BioShock Infinite (Burial at Sea - Episode One)

[Stoney Mason]

Their next project will get some sort of trailer on Thursday.

http://www.whatisicarus.com/

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[archie4208]

[youtube=560,345]Vt3zdoLO-pM[/youtube]

Better be in the soundtrack. 

[magus]

irrational who?

[Dickie Dee]

Bioshock

[Joe Molotov]

[youtube=560,345]Vt3zdoLO-pM[/youtube]

Better be in the soundtrack. 

I think you meant:

[youtube=560,345]H28AgoryWHE[/youtube]

[Stoney Mason]

The way the date is so specific like that, it makes me think of a news timeline which makes me think it's a successor to SWAT, which would be awesome. The title however, makes me think of jets and nuclear weapons.

I'd be shocked if it was swat. Their whole personae at this point seems to be wrapped up in creating new IP rather than continuing old IP that most of the current market isn't familiar with.

[Stoney Mason]

The way the date is so specific like that, it makes me think of a news timeline which makes me think it's a successor to SWAT, which would be awesome. The title however, makes me think of jets and nuclear weapons.

I'd be shocked if it was swat. Their whole personae at this point seems to be wrapped up in creating new IP rather than continuing old IP that most of the current market isn't familiar with.

I meant like a spiritual successor to swat. Something like it but new enough to catch people's attention.

I honestly have no idea what they are doing but I have a feeling whatever they do will be somewhat artsy and literate. I think they have a certain image of themselves now and I think whatever the project is, it will reflect that and be very story based although probably in some form of a shooter.

[Stoney Mason]

Do you think the image they have of themselves will effect the quality of the games they produce?

They are a good studio and I think whatever they produce will probably be pretty good. I think sometimes gamer nerds go a bit overboard praising bioshock but at least the concept on the story side was very original and I would expect the same thing here.

[Dickie Dee]

They might be "artsy" but they aren't the Heavy Rain people, it'll probably have a high-falutin' design or setting, but they still seem very much interested in what makes a good game tick.

[ManaByte]

Weren't they rumored to be doing a REAL XCom?

[Eel O'Brian]

isn't this the game shawn elliott was working on?  be interesting to see what kind of input he brought

[demi]

Game Development, not for $70,000 classes anymore

[chronovore]

isn't this the game shawn elliott was working on?  be interesting to see what kind of input he brought

He's a level designer now, right? Probably a hell of a lot more then being an AP.

Chris Remo just joined them actually. Game journalism has become a stepping stone to game development these days. Not complaining, actually I think that's fucking awesome for those two and they're great guys, but it's becoming increasingly transparent lately.

Yeah, I've been seeing more games journalists joining the ranks, and I gotta say, once they're entrenched in actually making games than sitting around making a wishlist of what they want in them, there is no sweeter music to my ears than the keening wail of "Holy shit, this is so much harder than I thought!"

[Sho Nuff]

isn't this the game shawn elliott was working on?  be interesting to see what kind of input he brought

He's a level designer now, right? Probably a hell of a lot more then being an AP.

Chris Remo just joined them actually. Game journalism has become a stepping stone to game development these days. Not complaining, actually I think that's fucking awesome for those two and they're great guys, but it's becoming increasingly transparent lately.

Yeah, I've been seeing more games journalists joining the ranks, and I gotta say, once they're entrenched in actually making games than sitting around making a wishlist of what they want in them, there is no sweeter music to my ears than the keening wail of "Holy shit, this is so much harder than I thought!"

Damn straight. Learn Maya and get back to me, neckbeard fatties

[Third]

Bioshock Infinity Boring

[demi]

http://downloads.2kgames.com/irrational/videos/streaming_30fps_stereo.flv

[cool breeze]

It's Bioshock in the sky

trailer is getting hammered

[demi]

Former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt has been sent to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned in Columbia since childhood. Booker develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so the pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky. DeWitt must learn to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harness the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.

Set in 1912, BioShock Infinite introduces an entirely new narrative and gameplay experience that lifts players out of the familiar confines of Rapture and rockets them to Columbia, an immense city in the sky.


Wow, I thought this was a new IP?

[Bebpo]

Still better than another game in the same city.

[Third]

Bioshock 2 was so bad. It totally ruined the Bioshock franchise for me.

[cool breeze]

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/30814

link that works

[Bebpo]

Bioshock 2 was good, just not as good as Bioshock.  But it did have the advantage of not falling apart in the very end like the first one.

Bioshock 2 should have been this.  Bioshock works as a franchise, but you gotta make it a franchise like Final Fantasy where each game takes place in a unique world that just shares similar themes.

[cool breeze]

They're either still calling it Bioshock for marketing or because plasmids and shit are still a part of the game (that rose scene looked like telekinesis).  Otherwise it looks like there is more of a mechanic theme to it and just as different as Bioshock 1 was to System Shock.

Also, there were two System Shock games.  Bioshock 2 again taking place in Rapture wasn't a bad idea, it was more that they didn't do anything interesting with it.  I'm actually looking forward to the new Bioshock 2 DLC since it's supposed to be a short game with new character and story.

