BioShock, the spiritual successor to System Shock 2 is nearly here (or it is already, should you be lucky enough to live near certain American Toys ‘R’ Us stores already breaking the games’ US street date!).

BioShock lives up to its hype as an almost perfect example of "emergent gameplay" – with the game's developer Ken Levine explaining the notion to a recent interviewer in the following terms:

"The problem when you build emergent spaces is that the amount of testing and rebuilding is much higher, because areas have to be applicable to a lot of different scenarios. If you look at a game like Half-Life 2 or Call of Duty, their developers can really custom-build scripted areas with no fear that gameplay is going to trickle out of that area. Their AI entities are tethered to specific areas and situations; in a game like BioShock, AIs will wander around and follow you around."

Levine goes on to draw some interesting comparisons between games and Hollywood, noting that, "If you look at even the least participatory art forms there's the notion of vicariousness. When you see Goodfellas, you sort of walk out feeling like you're in that world. You watch a romance, and if it works, you feel that kind of giddiness you feel in a real romantic situation. And videogames just take that further, because you have more participation."

Today’s Guardian looks at the moral dilemmas that such emergent game play throws up, bizarrely (and somewhat predictably) citing the Grand Theft Auto series and the execrable Postal games as examples of open-ended games that have deeply offended the moral minority.

BioShock's Ken Levine wisely opines that, "There are certain topics that are so repulsive that they only belong in works of art designed solely to repulse."

He qualifies this by adding, "That's not to say videogame developers don't have a responsibility to make a game that deals with moral issues very seriously… The exploitation of children is a major theme in our game - we give the player the choice as to whether they participate in that exploitation, or they go the other way, and try to save those creatures who might still be children. It's appropriately compelling and disturbing.”

Levine also comments that he doesn’t “Want to be put in a ghetto in regards to what I can do with my games, while other entertainment media can do what they want", a statement which is particularly pertinent in light of the BBFC’s recent Manhunt 2 ban (reported June 19th) and Rockstar’s subsequent (and ongoing) appeal against that decision (reported August 1st).