The Unofficial Matrix Role Playing Game (2012)

From the introduction:

The Matrix tabletop game is a rules-light, storyteller-heavy roleplaying game system. Tabletop game systems I played in the past were based on dice, and sometimes the dice distracted from the game because players would worry about the difference between a 14 Charisma and a 15 Charisma. The Matrix RPG strives to break away from that mold of min-maxing a character. Player characters should be fun to play. The Matrix RPG game is focused on the players and the gamemaster (GM) telling a cogent story and everyone having fun with each other while they play. I tried to minimize the amount of numbers and stats used in the game.

The Matrix RPG is based on a genre that grew out of Cyberpunk. The idea of “The Matrix” is best represented in the movie The Matrix (1999) starring Keanu Reeves, written by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Warner Brothers Pictures. For even more inspiration, read my favorite novel on the topic, Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. I also suggest watching the film Johnny Neumonic, also starring Keanu Reeves. My all-time favorite representations of the genre before the Matrix Trilogy is the Shadowrun tabletop system .

As these stories illustrate, the idea of mixing man with machine has been around for decades. Cyberpunk started the genre, but technology has advanced, and from that evolutionary progress was born the ideas behind the Matrix. The Matrix combines man and machine to the point that the two dream as one entity. The Matrix holds the bodies and dreams of humanity. It is such a poignant idea that it leads one to wonder, what’s next... Through The Matrix RPG, players can explore this question.