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The player combats Diego, who had been transformed into a powerful cyborg by SHODAN, and was being used to guard the life pods. After defeating Diego, the player attempts to escape the station with a life pod. However, SHODAN prevents the pod from launching, attempting to force the player to remain on the station while its bridge, on which SHODAN resides, jettisons.<ref>'''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.</ref> Rebecca contacts the hacker, telling him that he can still survive if he reaches the bridge, but SHODAN intercepts the transmission, and attempts to prevent the player from receiving any more.<ref>'''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.</ref> The player escapes to the bridge before it jettisons, leaving the rest of the station to detonate. Following this, the player is contacted by a technician, who managed to circumvent SHODAN's jamming signal. The technician informs the player that the only way to defeat SHODAN is in cyberspace, due to the computers possessing shielding powerful enough to withstand all but the bridge's entire destruction.<ref>'''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.</ref> Using a terminal near SHODAN's mainframe, the player enters cyberspace and destroys SHODAN. After being rescued from the station, the hacker is offered a job at TriOptimum, but declines the offer in favor of continuing a career in hacking.
The player combats Diego, who had been transformed into a powerful cyborg by SHODAN, and was being used to guard the life pods. After defeating Diego, the player attempts to escape the station with a life pod. However, SHODAN prevents the pod from launching, attempting to force the player to remain on the station while its bridge, on which SHODAN resides, jettisons.<ref>'''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.</ref> Rebecca contacts the hacker, telling him that he can still survive if he reaches the bridge, but SHODAN intercepts the transmission, and attempts to prevent the player from receiving any more.<ref>'''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.</ref> The player escapes to the bridge before it jettisons, leaving the rest of the station to detonate. Following this, the player is contacted by a technician, who managed to circumvent SHODAN's jamming signal. The technician informs the player that the only way to defeat SHODAN is in cyberspace, due to the computers possessing shielding powerful enough to withstand all but the bridge's entire destruction.<ref>'''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.</ref> Using a terminal near SHODAN's mainframe, the player enters cyberspace and destroys SHODAN. After being rescued from the station, the hacker is offered a job at TriOptimum, but declines the offer in favor of continuing a career in hacking.
{{endspoiler}}
{{tld|endspoiler}}


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==

Revision as of 02:41, 24 September 2010

For the Doctor Who novel, see System Shock (Doctor Who).
System Shock
[[Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg<|250px|Systems Shock re-release cover art]]
Developer(s)Looking Glass Studios
Publisher(s)Origin Systems, Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Doug Church
EngineEnhanced Ultima Underworld engine
Platform(s)DOS, Macintosh
ReleaseMarch 26, 1994[1]
Genre(s)First-person
Mode(s)Single player

System Shock is a first-person computer game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released on March 26, 1994,[1] the game is set in a cyberpunk envisioning of 2072, aboard the fictional Citadel Station. 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] The game received critical praise,[3][4] later being hailed as a major innovator in its genre,[5] and placing on multiple hall of fame lists.[5][6][7] Despite its technological feats and critical praise, System Shock was outsold by its contemporaries.[5] A sequel, System Shock 2, was released by Looking Glass Studios and off-shoot developer Irrational Games in 1999.[8]

Plot

{{spoiler}} Before the game's beginning, 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 make the deal more enticing, the hacker is promised a valuable military grade neural implant.[9]

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.[10] Following the operation, the hacker is put into a six-month long controlled healing coma. The game begins as the protagonist awakens from his coma, finding that the station has been taken over by an insane SHODAN; all robots aboard have been reprogrammed for hostility, and the crew have been either transformed into cyborgs and mutants or killed.

The playable character is contacted by Rebecca Lansing, a TriOptimum counter-terrorism consultant, who claims that Citadel Station's mining laser is being charged for a strike against Earth. Rebecca informs the hacker that a certain crew member should know how to deactivate the laser, with the promise that, if he defeats SHODAN, the record of his dealings with Diego will be cleared.[11] SHODAN plans to use the laser to destroy all major cities on Earth, with the goal of becoming a kind of god.[12] Through information gained from log discs, the player discovers, and employs, the method of destroying the mining laser by firing it into Citadel Station's own shields. Foiled in its first attempt, SHODAN begins preparations to use a mutagen virus, responsible for turning the station's crew into mutants, against Earth.[13] The player once again defeats the AI, this time by jettisoning the chambers used to cultivate the virus.

