Jesse Heinig
@jesseheinig.bsky.social
Game designer. Writer. World of Warcraft Classic developer. Original Fallout dev. Classic World of Darkness developer. Former Star Trek Online developer. He/Him. Account represents personal views.
Robocop (1987)
Peter Weller stars as a cop who is brutally maimed and then rebuilt as a total conversion cyborg, send to clean up the streets of Detroit, but secretly programmed to serve the interest of the corporation that bankrolled him. Explores person vs machine. Note: Extreme gore and blood.
Peter Weller stars as a cop who is brutally maimed and then rebuilt as a total conversion cyborg, send to clean up the streets of Detroit, but secretly programmed to serve the interest of the corporation that bankrolled him. Explores person vs machine. Note: Extreme gore and blood.
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Robocop (1987)
Peter Weller stars as a cop who is brutally maimed and then rebuilt as a total conversion cyborg, send to clean up the streets of Detroit, but secretly programmed to serve the interest of the corporation that bankrolled him. Explores person vs machine. Note: Extreme gore and blood.
Peter Weller stars as a cop who is brutally maimed and then rebuilt as a total conversion cyborg, send to clean up the streets of Detroit, but secretly programmed to serve the interest of the corporation that bankrolled him. Explores person vs machine. Note: Extreme gore and blood.
Blade Runner (1982)
Flawed but interesting view of dystopian past-future L.A. where Earth's ecosphere has collapsed and animals and people are largely replaced with artificially engineered and grown replicants. Harrison Ford stars as a detective who hunts down and "retires" replicants.
+
Flawed but interesting view of dystopian past-future L.A. where Earth's ecosphere has collapsed and animals and people are largely replaced with artificially engineered and grown replicants. Harrison Ford stars as a detective who hunts down and "retires" replicants.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Blade Runner (1982)
Flawed but interesting view of dystopian past-future L.A. where Earth's ecosphere has collapsed and animals and people are largely replaced with artificially engineered and grown replicants. Harrison Ford stars as a detective who hunts down and "retires" replicants.
+
Flawed but interesting view of dystopian past-future L.A. where Earth's ecosphere has collapsed and animals and people are largely replaced with artificially engineered and grown replicants. Harrison Ford stars as a detective who hunts down and "retires" replicants.
+
Akira (1988)
Famous animated film based on a manga, chronicling the rise of altered psychic youth in a post-apocalypse Tokyo that was devastated by a previous posthuman experiment. Note: Body horror and gore.
+
Famous animated film based on a manga, chronicling the rise of altered psychic youth in a post-apocalypse Tokyo that was devastated by a previous posthuman experiment. Note: Body horror and gore.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Akira (1988)
Famous animated film based on a manga, chronicling the rise of altered psychic youth in a post-apocalypse Tokyo that was devastated by a previous posthuman experiment. Note: Body horror and gore.
+
Famous animated film based on a manga, chronicling the rise of altered psychic youth in a post-apocalypse Tokyo that was devastated by a previous posthuman experiment. Note: Body horror and gore.
+
Hotel Artemis (2018)
A secret medical clinic that caters to criminals and fugitives becomes a war zone in futuristic dystopian L.A. Features Jodie Foster! Very much an action-oriented "bottle show" that mostly takes place in one building. Film has trouble coming together coherently, though.
+
A secret medical clinic that caters to criminals and fugitives becomes a war zone in futuristic dystopian L.A. Features Jodie Foster! Very much an action-oriented "bottle show" that mostly takes place in one building. Film has trouble coming together coherently, though.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Hotel Artemis (2018)
A secret medical clinic that caters to criminals and fugitives becomes a war zone in futuristic dystopian L.A. Features Jodie Foster! Very much an action-oriented "bottle show" that mostly takes place in one building. Film has trouble coming together coherently, though.
+
A secret medical clinic that caters to criminals and fugitives becomes a war zone in futuristic dystopian L.A. Features Jodie Foster! Very much an action-oriented "bottle show" that mostly takes place in one building. Film has trouble coming together coherently, though.
