System Shock

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For the Doctor Who novel, see System Shock (Doctor Who).
System Shock
Systems Shock re-release cover art
Developer(s) Looking Glass Studios
Publisher(s) Origin Systems/Electronic Arts
Designer(s) Doug Church
Composer(s) Greg LoPiccolo
Tim Ries
Engine Enhanced Underworld engine
Platform(s) DOS, Macintosh
Release date(s) March 26, 1994[1]
Genre(s) Action role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) ESRB: M
USK: 16+
ELSPA: 15+
Media CD-ROM, Floppy disks
Input methods Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick

System Shock is an action role-playing game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994,[1] the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a cyberpunk vision of 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless hacker, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent artificial intelligence.

Unlike other first-person games of the time, System Shock features true 3D environments, allowing the player to look up and down, climb, duck, jump, and lean to the side.[2] Critics praised System Shock and hailed the game as a major innovation in its genre.[3][4][5] It was later placed on multiple hall of fame lists.[6][7][8] Despite its technological feats and critical acceptance, System Shock was outsold by its contemporaries.[6] A sequel, System Shock 2, was released by Looking Glass Studios and off-shoot developer Irrational Games in 1999.[9]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Before the beginning of the game, the protagonist—a nameless hacker—is caught attempting to remotely access files concerning Citadel Station, a space station owned by the fictional TriOptimum Corporation. The hacker is taken to Citadel Station and brought before Edward Diego, a TriOptimum executive. Diego offers to drop all charges against the hacker in exchange for a confidential hacking of SHODAN, the artificial intelligence that controls the station. To entice cooperation, Diego promises the hacker a valuable military grade neural implant.[10]

After hacking SHODAN, removing the AI's ethical constraints, and handing control over to Diego, the protagonist undergoes a surgery that fits him with the promised neural interface.[11] Following the operation, the hacker is put into a six-month controlled healing coma. The game begins as the protagonist awakens from his coma, finding that SHODAN has commandeered the station. All robots aboard have been reprogrammed for hostility, and the crew have been either transformed into cyborgs, mutants or killed.

Citadel Station, as shown in the introductory cinematic.

Rebecca Lansing, a TriOptimum counter-terrorism consultant, contacts the player and claims that Citadel Station's mining laser is being charged up for a strike against Earth. Rebecca informs the hacker that a certain crew member should know how to deactivate the laser, and promises to remove records of the hacker's incriminating exchange with Diego provided the strike is stopped.[12] SHODAN plans to destroy all major cities on Earth in a bid to become a kind of god.[13] Through information gained from log discs, the hacker discovers that firing the laser into Citadel Station's own shields will destroy it. Foiled by the hacker's work, SHODAN prepares to seed Earth with a mutagen virus—the same one responsible for turning the station's crew into mutants.[14] The hacker again defeats the AI by jettisoning the chambers used to cultivate the virus.

Next, SHODAN begins an attempt to download itself into Earth's computer networks.[15] Following Rebecca's advice, the hacker destroys the four antennae used by SHODAN to prevent the download's fulfillment.[16] Soon after, Rebecca contacts the hacker, revealing that she has convinced TriOptimum to authorize the station's destruction—and giving him details on how to destroy it.[17] After obtaining the necessary codes, the hacker begins the station's self-destruction sequence, and escapes to the life pods.

There, the hacker finds Diego, transformed into a powerful cyborg by SHODAN to guard the pods. The hacker quickly dispatches him and attempts to disembark. However, SHODAN prevents the pod from launching in an attempt to force the player to remain on the station while the bridge—containing SHODAN—is jettisoned to a safe distance.[18] Rebecca tells the hacker that he can still survive if he reaches the bridge; SHODAN then intercepts and jams the transmission.[19] The hacker is still able to find his way to the bridge as it is released from the main station, which soon detonates. The hacker is then contacted by a technician who managed to circumvent SHODAN's jamming signal. The technician informs the hacker that the only path to defeating SHODAN lies in cyberspace, due to powerful physical shields protecting the computers.[20] Using a terminal near SHODAN's mainframe, the hacker enters cyberspace and destroys SHODAN. After his rescue, the hacker is offered a job at TriOptimum, but declines in favor of continuing his life as a hacker.

