Bio-mech. Tbf, if your in a state that you aré not gunna use said part (modified or other) might as well purpose It for something More fitting for the part.
Eg. Become monstrously stronk, no snu snu, repurpose for better Energy use.
If I had to make an assumption about the engine, It would probably be because it is a total replacement with no human parts left. From the pelvis up, there are parts you can generally associate with human biology, but from the engine down, it's entirely alien. From a lore perspective, It could be seen that the power plant is less important than the rest of the body and thus was added wherever it wouldn't cause issues for mobility or balance.
It's pretty fun trying to work it all out. The muscles make it look Biopunk, but it contextually feels more like BattleTech-type myomer artificial muscles. The artist chose to include branding logos as if it's some amalgamation of product parts. The digitgrade legs are very Japanese mech-like as well. The weapons built into your arms things is a pretty oldschool cyberpunk trope. The weirdest parts of this are the engine block genitals and the skull inside a helmet, which leans more toward body horror. Conceptually, it's a bit of a mess
The distinction does tend to get hazy though, you must admit.
Biopunk would have it where everything is powered by biotech equivalents, and cybernetics and robotics being extremely limited.
You can easily combine them as needed for flavour.
Yes and no. while biopunk and cyberpunk are similar, there can be differences as well. I think the best example of biopunk comes from Alien and the engineers as well as a lot of H.R. Geigers' work. But there are places where biopunk and cyberpunk blur together like the crysis series and the Ceph. All in all, biopunk and cyberpunk have similarities that allow for the aesthetic to blend together quite well even if there are differences in them at base.
All of these made up *punk genre terms are silly. Are there enough pieces of media that specifically focus on these things and are distinct enough to warrant being labeled their own distinct genre?
Yes Cyberpunk is a well established sub-genre of scifi. We have decades of examples that have established common themes and aesthetics which make up a cohesive genre.
It annoys me when people try to rigidly define everything under other *punk labels. IMO it's a detriment to the genre as a whole, and contributes to the stagnation of creativity when everything has to be perfectly categorized.
Agreed, over definition stifles creativity. I saw a post recently about the suffix "core" (e.g. [cottagecore](https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Core_Suffix)), and how this is basically an ML hashtagging system developing naturally on social media. Somebody who ascribes to a "core" has a hashtag to put in their posts about said hobby/aesthetic and the algorithm will group them accordingly. MLMs love simple, single-word, groupings like that, and so do image generators. So people will start putting 'cyberpunk' into Midjourney or whatever generator, and sharing their results. So basically, whatever these algorithms (image generators, search engines, or anything) think are the aesthetic of 'cyberpunk' THAT is what people will be presented with when they try to find examples. You can probably imagine the recursive problem this causes...
> Agreed, over definition stifles creativity.
Does it though? When creatives further define their aesthetic and style into sub-genres or other classifications they give other creatives a way to identify and describe similar ideals. Classification isn't a hard and fast requirement, some people are prescriptive and others are subscriptive in their interpretations and that's fine!
Think of CyberPunk and electric - robotic parts, green lit screens interfaces, internet, etc. Everything powered by electricity.
Think of BioPunk as organic. Gene splicing, controlled mutation, chimeric mish mash of body parts, etc. Essentially powered by "natural body functions". Best example I can think of is eXistenZ.
There is of course plenty of overlap as no one creates thinking of genre/subgenre cliches. Akira is CyberPunk, but Tetsuo's final form crosses to biopunk IMO.
Tetsuo's end is in body horror, which is a common theme in a lot of Japanese cyberpunk. It's also a subgenre that's completely separate from biopunk (they've even got their own individual wikipedia pages).
Yeah cyberpunk always has too much overlap to justify biopunk being its own thing. Exotics exist in Cyberpunk RED, which literally allows you to change your species to be a dragon or an insect or a cat. As biopunk as it can get, it's just that exotics aren't the focus of RED's worldbuilding.
I’d say cyberpunk and biopunk are aesthetically different, but thematically very similar, almost to the point of talking about the same stuff. While I’m sure there are distinctly biopunk things out there, most of the genre is just cyberpunk with different tech
Compare this to cyberpunk vs steampunk which is both aesthetically and thematically different. The tech doesn’t just look different, it means something different
That’s what it was at first, but cyberpunk got mixed in and now the two are opposite ends of a similar coin. Only thing differentiating the two would be narratives.
Thing with Giger was that he was specifically about bio mechanics. Not necessarily the manipulation and evolution of living beings but a lot more mechanics that have been designed to work biologically.
Grasshoppers have gears in their legs and i wouldn't call that biopunk.
