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Game News Cyanide is working on a Paranoia RPG

Infinitron

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Tags: Black Shamrock; Cyanide; Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

From out of nowhere, the plucky French studio Cyanide have come out with the news that they're developing an RPG based on the satirical science-fiction tabletop game Paranoia, in partnership with their Irish sister studio Black Shamrock. The game's title is simply Paranoia: The Official Video Game. In case you haven't heard of it, Paranoia is set in a dystopian megacity called Alpha Complex which is run by an insane civil service AI known as The Computer. Players are tasked by The Computer with rooting out mutants, members of secret societies, and other threats to Alpha Complex. The joke is that the player characters are themselves typically mutants and/or members of secret societies. Double-crossing is encouraged, and hence the title. As for Cyanide's adaptation, all we have right now is this press release:

Good news, Citizen! For the first time, your friend The Computer, has authorized a digital version of Paranoia.

Now there is a new way to fervently demonstrate loyalty to your friend, The Computer – through the medium of computer games!
Your friend The Computer is surprised they didn’t think of this before.

Not to worry! The same truths remain. Stay alert! Trust no one! Keep your laser handy! Loyal Citizens are always rewarded. Traitors are always reduced to a fine liquid pulp. Have a nice day!

Paranoia is fun. Other games are not fun. This is true in the digital realm just as it is in table top. Loyal citizens will purchase the forthcoming Paranoia computer game. Disloyal citizens will be used as reactor shielding.

Are you a loyal citizen?
I thought you were!


Cyanide and Black Shamrock are fervently loyal to The Computer and therefore proud to announce the development of Paranoia: The Official Video Game, a darkly humorous RPG adapted from the critically acclaimed pen and paper game created by Dan Gelber, Greg Costikyan, and Eric Goldberg.


Paranoia is set in Alpha Complex, the last remaining human city. Alpha Complex is a paradise. The Computer tells you so. Of course, The Computer is always right. Questioning or challenging The Computer is likely to result in termination, or possibly long-term commitment to a Re-Education Gulag and Spa.

In Paranoia, you’ll play as the leader of a Red Clearance Troubleshooter team. As a Troubleshooter, your job is to find trouble. And shoot it. Though Alpha Complex is a paradise, it is unfortunately beset by all kinds of enemies. Terrorists. Mutants. Members of secret societies. Even – shocking though it may be to say – even Troubleshooters who somehow doubt The Computer’s benevolent wisdom, and the evident truth that Alpha Complex is a paradise.

Lies, double-cross and backstabbing will be your best allies for survival in Alpha Complex, as betrayal is a constant threat. Sometimes your team mates, and even yourself, are more of a threat to your survival than the ostensible mission baddies.

On top of that, the Computer is always watching your actions, judging you, and rewarding you fairly… or not. But should you be defeated or terminated (incinerated is more accurate), you have 5 replacement clones in reserve to try again! Not always faithful copies of the original… but that's another problem.

Unreliable narration; explosions, laser blasts, insane robots; technology-based environments to explore; a role-playing team you can’t rely on: Paranoia takes the conventions of the CRPG and turns them on their head, creating a world and a gaming environment that will frustrate, surprise, and delight players of the genre with something both familiar – and something that defeats their expectations.

The above information is Clearance Violet. If you are below Clearance Violet, please report to the nearest Termination Booth immediately. Thank you.

Paranoia: The Official Video Game is co-developed by Cyanide, from Paris Complex, and Black Shamrock, from Dublin Complex. The game will be released on PC and Console when the Computer decides that the time is right.

Two RPGs based on esoteric tabletop properties announced within barely over a week? Truly we live in wondrous times. However, this one doesn't sound like it'll be turn-based. A job ad on Black Shamrock's website calls for a senior level designer for an "immersive kick-ass action RPG". It's interesting that there's no mention of a publisher anywhere, though.
 

DemonKing

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I kind of enjoyed Cyanide's GoT game, and used to love playing Paranoia back in the day, so this could be interesting.

Not getting my hopes up though.
 

Roguey

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Y'know, Cyanide should probably have released the Cthulhu RPG before deciding to tackle this one, considering they're also working on the Werewolf game. What do they think they're doing?
 

Prime Junta

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This will be either the best thing ever, or cringeworthily awful. Middle-of-the-road mediocre is unlikely. Colour me mildly hyped.
 