+
Upgrade (2018)
An unfortunate man is paralyzed in a mugging and then receives an experimental implant that restores his mobility, but makes him subject to outside puppeteering. Excellent camera work to show that his movements are not under his control.
+
An unfortunate man is paralyzed in a mugging and then receives an experimental implant that restores his mobility, but makes him subject to outside puppeteering. Excellent camera work to show that his movements are not under his control.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Upgrade (2018)
An unfortunate man is paralyzed in a mugging and then receives an experimental implant that restores his mobility, but makes him subject to outside puppeteering. Excellent camera work to show that his movements are not under his control.
+
An unfortunate man is paralyzed in a mugging and then receives an experimental implant that restores his mobility, but makes him subject to outside puppeteering. Excellent camera work to show that his movements are not under his control.
+
Split Second (1992)
Rutger Hauer stars as a rogue cop tracking a malevolent mutant entity that kills people in post-sea-rise London of the dystopian future. Very oddly paced and edited but has some memorable funny lines.
+
Rutger Hauer stars as a rogue cop tracking a malevolent mutant entity that kills people in post-sea-rise London of the dystopian future. Very oddly paced and edited but has some memorable funny lines.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Split Second (1992)
Rutger Hauer stars as a rogue cop tracking a malevolent mutant entity that kills people in post-sea-rise London of the dystopian future. Very oddly paced and edited but has some memorable funny lines.
+
Rutger Hauer stars as a rogue cop tracking a malevolent mutant entity that kills people in post-sea-rise London of the dystopian future. Very oddly paced and edited but has some memorable funny lines.
+
Strange Days (1995)
Movie about a former cop turned digital experience dealer who stumbles into a conspiracy about police extrajudicially murdering a popular rapper at the turn of the century. Falls apart in the finale, but has some fascinating characters.
+
Movie about a former cop turned digital experience dealer who stumbles into a conspiracy about police extrajudicially murdering a popular rapper at the turn of the century. Falls apart in the finale, but has some fascinating characters.
+
November 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Strange Days (1995)
Movie about a former cop turned digital experience dealer who stumbles into a conspiracy about police extrajudicially murdering a popular rapper at the turn of the century. Falls apart in the finale, but has some fascinating characters.
+
Movie about a former cop turned digital experience dealer who stumbles into a conspiracy about police extrajudicially murdering a popular rapper at the turn of the century. Falls apart in the finale, but has some fascinating characters.
+
I am kinda known as a big Arduin nerd, since I had the good fortune to grow up with the game back in the '80s. This gonzo variant fantasy game is a wild mash-up stream-of-consciousness of every bizarre and over-the-top table or character you can come up with.
+
+
October 31, 2025 at 6:50 AM
I am kinda known as a big Arduin nerd, since I had the good fortune to grow up with the game back in the '80s. This gonzo variant fantasy game is a wild mash-up stream-of-consciousness of every bizarre and over-the-top table or character you can come up with.
+
+
The variety of actions designed to push out military commands who will resist illegal orders, and see how far they can get the military to go, is all loyalty testing the military. If an uprising happens, will the military defend the President? To insure the military's loyalty...
+
+
October 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The variety of actions designed to push out military commands who will resist illegal orders, and see how far they can get the military to go, is all loyalty testing the military. If an uprising happens, will the military defend the President? To insure the military's loyalty...
+
+
2. The pragmatic reason to get some kind of compelling image of "protesters striking first" is to spin the confrontation as defending the U.S. against violent insurrectionists. This is because it's easier to get the military to agree to fire on people whom they don't consider legit citizens.
+
+
October 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
2. The pragmatic reason to get some kind of compelling image of "protesters striking first" is to spin the confrontation as defending the U.S. against violent insurrectionists. This is because it's easier to get the military to agree to fire on people whom they don't consider legit citizens.
