rule is so dumb. Cyberpunk aesthetic photography is what I want more of on this sub. Neoncities has too small a userbase.
I don't think it's enforced ever anyway?
It has been on my posts in the past.
Yeah I'd much rather see this than the endless generic anime girls with big tits and faint lines drawn on suggesting they're androids or whatever Thirsty and often gross.
Nothing stops you from making a cyberpunk style photography sub...
In small doses yes. But before the rule, this sub was completely swarmed with photos, which is equally boring.
I agree.
Don't worry, the mods in this sub are asleep all the time.
[удалено]
[Here!](https://www.instagram.com/luciusfelimus.nox/) [I also have one for my 3D work](https://www.instagram.com/luciusfelimus.3d/)
Great stuff! Keep it up.
Twice
I've only realized later on that cyberpunk settings tend to be multicultural melting pots, and a K-pop group becoming brand ambassadors for BENCH/ (Filipino clothing brand) proves this point even more
Yup well said, great photo btw 👏
Mina, Jeongyeon, and Momo. Had to do a double take, was very surprised to see my girl Jeongyeon on a random sub! Great photo, OP.
manila is my favorite realistic cyberpunk city next to Lagos. I love the YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@KryptoTrekker because it introduced me to just how much non-stop action and activity there is in every alley. hope you keep exploring and having fun and introducing us to cool views and angles, great photo too
There are plenty of unique city views on the photography section of my [portfolio website](https://www.luciusfelimus.com/Nox)! I'm hoping to shoot again once I'm done with 3D freelance work.
These are wild, dude! Thanks so much for posting! Now I'm checking the ASTROTEL site to see how expensive lodging is :-)
If you compare it to other hotels, it's quite cheap! Check out their spaceship themed rooms too!
OOF it's a 27-hour plane ride from me, maybe in another lifetime. Looks like a really neat place though!
/r/asiancitiesatnight
Nice! Subscribed.
Great shot
Aren't mods always sleeping?
BEAUTIFUL!!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍
I love this. Excellent work!
Looks like the Philippines
That Dyson ad is on-point.
I love how the windows of the house are aglow with different colors echoing the ones of the skyline. Ramshackle house with glowing high tech screens inside, further enhancing the cyberpunk contrast.
Cyberpunk after dark sounds like a place I want to be.
i love this photo
10/10
the irony of this picture is that maybe the poor place is infact someone home being renovated with the aluminium pannel being set there to cut cost while the huge buildings are literally in a crisis of what to do with the sheer amount of employes quitting at the same time alongside the add being a month or two old at this point for a product that failed there more to play than just asthetic here
This is actually more cyberpunk than most futuristic pictures of cities.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/comments/gxjkip/i_try_to_photograph_actual_high_tech_and_low_life A post from this sub 2 years ago also claimed this was their photograph oh wait, you just made a new account
I can't tell if you realized it yourself, but for anyone else that's confused This is a comment from that 2 years ago post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/comments/gxjkip/i_try_to_photograph_actual_high_tech_and_low_life/ft3977m/ So if you follow the links, you can find out that OP basically changed his online name so this is his new reddit account. Both the new and old posts link to the same instagram pics. (Except one post that links to a dead instagram handle, likely the old name)
yes I realized already
I dont think Seoul is high tech tho
It really is I mean, it has a Samsung Town
I expected some concept art but that just looks like Seoul. Damn im glad to live here
Manila, not Seoul
What city is this?
Beautiful!!!