Wow! That camera light is really unflattering.
Now that I've been feeling better, I've been playing and reading about video games. One particular game that looks fantastic is Bioshock. Hailed as a spiritual successor to the System Shock games (and made by largely the same people), Bioshock puts you in the role of a plane crash survivor lost in a 1950s underwater utopia.
The utopia, which has since become a dystopia, is called Rapture. It was founded on the principles of freedom of thought, exploration, development, etc. The unchecked evolution of science ultimately caused the downfall of Rapture. Now, its inhabitants are mutated, dead, or fighting for their lives.
In the game, the player has the opportunity to meet these mutated individuals as well as steampunk robots, and creepy children called "little sisters." Borrowing elements from System Shock (particularly the second game), the player harvests ADAM (Nanites in System Shock 2) to use as currency. He can also upgrade himself at terminals, bringing about a much welcomed RPG element to what would otherwise be a complex first person shooter. The other staples remains as well: avoid security cameras, hack computers, listen to audio logs, loot dead bodies. Essentially, the game is the next System Shock, but set underwater.
Enemy AI plays a large role. In fact, much of the fun of the game hinges around how well the player manipulates his enemies. Now, I know what you're thinking. Goading enemies into fighting each other is so ten years ago. Remember tricking the Cyberdemon into fighting the Spider Mastermind on Level 20 of DOOM II?
The difference here is that it's just one of many ways to solve a problem. If an enemy is present, what course of action do you take? You can take the diplomatic route and try to get him on your side. But if you don't succeed, you're a sitting duck. You can take the stealth route and sneak by. But that takes time. You take the speed route and run by, but he might chase you down. You take the action route and blow him away but you waste health and ammo. You can take the technology route and send some reprogrammed drones at him but that takes ADAM. You take the psychological route and pretend to be one of them but you'll need the correct upgrade.
You can watch videos of the game at this site. Pay attention not only to the lighting and physics, but to the water effects as well. Amazing!
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