One thing I always struggle with when I run a game of Neurojack is picturing the people in my head. While it's easy to think of the world itself and the machines in it, I have an inordinately difficult time envisioning just what the people look like. Sure, it's easy to say "They look like mobsters" or "they look like farmers/the descendants of Japanese/Chinese/Russian people", but what does that actually look like? And more to the point, what kind of clothes will people wear 900 years from today? Unfortunately, trying to picture a slightly updated version of clothes worn 900 years ago isn't very helpful. While people may have been well-dressed in some parts of the world, I have to confess that the image of a grime-smeared European with a linen outfit and a pitchfork is the first thing that springs to mind.
I thought initially that the fashions of Neurojack would be an extension of contemporary fashions. "Blade Runner", for instance, drew quite heavily on fashion as it was in the 1930's and 40's. I liked to think that the 50's and 60's would be out, since we consider that "camp" even now. 70's? Hardly. 80's? Sorry, I just can't see the mullet coming back into style. 90's? I doubt anyone will think to reinvent slap bracelets in the coming centuries. I suppose then that unless I wanted Neurojack to have a Victorian feel (which I dont) that the people will probably be wearing much the same stuff the characters in Blade Runner wore. Of course, everyone who knows me and is reading this is laughing at this point, since they all known Blade Runner is my favorite movie and they're thinking "Duh, what else would your people look like?" but the point remains valid: lots of fashion from the 30s and 40s has remained relatively unchanged since, and some things from then have never gone out of style.
Granted, mine is a somewhat uninformed opinion, seeing as how my fashion knowledge extends as far as "This looks good" and "Santino deserved to win Project Runway"...yes, I know some (or most) of Santino's work during the series was crap, but most of you have to admit, he really pulled it together for Fashion Week. At least I thought he did.
But now that I've got a basic model for the fashion of Neurojack, I'm presented with another problem: what will their clothing be made out of? Will they still use wool and cotton, or will that be replaced by some type of polymer? Since I'm not big into S&M, I can tell you right now that the predominant materials for everyday clothing WILL NOT be vinyl or leather. I like The Matrix and Aeon Flux, but I dont like them THAT much...ok, I do, but the clothing is not what I'd consider practical. Aeon Flux would freeze her ass off in the northern continent of Asperian.
I can't help but wonder if this is somehow extraneous; do my players really need to know what kind of clothes people in the world of Neurojack wear? Do they really need to know what they consider "fashionable" in the 30th century? I suppose I kind of send mixed messages...on the one hand, I have a list of clothing items available for purchase in-game, then I throw lots of enemies armed with firearms at them. While the clothing looks nice, heavy armor lets their characters live a lot longer with the way I run things...
I think I need to sleep on this.
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