On the surface--especially for anyone who remembers the fiasco that was Daikatana--the idea of John Romero making a new first person shooter is somewhere between deeply saddening and oddly hilarious. New reports direct from Romero himself suggest that's the case, however, and pose an exciting new idea.

The whole thing started with the discovery of a new company that was later found to be entirely fictional known as Hoxar Inc. The site is apparently related to the upcoming game, as noted by Romero himself, according to reports. Romero followed this up with a slate of hashtags, including PC and FPS. The Hoxar site describes an item called BLACKROOM, which it is "proud to present." BLACKROOM is said to be a kind of room-based holography that requires  no goggles to present. Also described as being "far beyond 'virtual' reality," the system represents a significant technological advance over anything currently known today. Also slated for introduction is something called "Predictive Memory Tech," a development that doesn't have much in the way of specifics attached, but it was apparently enough to draw interest from the military.

When it comes to plotlines like this, the general answer is that this doesn't usually end well. In fact, any time I've ever seen military technology get adapted for civilian use in fiction, the end result is that a lot of people end up dead. That's enough to catch my interest in grand style, and almost enough to make me no longer concerned about Daikatana. If Romero et al can make this work--particularly if this is an open world first person shooter--then my interest will pay off. Of course, if Romero drops the ball again, the comparisons to Daikatana will be instant. Having that particular daikatana of Damocles hanging over this project's collective head won't help matters, but if it can pull it off, it could put Daikatana to rest once and for all.

This should be a project to watch, and hopefully, it's one that can live up to the hopes. There's quite a bit riding on this one, and it may well help bury one failure for good.