u/ptupper

Though there were forerunners (e.g. Vernor Vinge's short story "True Names", published 1981), Neuromancer really brought the idea of cyberspace to public attention.

Yet cyberspace as a concept has kind of come and gone. Movies that did have cyberspace sequences (e.g. Tron, The Lawnmower Man, Johnny Mnemonic) pushed CGI technology to the limits, but their visual appeal was based on them looking fantastic, and not like the real world.

In 2026, we're used to photo-realistic (or near-photo-realistic) virtual environments, in video games. A virtual world that doesn't look like that is seen as peculiar. The blocky worlds of Minecraft or Roblox tacitly admit they are not the cutting edge of technology.

Furthermore, we think about our communications and information technology differently. We don't imagine a place you can go to and navigate like it is a 2D or 3D space. "Cyberspace" is in our pocket.

So, when Case jacks in in the TV series, what will he, and we, see?

I want to support the artist with more than just lots of Spotify plays, but I can't get the No Quarter Productions merch store to work. It says my credit card details aren't correct, but my card is good and I've double checked it. It won't work if I try to pay through Paypal, either.

Obviously, Neuromancer was written more than 40 years ago. That raises the question of how the TV series will be designed. The most recent teaser suggests to me that they will go for a retro-futurism or cassette-futurism style.

I can see why they would make that decision. Gibson himself said he was inspired by the implied world of Alien, and the cyberpunk aesthetic is still inspired by Blade Runner, which in turn was inspired by noir film and lesser-seen works like World on a Wire and Alphaville.

The retro-futurist style has the advantage of not being lapped by reality. Works that deliberately avoid the "futuristic" look (e.g. Gattaca, eXistenZ, etc) hold up better over time. Works like Johnny Mnemonic or The Matrix paradoxically feel more dated, tied to the late 90s aesthetic.

On the other hand, the cassette-futurism style is, IMHO, getting played out. It's like Cyberpunk 2077, still mired in the world of giant buildings and flying cars and scary Japanese corporations. I hope that whoever designs the Apple TV Neuromancer can come up with an original visual style.