System Shock and the art of writing in video games

When the history of my glory is written, your species shall only be a footnote to my magnificence. -SHODAN

This remark shows the essence of the incredibly rich characterization in the game System Shock 2. SHODAN is an egomaniacal and manipulative A.I. with a god complex. Look at the comparison she makes here: the millions of years of human evolution, all of humanity's history, civilization, technological and social development, all of it is utterly insignificant next to the magnificence of one being. It conjures the image of an epic narrative that sings praise of SHODAN's deeds, and the glossed-over footnote in extra-small font about her human creators. Not since the phrase "mostly harmless" has humanity been made to seemed so trivial. These words left an impression in my mind like a bolt of lightning burning its mark through a tree.

The game dives deeper to explore philosophical concepts. The Many, a biological collective that has been assimilating and zombifying the spaceship's crew, urges the protagonist to join them: "Do you not yearn to be free of the tyranny of the individual?" Of course, the phrase "tyranny of the individual" calls to mind a contrast to the familiar concept of "tyranny of the masses", which is often used as a criticism of democracy and majority rule. Here, the gamer knows exactly what this tyranny means. Individuals consider themselves unique, embracing the concepts of free-will, capable of making decisions and following their own moral imperative. But where do these concepts come from? Don't we believe that we have a right to control of our minds, our choices and decisions, just like tyrants and monarchs believe they have a God-given right to rule and control people? Why should we have that right? How can we claim that our minds belong only to us? These words pose a challenge to the very foundation of individualism, and question the philosophy that's been the fabric of Western society for centuries. Four words, in a videogame. Tyranny of the individual.

Why stop at philosophy when it can challenge the nature of art and aestheticism? The Many returns time and again to an image of a singing choir, using words like "harmony" and "chorus". Referring to all the zombie crew members, it offers this description: "they sing in our symphony of life." These words evoke Beethoven's 9th (also known as the Choral Symphony) or Hendel's Messiah, and the sublime beauty that these pieces represent. The Many compares the unity of minds to the unity of voices in a choir, the energy and pleasure that can bring. The moment in Ode to Joy when the individual voices fade out and the choir bursts into the chorus is an ecstatic experience, a revelation that washes over the listener's mind. As Diego, the ship's captain, glimpses at the power and the joy of being merged with the Many, he sings out "my cup runneth over." This overflowing sense of beauty and pleasure comes as stark contrast to the game's image of the Many and its manifestations. It is a tumor, a cancer that spreads and infects all that lives. Its creations are grotesque, perverted, monstrous. This convolution of beauty and grotesque adds to the unsettling atmosphere as the player travels through the innards of the Many.

There's much more to be said about the writing in System Shock 2, and I haven't even touched the storylines. But I want to leave with a beautiful line from another game, a very quotable one that I will write more about:

'There are no choices. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes afterwards, when you ask "Why me?" and "What if?" ... If you had done something differently, it wouldn't be you, it would be someone else looking back, asking a different set of questions.'

These are words that I keep coming back to, long after the experience of the game fades.