+
+
... they create the idea that they are the aggrieved party, that the folks they persecute are the bad ones for defending themselves. They try to generate a narrative that portrays them as heroic defenders of society against chaotic hordes of violent subhumans. They must be "hailed as liberators."
+
+
October 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
... they create the idea that they are the aggrieved party, that the folks they persecute are the bad ones for defending themselves. They try to generate a narrative that portrays them as heroic defenders of society against chaotic hordes of violent subhumans. They must be "hailed as liberators."
+
+
The current administration desperately needs a protest to turn into something violent that they can show on every news channel 24/7 to justify a response that they will ultimately do anyway, for two reasons:
(The second one is the ugly one)
+
(The second one is the ugly one)
+
October 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The current administration desperately needs a protest to turn into something violent that they can show on every news channel 24/7 to justify a response that they will ultimately do anyway, for two reasons:
(The second one is the ugly one)
+
(The second one is the ugly one)
+
Happy #falloutday, survivors!
Did you know that the original Fallout game owes a tiny bit of inspiration to the prior video game Bureau 13? Right-clicking to cycle the mouse pointer through different operations appears in that game too!
Did you know that the original Fallout game owes a tiny bit of inspiration to the prior video game Bureau 13? Right-clicking to cycle the mouse pointer through different operations appears in that game too!
October 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Happy #falloutday, survivors!
Did you know that the original Fallout game owes a tiny bit of inspiration to the prior video game Bureau 13? Right-clicking to cycle the mouse pointer through different operations appears in that game too!
Did you know that the original Fallout game owes a tiny bit of inspiration to the prior video game Bureau 13? Right-clicking to cycle the mouse pointer through different operations appears in that game too!
Anyway I've been a huge TRON nerd since, y'know, 1982. I had a hand-made TRON Halloween costume as a kid. I remember the TRON addition to the PeopleMover at Disneyland. When Kingdom Hearts 2 came out I played it for 26 hours straight to get to TRON world.
So I'm kind of a TRON guy.
+
So I'm kind of a TRON guy.
+
October 10, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Anyway I've been a huge TRON nerd since, y'know, 1982. I had a hand-made TRON Halloween costume as a kid. I remember the TRON addition to the PeopleMover at Disneyland. When Kingdom Hearts 2 came out I played it for 26 hours straight to get to TRON world.
So I'm kind of a TRON guy.
+
So I'm kind of a TRON guy.
+
I learned some time ago that anything of which I am a fan will be AWFUL when it's rebooted in media. When Netflix first did Daredevil and Luke Cage and Punisher I was like "This is pretty good! Oh they're doing Iron Fist? I actually like Iron Fist so this is gonna suck." And it did! It was awful.
+
+
October 10, 2025 at 8:19 PM
I learned some time ago that anything of which I am a fan will be AWFUL when it's rebooted in media. When Netflix first did Daredevil and Luke Cage and Punisher I was like "This is pretty good! Oh they're doing Iron Fist? I actually like Iron Fist so this is gonna suck." And it did! It was awful.
+
+
Back in the misty dawn of a few years ago, @modiphius.bsky.social said "Wanna do some more writing for Fallout?" and I said "Sure."
And now there's a book!
Royal Flush is an adventure book for Fallout 2d20, detailing a dangerous road trip from New Reno to New Vegas!
And now there's a book!
Royal Flush is an adventure book for Fallout 2d20, detailing a dangerous road trip from New Reno to New Vegas!
September 25, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Back in the misty dawn of a few years ago, @modiphius.bsky.social said "Wanna do some more writing for Fallout?" and I said "Sure."
And now there's a book!
Royal Flush is an adventure book for Fallout 2d20, detailing a dangerous road trip from New Reno to New Vegas!
And now there's a book!
Royal Flush is an adventure book for Fallout 2d20, detailing a dangerous road trip from New Reno to New Vegas!
In our current dystopia we don't even have the benefit of billionaires and corporations who build big things for the purpose of their own ego. We don't get the massively functional high-tech city. We just get potholes.
