Warren Spector – producer of the System Shock series, the spiritual predecessor of the BioShock games – has revealed details of forthcoming System Shock sequel, the development for which he is overseeing at OtherSide Entertainment. Spector spoke to Polygon, which published two new images from the game, including one of series antagonist Shodan (above, the other of the Citadel, below), the malevolent artificial intelligence that wants to destroy humanity.
“Shodan is the heart and soul of System Shock games,” Spector said. “That’s the beauty of System Shock 3; nobody else has Shodan. She’ll be at the center of the game, but I also want to put her through some changes.”
“Arturo [Pulecio, Warhammer Online developer] has been working on our version of Shodan, which is going to be interesting and different from what people expect,” he added. “I expect it will infuriate some people but definitely get people talking.”
Spector told Polygon that System Shock 3 would pick up where the previous game left off, which *SPOILERS* saw Shodan take human form.
“In System Shock 3 I want to explore Shodan’s motivations,” Spector revealed. “In the first two games her plan was to destroy humanity because, with the removal of her ethical constraints by the hacker in the first game, she’s going insane. But we never explained why she wants to destroy humanity. So we’re going to be exploring the idea of a super intelligence and what would motivate a super intelligent AI.”
A release date for System Shock 3 is yet to be announced.
