This suit was an early attempt at creating special FX for the pilot episode (Mitch Thorne hadn’t joined the team by this point). It was supposed to be the aforementioned vulture but was ridiculed and scrapped immediately. They then decided to call it “hi-tech vulture deterrent armour” which was also ridiculed and scrapped.
The Roadkill Boondocks was clearly and shamelessly “inspired” by the Mad Max movies; specifically Beyond the Thunderdome which had not long been released. Visually speaking it is one of the most interesting districts. All that dirt and decay; it looks like a jolly summer holiday in the jaws of Death Valley.
A crew of eight had driven out to the far corners of the Mojave Desert for a few weeks to construct some of the set and props. This, of course, was funded by CEO Cassidy who had no idea about budgeting and simply believed that his inheritance was going to stretch for all eternity. And because it was his first big payout for this project, he could only see the huge amount that remained in his account post-payment
We do wonder if Cassidy had run things like a responsible adult, would the Cyberia project have survived until completion? Basic arithmetic shows that supplying a medium-sized office with fast food, party drugs and beverages every day is unsustainable. They could’ve just paid wages. So what would have happened if Give Me Head Productions had just one bone of seriousness?
Thus far we haven’t found any financial records at all; just written notes tallying up certain expensive purchases. One of these tallies is for huge truck rentals, several battered trailers, fifty broken televisions, 20 rusty motorcycles, lots of spray paint and industrial materials plus snacks, drinks and drugs. All of this was used by the crew out in the Mojave Desert. A diary we found says that most of the crew spent several weeks there, partially creating a set and some fairly decent props.
We have already explored the relationship dynamics between the main playable characters Yan and Tosh in detail. Please click through those profiles for the lowdown. In the rest of this article we’re going to look at another gang of reprobates. These buggers survived out in the desert by organising illicit excursions into other wealthier districts.
In our opinion this is hands down the best of a bad bunch.
The Hell Fire Crew
In the outback of the outback, you will find a gang of feral punks. They have built their own shanty town made from sand, scraps of wood and animal bones. They don’t go anywhere close to the residential area of the Roadkill Boondocks; instead they live out in the desert, scavenging for resources and plotting heists in wealthier districts (although even Little Amsterdam is viewed as a wealthier district by this lot).
Three of their members are the playable characters Gordon, Finderz and Larry. Gordon and Finderz both want to escape this miserable existence and sneak away to anywhere else. The main hurdle to this is that once you become a member of the Hell Fire Crew, it’s supposed to be a lifelong commitment. If anyone gets a whiff that a member is even thinking about defecting to the outside world then they’ll face the Elders in a show trial and all they can do is plead that their deaths are quick and painless. However, nobody has succeeded with that. So Gordon and Finderz need to come up with a watertight escape plan.
So one night they ride out to their favourite sand dune, crack open some homebrewed petrohol (petrol plus alcohol in case you were wondering) and begin to brainstorm.
“The only way out I can see,” Gordon says. “Is that we volunteer to hit the gas stations on the east side of the Pleasure Strip with a couple of others. We then create as much noise and confusion as possible. We shoot the other crew members, tie up the counter guy and tell him that we’ll let him live if he deletes all digital evidence of what went down. We then use the candy to buy some metropunk clothes and get temporary facelifts off some back alley butcher. What do you think?”
“I don’t know, man,” Finderz says, rubbing his chin. “If we ride with the usual crew members then it’s a done deal. But if we get anyone else, they could smell something is rotten and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen.”
“I’ll gladly take the risk,” Gordon says. “Because things can’t possibly get any worse.”
“On the flip side, I could do with some new metropunk clothes. I’ve been wearing the same jockstrap since nursery.”
“My socks have disintegrated into one big hole.”
“How does that work?”
“My socks got a hole a couple of years ago and now they have vanished into thin air so it’s just one big hole.”
“And my remaining tooth is killing me. I need some new gnashers.”
“I’d do anything for a peanut butter and mealworm jelly sandwich.”
“Let’s just fucking do this!” Finderz says excitedly, holding out his palm.
“Let’s!” Gordon replies, slapping palms with Finderz.
The Watertight Plan
The next day Gordon and Finderz volunteer for a midnight run to a gas station on the east side of the Pleasure Strip. They are glad that only one other member is to tag along. His name is Larry who everyone affectionately refers to as Wet Fart Larry.
Wet Fart Larry is a rookie crew member who is learning the fine art of robbing gas stations. He is fifteen years old and, owed to being a nervous wreck, is barely able to speak. He just nods his way through conversations, capable only of grunting one syllable replies that could mean anything.
When they reach the gas station, Gordon and Finderz put their plan into action. They have already decided that popping a bullet in Wet Fart Larry is unnecessary. All they have to do is point at him and shout die! and he’ll drop to the floor begging for his life.
So the three members barge into a gas station they’d never robbed before and immediately point their guns at the attendant. The attendant happens to be the hunky playable character Brad who is an ex-Cyberpig with a fierce forehead.
Brad dives behind the counter and grabs his trusted boomerang handgun while pressing the “chaos disco” security button underneath the counter. This button locks all doors and windows, turns off the main lights, turns a strobe light on and blasts out some thrash metal music dialled up to eleven.
Gordon and Finderz jump behind a shelf stacked with bottles of lemon and locust juice while Wet Fart Larry drops to the floor, sticking his fingers in his ears.
This is the setup. Now it’s down to how the players choose to handle the situation.
The Hell Fire Crew angle is certainly a welcome edition to the Cyberia Universe even if it isn’t much of an original idea. We’re just thankful that the Give Me Head crew left an extensive library of images, reassuring us that perhaps there was enough talent to create something decent after all. If only Cassidy had budgeted properly.
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