Timothy Leary is largely associated with his advocacy for psychedelic drugs, but Leary almost made a video game based on William Gibson’s Cyberpunk 2077. Leary was inspired by Gibson’s novel, and the transhumanist concepts of cyberpunk helped define the second, less ed stage of Leary’s career as a public figure. The Neuromancer game that was ultimately released followed cues from Leary’s vision, but the original concept is still fascinating.
Timothy Leary, who Richard Nixon once described as “the most dangerous man in America,” took more interest in gaming than one might expect. While Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC is ambitious by today's standards, Leary’s Neuromancer video game was just as ambitious for its time. Neuromancer was conceived as a “mind movie,” where Gibson’s novel would play out as interactive fiction.
Timothy Leary's Neuromancer Video Game Had A Lot Of Celebrities
As documented by Disco Elysium paid homage to tabletop RPGs, but its character creation options are also eerily close to those of Leary’s Neuromancer game, which was never completed.
The goals for Leary’s Neuromancer game were far more ambitious than the New York Public library’s discs and sample code reflect. Leary planned for the band Devo to provide an "adaptive soundtrack" and intended to co-author the work with William S. Burroughs. Grace Jones and David Byrne were slated to portray characters. Whereas Cyberpunk 2077 has the star power of Keanu Reeves along with a crew of talented voice actors, Neuromancer aimed even more celebrity involvement.
The Neuromancer video game eventully moved forward with Interplay, the same developer Leary was to partner with. Choose Your Own Adventure books inspired video game choice, and while Leary’s original vision might have played closer to a branching-choice narrative, Interplay’s game was a more traditional point-and-click adventure. The developer is better known for the early Fallout games and the Baldur’s Gate RPGs, but if Leary’s Neuromancer had been completed per its original goals, it might be less of a minor footnote for Interplay.
How Interplay's Neuromancer Game Was Different From Timothy Leary's
Leary’s Neuromancer game was an overambitious plan to adapt a seminal science fiction novel. Neuromancer would have juxtaposed one of the most pivotal books of its era with a controversial drug figure and some of the most talented actors, musicians, and writers of its time. The Interplay Neuromancer game still took some cues from Leary’s plans, as it featured a theme by Devo.
While Cyberpunk 2077 should embrace its tabletop RPG roots, the novel that birthed the cyberpunk sub-genre may also be due for a new video game alongside its television adaptation. No Neuromancer game would likely match Timothy Leary’s vision, however. Titles like Cyberpunk 2077, the Deus Ex series, and Shadowrun’s video game adaptations have all offered gaming takes on the cyberpunk genre well beyond what Leary’s Neuromancer game would have been capable of on a technical level.
Narrative-focused RPGs like Disco Elysium and Pentiment showcase a similar approach to character development and introspection on personal identity through gameplay. Though it was never finished or released, Timothy Leary’s Neuromancer game concept was clearly ahead of its time in many ways.
Source: Kotaku, Kotaku/YouTube
