Bioforge + System Shock = ?

When we told you the 'flight' advertisements (here) were the last Origin scans from Alkarion, we lied. He was dedicated enough to provide scans for three Origin games that aren't directly related to Wing Commander's development: Shadow Caster, System Shock and Bioforge.

Shadow Caster was another one of Richard Garriott's attempts to support developing games in unique directions distinct from Origin's 'standard' Wing Commander and Ultima releases. Unfortunately, it wasn't the breakout hit that some believe it deserved to be. The game featured an at-the-time unheared of first person interface and the still fairly unique feature of being able to morph into different types of animals.

System Shock was a very early (and very complex) first person shooter/RPG. It was eventually followed by Looking Glass' System Shock 2, and rumors of a third game in the series being in development persist to this day. The CD version of System Shock included an amazing Wing Commander mini-game, "Wing 0". You can read all about it here.

Bioforge was the second title released under Origin's 1994 "interactive movie" brand. Unlike Ultima VIII, the title was more than just an attempt to cash in on Wing Commander III's success: Bioforge was a uniquely cinematic adventure game with a healthy mix of action thrown in. Does it have anything to do with Wing Commander? Well, it shares a 3D space shuttle with the introduction to Super Wing Commander!