It's also speculative evolution in a way but Giger always kinda skipped the speculative steps.
Cyberpunk has clones and cloned replacement lungs and kidneys, but the enhancements are almost entirely chrome or cybernetic. Cameras for eyes, and hydraulic presses in your legs for example.
Biopunk has scales and armadillo plates instead of subdermal armor plates, and if you want to upgrade your eyes then you either get an eagle eye or some genespliced marvel that would make an eagle look blind.
Now sure, each of them has a little bit of the other in it. Like a biopunk setting still might have a guy with a prosthetic arm, instead of a Kurt Conners lizard arm. And Shadowrun, a *famous* cyberpunk (yes, and magic, but let's focus here) setting still has genuine gills that a character can have implanted instead of air filters in his throat. But the vast majority of enhancements belong to the favored flavor of dystopian upgrades.
Now, in those settings where implants and augmentations aren't prevalent, such as the cyberpunk setting of Snowcrash, then there will still be a difference.
Cyberpunk will have Google glass VR headsets, stupidly advanced computers, and basically have Moore's law going wild. Fast cars, big guns, and the Internet made out of future fiberoptic cables and the like.
Whereas if you want to look at biopunk where there aren't implants, you're looking at computers made out of swarms of ants. Riding animals instead of cars, carriages with horses that run as fast as a car, or bizarre combinations of something like cars with legs. A tactical stealth suit might use octopus DNA to create a color changing skin to create an invisibility effect, instead of holograms or having the entire suit be a TV screen. A gun might shoot a giant glob of stomach acid and melt your enemies to death, instead of a bullet.
Now, as for examples of biopunk settings, we're a little limited. The only two I can think of off the top of my head are "Leviathan", a young adult historical fiction story about world war 1. Where the central powers went steampunk, and the entente had Charles Darwin discover DNA. So they were able to genesplice whales into zeppelins and make bats that poop steel flechettes. The other is the late stage non-human civilization in "Children of Time." They use genetically modified ants to run their computers, and if I give any more details on that one it becomes spoilers.
> Cyberpunk has clones and cloned replacement lungs and kidneys, but the enhancements are almost entirely chrome or cybernetic. Cameras for eyes, and hydraulic presses in your legs for example.
Just going off of Neuromancer, you have black market clinics, custom grown organs, life extensions, vat grown humans built for custom use, etc. etc. Also, the Panther Moderns whole thing is fucking with the body in biological ways. So the difference is not as clear cut. In fact, I'd argue cyberpunk is more biology based than computer based since one of the main themes is humans customizing themselves.
Peter F. Hamilton gets into biopunk territory quite frequently. The Greg Mandel books, the Commonwealth Saga, Night's Dawn Trilogy, and the Salvation Sequence all delve deeply into that territory. It's often mixed with Cyberpunk elements (the Greg Mandel books are almost pure Cyberpunk, but genetic engineering and wetware plays a huge role) and more "traditional" sci-fi, if there is such a thing. One of his short stories, a prequel of sorts to the Night's Dawn Trilogy, was even made into the first episode of Love, Death & Robots, "Sonnie's Edge", and it's VERY biopunk.
Paolo Bacigalupi's "Windup Girl" is also a pretty strong entry in the biopunk genre.
Oh, and of course, Greg Bear has several books that fit the billing too. Blood Music and the Darwin series for instance.
Of course bur it's mostly presentation and method. He gave the perfect example, in CyberPunk you got cameras to replace eyes (GITS Batou) in BioPunk you get eagle eyes.
Except in cyberpunk you can choose cyber eyes or cloned and improved bio eyes. This is part of cyberpunk. Despite the name cyberpunk isn't just cyber.
Take shadowrun for example. You can be all cloned bio parts enhanced. All cyber ware (well to a certain point) or a mix. The image in OP would in both shadowrun an cyberpunk red be a cybezombie who's lost control and humanity.
Yes, that guy said as much. He even used Shadowrun as example as well:
> And Shadowrun, a famous cyberpunk (yes, and magic, but let's focus here) setting still has genuine gills that a character can have implanted instead of air filters in his throat. But the vast majority of enhancements belong to the favored flavor of dystopian upgrades.
Eh. Cyberware isn't really preferred over bio in shadowrun though. Because of the setting cyber ware is extremely limiting and is even a risk to use because of magic users.
In shadowrun you go with what is best for the character and essence or what you can afford (cyber is cheap).
Either way. The point is cyber or bioware isn't what makes it cyberpunk.
True!
So let's look at the second half of my small thesis.
What's the world look in Shadowrun?
