"Whoa! This game is way too realistic!"
"But where are the neon cybernetic super-dream babes we were promised?"
"Where's the big city beneath the neon lights?"
When cyber-capitalists meet the Fourth Calamity's chumps, who gets squeezed dry and turned into electronic ashes first?
Players started in a lifeless wasteland, and even their character models were identical to an NPC named "X."
Just as the players were complaining about the developers' shoddy work, that NPC captain started selling them a pipe dream...
"South of the Ark Ruins lies a prosperous city called Night Saint City. Liquid gold flows through its bars, and cybernetic doctors can install a glowing third leg for you! Work hard, and I'll take you all into Night Saint City!"
So the players worked even harder, scavenging for trash, searching for water, fighting radiation-mutated creatures, and raiding the invaders even more savagely than the marauders...
Until one day, they sneaked into the NPC captain's CEO lounge. Under his pillow sat a copy of The Heartless Boss's Guide to Avoiding Betrayal, and on his computer were draft documents titled "How to Squeeze Every Last Drop of Energy from Your Chumps" and "How to Handle Chumps Who've Grown Sentient"...
