''NeoTokyo'' (stylized as ''NEOTOKYO°'') is a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

tactical

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

total conversion

modification Modification may refer to: * Modifications of school work for students with special educational needs * Modifications (genetics), changes in appearance arising from changes in the environment * Posttranslational modifications, changes to prote ...

of ''

Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam (service), Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half- ...

'' in a futuristic

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...

setting, created by American developer Studio Radi-8. Initially released on July 3, 2009, and later re-released for Steam on July 4, 2014, it was voted to be released through Steam Greenlight on 16 October 2012. The game presents itself in a dystopian setting, with inspiration drawn from '' Akira'', ''

Deus Ex ''Deus Ex'' is a series of role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technologies in a ...

'' and ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...

'' for its art-style, music and aesthetics.

Gameplay

''NeoTokyo'' uses a round-based structure similar to ''

Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to preve ...

'', with players only

respawn In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game ...

ing between rounds. Three

character class In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters. In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...

es are available, differing from each other in speed, health and available weaponry. Each class has a different auxiliary vision mode ( light amplification, motion detection and

thermal vision Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

) with the two lightest classes possessing thermal and optical

cloaking Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the Us ...

. The

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pl ...

of ''NeoTokyo'' is slow-paced and balanced towards the tactical approach, with players generally being able to dispose of each other with a single burst of concentrated fire. The

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

design reflects this, with most maps giving numerous opportunities for ambushes and flanking. ''NeoTokyo'' has two game-types:

Team Deathmatch Deathmatch, also known as free-for-all, is a gameplay mode integrated into many shooter games, including first-person shooter (FPS), and real-time strategy (RTS) video games, where the goal is to kill (or "frag") the other players' characters a ...

(TDM), and Capture The Ghost (CTG), with the majority of maps designed for the latter. Capture The Ghost is similar to one-flag CTF, with two teams competing to pick up the Ghost (a dismembered

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name A gynoid ...

torso) and carry it to a designated 'retrieval zone' on the other side of the map. Unlike regular CTF, a team can also win the round by eliminating the other team. The Ghost is useful for this as it allows the player carrying it (and only that player) to see the position of the still remaining enemy team members, even through walls. In-game

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...

communication and a compass allows a Ghost carrier to communicate this information to their own team. While carrying the Ghost brings great benefits to a team, there are severe downsides to picking up the Ghost. With the Ghost's exact location visible to everyone at all times, a carrier's position is instantly revealed to the enemy team. Being required to drop their primary weapon before being able to pick it up and being unable to sprint are just some of the severe disadvantages of picking up the Ghost.

Plot

''NeoTokyo'' is set in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, approximately 30 years in the future. After the failure of a proposal to alter the

Japanese constitution The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitution ...

to allow foreign deployment of Japanese soldiers, a military coup d'état is attempted by extreme

Japanese nationalist is a form of nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture, and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. Over the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range of ideas a ...

factions in the Japan Self-Defense Forces. In response, the Prime Minister of Japan pools former military intelligence operatives and police officers into a sub-group of the Interior Ministry's National Security Force (NSF), called Group Six, to seek out subsequent coup plotters and uphold the law in both domestic and international soil. Immediately, rumours surface that an unknown faction in the

JGSDF The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

's special forces unit "Jinrai" is preparing for another coup attempt against the government. According to the information, the said members of this group are from Special Operations Group 43, fierce ultranationalists determined to succeed with the coup once more. The ensuing strife between these two factions sets the backdrop for the game.

Development

''NeoTokyo'' has been in development since October 2004. Originally designed as a mod for ''

Unreal Tournament 2004 ''Unreal Tournament 2004'' is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Part of the ''Unreal'' franchise, it is the third game in the '' Unreal Tournament'' series and the sequel to '' Unreal Tournam ...

'' as a deathmatch game with capture points, NeoTokyo's development was later switched to

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

's 2006

Source engine Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and '' Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being su ...

, where the game was remade from scratch and released in 2009. ''

'' and '' Akira'' were cited as main sources of inspiration behind the game's art style and

aesthetic. The Radi-8 team ceased development of the game soon after its release on the Steam platform, however, remaining fans have attempted multiple times to revive the game with community content. Many are full rewrites or reworks of the game, such as rewriting the game in a newer branch of the Source Engine.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''NeoTokyo'' was composed by Ed Harrison, and was described as "haunting" by Jeff Fleming of ''Game Set Watch''. After being recruited from a forum, he also contributed to early sound design before focusing entirely on music. A soundtrack CD was released through CD Baby. He has since self-released the album as a free digital download.

Reception

''NeoTokyo'' was featured in the "Mod World" section of the September 2009 issue of ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

''. The game has also been featured on gaming website Kotaku, where it was stated that the game "looks completely amazing." It won second place for the 2008 Upcoming Mod of the Year Award. In February 2010, ''NeoTokyo'' placed third in

Mod DB Mod DB is a website that focuses on general video game modding. It was founded in 2002 by Scott "INtense!" Reismanis. As of September 2015, the Mod DB site has received over 604 million views, has more than 12,500 modifications registered, and ...

's competition for mod of the year. In August 2012, Glasseater, the lead tester for ''NeoTokyo'', placed an entry for the game in the Steam Greenlight. The game quickly became popular, ranking among the top 15 games on Greenlight. The following October, the game was approved, eventually seeing release on the Steam platform on 4 July 2014. Since its Steam release, ''NeoTokyo'''s player counts have declined drastically. Besides during semi-organized events on Friday each week, the

game server A game server (also sometimes referred to as a host) is a server which is the authoritative source of events in a multiplayer video game. The server transmits enough data about its internal state to allow its connected clients to maintain their ...

s are generally empty.

Reimplementation

In July 2019, Neotokyo community leader Rain began work on an open-source reimplementation of Neotokyo in the Source 2013 engine. The project is funded through a

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...

. The goal of the project is to allow the community to maintain and expand the game despite the absence of the original development team, rather than to create an actual sequel. The project was put on hold indefinitely.

References

External links

*
Neotokyo GSDF
(soundtrack pt. 1) on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Neotokyo NSF
(soundtrack pt. 2) on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neotokyo (Video Game) 2009 video games Cyberpunk video games First-person shooters Multiplayer online games Source (game engine) games Source (game engine) mods Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games Steam Greenlight games