[edit] Gameplay

An image from the game, in which the inventory, navigation, and mapping systems are visible. The windows can be used to show various other systems, or hidden.[21]

System Shock features a first-person interface similar to that of Ultima Underworld,[3][22] with a free moving mouse cursor for aiming, manipulating objects, and using the heads-up display.[22][23] This interface is also used for leaning left or right, looking up and down, crouching and crawling. It does not use mouselook. An inventory on the heads-up display stores items and weapons.[23]

The player may temporarily enter Cyberspace through specific terminals. While in Cyberspace, the player is able to move weightlessly through a wire frame 3D environment, collecting data and fighting security programs. Actions in Cyberspace sometimes cause events in the game's physical world; for example, certain locked doors may only be opened from Cyberspace.[23]

Throughout System Shock, players find attachable hardware for the protagonist's neural implant, including targeting systems, energy shields and head-mounted lanterns. One piece of hardware plays log discs and e-mails, which provide the player with hints, and helps advance the story. Increasingly advanced versions of hardware are found as the game continues. Most active hardware gradually drains energy from a main reserve, necessitating economization.[23]

An image from the game, depicting Cyberspace.

The game features sixteen weapons, of which the player can carry a maximum of eight at once. Projectile weapons often have multiple, selectable ammunition types; certain munitions are more powerful than others. Energy weapons forgo ammunition, instead drawing from the player's energy supply. These weapons feature adjustable shot power, which proportionally affects energy consumption. If fired too often, energy weapons will overheat, making them unusable for a short time. Several types of explosives may also be found, ranging from percussion grenades to land mines and adjustable time bombs.[23]

Weapons and munitions deal certain kinds of damage, and enemies are sometimes immune or more vulnerable to particular types of damage. For example, electromagnetic pulse weapons heavily damage robots but do not affect mutants. Conversely, gas grenades are effective against mutants, but do not damage robots. If an enemy is hit by an attack to which it is not immune, the damage calculation is modified by factors including armor absorption, vulnerabilities, critical hits, and a degree of randomness.[24] These effects are presented as messages such as "Normal damage", displayed near attacked enemies when certain hardware is active.[24][23]

The game contains various dermal patches, each with certain effects, and occasionally negative after-effects. A "Medipatch" gradually restores a small amount of the player character's health, while a "Berserk" patch increases the power of the player character's mêlée attacks—but causes hallucinations as a side-effect.[23]

[edit] Development

System Shock was conceived after Looking Glass Technologies had finished Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds. The team decided that they "had done too many dungeon games ... [and] wanted to concentrate on making a really immersive 3-D world that [players] can interact with."[25] The design team attempted to make the game as realistic as possible, crafting an engine which allowed inclined surfaces, looking up and down, and leaning. The results were revolutionary, though straining on the processing power of contemporary computers.[25][26][2]

Developer Seamus Blackley designed an advanced physics system for the game,[27] using an invisible 3D model to govern the player character's physics in real-time. Lead designer Doug Church stated that the system effected "the head tilt[ing] forward when you start to run, and jerk[ing] back a bit when you stop", and that "when you run into a wall, or are hit by a bullet, or run into by an enemy, your head is knocked in the direction opposite the hit, with proportion to mass and velocity of the objects involved." The physics system also allowed wall-climbing.[25]

Prior to System Shock's release, Doug Church stated that "we've always felt that first person games are maximally atmospheric", and "in System Shock we are pushing that in as many ways as we can."[25] Developers focused on the game's story to achieve their desired atmosphere; Looking Glass Technologies believed that "things have to look real ... [and] feel real". Similarly, the game's log and e-mail messages were designed to be "more than 'you must pull lever N'", with the goal of "[making] them feel as though they came from and are going to someone real."[25] As no non-player characters appeared in System Shock to converse with the player, the plot was conveyed through these log discs and e-mails. System Shock 2 developer Johnathan Chey later stated that this decision resulted from 1994's computer technology being "simply inadequate to support believable and enjoyable interactions with [non-player characters]."[26]

System Shock was released on floppy disk for DOS in March 1994, with no speech and support for only a 320x240 display resolution. An enhanced CD-ROM version was released in November 1994,[28] featuring full speech for logs and e-mails, multiple display resolutions (up to 640x480), and more detailed graphics. The CD-ROM version is often cited as superior.[6] The game was also released for the Apple Macintosh at this time.[29] In an interview with GameSpy, System Shock producer Warren Spector expressed regret concerning the floppy version, stating, "I wish I could go back and make the decision not to ship the floppy version months before the full-speech CD version. The additional audio added so much it might as well have been a different game. The CD version seemed so much more, well, modern. And the perception of Shock was cemented in the press and in people's minds by the floppy version (the silent movie version!). I really think that cost us sales..."[30]

[edit] Reception

System Shock sold only 170,000 copies,[31] and was outsold by its contemporary computer games.[6][2] GameSpy compared the game's commercial performance to that of Vincent van Gogh's paintings, declaring that "the best computer game of 1994 ... came and went whilst everyone was busy killing each other in Doom II."[6] Despite its poor sales, critics received the game well; PC Gamer claimed that "no matter what kind of game you're looking for, you'll find something in System Shock to delight you", giving it their "Best Adventure Game of 1994" award.[4]