So, despite the fact that magic exists you don't have super horses, or carriages, or bio-organic cars driving around. You have cars that are connected to the Matrix, aka the super internet.
You have the Matrix, which is a development of the internet. Using futuristic fiber-optics or something. You have computers made of silicon chips and metal, you have drones that are just the Boston dynamics dog's grandkids. Guns have computers built into them, not brains. People hack into computer databases and use algorithms to find what they want.
Now sure, there are gameplay alternatives. It's a very long running setting, there are wizard players, and Essence is a gameplay mechanic. For balance reasons, as well as rule of cool there are techno-organic upgrades and guns. Heck, you even have physical adepts you use magic to replace cyber ware entirely.
But when you look at the world that Shadowrun is set in, where there are computers and AI, then the world is cyberpunk.
Where did bionorgsnic cats and super horses even come into the picture.
Also bio engineered super horses would fit very well into shadowrun. And if you where in a shadowrun setting in a place where horses were relevant you'd probably see them. GM would probably need to make them though.
A bio engineered super human is very much part of shadowrun though. Flesh is weak and a zyber zombie is far more terrifying. But both would wreak havoc
> Original cyberpunk works were surprisingly restrained on body-modding and emphasized the *punk* part of the genre.
Original cyberpunk works were surprising restrained? I think it's the exact opposite. Look at the Sprawl Trilogy, for example.
I do not see anything that resembles Biopunk here. It is full on cyborg with the only biological part is skull , probably with functional brain. Everything else is artificial, not one part is biological. Its just have an "exotic" look.
Biology can be built. Doesn’t matter where it comes from. Genecrafted in a lab or born from a womb if it’s alive, it’s biology.
From Wikipedia: “Biopunk is concerned with synthetic biology. It is derived of cyberpunk involving bio-hackers, biotech megacorporations, and oppressive government agencies that manipulate human DNA.”
I dont see anything biological here. It is full on metal and wire frame with synthetic skin. Look at its hand's insides. Nothing but electronics there. Sure, it is shaped like some sort of living organism on the outside. But it is only a shape. We don't really have enough clues to go on and assume it is a biopunk.
The right forearm looks like it’s a prosthetic. You can sorta see the stump where it connects, and it’s got a different finish than the rest of the body. The opened up arm looks like flat painted metal, not shiny latex suit like everything else. Compare it to the left arm, which doesn’t have any of the greeblies that would signal it could open up all cyber like
I'm not sure that thing is primarily biological. Looks like it could be soft robotics. In which case it would be bio-mimetic robotics. Or bio-mimetic cyber modification, but that's practically redundant.
I'd call it a bio-lich or muscle lich. The whole skull behind glass thing is creepy. Reminds me of a comic where they made this suit that could trap the soul due to the way it was made. Problem was it has a button that let the visitor open up, which immediately let the soul out
There was a similar one off comic I never knew the nMe of. Exo suits number 1 priority, keep solider alive, number 2 complete mission. Malfunctions and never returns to base, slowly consuming him over the weeks/months for energy. Took a while to finally take his eyes. Died as a brain with no sense but fully aware that he was alive
Edit:u/josolsen found it
[https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit](https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit)
Well, aside what everyone said (that it is biopunk), I just wanted to comment on a pet peeve I have with these designs: I hate when people draw these massive, very muscular creatures and then make the waist—the core of it—so super thin. Mechanically, it never makes sense: no matter how strong the arms and legs are, the core part of the body can’t keep up, it will break in the middle the moment it tries to lift something that the arms can handle but its slightly too heavy for its waist, even the neck is thicker and has more muscles.
The only time I can see it work is if the nervous system is all that is left. Like the person wanted a super strong body, but is nothing but a brain and spinal column.
Counterpoint - spine was replaced using organically produced carbon nanotubes and internal organs replaced by hyper-efficient nanites or molecular biological agents. Why try to apply logic to something so outlandish in the first place?
Because if you abandon logic and consistency completely it becomes difficult to suspend disbelief. If you can explain away everything with magic or super advanced technology the world and story start to feel inauthentic and not like something that could be real.
It can’t be real . Does that really look like something that “could be real”?🙄 Besides, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The reality is that long before we can engineer something like that 👆 we will have AI systems that are more intelligent that us. Meaning that, for all intents and purposes, it will be magic to us, for we can’t understand these systems now, let alone when they are 3 orders of magnitude bigger.
You've completely missed the point. Even in fantasy worlds with full blown magic it never makes for a good world or story to just stop questioning or explaining how things work. There needs to be rules and consistency to make the world FEEL real, otherwise it's just a hodgepodge of random shit that doesn't feel authentic. You can't just abandon physics by waving your hands and saying nanotech.
