Code Sharing by peganthyrus [DA, via Offworld]

Levine on System Shock 3: “Would I turn my nose up at another round with Shodan? No” [VG247] [Image]

Writer Austin Grossman has lent his talents to over a dozen games, including System Shock, Deus Ex and Tomb Raider: Legend. He's recently published his first novel Soon I Will Be Invincible — a humorously bittersweet look at the emotional goings-on of comic book characters. Hollywood is calling, and there's already talk of a film adaptation. But what does Grossman think of game writing?

Video games have their own emotional vocabulary, their own language. Maybe they just don't do character.

Dare to Suck [Wired via Alice]

Need there be any further proof that EA should be immolated and salt spread on the charred earth where once its corporate empire lay than this statement from Irrational's Ken Levine?

For some reason, people think I know more about this than I do. We barely had any contact with EA during Shock 2. They weren't interested in that game. They weren't interested in a sequel. As a gamer, I'd love to see a Shock 3. I just hope EA believes in it more than they did Shock 2.

I think I speak for gamers who have had hot, sexy Gibsonian dreams about Shodan everywhere when I say: EA, you idiots. You only pissed away two of the greatest games ever, not to mention an amazing franchise and gaming's greatest villain. Florian Eckhardt

Ken Levine Talks System Shock 2 [1UP]

And there's cussing! Designer Ken Levine gets catty as he explains why there is no sequel to System Shock 2, saying that "EA just didn't give a shit about that game." OMG, he just said shit!

The PC game System Shock 2 was planned for the Dreamcast, but cancelled. Levine says EA "didn't see it as a big brand." Publisher 2K Games did, which is why Levine brought signed with him to release his upcoming BioShock for the PC and Xbox 360. 2K Games, they give a shit. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Eurogamer]

When I posted about Part One of Evil Avatar's interview with Randy Smith, some were kind enough to take time out of combing bear grease into their Van Dycks to write a highly substantial number of words pointing out the fact that I seemed to have completely misread the interview.

Hey, sorry about that! Apologies to everyone who was disappointed that, in reality, Randy Smith didn't actually admit DX:IW and Thief 3 sucked. Wistful thinking got the better of me. My bad. Won't happen again.

On that note, Evil Avatar has posted up the second part of their interview with Randy Smith. This time, topics covered include why Randy thinks System Shock is the worst game he's ever been involved with, the unbearable psychological torment of being scythed asunder at the age of twenty-five from his Siamese birthmate and Ion Storm colleague Harvey Smith, Warren Spector's coke habit and some shocking revelations about the true identity of Garrett ("He's a robot.") Florian Eckhardt

[Interview] Randy Smith - Thief Series - Part 2 [Evil Avatar]

There is a rumor floating around, supposedly to be found in Game Informer magazine's latest 'Loose Talk' column, that System Shock 3 is in the works by EA.

But Irrational isn't the company working on it. Instead, the team that put together the execrable Godfather game has been put in charge of the project.

Wasn't that rapid succession of exquisite joy followed by unbearable torment fun? It's like having a nail gun shot into your spine at the moment of orgasm. Florian Eckhardt

BioShock: We dive into the action for a taste of underwater adventure [Games Radar]