You make some pretty persuasive arguments for both those cities. I was avoiding Denver as a pick because it's in the (former) USA and I felt it'd be a nice change of pace to have a city that is culturally and thematically different from Seattle. You really do solidify my love of Berlin as a setting though! Win!

London! More paranoid, harder to run in, but with soooo much more class and history too of course, and druids...

It's important to remember that it's now very former—it feels like objecting to both East Berlin and Moscow as settings today because they're both former Soviet bloc, and the Treaty of Denver is over thirty years in the past as of 2050. That's before you add in the effect of the walls and borders on the feel of the city (remember, this is before Ghostwalker performed his unifications).

~J

It would sure be nice to show some more of the world, but assuming the characters can travel between the cities that also means language problems (or language handwaving).

Or Liguisofts.

Sure, if you have the jack

How could it be anything but Chicago or Denver? Both of those settings are dripping with awesome hooks.

Because other cities also have awesome hooks?

I really think the second city should NOT be in the current USA. My votes were Hong Kong, Berlin or one of the feral cities, but I should have said, "except Chicago". So really, Lagos.
But London would be awesome, our Vladivostok. Lots of places really. I'd just like it to be outside of the US.

Denver or Hong Kong.

I'd say either Hong Kong or Neo-Tokyo.

Denver or Hong Kong

I'd say Denver, London or Neo Tokyo.

Vote for London here!

Tenochtitlan. Exotic, grimy, cyberpunk and magic existing together. The old books provide a nice framework but the setting isn't done to death.

Wait, I'm confused. Is this a statement or a question? Oh wait! You're being condescending! Good one.

Actually, he was answering your question, with another question, which answers yours. There are a ton of Other Cities out there that have just as many hooks as Chicago or Denver. *shrug*

I vote for Chicago, only so we can get some bug spirits thrown in the mix!

Berlin, definitely! Neo-A chaos in the city of cities is what Shadowrun is all about, baby!

i'd like hamburg better than berlin, but there is more official material on berlin i am afraid . .
hamburg has the whole dirty venice of the north. sunken city. glowy waters. hover-pirates. submarine pirates. smugglers.

And St. Pauli, natch

did that one not go down under in the black flood?
i can't really remember <.<

otherwiese, the rhine ruhr mega sprawl(lofwyrs backyard) has had a completely new book on it.
sounds like an interesting place too.

Los Angeles has all that and Hollywood. And no Germans. So LA for me.

Was out of town this weekend, but the OP is now updated! Definitely some readjustment in the rankings. Denver is shooting up there, as is Neo-Tokyo and London. Hong Kong increases it's stranglehold on the lead. Certainly starting to notice a trend of heavy hitters emerging on the high-end!

I'd say Paris or London.

Why? All have some kind of underground.

Seattle have the Orc underground
London have the Tube/subway tunnels
Paris have the catacombs

Read Runner Havens. Hamburg is a haven, though partially flooded on the new estuary of the Elbe river. Even so, it thrives great.

I vote for Chicago. If Bug city hasn't happened yet why not make it happen in the game? Okay maybe not for the intial release but what agreat plot line that would be for a extended content.

Problem is, until Bug City events start cropping up, Chicago is kinda bland.

Denver being the central hub where 6 nations meet is pretty important from a game design standpoint.
The question you have to ask about a setting for a video game is, how can the setting provide variety of gameplay?

Hamburg and Berlin could probably be done as a single extended setting and offer lots of variety. They're the same country, so it's not like daytripping from Seattle to Portland and crossing through several national borders. (Not to mention that 2050s Portland is a bunch of swashbuckling feudalism and pointy-eared fuckery. Bleh.)


So, I've got a request for all the folk proping up Hong Kong. Why? What about Hong Kong stands out as a unique setting with a large variety of culture and opportunity so as to make it an exceptional game setting?

I'm not doubting you or attacking your position, I only want to understand your reasoning and share your enthusiasm.

The same thing that makes Seattle game-worthy: it's an intersection of two or more cultures. In Seattle, it's the Native American Revival meets American. In Hong Kong, it's Chinese meets British/European. In Seattle, the triads are not a completely dominating force; in Hong Kong they most certainly would be.

That's not to say HK would be the best city ever, anywhere. But it's got as much going for it, really, as Seattle does.

Hong Kong +1

For the ultimate in brutality, where a meta-human life is worth no more than a bag of rice, and the division between the haves and have nots best portrays the setting of a dystopian future… there is only one choice: LAGOS!!!
This is today: "Africans don't have wars, they have genocides".
Let's face it, it's only going to be worse in Shadowrun 2050... way worse!

Well, if i remember correctly from the DOTA and i think Bogota! threads Lagos is actually not all that bad compared to the Barrens in Seattle . .

I don’t recall there being anything in Seattle even close to an overt flesh trade where gangs violently kidnap people to sell them off to Goals.

No, but I bet there's a trade of people trying to get from Seattle to China in order to have a better lot in life, only to find themselves slaves in a Knock-Off Factory.

Why would you sell people to Goals?
Ghouls pay much more and leave less traces/bodies of evidence if they have good table manners . .

Diamonds.
There is a Goal nation in Africa and they have lost of Diamonds

What good are they if they're lost?

A Nation made up entirely of Goals . . the dream of every soccer/football player!
And you can find their lost Diamonds as payment for doing what you like too!

Can just imagine the license plates:

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL"

Ha ha... thanks for pointing out how lame my spell-checker is.

I play a pretty convincing Troll eh?

I want tokyo, specifically Chiba if thats doable. Seattle will serve every concievable need for urban usa, lets have something foreign and difficult.

Actually i am happy with any asian city as the modders will use those assets to build Chiba even if they dont add it in at launch.

I'm still going for Denver. Multiple countries, border crossings, just a melting pot of fun and intrigue. Oh and the Denver Data Haven is there too, fun with emerging otaku for a future release.

I will add Boston to the mix. Home of the E.C.S.E., makes for more extraterritoriality per square mile then anywhere else. The ROX. Heavy amounts of magic due to MIT&M and all that corp research. The tunnels under Cambridge. Anti Tir sentiment in Southie. Museum's for meets. Awful traffic. And Gloucester up north for those with a Lovecraft vibe going on.

Those last 2 might not be great for a video game now that I think about it. But I always thought that the "Hub of the Universe" made for some real interesting (heavy on the corporate) running.

Denver or Hong Kong.

.02

Germany or Denver

Its pretty fun when it happens. Except for the Penguins. They cry.

@CransonVM:
Germany. Not a City. No, not even in the world of Shadowrun ^^

I vote Chicago (Bug City), but it's a purely selfish desire.

Since this is 2050 setting. Portland is one of the better covered cities and its closeness to Portland makes for a lot of great crossover. Most other Shadowrun cities don't become interesting until close to the 2060s setting.