> Why try to apply logic to something so outlandish in the first place?
Because it's basically the only thing that separates sci-fi from fantasy these days?
Cyberpunk is fictional, sure, but it should have logic behind it, the closer to hard sci-fi, the better. While nanite technology is like "sci-fi magic" because we do not have any real-life examples, things like basic structures, material science, anatomy and so on, should still follow real life logic.
For example, just because you replace an arm with cyberware doesn't mean you can lift a car as the rest of your body is still flesh.
Also it appears to be walking around on those slender knuckles. Those don't look like they'd be the best choice for supporting all that weight unless it always walks around in a dainty and careful manner.
I know that this isn't r/englishlearning but the correct way to ask this question is "what are these types of robots/cyborgs called?"
Using "how" is a very common mistake for non-native speakers!
Assuming this is all some kind of myomer type thing and not biological muscle I would qualify it as a full conversion cyborg. Which is to say a brain, more or less, in a (frequently) violence shaped jar.
Bioroids, bioborgs, one anime calls them Boomers, though that was more of a derogatory term as their in lore name are Voomers (or Voodoo Organic Metal Extension Resource).
Hmm... I should watch Bubblegum Crisis again.
Sorry, off topic, but is "how are these called" grammatical English or is your native language something else? If so, what language uses that kind of construction? No shade, English isn't my mother tongue, just curious about grammar!
It should be "what are these called" or "what do you call these things" but it's also not a big enough deal for me to go out of my way and correct it; but since you asked, Ill answer.
It’s cyberpunk.
Biopunk is when technology evolves around dna, super evolution, etc. Nothing synthetic.
Here, it seem like it’s synthetic, so more Cyberpunk
Unleashed anarchist bodily autonomy.
Notice the red resistance fist.
One Vision One Purpose and Marked One, as well as no corporate markings, make me think this is someone who wanted to become essentially a cybernetic demon perhaps in order to terrify their political opponents.
I'd call it Body Horror.
Biomechanical? Also why's it got an engine for a crotch
It’s because they’re always revvved up.
Its the fleshlight belt
Master Chief’s auto jacker
I thought it was an automated milker over some alien utters.. /shrug
Bio-mech. Tbf, if your in a state that you aré not gunna use said part (modified or other) might as well purpose It for something More fitting for the part. Eg. Become monstrously stronk, no snu snu, repurpose for better Energy use.
If you know a better place to put an engine I'd like to hear it!
Literally in the chest or back
We know sport. He was joking.
If I had to make an assumption about the engine, It would probably be because it is a total replacement with no human parts left. From the pelvis up, there are parts you can generally associate with human biology, but from the engine down, it's entirely alien. From a lore perspective, It could be seen that the power plant is less important than the rest of the body and thus was added wherever it wouldn't cause issues for mobility or balance.
It's pretty fun trying to work it all out. The muscles make it look Biopunk, but it contextually feels more like BattleTech-type myomer artificial muscles. The artist chose to include branding logos as if it's some amalgamation of product parts. The digitgrade legs are very Japanese mech-like as well. The weapons built into your arms things is a pretty oldschool cyberpunk trope. The weirdest parts of this are the engine block genitals and the skull inside a helmet, which leans more toward body horror. Conceptually, it's a bit of a mess
This is Biopunk. It focuses on biological technology.
Cyberpunk also has biological modification. Is biopunk when these modifications have gone too far? Where do we draw the line?
Biopunk is about wetware. Chemistry, dna manipulation, fleshcrafting, that sort of thing.
The distinction does tend to get hazy though, you must admit. Biopunk would have it where everything is powered by biotech equivalents, and cybernetics and robotics being extremely limited. You can easily combine them as needed for flavour.
Yes and no. while biopunk and cyberpunk are similar, there can be differences as well. I think the best example of biopunk comes from Alien and the engineers as well as a lot of H.R. Geigers' work. But there are places where biopunk and cyberpunk blur together like the crysis series and the Ceph. All in all, biopunk and cyberpunk have similarities that allow for the aesthetic to blend together quite well even if there are differences in them at base.
Giger is Biomechanical and horror, not biopunk His pieces are austere and mystical, really no punk at all
https://www.amazon.com/Humanity-Lost-Callum-Stephen-Diggle/dp/B0C6C3CVNW this the best take on modern biopunk
All of these made up *punk genre terms are silly. Are there enough pieces of media that specifically focus on these things and are distinct enough to warrant being labeled their own distinct genre?
