Bioshock Infinite isn't just a challenging new start for Bioshock - in some respects, it's the Bioshock Irrational Games boss Ken Levine originally wanted to release back in 2007. According to Levine, his intentions as to the game's famous interiors were misinterpreted by level designers, who modelled their layouts on those of spiritual predecessor System Shock 2.
"The design of Bioshock, the sameness of it - the very tight corridor, one enemy, tight corridor?" Levine remarked in an interview. "There's actually a bit of a consequence of some of the level designers thinking System Shock 2 was designed that way on purpose. Actually, the way System Shock 2 was that way was because we couldn't do anything else.
Created by Levine's old outfit Look Glass Studios, System Shock and its sequel are exploratory survival shooters which incorporate role-playing customisation mechanics. They're both set aboard sealed space-based environments, and pit players against an all-seeing megalomaniac entity. The links to Bioshock should be reasonably obvious.
"On Bioshock, I kept wanting more verticality and more spaces that had more choices rather than just corridors," Levine admitted. "More tactical choices. I think it was really the case that people thought they were doing what I wanted, when actually it was really just an accident of technology."
"There's some very traditional Bioshock in there," he said, pointing to an area early in the game which sees player character Booker DeWitt touring the headquarters of a quasi-Masonic sect. "You go through that creepy club, it's very Bioshock. Then you go out and you see this huge skyline. That variety is really an essential part of the game.
Levine reckons you'll be flabbergasted by just how much the playable spaces vary. "I think that the verticality is a huge part, the openness and the space, but we also have a lot of traditional spaces. The variety is going to be a bit shocking to people, and the scale of it, in terms of these huge open spaces and the spaces where you look over your shoulder at every corner."
Infinite hits shelves on 26th March. I'm quite happy to fight Log, a past master of martial arts, for the privilege of reviewing it.
9 comments so far...
Decent_Jam on 4 Feb '13 said:
I'm so close to putting this game on my mental 'to buy' list, I'm not sure what it is holding me back. A month and a bit left for the game to wear me down.
This is an example of a situation where a demo could quite easily sway me.
CunningSmile on 5 Feb '13 said:
Not sure if a demo would work TBH. Ken Levine's games are all about the plot and I can't think how 20 minutes of demo would really showcase what is probably going to lift this from being good to great.
SidTheSloth on 5 Feb '13 said:
Y'know, i agree with both of you. I've got the same problem with the game so far, in that it all sounds promising, but nothing yet has convinced me that it's worth pressing buy for. I like the devs, i like levine so not sure what's stopping me?
I do wonder indeed how a demo could work for this though, they'd have to get it spot on as i think there'd be a strong potential for it to do more harm than good...? Maybe they could give you the opening hour of the game and you can just carry on with that save if you buy it? Might at least set the scene/tone to give the player some inclination?
With the whiny internet the way it is now though, would you release a demo?
CunningSmile on 5 Feb '13 said:
With the internet the way it is I probably wouldn't release a game, never mind a demo
ItchyRash on 5 Feb '13 said:
They could do so much more with a demo. I never really bother with them as I can't really get into a game and it's story and characters based on a small chunk the demo offers. I'm not one for cutting content from a game but I don't understand why more people don't use a demo as a prologue to the main game. Release it for free and use it to start the story and include some of the games basic functions. You don't even need to use the main games character. You've then introduced an audience to your title and what it offers and hopefully left them wanting to continue with the story. Perhaps this has already been done before and I've just missed it, but they could do so much more than just ripping a level out.
FishyGinger on 5 Feb '13 said:
That would be a way to do it, or use the dead rising 2 method which is essentially what you're saying. I can't imagine not having a demo though would hurt sales at all though, the Bioshock name alone should sell it. Or the pretty lady with the chest blobs.
ItchyRash on 5 Feb '13 said:
Think you're right. Not that I player Dead Rising 2 but now you mention it I think they did exactly what I was suggesting. Although as I never played the "demo" or bought the main game it obviously had little effect on my buying habits. And the Bioshock name alone has already earned a pre-order from me so there's not much need for me to play a demo even if they released one. But I would if I knew It contributed to the back story
battfink83 on 5 Feb '13 said:
i firmly believe that every game should have a demo of some sorts, its alot to ask people to part with 40 nicker for a game that they could potentially 'hate' (strong word i know), and if the games are any where near as good as devs hype them up to be they shouldnt have any qualms right?
CunningSmile on 6 Feb '13 said:
As we said above the problem with that is one of what are the devs good at? Irrational games are amazing because of the amazing settings and strong plots. Take almost any ten minutes out of Bioshock in isolation and you have a badly lit, fairly generic FPS. Take it as a whole and you have one of the games of the generation. A demo wouldn't have worked and would have killed their sales. Spec Ops The Line is another game building up a strong fan base due to it's strong plot, but even the developer has said that the demo killed their sales as without that it comes across as yet another bog standard military shooter.