Games Domain was impressed by the game's plot and visuals, but criticized the CD-ROM edition's SVGA support, calling the performance "hideous even on [the recommended system]".[28] GameBytes also found the game to be a "technical marvel", though at a cost in performance.[22]

Computer Gaming World awarded the game 4½ stars out of 5, praising its scale, physics system and true 3D environments, and extolling the presentation of Cyberspace as "nothing short of phenomenal". The magazine felt negatively concerning the "little sense of urgency" and "confusing level layouts".[3] Next Generation Magazine summarized the game as "... a great blend of strategy and action backed up with all the extras", granting it four out of five stars.[32]

[edit] Legacy

System Shock is considered by some to be a major innovation in the first-person genre. In a Gamasutra feature, Patrick Redding of Ubisoft attested that "the fact that so many of System Shock's features are now virtually de rigueur in modern sci-fi shooters is a testament to the influence exerted by this one game."[5] GameSpy argued that the game "is the progenitor of today's story-based action games, a group with titles as diverse as 'Metal Gear Solid,' 'Resident Evil,' and even 'Half-Life'."[6] Eurogamer called the System Shock series "the benchmark for intelligent first-person gaming", noting that "[it] kick-start[ed] the revolution which ... has influenced the design of countless other games."[33]

Certain game developers have acknowledged System Shock's influence on their products. With Deus Ex, developer Warren Spector revealed a desire to "build on the foundation laid by the Looking Glass guys in games like ... System Shock."[34] Developer Ken Levine has commented that the "spirit of System Shock is player-powered gameplay: the spirit of letting the player drive the game, not the game designer", and at Irrational Games "... that's always the game we ideally want to make."[35]

Various sources have ranked SHODAN as one of the most effective antagonists and female characters in the history of video gaming.[36][37][38][39][40][41]