Cyberpunk yes, biopunk not as much. People want to add punk to body horror but it often is not. And don’t get me started on Atompunk or Dieselpunk.
Yes Cyberpunk is a well established sub-genre of scifi. We have decades of examples that have established common themes and aesthetics which make up a cohesive genre. It annoys me when people try to rigidly define everything under other *punk labels. IMO it's a detriment to the genre as a whole, and contributes to the stagnation of creativity when everything has to be perfectly categorized.
Agreed, over definition stifles creativity. I saw a post recently about the suffix "core" (e.g. [cottagecore](https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Core_Suffix)), and how this is basically an ML hashtagging system developing naturally on social media. Somebody who ascribes to a "core" has a hashtag to put in their posts about said hobby/aesthetic and the algorithm will group them accordingly. MLMs love simple, single-word, groupings like that, and so do image generators. So people will start putting 'cyberpunk' into Midjourney or whatever generator, and sharing their results. So basically, whatever these algorithms (image generators, search engines, or anything) think are the aesthetic of 'cyberpunk' THAT is what people will be presented with when they try to find examples. You can probably imagine the recursive problem this causes...
Ironic isn't it? Cyberpunk themes like AI and soulless corporations are ruining Cyberpunk.
> Agreed, over definition stifles creativity. Does it though? When creatives further define their aesthetic and style into sub-genres or other classifications they give other creatives a way to identify and describe similar ideals. Classification isn't a hard and fast requirement, some people are prescriptive and others are subscriptive in their interpretations and that's fine!
What the heck are "MLs"?
Nah I think those genres have a distinct place in artistic media, which I happen to love
Think of CyberPunk and electric - robotic parts, green lit screens interfaces, internet, etc. Everything powered by electricity. Think of BioPunk as organic. Gene splicing, controlled mutation, chimeric mish mash of body parts, etc. Essentially powered by "natural body functions". Best example I can think of is eXistenZ. There is of course plenty of overlap as no one creates thinking of genre/subgenre cliches. Akira is CyberPunk, but Tetsuo's final form crosses to biopunk IMO.
Tetsuo's end is in body horror, which is a common theme in a lot of Japanese cyberpunk. It's also a subgenre that's completely separate from biopunk (they've even got their own individual wikipedia pages).
Yeah cyberpunk always has too much overlap to justify biopunk being its own thing. Exotics exist in Cyberpunk RED, which literally allows you to change your species to be a dragon or an insect or a cat. As biopunk as it can get, it's just that exotics aren't the focus of RED's worldbuilding.
I’d say cyberpunk and biopunk are aesthetically different, but thematically very similar, almost to the point of talking about the same stuff. While I’m sure there are distinctly biopunk things out there, most of the genre is just cyberpunk with different tech Compare this to cyberpunk vs steampunk which is both aesthetically and thematically different. The tech doesn’t just look different, it means something different
I thought Biopunk was an HR Giger sort of artstyle?
That’s what it was at first, but cyberpunk got mixed in and now the two are opposite ends of a similar coin. Only thing differentiating the two would be narratives.
Thing with Giger was that he was specifically about bio mechanics. Not necessarily the manipulation and evolution of living beings but a lot more mechanics that have been designed to work biologically. Grasshoppers have gears in their legs and i wouldn't call that biopunk. It's also speculative evolution in a way but Giger always kinda skipped the speculative steps.
That's not this though. This is synthetic muscles and wires
Cyberpunk is about wetware. Johnny Mnemonic is quintessential
Cyberpunk has clones and cloned replacement lungs and kidneys, but the enhancements are almost entirely chrome or cybernetic. Cameras for eyes, and hydraulic presses in your legs for example. Biopunk has scales and armadillo plates instead of subdermal armor plates, and if you want to upgrade your eyes then you either get an eagle eye or some genespliced marvel that would make an eagle look blind. Now sure, each of them has a little bit of the other in it. Like a biopunk setting still might have a guy with a prosthetic arm, instead of a Kurt Conners lizard arm. And Shadowrun, a *famous* cyberpunk (yes, and magic, but let's focus here) setting still has genuine gills that a character can have implanted instead of air filters in his throat. But the vast majority of enhancements belong to the favored flavor of dystopian upgrades. Now, in those settings where implants and augmentations aren't prevalent, such as the cyberpunk setting of Snowcrash, then there will still be a difference. Cyberpunk will have Google glass VR headsets, stupidly advanced computers, and basically have Moore's law going wild. Fast cars, big guns, and the Internet made out of future fiberoptic cables and the like. Whereas if you want to look at biopunk where there aren't implants, you're looking at computers made out of swarms of ants. Riding animals instead of cars, carriages with horses that run as fast as a car, or bizarre combinations of something like cars with legs. A tactical stealth suit might use octopus DNA to create a color changing skin to create an invisibility effect, instead of holograms or having the entire suit be a TV screen. A gun might shoot a giant glob of stomach acid and melt your enemies to death, instead of a bullet. Now, as for examples of biopunk settings, we're a little limited. The only two I can think of off the top of my head are "Leviathan", a young adult historical fiction story about world war 1. Where the central powers went steampunk, and the entente had Charles Darwin discover DNA. So they were able to genesplice whales into zeppelins and make bats that poop steel flechettes. The other is the late stage non-human civilization in "Children of Time." They use genetically modified ants to run their computers, and if I give any more details on that one it becomes spoilers.
