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The ORIGIN logo "We create worlds" is more true than people might imagine when it comes to the "We" part. Each and every game released under the ORIGIN brand name undergoes a special kind of creation process that starts with designers and programmers, but is contributed to by a department traditionally out of the spotlight - Product Support. ORIGIN's unique Product Support department, consisting of both Quality Assurance and Customer Service, contributes early in the life cycle of each and every title, has a decided impact on the final outcome of a game, and follows through to provide support to players once the game is finally released.

System Shock, due for release this Fall, is a simulation-story hybrid that fuses science fiction and cyberpunk action with real world hard-core physics. This game is being created in conjunction with LookingGlass Technologies, the makers of Ultima Underworld I and II, and has been in test for approximately 6 months. 

In System Shock, biological engineering and automation merge in a raging storm completely out of human control. As an indentured hacker, you, the player, awake from a healing coma on board the space station Citadel, only to find yourself in the twisted aftermath of a terrible mutiny. Your companions have been mutated beyond recognition to serve SHODAN, a ruthless computer which controls all station operations. 

With your new neural implant, you can "jack" into cyberspace (SHODAN's realm) to steal clues to solve the mystery. Creeping past armies of cyborgs and robots, you find hardware which grafts to your power suit and neural apparatus, including infrared goggles, homing cameras and an arsenal of weapons. Multi-function displays pump information to the screen, describing artifacts, warning of biohazards and radiation, analyzing targeted foes, and decrypting cyberspace messages. Shaking from adrenaline and information overload, you scarcely have time to think before SHODAN unleashes yet another terror.

At first, System Shock only had a few people on the Product Support team in Austin, Texas. As subsequent versions were passed along from programmers in Massachusetts at LookingGlass, the testing team expanded to add more people to play through new aspects and features of this game. ORIGIN's testers are hired based on their hardware and software knowledge and their computer gaming expertise. In fact, to be hired in Product Support, applicants must pass a grueling 5 page test designed to determine exactly what they know about computer hardware, peripherals and disk operating systems.

The testers for System Shock were able to begin contributing to the look and feel of the game very early. The primary responsibilities of a tester include play testing each version for gameplay, hardware and peripheral compatibility and identifying all of the key features which make a product unique. The testing team coordinates efforts with the programming team at LookingGlass to submit a huge amount of suggestions, most of which have been implemented. 

"We have written text files full of suggested changes and additions concerning the following areas: combat, cyberspace, and specific plot-related suggestions for each section of the game," says tester Al Moreno. "My favorite aspect of System Shock is the great freedom it gives you to do whatever you would like - physically. [You can] look up, spin around, crouch, fire, switch on force fields, lean around a corner and hurl an EMP grenade, jack into Cyberspace, run, walk, jump, search though logs clues, and the list goes on."

About three months into the testing cycle, ORIGIN wanted additional input on System Shock and held a focus group. A group of participants were chosen at random and were given the opportunity to play this game. This group had never before seen System Shock, although some were familiar with the concept of cyberspace and science-fiction action role-playing. They were able to give a new perspective to this productand make some suggestions for improvement, many of which have been implemented. Focus groups are now a regular part of the ORIGIN product cycle and are a great contribution. 

System Shock is currently in its final test cycle and should ship this fall. When it does, the Quality Assurance team will change jobs to assist your technical and hint support needs as members of Customer Service. They will answer your calls and write their own in-house support manuals to aide other representatives.

The System Shock cluebook, I.C.E. Breaker, should be ready less than a month after the game is released and can be ordered now through the Electronic Arts Sales Hotline at 800-245-4525. I.C.E. Breaker is the vital survival tool for sci-fi players and adept hackers. The cluebook is written with the assistance of game creators and play testers and is cleverly designed to allow you to choose between a critical or an extended quest walk-through. Here, you'll discover useful tips, plot-critical info, stats, maps, puzzle solutions, communications logs, e-mails and quest objectives. With this guide at your fingertips, you'll be able to outsmart SHODAN and end his cybernetic rule over Citadel station.

If you need hints or technical support, the easiest way to reach ORIGIN Customer Service is by e-mail to the addresses or public forums listed below. Calls to our voice lines are also accepted between the hours of 8AM and 12PM and 1PM and 5PM Monday through Friday. Faxes and letters can also be sent. 

For Online help:
America Online: screen name ORIGIN CS / keyword ORIGIN 
CompuServe: 76004,2612 / go GAMAPUB
GEnie: ORIGIN / Scorpia's Roundtable
ORIGIN Systems BBS: (512) 331-4446  Modem settings are 300-14400 baud, no parity, eight data bits, and one stop bit.
Internet: 76004.2612@CompuServe.com

For letters:
ORIGIN Systems
Attn: Product Support
12940 Research Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78750

For voice calls: (512) 335-0440
For FAX: (512) 331-8559

To order System Shock, I.C.E. Breaker or another ORIGIN product: EA Sales Hotline 1-800-245-4525

The distinctive ORIGIN logo and We Create Worlds are registered trademarks of ORIGIN Systems, Inc. System Shock is a trademark of ORIGIN Systems, Inc. Electronic Arts is a registered trademark of Electronic Arts.

SYSTEM SHOCK KEY FEATURES AND REQUIREMENTS
*See high-resolution, animated texture mapping in ten breathtaking levels of full-and multi-screen viewing. 

*Marvel at the first-person, 3-D, smooth-scrolling viewpoint as you lean around corners, jump, float in zero gravity, look up and down, climb ledges, crawl through shafts and fly with rocket boots.

*Experience the most sophisticated physics system in a computer game, complete with variable gravity, recoil effects, explosions, and moveable objects.

*Listen to explosive sound in an all-new dynamically layered music system featuring composition by Tribe musician Greg LoPiccolo.

*Experience realistic lighting effects: pools of light, regions of shadow, flickering lights and flashes. *Careen through the labyrinths of cyberspace, the computer's realm, as you steal information, hack systems and combat cyber-creatures.

*System Shock is an Action and Fantasy Role Playing game that requires the following for optimal performance: Intel486 or 100% compatible system; VGA graphics, 4 megs RAM; 32 megs hard drive space; Sound Blaster or 100% compatible (for Digitized Speech and Sound Effects); Ad Lib, General MIDI MPU-401, Sound Blaster, Gravis Ultrasound or 100% compatible (for Music).
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