Introversion opens up on Subversion

By Oli Welsh Published 24 February, 2010

Infiltration game with roots in Uplink.

Introversion's Chris Delay has detailed the indie developer's next game Subversion on the company forums, revealing it to be a game of infiltration and espionage in which the player commands a team of operatives moving through a hostile high security building.

You'll use a wide variety of techniques to get past the building's people and systems - "Sabotage, Social Engineering and Grifting, custom Electrical and Mechanical devices, Distractions, Hacking, Stealth, Acrobatics, Precision demolitions, Trickery" - either employed by your team, or by you remotely via computer hacking. Combat options will be available but, ideally, the enemy will never know you were there.

"The combination of your guys physically on site using their own special skills and equipment, mixed with you taking control of building systems via computer hacking, opening locked doors, disabling cameras, exploiting weaknesses in security systems, is something of a holy grail of game design for us," Delay said.

Delay demonstrated a mission at Introversions' Darwinia+ launch party last week, showing how the office layout - displayed in crisp, minimal "3D blueprint" style - is gradually revealed by two agents using gadgets like wall scanners and motion trackers and other recon tactics. Eventually, Delay was able to hack into the CCTV network and hugely expand his view.

Delay said Subversion could be considered a "spiritual sequel" to Introversion's debut game, the hacker simulation Uplink, and said the look of the game was defined thus: "what would Uplink look like if it was set in real building rather than inside a computer?"

Don't expect to see it soon, though. "Internally, we still haven't hit what we'd consider a 'first playable', and we're certainly not in full production," Delay said. "We are still experimenting and prototyping, but things are coming together rapidly now." He didn't mention a date or platforms, although PC is a given.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 2 years ago

    Do want.

    Also, make an Uplink 2. Even if this is the "spiritual successor", the original was amazing.

  • Paperghost #2 2 years ago

    Big fan of the first game. Sure, most hacking games (and subgames for that matter) boil down to watching timers tick down or moving shapes about, but Uplink genuinely felt closer to the real thing than many other hacking sims out there.

    Some of the mods out there are fantastic too. Will keep an eye out for this.

    / obligatory hack the planet comment, also something about a Gibson

  • Harmonica #3 2 years ago

    Can imagine how fun this could be, although I hope it's more like Uplink in having a relatively open type world where you can target whatever buildings you want - not Darwina's fixed series of missions which end up being somewhat short (as good as it was/is).

    From the original screenshots I was expecting some kind of Syndicate-esque game where you control a team of agents, glad not to be too far off the mark.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 10:25

  • Sunyavadin #4 2 years ago

    As I've said for the last few years, can't wait for this game.

    Glad to see it's looking like Darwinia+ paying off now it's behind them.

  • Jackface #5 2 years ago

    I really hope they have the time to pull this off. I got the impression there was a financial sword hanging over their head.

  • Jackface #6 2 years ago

    I really hope they have the time to pull this off. I got the impression there was a financial sword hanging over their head.

  • Eraser #7 2 years ago

    7 posts and no source control jokes yet!

  • chicknstu #8 2 years ago

    It's also the name of some rather nifty source control software.

    @Eraser - Woah!
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 11:02

  • asphaltcowboy #9 2 years ago

    Sounds amazing!

  • wellzy4eva #10 2 years ago

    Uplink game engine with a stronger underlining story would interest me strongly.

    Personally though, I wish they'd work in partnership with someone else to combine an uplink engine with something like Splinter Cell, proper infiltration and hacking.

  • Shrike #11 2 years ago

    Yes, please.

    Now I want to play Uplink again. Hm.

  • el_pollo_diablo #12 2 years ago

    an iPhone version of Uplink based around phreaking would be amazing. As would iphone Defcon, obviously.
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 12:22

  • wellzy4eva #13 2 years ago

    ooh iphone defcon +1 (Or web browser/facebook game)

  • robg #14 2 years ago

    What source control software will they use while developing this game?

    edit: and now I read the other comments
    Edited by 1 at 24/02/10 @ 12:56

  • rprince #15 2 years ago

    The demo of Subversion just reminded me of some of the early levels of Metal Gear Solid. Just with less guns...

    I wager the pacmen will stay. They claim they're placeholders now, but just like Darwinians, I bet there still there at launch!

  • Fitzmogwai #16 2 years ago

    Chinese acrobats, I hope. Hidden in laundry bags.

    I'm looking forward to this so much that I'm going to reinstall uplink.

  • Royal Fool #17 2 years ago

    Oh man, this sounds exciting. I've often thought of a game like this.

  • AOFanboi #18 2 years ago

    <em>What source control software will they use while developing this game?</em>

    Git, probably.

    :B

  • sunjumper #19 2 years ago

    Come to think of it this sounds suspiciously like a new (proper) Shadowrun game.

    Or Neuromancer for that matter, which if memory serves was mentioned as source of inspiration.

  • ph101 #20 2 years ago

    Been waitng for a long time for an update on this. Looks like it could be pretty cool...