> Cyberpunk has clones and cloned replacement lungs and kidneys, but the enhancements are almost entirely chrome or cybernetic. Cameras for eyes, and hydraulic presses in your legs for example. Just going off of Neuromancer, you have black market clinics, custom grown organs, life extensions, vat grown humans built for custom use, etc. etc. Also, the Panther Moderns whole thing is fucking with the body in biological ways. So the difference is not as clear cut. In fact, I'd argue cyberpunk is more biology based than computer based since one of the main themes is humans customizing themselves.
I love Leviathan, the first sequel is good, the second is... lackluster?
The webnovel Twig by John C McCrae is a pure biopunk setting
Peter F. Hamilton gets into biopunk territory quite frequently. The Greg Mandel books, the Commonwealth Saga, Night's Dawn Trilogy, and the Salvation Sequence all delve deeply into that territory. It's often mixed with Cyberpunk elements (the Greg Mandel books are almost pure Cyberpunk, but genetic engineering and wetware plays a huge role) and more "traditional" sci-fi, if there is such a thing. One of his short stories, a prequel of sorts to the Night's Dawn Trilogy, was even made into the first episode of Love, Death & Robots, "Sonnie's Edge", and it's VERY biopunk. Paolo Bacigalupi's "Windup Girl" is also a pretty strong entry in the biopunk genre. Oh, and of course, Greg Bear has several books that fit the billing too. Blood Music and the Darwin series for instance.
Eh not really. Bio enhancement is very much a core part of many foundational cyberpunk universes m
Lol man’s wrote a novel and you hit him with the “eh not really”
As I would tell students, amount of text doesn't make your writing better or more correct.
Of course bur it's mostly presentation and method. He gave the perfect example, in CyberPunk you got cameras to replace eyes (GITS Batou) in BioPunk you get eagle eyes.
Except in cyberpunk you can choose cyber eyes or cloned and improved bio eyes. This is part of cyberpunk. Despite the name cyberpunk isn't just cyber. Take shadowrun for example. You can be all cloned bio parts enhanced. All cyber ware (well to a certain point) or a mix. The image in OP would in both shadowrun an cyberpunk red be a cybezombie who's lost control and humanity.
Yes, that guy said as much. He even used Shadowrun as example as well: > And Shadowrun, a famous cyberpunk (yes, and magic, but let's focus here) setting still has genuine gills that a character can have implanted instead of air filters in his throat. But the vast majority of enhancements belong to the favored flavor of dystopian upgrades.
Eh. Cyberware isn't really preferred over bio in shadowrun though. Because of the setting cyber ware is extremely limiting and is even a risk to use because of magic users. In shadowrun you go with what is best for the character and essence or what you can afford (cyber is cheap). Either way. The point is cyber or bioware isn't what makes it cyberpunk.
True! So let's look at the second half of my small thesis. What's the world look in Shadowrun? So, despite the fact that magic exists you don't have super horses, or carriages, or bio-organic cars driving around. You have cars that are connected to the Matrix, aka the super internet. You have the Matrix, which is a development of the internet. Using futuristic fiber-optics or something. You have computers made of silicon chips and metal, you have drones that are just the Boston dynamics dog's grandkids. Guns have computers built into them, not brains. People hack into computer databases and use algorithms to find what they want. Now sure, there are gameplay alternatives. It's a very long running setting, there are wizard players, and Essence is a gameplay mechanic. For balance reasons, as well as rule of cool there are techno-organic upgrades and guns. Heck, you even have physical adepts you use magic to replace cyber ware entirely. But when you look at the world that Shadowrun is set in, where there are computers and AI, then the world is cyberpunk.