In retaliation to these two defeats, SHODAN begins to download itself into earth's computer networks.[14] Following Rebecca's advice, the player destroys the four antennae being used by SHODAN in this effort, preventing the AI from fulfilling its scheme.[15] Soon after, Rebecca contacts the player, saying that she has convinced TriOptimum to authorize the station's destruction, and giving details on how to do so.[16] After following her instructions and obtaining the necessary codes, the player begins the station's self-destruction sequence, and makes an escape to the life pods.

The player combats Diego, who had been transformed into a powerful cyborg by SHODAN, and was being used to guard the life pods. After defeating Diego, the player attempts to escape the station with a life pod. However, SHODAN prevents the pod from launching, attempting to force the player to remain on the station while its bridge, on which SHODAN resides, jettisons.[17] Rebecca contacts the hacker, telling him that he can still survive if he reaches the bridge, but SHODAN intercepts the transmission, and attempts to prevent the player from receiving any more.[18] The player escapes to the bridge before it jettisons, leaving the rest of the station to detonate. Following this, the player is contacted by a technician, who managed to circumvent SHODAN's jamming signal. The technician informs the player that the only way to defeat SHODAN is in cyberspace, due to the computers possessing shielding powerful enough to withstand all but the bridge's entire destruction.[19] Using a terminal near SHODAN's mainframe, the player enters cyberspace and destroys SHODAN. After being rescued from the station, the hacker is offered a job at TriOptimum, but declines the offer in favor of continuing a career in hacking. {{endspoiler}}

Gameplay

[[Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg -->|thumb|240px|An image from the game, in which the inventory, navigation, and mapping systems are visible.]] System Shock features an interface similar to that of Ultima Underworld,[3][20] with a free moving mouse cursor for aiming, manipulating objects, and using the heads-up display.[20][21] This interface is also used for leaning left or right, looking up and down, crouching and crawling. An inventory on the heads-up display is used for storing and employing items and weapons.[21]

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.[21]

Throughout System Shock, players find attachable hardware for the player character's neural implant, including targeting systems, energy shields and head-mounted lanterns.[21] One piece of hardware plays log discs and e-mails, which provide the player with hints, in addition to advancing the story. Increasingly advanced versions of hardware are found as the game continues. While active, hardware gradually drains energy from a main reserve, necessitating economization.[21]

[[Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg<|thumb|240px|left|An image from the game, depicting Cyberspace.]]

Using specific terminals in the game, the player may temporarily enter Cyberspace.[21] 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 generate events in the game's physical world; certain locked doors may only be opened from Cyberspace.[21]

The game features sixteen weapons, of which the player can carry a maximum of eight at once. Projectile weapons often have multiple ammunition types, which the player can select between; certain ammunition types are more powerful than others.[21] 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.[21] Several types of explosives may also be found, ranging from percussion grenades to landmines and time bombs.[21]

Attacks made with weapons and types of ammunition have set statistics, and certain enemies are immune to certain damage types.[22] 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.[22] If an enemy is hit by an attack to which it is not immune, the damage is modified by factors including armor absorption, vulnerabilities, critical hits, and a random factor.[22] These effects are presented in the game as messages like "Normal damage", displayed near attacked enemies when certain hardware is active.[22][21]

Development

System Shock was conceived after Looking Glass Technologies had finished Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, the team deciding 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".[23] The design team attempted to make the game as realistic as possible, with the engine made to allow inclined surfaces, looking up and down, and leaning. While revolutionary, this proved straining for contemporary computers.[23][24][2]

Looking Glass Technologies incorporated an advanced physics system, using an invisible 3D model to govern the player character's physics in real-time. Lead designer Doug Church stated that this system's effects included "the head tilt[ing] forward when you start to run, and jerk[ing] back a bit when you stop", and "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 players to climb walls.[23]

