There are a couple of
System Shock tidbits we missed in the
Fast Company interview with Night Dive Studios we
mentioned
earlier this week, as the developer discusses plans to remake the action/RPG
from the ground up, following up on their
recently released
Enhanced Edition (thanks
All Games Beta). And perhaps of greater interest, it turns out that Night
Dive now owns the rights to the series, and it's not out of the question that
they will eventually turn their attention to creating
System Shock 3.
This excerpt conveniently covers both topics:
One example: Night Dive is
developing a full remake of the original System Shock, going well beyond the
basic rerelease that launched a couple months ago. Night Dive has acquired the
full rights to the franchise, and Kick says he’s been working with Robert
Waters, the game's original concept artist, to reimagine his designs from the
early 1990s.
"Seeing the difference between his artistic abilities back then compared to now,
and his ablity to reinterpret those ideas, it's just been really exciting for
us," Kick says.
Part of the plan for this remake also includes a console version, which would be
a first for Night Dive. Kuperman believes much of the company's future growth
will come from creating console adaptations for more PC games, along with some
ports for mobile devices.
We may even see a System Shock 3 someday, though Night Dive would need a larger
publisher to take on the task. Kuperman says the company is "having some
conversations" on this front. "To really do another game in that series is going
to take resources and time and commitment that we don't have, and it's really
not our core business," Kuperman says. (Until now, 2K Games’ Bioshock series has
stood in as a spiritual successor.)