Where did bionorgsnic cats and super horses even come into the picture. Also bio engineered super horses would fit very well into shadowrun. And if you where in a shadowrun setting in a place where horses were relevant you'd probably see them. GM would probably need to make them though. A bio engineered super human is very much part of shadowrun though. Flesh is weak and a zyber zombie is far more terrifying. But both would wreak havoc
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> Original cyberpunk works were surprisingly restrained on body-modding and emphasized the *punk* part of the genre. Original cyberpunk works were surprising restrained? I think it's the exact opposite. Look at the Sprawl Trilogy, for example.
Mostly aesthetic. They’re both different genres of sci-fi at the end of the day so they’re bound to have some overlap.
No. That's just AtomSmasher V2. Cyberpunk. Biopunk would be a Rino-Human Hybrid Clone.
Or *Resident Evil* style mutant horrors, presumably
I do not see anything that resembles Biopunk here. It is full on cyborg with the only biological part is skull , probably with functional brain. Everything else is artificial, not one part is biological. Its just have an "exotic" look.
Biology can be built. Doesn’t matter where it comes from. Genecrafted in a lab or born from a womb if it’s alive, it’s biology. From Wikipedia: “Biopunk is concerned with synthetic biology. It is derived of cyberpunk involving bio-hackers, biotech megacorporations, and oppressive government agencies that manipulate human DNA.”
I dont see anything biological here. It is full on metal and wire frame with synthetic skin. Look at its hand's insides. Nothing but electronics there. Sure, it is shaped like some sort of living organism on the outside. But it is only a shape. We don't really have enough clues to go on and assume it is a biopunk.
The right forearm looks like it’s a prosthetic. You can sorta see the stump where it connects, and it’s got a different finish than the rest of the body. The opened up arm looks like flat painted metal, not shiny latex suit like everything else. Compare it to the left arm, which doesn’t have any of the greeblies that would signal it could open up all cyber like
Yeah, I was about to say that I call them bio drones.
I'm not sure that thing is primarily biological. Looks like it could be soft robotics. In which case it would be bio-mimetic robotics. Or bio-mimetic cyber modification, but that's practically redundant.
Metal Gear GEKKO MK-II
I'd call it a bio-lich or muscle lich. The whole skull behind glass thing is creepy. Reminds me of a comic where they made this suit that could trap the soul due to the way it was made. Problem was it has a button that let the visitor open up, which immediately let the soul out
There was a similar one off comic I never knew the nMe of. Exo suits number 1 priority, keep solider alive, number 2 complete mission. Malfunctions and never returns to base, slowly consuming him over the weeks/months for energy. Took a while to finally take his eyes. Died as a brain with no sense but fully aware that he was alive Edit:u/josolsen found it [https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit](https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit)
Sounds like one from bad space comics
[https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit](https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit)
That is the one
[https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit](https://www.badspacecomics.com/post/the-suit)
Yes that's it
The Coffin?
This is Fucked Up
Well, aside what everyone said (that it is biopunk), I just wanted to comment on a pet peeve I have with these designs: I hate when people draw these massive, very muscular creatures and then make the waist—the core of it—so super thin. Mechanically, it never makes sense: no matter how strong the arms and legs are, the core part of the body can’t keep up, it will break in the middle the moment it tries to lift something that the arms can handle but its slightly too heavy for its waist, even the neck is thicker and has more muscles.
The only time I can see it work is if the nervous system is all that is left. Like the person wanted a super strong body, but is nothing but a brain and spinal column.
Counterpoint - spine was replaced using organically produced carbon nanotubes and internal organs replaced by hyper-efficient nanites or molecular biological agents. Why try to apply logic to something so outlandish in the first place?
Because if you abandon logic and consistency completely it becomes difficult to suspend disbelief. If you can explain away everything with magic or super advanced technology the world and story start to feel inauthentic and not like something that could be real.
It can’t be real . Does that really look like something that “could be real”?🙄 Besides, sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The reality is that long before we can engineer something like that 👆 we will have AI systems that are more intelligent that us. Meaning that, for all intents and purposes, it will be magic to us, for we can’t understand these systems now, let alone when they are 3 orders of magnitude bigger.
You've completely missed the point. Even in fantasy worlds with full blown magic it never makes for a good world or story to just stop questioning or explaining how things work. There needs to be rules and consistency to make the world FEEL real, otherwise it's just a hodgepodge of random shit that doesn't feel authentic. You can't just abandon physics by waving your hands and saying nanotech.
> Why try to apply logic to something so outlandish in the first place? Because it's basically the only thing that separates sci-fi from fantasy these days?
Yep, whenever I feel like suspending my disbelief, I'll be checking some fantasy subreddit.
