If there's one thing that video games have told us about the future, it's that things are going to be bleak. Things like technology and artificial intelligence will only hasten humanity's downfall into a hellish dystopia, and the way to make the best of the situation is to grab a gun, team up with some fellow bad-asses, and go to town.

And so it is with Brink, an upcoming team-based first-person shooter under development by Splash Damage and due to be published by Bethesda in spring 2010. In a presentation during E3, I got to see how Brink will bring new elements to team-based shooters by introducing customizable characters and weapons and RPG elements. After the presentation, I caught a few minutes with Richard 'Rahdo' Ham, creative director at Splash Damage.

Ham explained how Splash Damage aims to blur the line between single-player and multi-player experiences. You could start off playing the game at home, exploring the run-down island city The Ark by yourself, and then choose to continue the campaign online with friends at any time. Whether playing alone or on Xbox Live, the player chooses a class (such as a soldier or an engineer), which in turn changes the in-game objective. If you choose to be an engineer, for example, your objective might be to disable an alarm so your team can advance. You would earn experience for doing so, and your teammates would earn experience for helping you.

Brink goes a step further and allows you to change classes mid-game, giving the overall experience a much more fluid feel.

What seemed to be the most revolutionary part of Brink, however, is its proposed match-making system when playing over Xbox Live.

"It's our solemn promise that you will never hear the voice of someone who is not your friend," Ham said. Brink will closely monitor your playing style so that you are matched with people who will make a good team. Additionally, although details are still sketchy, Ham intimated that there would be voice-chat moderation in place to make sure players don't shout insults or slurs at each other.

Additionally, there will be a ranking system based on your level in-game, so players who are new to the game won't be overwhelmed by experienced players when going on-line. And those pesky players whose sole goal is to make life hell for other players (colloquially known as "griefers") will be dealth with as well. According to Ham, players can move through each other, so a griefer would not be able to stand in a doorway just to block his teammates from going through.

As great as all this sounds, I have to remain skeptical. I'm reminded of the old adage that says if you make something idiot-proof, they'll make a better idiot. Couldn't the same be said of griefers? Nonetheless, Brink looks to be bringing a lot of innovation to a genre that always needs more of it. Players will be able to put their griefing skills to the ultimate test when Brink comes out next spring.