Cyberpunk 2077: Is This Our Political Future?

Are we heading towards a Cyberpunk future? A discussion of how Cyberpunk (the game and the genre) depict the state and other political entities. Other topics include balancing against threats in international relations and the concept of extended deterrence. I close with my thoughts on the game so far. 

Notes: 

0:42 - Like many gamers, I was a big fan the Witcher 3. I was lukewarm on the preceding titles. 

0:59 - Reviews seem very mixed at the moment and vary dramatically across platforms due, in large part, to the bugs and graphics issues                   that are more common on consoles. 

2:51 - I use the term "heroes" loosely here. I think the anti-hero or non-hero are more common in the genre. 

6:41 - Balancing is a big topic in International Relations with the political scientist Stephen M. Walt being one of the bigger names in the field. 

9:19 - We call troops like these a "tripwire force." They are not present to repel an attack but to act as a tripwire that will trigger a larger                       response. 

16:07 - Writer, journalist, and political commentator Thomas Friedman has written extensively about globalization and its effects on the world. 

21:40 - Side Rant. 

24:11 - The Delemain car that takes you to the fancy hotel where you're supposed to steal the chip. 

25:54 - That would be the club "Afterlife." Not the actual afterlife that he unfortunately shuffles off to. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.