~Fin~
~Fin~
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
In our current dystopia we don't even have the benefit of billionaires and corporations who build big things for the purpose of their own ego. We don't get the massively functional high-tech city. We just get potholes.
~Fin~
~Fin~
This is reminiscent of the oft-heard current refrain that billionaires no longer spend their money making libraries, or stadiums, or university wings, or hospital research labs. Every penny is pinched. They won't even show off their wealth by putting their names on big projects.
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
This is reminiscent of the oft-heard current refrain that billionaires no longer spend their money making libraries, or stadiums, or university wings, or hospital research labs. Every penny is pinched. They won't even show off their wealth by putting their names on big projects.
+
+
They created spaces for shopping, traveling, and working. People might live in tiny cramped apartments or flop on the streets, but at least there were streets to flop on. Corporations demonstrated their power and wealth with their massive constructions. The city became enormous, omnipresent.
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
They created spaces for shopping, traveling, and working. People might live in tiny cramped apartments or flop on the streets, but at least there were streets to flop on. Corporations demonstrated their power and wealth with their massive constructions. The city became enormous, omnipresent.
+
+
Our modern world, in which we've crushed out infrastructure and smashed down public spaces, has no room for this futurism. We are, as they say over on Reddit, a boring dystopia. The technology of the cyberpunk world was at least in service to people and their needs:
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Our modern world, in which we've crushed out infrastructure and smashed down public spaces, has no room for this futurism. We are, as they say over on Reddit, a boring dystopia. The technology of the cyberpunk world was at least in service to people and their needs:
+
+
A lot of this is cultural cruft of the '80s. What will the '80s look like when it's futuristic and sleek and foreign? Take rocket aesthetics and material futurism and blend it with indoor malls, brightly-lit city hubs, and a lot of hustle.
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
A lot of this is cultural cruft of the '80s. What will the '80s look like when it's futuristic and sleek and foreign? Take rocket aesthetics and material futurism and blend it with indoor malls, brightly-lit city hubs, and a lot of hustle.
+
+
Thus the depiction of the city as a perfectly synthetic futuristic space in cyberpunk is actually in some ways less dystopian than where we are today. They have ubiquitous, powerful wi-fi. Well-maintained streets. Extremely reliable power grids. Street lights. Malls!
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Thus the depiction of the city as a perfectly synthetic futuristic space in cyberpunk is actually in some ways less dystopian than where we are today. They have ubiquitous, powerful wi-fi. Well-maintained streets. Extremely reliable power grids. Street lights. Malls!
+
+
But they own the infrastructure they make, so nobody else gets to use it! If you're living on the sleazy edge, you never see this stuff. It's all locked up behind corporate fences and walls. Your side? Grubby shacks and dirt roads with a yellow camera filter.
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
But they own the infrastructure they make, so nobody else gets to use it! If you're living on the sleazy edge, you never see this stuff. It's all locked up behind corporate fences and walls. Your side? Grubby shacks and dirt roads with a yellow camera filter.
+
+
Of course, this doesn't pass muster critically; corporations treat all of this stuff as an externality, as someone else's problem. But they still need infrastructure in order to deliver stuff and move their troops, so they have to make roads and bridges.
+
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Of course, this doesn't pass muster critically; corporations treat all of this stuff as an externality, as someone else's problem. But they still need infrastructure in order to deliver stuff and move their troops, so they have to make roads and bridges.
+
+
If you're cruising around Night City or Seattle or some other cyberpunk city, it's all neon and chrome of course, but it's also slick, smooth, processed. The city is where nature is overcome by technology, all polished and angular.
So... no potholes. No freeway closures. No busted streetlights.
+
So... no potholes. No freeway closures. No busted streetlights.
+
September 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
If you're cruising around Night City or Seattle or some other cyberpunk city, it's all neon and chrome of course, but it's also slick, smooth, processed. The city is where nature is overcome by technology, all polished and angular.
So... no potholes. No freeway closures. No busted streetlights.
+
So... no potholes. No freeway closures. No busted streetlights.
+