System Shock 1, Hospital, by jg.

This is the first level in System Shock I, the hospital level on Citadel space station, controlled by an AI with a god complex. It was an absolutely stunning title when it was released and I still consider it one of the best games of all time on any platform. I used to have vivid dreams about being there, on the station, sneaking my way along the sloping corridors and strobing lights with all the tension building up and no one else seemingly around…except the cold, powerful being of bits encompassing the station’s systems and seeking to destroy you and all humankind.

While being technically impressive at the time (dynamic lighting, complex vertical levels, possible to move and throw items in the world, to look freely in all directions and lean/stand/crouch/prone etc.), the most important thing is the great atmosphere in the game. The CD-ROM version has excellent voices and SVGA graphics so if you intend to try this game out, avoid the floppy version.

I have so many memories of this game, but the 3D scenes I remember and the feeling of ‘going that-away’ is a bit hard to convey here (the levels are fairly complex and memorable visual cues often not related to map geometry). Here I just quickly did a little sketch of the first few areas and placed some items I think were thereabouts. I’d really like to see more of this by someone else.