In the years following its release, System Shock has been inducted into many "hall of fame" lists, including those by PC Gamer, GameSpy and Computer Gaming World.[7][6][8] A sequel to System Shock, entitled System Shock 2, was released in 1999 to further acclaim and award, bringing back SHODAN and taking place forty-two years after the first; the last level is a recreation of the first game when SHODAN alters reality to transform the ship into Citadel Station.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "System Shock at IGN". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/objects/003/003644.html. Retrieved on March 14 2007. 
  2. ^ a b c Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh (July 5, 2006). "Culture: Five that Fell". http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3357&Itemid=32&limit=1&limitstart=5. Retrieved on March 13 2007. 
  3. ^ a b c Paul C. Schuytema (December 1994). "SHODAN At The Cyberspace Corral". Computer Gaming World (125): 250, 252, 254. 
  4. ^ a b "The First Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer: 44, 45, 47, 48. March 1995. 
  5. ^ a b "The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: First-Person Shooters". http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060901/quantum_01.shtml. Retrieved on March 28 2007. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Turner, Benjamin. "GameSpy.com - Hall of Fame: System Shock". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/ss_a.shtm. Retrieved on March 14 2007. 
  7. ^ a b "The 50 Best Games Ever". PC Gamer. May 1997. 
  8. ^ a b "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World (148). November 1996. 
  9. ^ a b "System Shock 2 at Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/systemshock2?q=System%20Shock%202. Retrieved on April 13 2007. 
  10. ^ Diego: This is Edward Diego from TriOptimum. The charges against you are severe, but they could be dismissed, if you perform a service. Who knows... there might even be a military grade neural interface in it for you, if you do the job right.
  11. ^ SHODAN: True to his word, Edward Diego allows the hacker to be fitted with a neural cyberspace interface.
  12. ^ Rebecca: Employee 2-4601, listen carefully. My name is Rebecca Lansing, and I'm a counter-terrorism consultant to TriOptimum. We're tracking a disruption on Citadel Station — something involving an on-board AI called SHODAN. You are TriOp's only contact on station. Communications are out, and there is evidence of biological contamination. The mining laser is charging, for a possible strike against Earth. There's a man named Nathan D'Arcy, who may know something about taking the laser offline. His office is near the central hub on your level. The AI is on the bridge. Once the laser is out, look for the source of the problem there. And by the way, we know all about you and your friend Diego. Pull this off, and we'll clear your record. That implant you're wearing is military-grade hardware; use it well. Lansing out.
  13. ^ SHODAN: In my talons, I shape clay, crafting lifeforms as I please. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that devastate the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God... the title suits me well.
  14. ^ SHODAN: I see there's still an insect loose in my station. Do not be fooled into thinking that you have preserved your planet. I am perfecting a mutagen virus in one of the groves, that will turn all Earthly life into festering, gibbering, pestulant mutations. When the station reaches Earth, I shall loose the virus. Poor, poor Earthlings.
  15. ^ Rebecca: Hacker? This is Rebecca. We've got a new situation here. A few seconds ago we caught a surge of activity on Citadel Station. Our best guess is that SHODAN is preparing to download itself into Earth's ComNet. You'll have to take plastique on the storage level, and use it to knock out the four antenna relays on the engineering level. Don't try to--*static* / SHODAN: You know, hacker, you are by far the most bothersome human being I have found on this station. But don't bother with the antennas, you can't stop me there. It's hopeless, and we both know it.
  16. ^ SHODAN: I hope you amused yourself with the antennae. My central consciousness remains supremely undisturbed on the bridge. When the cyborgs catch up to you, I will be watching.
  17. ^ Rebecca: Listen up, hacker. I've finally convinced the brass at TriOptimum to let us blow the station. If you can find out the system's authorization code, you can set the reactor to overload. Look for that code from Willard Richie, the SysOp on engineering. Then you have to go to the reactor core, and look for a panel where you can enter the code, and hit the overload switch. You'll need at least a level two environment suit to survive, or else a hell of a lot of Detox. Escape pods are on the flight deck, the launch code is 001. Good luck, we'll be watching.
  18. ^ SHODAN: You have destroyed my beautiful station. You will not escape now. I am departing, but you shall remain to die, my enemy, my creator.
  19. ^ Rebecca: Ok, now don't panic. You can still get out of this alive, if you move. SHODAN is going to separate the bridge from the rest of the station. When that happens, be on the bridge. We've got a team of engineers here — people who worked on the station and on SHODAN. We'll try to feed you info while you make your run--*static* / SHODAN: I see you are still receiving transmissions from Earth. We'll have no more of that.
  20. ^ Taggert: Ok, I think Morris' scrambler's working. It'll take SHODAN awhile before it cuts us off. Listen, when you reach the center of the bridge, look for the primary cyberjack. You can't take SHODAN down anywhere but cyberspace. Those computers are so shielded, to destroy them you'd have to blow up the whole bridge.
  21. ^ Salminen, Tapio (issue 7, 1994) (in Finnish), Pelit, pp. 18-20 
  22. ^ a b c Bauer, Doug (1994). "System Shock review". GameBytes. http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue21/greviews/sshock.html. Retrieved on March 20 2007. 
  23. ^ a b c d e f g System Shock Terminal Access manual
  24. ^ a b System Shock I.C.E. Breaker hintbook
  25. ^ a b c d e Starr, Daniel (1994). "An interview with Looking Glass Technologies". Gamebytes. http://www.ttlg.com/articles/SSint.asp. Retrieved on January 26 2006. 
  26. ^ a b Shahrani, Sam. "Educational Feature: A History and Analysis of Level Design in 3D Computer Games (Part 2)". Gamasutra. http://gamasutra.com/features/20060428/shahrani_01.shtml. Retrieved on March 15 2007. 
  27. ^ "Through the Looking Glass". PC Gamer: 62, 63, 65, 67, 69. March 1995. 
  28. ^ a b Vakil, Stephen (1995). "Games Domain System Shock review". Games Domain. Archived from the original on 2006-12-21. http://web.archive.org/web/19961221120733/http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdreview/zones/reviews/pc/shockrev.html. Retrieved on April 16 2007. 
  29. ^ "System Shock for Macintosh at IGN". http://mac.ign.com/objects/569/569336.html. Retrieved on March 28 2007. 
  30. ^ Keefer, John (May 2000). "20 Questions with Warren Spector". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/interviews/spector_a.shtm. Retrieved on January 26 2006. 
  31. ^ "System Shock 2 review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/systemshock2/review.html. Retrieved on March 13 2007. 
  32. ^ Next Generation Magazine issue 2, pg. 95
  33. ^ Fahey, Rob (February 2, 2007). "Eye On '07: Xbox 360". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=71354. Retrieved on March 27 2007. 
  34. ^ "Warren Spector of Ion Storm (Part Two)". Eurogamer. August 4, 2000. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=337. Retrieved on March 27 2007. 
  35. ^ Drake, Shannon (March 16, 2007). "Inside The Looking Glass: The Escapist Talks With Ken Levine". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/69617-Inside-The-Looking-Glass-The-Escapist-Talks-With-Ken-Levine. Retrieved on March 27 2007. 
  36. ^ The Most Horrific Video Game Bosses. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-12-28
  37. ^ IGN Staff (2006-03-07). Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  38. ^ Halverson, Dave; Mike Griffin, Heather Anne Campbell, Matt Cabral, Eric L. Patterson (December 2008). "Girls of Gaming". Play 6: p. 93. 
  39. ^ TenSpot: Ten Best Computer Game Villains. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-12-28
  40. ^ TenSpot: Ten Best Female Characters. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-12-28
  41. ^ Wright, Rob (2007-02-20). The 50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History. Tom's Games. Retrieved on 2009-01-07

[edit] External links

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