A cyberpunk-style city in Cantha

[Hoover.6394]

Throwing some crazy idea here... don’t get mad if this is not what u like, just imagining this for fun....

so we know that Cantha has been isolated from the rest of the Tyria for centuries, technology has evolved in Tyria as Asura invest a ton to develop new technology and the other races can take advantage of it. As a isolated and independent land, Cantha would also have a need for tech development and they were already a massive developed city with complicated structures hundreds years ago.

Kaineng City is a huge city in Cantha, wouldn't it be cool that when we revisiting Cantha, this area is already partially evolving into a place that adopts new technology?

Imaging Tokyo or Hongkong with crazy cyberpunk style architecture in one area, and ancient palace and temple in other areas. This will make Cantha both familiar and new for players, also adding some totally cool features to the game.

Here's some inpirations:

[The Greyhawk.9107]

@"Hoover.6394" said:Throwing some crazy idea here... so we know that Cantha has been isolated from the rest of the Tyria for centuries, technology and culture could totally develop at a different speed than the rest of the world.Kaineng City is a huge city in Cantha, wouldn't it be cool that when we revisiting Cantha, this area is already partially evolving into a place that adopts high technology?Imaging Tokyo or Hongkong with crazy cyberpunk style architecture in one area, and ancient palace and temple in other areas. A mix of fantasy and sci-fi art styles like Starwars...This will make Cantha both familiar and new for players, also adding some totally cool features to the game.

Here's some inpirations:

I'd rather not, I prefer GW2 as the High-Medieval/Renaissance Fantasy it has mostly remained and it would be jarring for resource starved isolationist Cantha to have somehow advanced to a sci-fi level of technology while the rest of the world is still mostly per-industrial.

Plus I'm not really the biggest fan of Cyberpunk.

[Handsel.2891]

As much as I'd love to see that, in this game it would feel very much out of place. The Asura are already banging on the limits of fantasy, I think.

[Randulf.7614]

It's a cool idea, but one unfitting for GW2 at it's current level. Plus despite being a sci fi/cyberpunk fan, I want to see a fantasy Cantha which takes the best of GW1 and translates into the GW2 design

[Terra.9506]

Kaineng City already look like the first picture only without neon light all over the place. If some thing I expect would be similar to Zephyrites village in Labyrinthine Cliffs but with metropolis scale which could make it look like real cyberpunk city when see it from afar. (we just didn't see messy electric wire , flying car and Mohawk guy all over city XD )

[Dragon Priestess.9760]

Nah. Not interested.

[Teratus.2859]

Oh god no.. please.. Nooo... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Haha Sorry but I seriously hope nothing like that ever comes to Gw2.I strongly dislike Steampunk and Cyberpunk styles.They are just horrendously ugly to me and incredibly off putting to the point that it would annoy me to no end having to play in those environments for any extended period of time.

Gw2 already went down the Steampunk road with the Aetherblade stuff and to this day I cannot stand the sight of those ridiculous looking armour and weapon sets.If Kaineng looked like that I would spend the entire duration of my story etc there trying to rush through it as quickly as possible just so I could leave the area and hopefully never go back xD

[Danikat.8537]

I don't mind cyberpunk, but I think it would be totally out of place in this game and something I'd rather not see. I know we already have asuran holograms and lots of glowy magitech which is already pushing the boundaries but I'd prefer to keep the Renaissance fantasy theme they've already established, rather than throwing in whatever random trend happens to be popular at the moment.

[Endless Soul.5178]

This is why I keep saying that Kaineng City probably looks like a mix of Coruscant and Los Angeles 2019 now.

[Cynder.2509]

As much as I love the cyberpunk setting ad these artworks I'd rather want an old themed Cantha like in gw1 back. I'd rather wait a few months more for Cyberpunk 2077 to get a proper cyberpunk themed game. I trust CD Project Red and I think this game will be the absolute killer for Cyberpunk themed games. However I have faith in Anet as well to develop another great game outside of gw1 or gw2 but I think their main focus should be in fantasy. I don't think Anet could do a good Sci-Fi or Cyberpunk themed game but I think they should focus on fantasy as this is what they can do best at the moment. I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy both so much and I think games are art which means art is universal and shouldn't be about genre etc. For me everything that involves imagination is art and for me art is always about expression yourself, a story, an emotion, a feeling and freedom. Artists whether it be musicians or game developers should experiment more and do what they love to do. I think this is just the artist inside me speaking but GW2 and a lot of other games have given me so much strength and inspiration throughout the years and I'm thankful for that.

[Ultramex.1506]

Uh...don't knownabout y'all, the sight of airship and guns are what drawn me into GW2, i'm sick of seeing fantasy land of Dragon/Elves/Dwarf with people speak in fake English accent, I wish Anet would do more about these technologies but don't go overboard.

[Dante.1763]

omg they need to leak some information so that all the wild speculation and hype building -stops- Yall are gonna be super dissapointed at this rate no matter what they give.

[Kodama.6453]

At least I think that Kaineng should have a kinda high level of technology for the GW2 standards. Maybe not going as far as making it such a modern cyberpunk city. But Kaineng already had some fairly modern vibes in the days of GW1, with all these houses towering to the sky. It should still have the same feeling, that way too many people are living in that city competing for space and having some kind of illegal underground (gangs and such).