Delterius

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Y'know, Cyanide should probably have released the Cthulhu RPG before deciding to tackle this one, considering they're also working on the Werewolf game. What do they think they're doing?
maybe they are secretly giving up on each game and rolling forward with the used assets
 

Roguey

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Y'know, Cyanide should probably have released the Cthulhu RPG before deciding to tackle this one, considering they're also working on the Werewolf game. What do they think they're doing?

DEVELOPING ALL THE GAMES!+M
And they're all so official too. Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Official Video Game, Paranoia: The Official Video Game.

Apparently tabletop RPG video game licenses are a buyer's market at the moment, though it's only Europeans doing the buying for some reason. I'm thinking all the hype surrounding CD Projekt's Cyberpunk created this situation.
 

Mortmal

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Cyanide has been pushing out shovelware since forever. It's not really surprising. Wouldn't expect a quality product.
Given the state of the french video game industry the surprise is its not shittier than it is already. God kings CEO receiving massive public money subsidies . Startups with feodal management and many cases of harassment . They are employing massive numbers of trainee , talented young coders out from school paid half the minimum wage . Those young people should not ever dare to complain and rather they should praise god,be thankful they are allowed to work on video games.
Its not specific to any studio but if you look at cyanide employment offers its for 8-12 months and they dont even specify the wages anymore. Probably for an amount i wont even bother to get out of bed.
 

Junmarko

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And they're all so official too. Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Official Video Game, Paranoia: The Official Video Game

I'm thinking all the hype surrounding CD Projekt's Cyberpunk created this situation

E.A's use of Star Wars probably gave people ideas too - good and bad. Hopefully we get at least one decent trilogy before the remains are churned into a "SURVIVAL+TCG_MOBA-T-TLE_ROYALE" or whatever kids will be playing in 10 years.
 

Roguey

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or maybe tabletop popularity difference between continents? //tried to find such data within 3min but no luck
Up until recently, hardly anyone had been licensing anything though. The video game adaptation of a tabletop RPG was a nearly-dead concept (though I suppose one can argue that if they're just going to make action games or stuff like Blackguards 2 and Sword Coast Legends out of them, they might as well be dead. :M)
 

Infinitron

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or maybe tabletop popularity difference between continents? //tried to find such data within 3min but no luck
Up until recently, hardly anyone had been licensing anything though. The video game adaptation of a tabletop RPG was a nearly-dead concept (though I suppose one can argue that if they're just going to make action games or stuff like Blackguards 2 and Sword Coast Legends out of them, they might as well be dead. :M)

CD Projekt is like the Marvel Cinematic Universe of game developers, digging up all sorts of obscure shit from the archives, repackaging it for the new generation and making it more popular than it ever was. Very lucrative business model - if you can make it work, which seems difficult. These imitators are more likely to end up like DCU, but good luck to them.
 

Roguey

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are you sure that nothing was licensed? What I mean is possibly someone was holding license and doing nothing with it. Wasnt it the case with cyberpunk as was shared in one of the interviews?

He was sent The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings as a kind of convincer and, "holy crap", he thought it was great. But he was also sceptical. It wasn't the first time someone had asked to do a Cyberpunk video game. "It's been pretty much under licence since its inception," he says, and several major publishers had had a shot. The closest it came was contract negotiations "but the problem was they wanted to change almost everything involved" and so the negotiations fell apart.

What he meant there was that the license was was always available, but nobody was ever able to convince him they could do it right. No one ever had any exclusive rights to make a Cyberpunk adaptation.

Meanwhile, Chaosium, Paradox/White Wolf, and Costikyan/Gelber/Goldberg are seemingly far less discerning, or Cyanide is making some very convincing private arguments that there's some gold in them thar hills.
 

Rahdulan

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Y'know, Cyanide should probably have released the Cthulhu RPG before deciding to tackle this one, considering they're also working on the Werewolf game. What do they think they're doing?

I think Werewolf is probably early as hell in development. Didn't they announce the project like weeks after the deal was signed or something? Probably jumped the gun there a bit.

Anyway, I thought this was Everyone Is John for a second and wondered how the hell that would work. Keeping my eye on the project.
 

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I think Werewolf is probably early as hell in development.

If that's early then this must be even earlier.

And hey, what do you know, another game that was announced way, WAY too early - Cyberpunk 2077. :P
 

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