Volitions Advocate on 1/1/2008 at 19:05
Hey guys.
I've got a bit of a loaded question here. And I dont want to seem like i'm picking on the fanboys here. (not that we're not all fanboys of varying degrees) but i've got a serious question about everyones views of the sci-fi/horror/adventure gaming ..genre.
I'm part of a mod team for the Source engine for a game heavily inspired by System Shock. Now when I say that I'm not going into "spiritual successor" territory.
I love System Shock and I know we all do. Its kind of the mecca for people who want some substance to their games (i just bought Blacksite: Area 51 and i'm regretting it)
In the game play department our team is focusing on the adventure/rpg elements rather heavily and we want to make an experience that shock fans will be familar with and love (let me clarify though, we're not making this mod solely for shock fans)
We're going to incorporate all the oldie goldies like upgradable weapons and rpg style stats for your character and engrossing audio logs (with proper acting and good writing) But its not an SS clone.
I suppose if I had a question it would be something like this:
if you played a game like this would you take it for what Its worth or would you just mercilessly throw it against the adamantium monolith of system shock? Does my question make sense?
There will be no Shodan Lookalike, or andrew ryan, or the many. We're not just going to reskin ss, we've got an original story and working on a delightfully convoluted concept thats sure to keep people guessing as to what the heck is really going on.
Would you play it? and if it were really good would you say so or just complain about it because its not system shock?
Like I said loaded question. maybe it makes me sound like an ass.
I'm hoping we can get something really substantial to show people in the coming 6 months or so. lots of media and screenshots and the like. And maybe it will get some gamers to want more games of this kind instead of the mindless shooters that are all over the place (re: Blacksite, what a waste of money). Well maybe a substantial group of half life players will enjoy it.
Also we're looking for talented people. We're all learning as we go, so we wouldn't expect anybody to be a PhD, if anything I've said has piqued your interest then dont hesitate to PM me.
At the moment we dont have any full time modellers or animators, but we are looking for everybody.
Discuss.
And above all give me feedback. Thats one advantage to being part of the community and making a mod than trying to ship a product thats dictated to you by your publisher.
Trance on 1/1/2008 at 20:40
Me loving Shock doesn't make other games instantly suck. Sure, a lot of them do, but I play games through at least once before comparison. So yeah, I'd play it. Go for it, man.
If you ever need a Redshirt for some gruesome death log, I can do a pretty convincing "I've just had my lower half bitten off" scream.
catbarf on 1/1/2008 at 20:42
I know exactly what you're asking. I, personally, would take a game on its own merits, but weigh it overall next to similar games. In other words, I wouldn't say 'The x in this is worse than the y in SS' but rather 'Overall, this is just as good as SS'.
DaBeast on 2/1/2008 at 00:36
Get out.
By that I mean hurry up and finish it. There a so very few fps/rpg hybrids and even fewer that are any good. If you make something that doesnt make me want to pull the skin off my face then it should be at least playable.
Volitions Advocate on 2/1/2008 at 02:37
well we're trying to announce ourselves and get our website up (it is up but its secret right now) we're just all recovering from the month of december so we're a little scatterbrained at the moment, but normal life will be reinstating itself so hopefully there'll be something substantial to show off soon.
Oceanstorm on 2/1/2008 at 02:56
I always play at least the first level on a game to see if it's something I'll enjoy. Especially if it's scifi or fantasy. System Shock 1 & 2 are awesome games but they aren't the be-all & end-all of gaming.
As has been said, hurry up & finish so we can have a look.:)
icemann on 2/1/2008 at 03:59
To the original question ofcourse we would play it. And we would judge it on its own merits.
Volitions Advocate on 2/1/2008 at 04:06
Quote Posted by Oceanstorm
I always play at least the first level on a game to see if it's something I'll enjoy. Especially if it's scifi or fantasy. System Shock 1 & 2 are awesome games but they aren't the be-all & end-all of gaming.
As has been said, hurry up & finish so we can have a look.:)
I guess this is the response I was hoping for. Makes me feel better. I'll keep everyone updated. I dont think anyone else on the team is a regular here.
EvaUnit02 on 2/1/2008 at 04:16
Quote Posted by icemann
To the original question ofcourse we would play it. And we would judge it on its own merits.
QFT. But make it less like Bioshock and more like SS2 (or more like Morrowind rather than Oblivion). As I'm sure that you're aware that BS was significantly dumbed for console gamers. There's no need to pander to make everything "streamlined".
For example I want penalties. Eg I don't want hacking nor respawn chambers that have don't cost anything. I want don't respawn chambers every 5 metres, one or two per level/section is enough.
Sorry if I came across as rude, it wasn't intentional.
demagogue on 2/1/2008 at 04:23
A legit fan-made project should be under a different standard than a big commercial project.
While I think it's fair ground to hold a commercial game claiming to be SS2-inspired that to the high bar that SS2 set, for this kind of fan-project ... you guys are doing this in your free time, not for profit, everybody understands the hurdles you guys are jumping, so will be a lot more open minded going in. And more importantly, the whole spirit is different; you are doing this out of the love of the game, you don't have to further try to convince us you really care about the project and its SS2-inspired roots. The fact you're doing this huge project (if you take it seriously and to completion) speaks for itself. It will be appreciated for what it is and judged at that level. So I think that gives you the benefit of players going in with a kind of open-mindedness and honeymoon spirit that a commercial game making the same claim wouldn't get. Take advantage of it.