[thepenmonster.3621]

I dunno about an exact cyberpunk aesthetic but anything would be better than some hideous vague Orientalism. Meeting some dude in a hanbok and a Ming queue, waving around a katana? Ugh.

[Bunny.9834]

I want Gundam and Sailormoon outfits.

[Hoover.6394]

@Kodama.6453 said:At least I think that Kaineng should have a kinda high level of technology for the GW2 standards. Maybe not going as far as making it such a modern cyberpunk city. But Kaineng already had some fairly modern vibes in the days of GW1, with all these houses towering to the sky. It should still have the same feeling, that way too many people are living in that city competing for space and having some kind of illegal underground (gangs and such).

Yeah that’s basically what I mean, Asura is basically focusing developing the high tech for Tyria. Cantha as a isolate world should have invest and own equivalant technology. Maybe not actual cyberpunk but some level of technology is possible.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Teratus.2859 said:Oh god no.. please.. Nooo... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

:+1: This.

I love futuristic content, just not in a classic fantasy environment. ANet has already done some bad stuff by mixing in several skins that don't fit into the setting at all. Let's not make it worse.

[Hoover.6394]

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@Teratus.2859 said:Oh god no.. please.. Nooo... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

:+1: This.

I love futuristic content, just not in a classic fantasy environment. ANet has already done some bad stuff by mixing in several skins that don't fit into the setting at all. Let's not make it

worse

.

Not trying to suggest this for Anet here, I’m a complete fantasy player, just had this thought and love to share for fun, as if it happened in a multiverses...

[Fenom.9457]

I'd rather Cantha be Cantha and have unique ideas like this used for all-new locations

[Fenom.9457]

@Ultramex.1506 said:Uh...don't knownabout y'all, the sight of airship and guns are what drawn me into GW2, i'm sick of seeing fantasy land of Dragon/Elves/Dwarf with people speak in fake English accent, I wish Anet would do more about these technologies but don't go overboard.

You do know this is a fantasy and not sci-fi game right? To be completely devoid of fantasy tropes, you'll want to look to futuristic or space games

[Substance E.4852]

@MikeG.6389 said:As much as I'd love to see that, in this game it would feel very much out of place. The Asura are already banging on the limits of fantasy, I think.

Asura are one giant sci-fi reference after another and it get grating after a while

Cantha should be some grungy, industrial punk style mixed with serene traditional asian aesthetics

Basically the island and city we explored in Factions but with pipes and charr-style machinery everywhere

[Ultramex.1506]

@Fenom.9457 said:

@Ultramex.1506 said:Uh...don't knownabout y'all, the sight of airship and guns are what drawn me into GW2, i'm sick of seeing fantasy land of Dragon/Elves/Dwarf with people speak in fake English accent, I wish Anet would do more about these technologies but don't go overboard.

You do know this is a fantasy and not sci-fi game right? To be completely devoid of fantasy tropes, you'll want to look to futuristic or space games

You do know airship/helicopter/submarine/guns/iron giant exist in GW2 and I didn't ask for sci-fi i ask more of those without overboarding right? A fantasy game can have a Musket not a submachine gun

[Handsel.2891]

@Substance E.4852 said:

@MikeG.6389 said:As much as I'd love to see that, in this game it would feel very much out of place. The Asura are already banging on the limits of fantasy, I think.

Asura are one giant sci-fi reference after another and it get grating after a while

Cantha should be some grungy, industrial punk style mixed with serene traditional asian aesthetics

Basically the island and city we explored in Factions but with pipes and charr-style machinery everywhere

But Charr are more steampunk, not cyberpunk, like OP would like to see. Steampunk should work, but we have already seen it. I don't think ANet will rehash such a distinct old idea, unless they want to tie Cantha to the Charr.

[Kodama.6453]

@MikeG.6389 said:

@Substance E.4852 said:

@MikeG.6389 said:As much as I'd love to see that, in this game it would feel very much out of place. The Asura are already banging on the limits of fantasy, I think.

Asura are one giant sci-fi reference after another and it get grating after a while

Cantha should be some grungy, industrial punk style mixed with serene traditional asian aesthetics

Basically the island and city we explored in Factions but with pipes and charr-style machinery everywhere

But Charr are more steampunk, not cyberpunk, like OP would like to see. Steampunk should work, but we have already seen it. I don't think ANet will rehash such a distinct old idea, unless they want to tie Cantha to the Charr.

Cantha is pretty big, I think there is room to give us some steampunk environments.While the isle Shing Jea should stay more traditional and nature related, the big city Kaineng would definitely make sense with a steampunk aesthetic.

[hugo.4705]

Will not fit the game Imho, too futuristic and modern; asura sure are kinda futuristic but they still use stones as example, plus I'm more fan of Steampunk.I just feel that is strange that with the technology level of charrs and asura that we see nobody with bionics or mechanical limbs. I mean, as example, when lazarus were in rato novus and wounded one of our friend, the asuran medic was just using an holographic panel to check all the biological variables, kinda stunning to be that evolved. I bet they know about DNA, clones, and other laboratories methods like electrophoresis but nothing reflect that. But antway, would like to see more steampunk charrs.