System Shock 2’s Most Disturbing Level Came From Inside Someone's Colon
Darryn Bonthuys
8/5/2025
Fleshy architecture has been a popular choice for developers looking to create uncomfortably squishy levels, but the original team behind System Shock 2--Looking Glass--might have taken things a little too far back in the '90s. According to System Shock 2 artist Nate Wells, the structures inhabited by the hostile aliens known as The Many had a surprising origin, as the art assets included photos of another developer's colonoscopy."When we were working on The Many, if you remember, it has this very biological vibe to it," Wells said to Nightdive's Locke Vincent in the studio's Deep Dive podcast (via PC Gamer). It's this fleshy mass that has taken over the Rickenbacker. We did these things called 'sphincter doors,' this sphincter that opens up. I was making the doors and doing the concept. I think I was searching through some gross biological [images], like endoscopy sort of stuff. [Looking Glass producer] Josh Randall approached me and said he had a video of his colonoscopy." Wells said that Randall gave him images from his colonoscopy video, and he used a frozen frame "from somewhere in his large intestine" to create a base texture for the sphincter doors in the game. "If you look at those doors, you're seeing Josh Randall's colon--audio genius Josh Randall's colon," Wells said.Continue Reading at GameSpot...
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