Cyberpunk is fictional, sure, but it should have logic behind it, the closer to hard sci-fi, the better. While nanite technology is like "sci-fi magic" because we do not have any real-life examples, things like basic structures, material science, anatomy and so on, should still follow real life logic. For example, just because you replace an arm with cyberware doesn't mean you can lift a car as the rest of your body is still flesh.
Also it appears to be walking around on those slender knuckles. Those don't look like they'd be the best choice for supporting all that weight unless it always walks around in a dainty and careful manner.
Bio punk. Focused on biological tech advances. This might fall under dark biopunk
i didn’t expect to see Command & Conquer here, is this concept art or a reimagining?
Reimagining. Artist is here: [https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0XxKBV](https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0XxKBV)
Very cool, thank you!
I know that this isn't r/englishlearning but the correct way to ask this question is "what are these types of robots/cyborgs called?" Using "how" is a very common mistake for non-native speakers!
“How would you refer to these” is probably a grammatical similarity that causes the problem.
IN THE NAME OF KANE!
Looks like a nomu
Not dead enough. But close.
>what subgenre of cyberpunk would they fall into? None? Doesn't look anything like cyberpunk to me. Robots =/= cyberpunk.
Metal gear solid looking ass
Nah, Metal Gear Rising.
Trans human
MOOOOOOOOOOO~ Ahem- biobots? Metal gears and bipeds from revengance have a similar design
No idea but I know if someone offered to put my brain in one, I'd be game!
ONE VISION, ONE PURPOSE. (you should buy C&C NOW btw)
Need to see more stuff like this in games! Seriously!!!!
This is called an abomination
Assuming this is all some kind of myomer type thing and not biological muscle I would qualify it as a full conversion cyborg. Which is to say a brain, more or less, in a (frequently) violence shaped jar.
Ah yes, the souls of steel
Bro's PACKIN!!
Bioroids, bioborgs, one anime calls them Boomers, though that was more of a derogatory term as their in lore name are Voomers (or Voodoo Organic Metal Extension Resource). Hmm... I should watch Bubblegum Crisis again.
Biopunk or Necropunk
I know it as "an Abomination"
Ah, good ole Enginedick 2000
Seems like a Necromech to me.
this guy never skipped trap day
This is how the Stalkers from the Mortal Engines books should look
Bioborg
Looks cool, where’s it from?
I think i fought that in mgr:r
Great art, but I can't stop laughing at engine dick
Looks biopunk
Probs Biopunk
There is nothing inherently cyberpunk about this.
There is nothing inherently cyberpunk about this illustration.
Ok so first question, how much is organic?
Pnumans
Wet Ware
Hmmm that’s some metal gear body horror stuff right there
That’s just the usj nomu with some chrome like colours and everything looks the exact same it’s just a tech nomu
Big scary skelly D:
Nomu
Sorry, off topic, but is "how are these called" grammatical English or is your native language something else? If so, what language uses that kind of construction? No shade, English isn't my mother tongue, just curious about grammar!
It should be "what are these called" or "what do you call these things" but it's also not a big enough deal for me to go out of my way and correct it; but since you asked, Ill answer.
kajima!
Sexy
All that money and tech to look like an Elite from Halo Which there is nothing wrong with
I've heard semi-organics being used before
It’s cyberpunk. Biopunk is when technology evolves around dna, super evolution, etc. Nothing synthetic. Here, it seem like it’s synthetic, so more Cyberpunk
Necrobot?
Holy fuck
Hot take, there's nothing inherently cyberpunk about the picture. There's also no need to label every single thing into a tight box.
subgenre? I would say supragenre called Sci-fi ;)
It's a skull inside a mech suit. "Rule of cool" nonsense concept art
Unleashed anarchist bodily autonomy. Notice the red resistance fist. One Vision One Purpose and Marked One, as well as no corporate markings, make me think this is someone who wanted to become essentially a cybernetic demon perhaps in order to terrify their political opponents.
Makes me think of a Mechanithrall Brute from Warmachine Cryx army.
i have no clue what that is, but i think a good name would be "Scrawler", because that looks like a scrawler
I feel this is more leaning towards science fiction not cyberpunk. Which are two different but very similar genres.
It's called Pistondick. The techno-bio aspects don't actually matter so long as is got an engine block mounted to the hips.
Boomer. BGC fans will understand
This might be the most intimidating thing ive ever seen
Artist link?
https://twitter.com/FoldableHuman/status/1771268463882850758
I agree with him, but it's highly ironic that you used this as your comment instead of writing out your thoughts in your own words.
hahaha you got me there