User blog comment:Willbachbakal/Singleplayer Enemies: Security Bot/@comment-99366-20100815152132

Although the new Bioshock Infinite seems to make this a moot discussion, I'd want something like this:

In order to form a "bond" with the bot, you need to be able to control and upgrade it.

For controlling, I'd like to be able to say press down L3 and R3 at the same time to command it to come over. Then it would hover in front of you and present some kind of control panel - say three knobs with three settings each. So, for example, you want to hack a turret and you don't want the bot to attack it, you set it to "Stay" instead of "Attack" or "Protect".

I guess a U-Invent works, I was thinking using cash to pay for upgrades kind of like a bot version of a Gatherer's Garden/Gene Bank. Upgrades could be like the player's upgrades - various attributes of the bot can be changed like the player changes gene tonics. So, increase armor or resistance to electrical attack. Maybe one bot gets firepower increases and is generally set to "Attack" mode, while the other is armored and set to "PRotect" or "cover" most of the time.

Once you've updgraded, you've sunk some money into them, it would suck to just have them destroyed. Maybe you can buy back an upgraded bot at a bot station for cash equal to the costs of upgrade. Scattered around would be "Security Bot Coupons" worth a few hundred dollars or 50% off the cost. That way, you can get them back without starting from scratch, but still have to shell out money.

I just wish they weren't so stupid - I'm trying to hack something by freezing it, and they attack and destroy it. Yeah, I should shut them off first, but still ...