[Stoney Mason]

I'm totally fine with the project. And since most of the carping against Bioshock 2 was that it wasn't made by Irrational and didn't advance the story, I'm curious to hear what will people's excuse change to now.

That being said I kinda wish it had been a new IP.

[Eel O'Brian]

my carping against it was that it sucked

[demi]

I'm totally fine with the project. And since most of the carping against Bioshock 2 was that it wasn't made by Irrational and didn't advance the story, I'm curious to hear what will people's excuse change to now.

That being said I kinda wish it had been a new IP.

Or it could be that BioShock 2 was simply a weaker game.

[Stoney Mason]

I'm totally fine with the project. And since most of the carping against Bioshock 2 was that it wasn't made by Irrational and didn't advance the story, I'm curious to hear what will people's excuse change to now.

That being said I kinda wish it had been a new IP.

Or it could be that BioShock 2 was simply a weaker game.

Except it wasn't and was actually a better playing game with better core mechanics than the original outside of story. I'll admit story seems to be the main draw of the Bioshock series however.

[demi]

REALLY. Now I'm interested. Post why.

[Stoney Mason]

REALLY. Now I'm interested. Post why.

Post why the first was a better game mechanically.

[Robo]

They succeeded in making the combat better in Bioshock 2, it just wasn't NEARLY good enough to bring to focus to the detriment of atmosphere and suspense.  It's still tedious as fuck, highlighted by the fact that you're engaged almost incessantly.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Skyoshock

[Stoney Mason]

They succeeded in making the combat better in Bioshock 2, it just wasn't NEARLY good enough to bring to focus to the detriment of atmosphere and suspense.

This. It always ticked me how it took until Bioshock 2 to notice it wasn't the world's greatest action even though Bioshock was the same or worse in many cases. The appeal of Bioshock was the original IP, the plasmids, and the story. It was never the earth shattering combat.

[Sho Nuff]

Aeroshock!

After this they will make one that takes place in an underground volcano and call it GEOSHOCK

This looks neat though.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Bioshock
Skyoshock
Geoshock
Firoshock

spoiler (click to show/hide)

...and, Heartoshock!

[close]

[cool breeze]

I agree that core mechanics were better as a more action-y shooter.  You could use plasmids and guns at the same time and all that, plus they gave you more tools to use.  But there were bad choices like having a defend the little sister sequence every single time you chose to save one.  I'm still amazed by that.  Did anyone like that sequence at the end of the first Bioshock? that was actually the part I hated most in that game and in the sequel they have you doing it all the time.

anyway, I hope that for Bioshock Infinite they don't focus on action.  More exploring, adventure, and rpg stuff would be nice.

[Robo]

I only started to enjoy the Little Sister defense once I got Hypnosis 3 and could recruit another Big Daddy to do all the work for me.

[Bebpo]

I thought the tower defense segments were actually a lot of fun in Bio2 because they gave you so many great traps.  Setting up plasmids, turrets, etc... and then just chilling back while you destroy everyone was very satisfying.

The only problem was that there was too much of it and it got repetitive.

[Stoney Mason]

I agree that core mechanics were better as a more action-y shooter.  You could use plasmids and guns at the same time and all that, plus they gave you more tools to use.  But there were bad choices like having a defend the little sister sequence every single time you chose to save one.  I'm still amazed by that.  Did anyone like that sequence at the end of the first Bioshock? that was actually the part I hated most in that game and in the sequel they have you doing it all the time.

It wasn't a great mechanic I agree but I found it less annoying than the bit in the original where you had to do the same and were actually a big daddy with those limitations. It may have been honest but it wasn't fun in the original. Although I agree there was a lot more of it in the second. How I like this sequel will probably come down to how "fresh" it seems in both story and new added game mechanics. It's easy to be cynical and just say this is bioshock in the sky but honestly most sequels aren't any different (Fallout Vegas is Fallout IN Vegas). It will come down to how fresh they are able to make it feel.

[cool breeze]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/08/12/bioshock-infinite-trailer-screenshots-and-details-from-our-first-look/

"BioShock Infinite" is set in the city of Columbia. It's a massive city in the sky, floating on hot air balloons and propellers. In the twisted timeline of "Infinite," Columbia was created by the US government in 1900 and revealed to the world at large (unlike the secret city of Rapture). Columbia was designed as a way to show the world the technological strength of America. Ken Levine describes it as the equivalent of the "moon landing of 1900." Basically the city would float around the world and show all the other countries how lacking they were compared to America.

If the main theme behind surrounding the first "BioShock" was objectivism, the main theme of "BioShock Infinite" appears to be jingoism. At the game's premiere, propaganda posters displayed racist stereotypes of other nationalities, with George Washington in the center, looking like a savior among savages.

...

That's Columbia. It's a society which believes that America knows best. Always. It's also a society in turmoil.

[Third]

Or undergound.

Bioshock Underground 

Take Two should leave this franchise alone for now. It's getting tiring.

