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Bioshock Creator On Why He Didn't Work On Bioshock 2

Bioshock Infinite has been officially announced, but you may have noticed that 2K Marin - Bioshock 2 developer - isn't at the helm.

In fact, it's Irrational Games. But hey, that sort of makes sense because Irrational's founder is the creator of the Bioshock series, Ken Levine. He did not have anything to do with Bioshock 2 because, as he told Eurogamer, "he'd said all he wanted about underwater city Rapture." With Infinite, they'll be able to avoid repeating things, as it's in an entirely different setting: the floating metropolis of Columbia. Said Levine:

"For us I think the guiding principle is: if they never stopped making horror movies where everything was a house on a haunted hill with lightning going in the sky, you'd never have The Shining, that antiseptic bright look. How do you create horror in that? That's what we're doing. We're always trying to challenge ourselves. We've done that, we've done the dark rooms, but that's a crutch, eventually, for a team."

Levine went on to say that the time frame given for the sequel that launched back in February, along with 2K's insistence to make another game in Rapture, sort of turned him off of doing it. That's not to say he didn't like Bioshock 2; he said in regards to developer 2K Marin: "I think it's a very talented team, and I think it fulfilled the mission of completing the story of Rapture." We certainly loved the game, as did many others, but now is certainly the time to move on to something new. And we can't wait.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite, Bioshock 2

Tags: bioshock, bioshock 2, bioshock infinite, 2k games

8/12/2010 9:08:47 PM John Shepard

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Comments (23 posts)

Kangasfwa
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:14:12 PM
Reply

After reading that interview, I got the impression that the team wanted to try new things--it wasn't just about not repeating themselves.

The idea of a horror game in a bright, open space is a rather intriguing one...

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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:17:21 PM

I dunno... didn't work for Resident Evil 5.

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Kangasfwa
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 1:18:07 AM

True, but most people said that RE5 was more about the action than horror. Also, Levine specifically mentioned freaking people out in the linked interview.

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Ultimadream
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 4:57:20 AM

I thought being set in africa was the best feature of RE5, the problem was it was an action game.

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Jawknee
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 3:41:34 PM

Having RE5 set in Africa was very intriguing but Capcom botched the game over all.

Worst.Resident.Evil.Evah!

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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 10:17:00 PM
Reply

I didn't know he had created any such city as "Rupture," but I am definitely looking forward to this new one in Columbia (Though I think there could have been a cooler name for it) Hard to believe there won't be a Bioshock 3 though.

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FM23
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 11:37:28 PM

I didn't even expect them to make a 3. If they did, I would want the guy who originally worked on it to definitely have a hand in it just like David Jaffe should have contributed to GOW2 and GOW3(he could have fixed that story).

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fluffer nutter
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 11:38:57 PM

Go to Columbia and you'll see why the name suits it just fine. Ahhh.

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FM23
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 11:39:07 PM
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"he'd said all he wanted about underwater city Rupture"...sentence is all chopped and screwed. Made me mad reading it...lol. Anyway, no wonder Bioshock 2 played the way it did. It was definitely a grade A single player experience, but it definitely lacked the charm and quality of the original.

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StangMan80
Thursday, August 12, 2010 @ 11:44:52 PM
Reply

Every time I see this pic I think of LBP.

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SnipeySnake
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 12:10:11 AM

They should really make a bioshock costume in lbp.

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kraygen
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 2:38:33 AM
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Scaring people in a bright shiny city will definitely be a challenge. Most people are just naturally afraid of the dark, so this should be interesting. I hope they can pull it off really well, because it definitely won't be easy.

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ABUrabad
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 3:46:53 AM
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I liked the single player campaign of the second one but still i didnt like the online part of it since i can hardly find any game that can be ready within minute sometime i need to wait for a round 15 minutes to get one ready
i think that main problem that the ps3 version didn't sell well

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___________
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 4:03:37 AM
Reply

what im worried about is what does this have to do with rapture, with the bioshock universe?
anyway, hopefully they link this with the series well, and please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FIX THOSE GRAPHICS!!!!!!!!!!
though, they said there using a whole new engine for this, so it should look a dam site better than bioshock 2!
the graphics and length were the only things wrong with bioshock 2, still one of the best games released this gen!

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aaronisbla
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 2:23:48 PM

learn to expand your horizons, thats like saying people wont like infamous 2 because it doesn't take place in the universe that is empire city...

Its called Bioshock, not Adventures in Rapture
Last edited by aaronisbla on 8/13/2010 2:24:34 PM

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Jawknee
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 3:40:06 PM

LOL! The graphics in Bioshock aren't bad. They aren't the best but for a multiplatform game that uses Unreal, the game looks good. How can you say Bioshock has bad graphics when you like THQ games? Most of their games look like garbage.

::facepalm::

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___________
Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 9:22:03 AM

1 where did i say no one will like it if its not set in rapture?
and 2 where did i say a game has to have mind blowing graphics for me to like it?
o, and if you think RFG and darksiders "look like garbage" than you either A need a decent TV or B need glasses or thicker glasses!
RFG especially looked fantastic, a little red for my liking but theres a reason why they call it the red planet!

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NazzyQ
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 8:18:53 AM
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Looks interesting , but come on , an entire city floating on top of blimps and balloons? Haha.

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Vell
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 8:48:53 AM
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what's the haha 4?

an entire city floating on top of blimps and balloons vs an entire city underwater at the bottom of the ocean

plz help me understand y the haha :( :)

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Amazingskillz
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 11:47:34 AM
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I hope they do away with those cheeseball cartoon character designs. Just about every character in both games looks stupid. They seem like tiny and undetailed stick figures. Especially the splicers. Anyway, for some reason I liked the way Rapture looked. However, it's played out and they don't need to go back there. I'm glad they are changing the scenery to Columbia or whatever. Regardless,this is a first day purchase for me. The first two games proved without a doubt that they know how to make a flat out winner win it comes to games. The plasmid and combat customization is like no other. They better not change it but instead build on it. I can't f'n wait for this game.
Last edited by Amazingskillz on 8/13/2010 11:48:20 AM

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Jawknee
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 3:38:08 PM
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I must be in the minority. I liked Bioshock 2 a lot more then 1. I can't really say why. I just did.

I'll get this. Im tired of FPS's but i figure by 2012 I'll be ready to play another. Bioshock is one of the few multiplatform games that is actually worth the full $60 entry fee.
Last edited by Jawknee on 8/13/2010 3:38:17 PM

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BikerSaint
Friday, August 13, 2010 @ 4:35:24 PM
Reply

Here's another good interview where
Ken Levine gives us more details on Bioshock 3.

BioShock is 'A Lot More Than Just Rapture'
Ken Levine answers a few questions on the development of the recently revealed Bioshock Infinite.

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/bioshock-is-a-lot-more-than-just-rapture/



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Fane1024
Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 5:02:22 PM
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John/Ben didn't make this clear, so it is important to note that Irrational Games = 2K Boston and they were ALL the original developers of BioShock, not just Ken Levine. In fact, I believe they were still called Irrational when they started BioShock and have now reverted to the name.

2K Marin are the "interlopers".

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