Cyberspace in Science Fiction

Spacedock delves into varying depictions of "cyberspace" in sci-fi media.

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Battlezone II Music by Carey Chico

Spacedock does not hold ownership of the copyrighted materiel (Footage, Stills etc) taken from the various works of fiction covered in this series, and uses them within the boundaries of Fair Use for the purpose of Analysis, Discussion and Review.

[jalengonel]

To this day Tron: Legacy is one the best designed world settings I’ve ever seen

[siskarova]

Also shoutout to ghost in the shell for not only integrating it into a more physical setting while making it such a core part of it's plot and fights (at least in the manga)

[MasterGeekMX]

The difference between the TRON movies is that in the first Kevin gets digitized into the maninframe system of ENCOM, while in Legacy, Kevin, based on that experience, puts a small supercomputer on the basement of his arcade place and in there he codes a simulation of a society (basically a The Sims + Cities Skylines + Garry's Mod thing) and uses the digitizing beam to get inside and interact with the simulation first-hand.

[FGMagala]

The best thing about cyberspace is that it's the one place where the rule of cool reins supreme. After all, as long as it serves the purpose of the narrative, it can look however the creators want it to look, even including how interactions are done in it. Nothing has mass unless if you want it, invisible walls might as well be a normal thing, and it doesn't matter if neon pink katana blades grow like grass next to an endless ocean of smooth glass.

[sveltercube]

The Quarians being in suits before the migration is a great example of the filter Shepard was seeing.

[mitwhitgaming]

Instantly thought of Code Lyoko... after Tron, of course.

[TheWarmachine]

Gen:Lock - a cyberspace technology that allows compatible users to digitize their minds into the giant robots they control as if they're their own bodies and they can synchronize with each other to work together as one.

[AngemonOfLight]

The Digital World in Digimon is an interesting variation on the Cyberspace theme. It’s a parallel universe consisting of “data” as a result of Earth’s telecommunications (including the internet) and computing tech. So it’s not a one to one cyberspace to Reality like Tron or Reboot. It’s an alien world parallel and connected to our own, one which is still linked to our technology. What happens in the Digital World can disrupt not just electronics, but also even effect things like weather.

A traditional Cyberspace also exists in Digimon - we see it in Our War Game (aka part 2 of Digimon the Movie) and Revenge of Diaboromon. This cyberspace is in more in line with traditional depictions - strange imagery, floating around in a chaotic space.

[airistal]

The Cyberchase kid show had an interesting take on things. Data would connect with similar data forming sites with unified themes, forming islands and stations floating in a void of data in transit.

[adamhoughton]

Very happy to see Reboot on this video, one of my favourite childhood shows for it's short existence and the show that I, at least partially, hold responsible for turning me into a PC nerd!

[juimymary]

I can't believe you didn't mention code lyoko, it's criminal

[fredbyoutubing]

Nier Automata had a nice take on the concept with the hacking mechanism being a bullet hell game. You have to destroy important softwares while fending off anti malware bots.
It gets crazier in the late game but I won't spoil.

[bottasheimfe]

in Stellaris's Machine Age DLC, Machine Empires can become fully digital entities that exist on virtual server realities and interact with the physical world in ways I kinda struggle to understand. Virtual ascendance as it is called is pretty much the Ultimate playing tall method. what I mean by "playing Tall" is to have as few physical assets as possible and making increasingly efficient use of the resources you can get from those fewer assets. basically Imagine a Civilization whose entire Civilian physical existence is all on a single planet and several orbital stations around several star systems. this Civilization, while small, due to insanely efficient use of the resources it has can field military assets that are on par with Civilizations that span dozens of world and star systems. one of the best ways to "play Tall" is virtual ascendance, have a fully colonized Ringworld, a Dyson Sphere and a Matter Decompressor. I've played such an empire and dominated the game. it can take a bit of time to build up to that point however.

[carlh-thehermitwithwi-fi]

i still get chills reading Gibson's "Neuromancer" and "Mona Lisa Overdrive". THAT is cyberspace to me. And Tron, well, don't get me started..it's TRON!

[GallowglassAxe]

There is a game call "Virus: The Game" where you battle virus in a virtual world design by your hard drive. The game levels take place in the user's hard drive, with files and directories being represented by 3D rooms through which the player navigates. It won't play on newer systems for that reason.

[merafirewing]

Also one of the 1990s Scooby-Doo movies did explored cyberspace to. Even the Sword Art Online anime series can be considered as cyberspace themed as well.

[filip]

This is one of the things that I love about Cyberspace and the technology in general. The merging of the digital and physical worlds for the creation of art and advancing human philosophical interests. It can produce such pleasing and thought provoking environments in media that are truly spectacular.

[theochojabroni]

If you want a crazy idea of cyberspace in a futuristic sci fi setting take a look of the book series "The Culture". There exist some civilizations that still believe in corporal punishment to the extreme and basically create a copy of your consciousness to torture in cyber hell for eternity. Its pretty wild how far the author explores the societal impacts of such a system and how other civilizations with different moral codes might respond.

[MrQuantumInc]

Historically, a lot of people assumed people would prefer to interact with the internet via a literal cyber-space, but it seems they were wrong.
Cyberpunk predicted the internet, but they usually depicted it as a literal cyberspace, programs were not people (unless they are sentient AI programs) but they were tangible objects and machines. The word "cyberspace" comes from an early Cyberpunk story.
A lot of articles about "2nd life" seemed to suggest it would grow in popularity and possibly supplant the 2D internet, at least partially. As if we would all watch youtube by moving our virtual avatar to a theatre and having them manipulate virtual video casettes rather than just clicking a thumbnail. I suppose a chatroom with a virtual room and avatars you can see is superior to text only chat, but it is also a lot more effort.
Meta was originally envisioned as a cyberspace version of Facebook, ideally done with VR. While the parent company changed its name and was heavily reorganized, the concept of Facebook but with VR was mostly abandoned.

[boingthegoat]

System Shock also had a neat idea of cyberspace, where various computer systems were wire-frame "rooms" with enemy programs, bits of useful data, and controls for other systems in them. They were connected by "corridors" that were sometimes only one-way. Shame mose people didn't like the gameplay there.
Also special shoutout to the Tron 2.0 game for having fun with the concept of cyberspace being a thing inside machines that exist and have properties. In one section you deal with a super-powerful killer program by having it follow you into a much older system, so it can't run as fast. In another section you "torture" a mobile device by turning on its various functions in order to drain its battery.