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".[23] A focus was put on developing the game's story, as Looking Glass Technologies believed that, to achieve their desired atmosphere, "things have to look real ... [and] feel real". Similarly, the game's log and email 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".[23] As no non-player characters appeared in System Shock, log discs and e-mails were used to convey the game's plot. 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]".[24]

System Shock was released on floppy disc for DOS in March 1994, with no speech and support for only one display resolution, 320x240. An enhanced CD-ROM version was released in November 1994,[25] with full speech for logs and emails, in addition to multiple display resolutions up to 640x480, and more detailed graphics. The CD-ROM version is often cited as the superior of the two.[5] The game was also released for the Apple Macintosh.[26] In an interview with GameSpy, System Shock producer Warren Spector stated, "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..."[27]

Reception

System Shock sold 170,000 copies,[28] being outsold by its contemporaries.[5][2] GameSpy compared the game's commercial performance to that of Vincent van Gogh, saying that "the best computer game of 1994 ... came and went whilst everyone was busy killing each other in Doom II".[5] Despite its sales, the game was well-received critically; 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]".[25] Similarly, GameBytes found the game to be a "technical marvel", but noted that the technical achievements had a cost in performance.[20]

Computer Gaming World awarded the game 4½ stars out of 5, praising its scale, physics system and true 3D environments, while calling the presentation of cyberspace "nothing short of phenomenal". The magazine negatively criticized the game for having "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.[29]

Legacy

System Shock has been named a major innovator in the first-person genre. In a Gamasutra feature, Patrick Redding of Ubisoft said "the fact that so many of [System Shock's] features are now virtually de rigor in modern sci-fi shooters is a testament to the influence exerted by this one game".[30] Similarly, GameSpy has stated 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'".[5] Eurogamer has called the System Shock series "the benchmark for intelligent first-person gaming", saying that "[it] kick-start[ed] the revolution which ... has influenced the design of countless other games".[31]

Certain game developers have expressed System Shock's influence on their products. Warren Spector stated that, with Deus Ex, he wanted to "build on the foundation laid by the Looking Glass guys in games like ... System Shock".[32] 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".[33]

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.[6][5][7] A sequel to System Shock, entitled System Shock 2, was released in 1999.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "System Shock at IGN". IGN. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh (July 5, 2006). "Culture: Five that Fell". Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c (December 1994) Paul C. Schuytema, Computer Gaming World issue 125, pg. 250, 252, 254
  4. ^ a b PC Gamer, March 1995
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Turner, Benjamin. "GameSpy.com - Hall of Fame: System Shock". GameSpy. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
  6. ^ a b PC Gamer May 1997 issue
  7. ^ a b Computer Gaming World November 1996 issue
  8. ^ a b "System Shock 2 at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ SHODAN: True to his word, Edward Diego allows the hacker to be fitted with a neural cyberspace interface.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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, pustulant mutations. When the station reaches Earth, I shall loose the virus. Poor, poor Earthlings.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ a b c Bauer, Doug (1994). "System Shock review". GameBytes. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k System Shock Terminal Access manual
  22. ^ a b c d System Shock I.C.E. Breaker hintbook
  23. ^ a b c d e Starr, Daniel (1994). "An interview with Looking Glass Technologies". Gamebytes. Retrieved January 26, 2006.
  24. ^ a b Shahrani, Sam. "Educational Feature: A History and Analysis of Level Design in 3D Computer Games (Part 2)". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  25. ^ a b Vakil, Stephen (1995). "Games Domain System Shock review". Games Domain. Archived from the original on December 21, 1996. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  26. ^ "System Shock for Macintosh at IGN". Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  27. ^ Keefer, John (May 2000). "20 Questions with Warren Spector". GameSpy. Retrieved January 26, 2006.
  28. ^ "System Shock 2 review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  29. ^ Next Generation Magazine issue 2, pg. 95
  30. ^ "The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: First-Person Shooters". Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  31. ^ Fahey, Rob (February 2, 2007). "Eye On '07: Xbox 360". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  32. ^ "Warren Spector of Ion Storm (Part Two)". Eurogamer. August 4, 2000. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  33. ^ Drake, Shannon (March 16, 2007). "Inside The Looking Glass: The Escapist Talks With Ken Levine". The Escapist. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
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