Ex Machina is a cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 published by Guardians of Order

Guardians of Order

Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...

 covering a range from classic cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

 to postcyberpunk. It exists under both the cinematic Tri-Stat dX

Tri-Stat dX

Tri-Stat dX is a generic role-playing game system developed and published by Guardians of Order in 2003. Like other generic role-playing game systems, Tri-stat dX has adaptable rules that can be applied to many genres and settings....

and d20

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

 RPG systems.

Setting

Ex Machina includes a detailed retrospective on the cyberpunk genre, as well as lengthy advice on how to convey that genre in a role-playing environment without losing touch with its core themes.

In addition to information on setting design and genre handling, Ex Machina also includes four complete game settings for gamers to choose from, each of which takes the Cyberpunk genre in its own unique direction. The settings are named Heaven Over Mountain, Underworld, IOSHI and Daedalus.

System

There are two variants of the system for Ex Machina; Tri-Stat d8 and the d20 System.

Tri-Stat d8

Under Tri-Stat the game uses a point build effects based character design engine and a roll two dice to get under skill value task resolution system. The game engine works to focus on story over rules, and is known for its flexibility.

d20 System

The d20 System variation combines the points and effects based special abilities of Tri-Stat with the classes and levels of d20, and uses a hybrid task system mostly built from d20

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

's single die to roll high method. The d20 variant is based on the Big Eyes, Small Mouth

Big Eyes, Small Mouth

Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a roleplaying game that was designed to simulate the action of anime and manga. It is frequently referred to by the acronym BESM. The title alludes to the common anime drawing style of characters with huge, expressive eyes and comparatively small mouths.BESM uses a...

game system which closely resembles a point based variation of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

. This variant is solely a fan-based production; not endorsed by "Guardians of Order", who are the creators of the Tri-Stat system.

Current status

According to the Guardians of Order website, the company has gone out of business as of August 2006. There has not been any statement of another company taking over the license leaving the future production of the series in doubt.