[Snail]

Does it do that? Sweet.


Anyhow a <random wingman> option might be cool.

[NGTM-1R]

The one problem with this writeup is, well, glaringly obvious.

The Shivans basically have jack for what you regard as a worthily written antagonist in the canon, and this is arguably their greatest strength. They offer a great demonstration that in the end, you don't actually have to understand your opponent to stop him, and maybe you can't. They don't have to make sense. They don't have to do the smart thing over the dramatic thing. You don't have to tell the player anything, reveal to them anything. The Shivans simply are, and will always be. They remain as mysterious in defeat as they do in victory. In the end, we're not even sure we know what they want.

Do they have some sort of special exemption clause here? No, not at all. The mystery, the mythology, of a monster is as important or possibly more so than its story. That which you do not understand is far more frightening and hateful then that which you do.

[bigchunk1]

I agree, I like the Shivans as a mysterious adversary. It makes them more scary.

But this is a tool, like anything else used in writing/design, a device. Volition decided to make Shivans unexplained and it worked. Valve wanted to make G-Man a complicated character you learn more about as you go along and it worked. Should adversaries be mysterious or should they be in the player's face in all their evil horrific glory? Are they even seen as adversaries by the player? The answer to these questions depend on implementation and the opportunities your fiction provides.

Nuclear's posts are great, but I take them as more thought exercises than hard rules. They address many of the topics developers, particularly freespace modders struggle with in their work, and invite critical consideration of those topics. It's a good read for anyone who is thinking of releasing a mod. 

[Nuclear1]

I was originally going to write a response saying how I never intended this write-up to address the Shivans, but then I re-read it and saw I included them.  Good call, NGTM-1R.  Edited.