[demi]

BioShock - all the bad things from BioShock 2 GONE

BioShock 2 - all the bad things from BioShock 1 GONE

They are both polar opposites, the gunplay is exactly the same - what exactly does BioShock 2 bring to the table? Did any of you honestly use plasmids from -either- game? If you go through the BioShock 2 thread here I pretty much describe the winning tactics in either game. Ice Wrench (Bio1) or Rivet Gun with Armor Piercing Bullets (Bio2).

Given your options, I'd sooner take option to remove the bad things from BioShock 2. Pipe Dream Puzzles > distinguished mentally-challenged Protect The Sister

[Robo]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/08/12/bioshock-infinite-trailer-screenshots-and-details-from-our-first-look/

"BioShock Infinite" is set in the city of Columbia. It's a massive city in the sky, floating on hot air balloons and propellers. In the twisted timeline of "Infinite," Columbia was created by the US government in 1900 and revealed to the world at large (unlike the secret city of Rapture). Columbia was designed as a way to show the world the technological strength of America. Ken Levine describes it as the equivalent of the "moon landing of 1900." Basically the city would float around the world and show all the other countries how lacking they were compared to America.

If the main theme behind surrounding the first "BioShock" was objectivism, the main theme of "BioShock Infinite" appears to be jingoism. At the game's premiere, propaganda posters displayed racist stereotypes of other nationalities, with George Washington in the center, looking like a savior among savages.

...

That's Columbia. It's a society which believes that America knows best. Always. It's also a society in turmoil.

Sounds like a floating version of  the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition.  A World Fair in the sky.

[Stoney Mason]

What will be interesting is seeing how this one ignores story wise everything in 2. (Not that storywise any of it was particularly relevant) I assume Levine was against that one since they were doing their own sequel it turns out.

[Stoney Mason]

Apparently a demo is playable for it to the press.

The setting for BioShock Infinite may seem even more fantastic and technologically advanced than rapture, but it's set in 1912, years before the events of the first game. In this adventure you play as Booker DeWitt, a disgraced former private detective who's picked up a new case. Your goal is to find a young woman who's gone missing and return her unharmed. The only problem is that she's being kept on the flying city of Columbia.

In 1900, Columbia is unveiled as a symbol of America's success as a nation. It floats around the world as a traveling World's Fair, a marvel of human innovation. But an international incident involves the city and it turns out that the airborne metropolis is also heavily armed. A confrontation occurs, and Columbia disappears into the clouds. DeWitt's lead in the case knows how to find Columbia, and how to find Elizabeth. The problem is that the city's inhabitants aren't that willing to let her, and her very strange abilities, just walk away.

The demo that followed the trailer was so packed with action, so dense with hints and nods to what we might experience in this game, that it was difficult to process it all. The first thing that is readily apparent is how visually impressive the title is. The same shiny water effects, sharp textures, and impressive art design as in BioShock, but there are improvements everywhere. The most significant of these improvements is the sense of scale. No longer are you trapped in small claustrophobic settings. Columbia is massive, and the separate floating city blocks drift through the air all around you. It's just one of the things made possible by the completely new engine developed for the game.

As the demo begins, DeWitt walks through the cobblestone streets of Columbia. Sun plays off of the buildings, leaves float through the air, and the view smacks of an early Americana. But like Rapture, something awful has happened here and death is just around the corner. A despondent man drives by in a half broken down carriage and a horse lies dead in the street as crows pick at its flesh. A separate section of the city floats just above, then shrugs and collapses in front of DeWitt, nearly crushing him. Another man sits on a park bench surrounded by the same black birds.


DeWitt follows the sound of a political speech to a town covered in picket signs. The messaging is clear, the citizens must take up arms to protect their rights from the anarchists. Wooden barrels filled with guns line the gazebo that a politician named stall is stumping from. As DeWitt approaches Stall, the man's eyes flare red, the air around him vibrates and he calls upon the citizens of Columbia to attack.

DeWitt goes for one of the weapons and comes up with a sniper rifle just as the man from the park bench unleashes a flock of attacking crows at him. DeWitt fights back and sends him careening over a railing as Stall latches onto a floating rail system and heads for another section of floating city off in the distance. DeWitt peers over the edge to find the crow man dead on a platform below, but he psychically pulls a tonic called Murder of Crows to his hand, takes a gulp, and gains the ability to control the birds. A blood covered raven perches on his hand with pieces of meat still hanging from its beak.

The previous sequence goes by in a flash, but it highlights some important features of BioShock Infinite. DeWitt can seemingly psychically push and pull almost everything around him. There are gas containers, pots and pans, and most importantly weapons, all of which he can manipulate at will. In one scene, he yanks a shotgun from a man's hands from a distance then turns it around and pulls the trigger. Also, when Stall turns tail, DeWitt tracks him for a moment with the sniper rifle, showing off just how large the city is. Mere specks in the distance are targetable and can fire back.

The aforementioned rail system is called the skyline and it connects all of Columbia's floating islands. It was constructed as a way to transport cargo but now the citizens of Columbia and DeWitt use a grappling device to slide along the rails at a break-neck speed. And this isn't just "grinding" ala Ratchet and Clank. Players can change rails and direction on the fly, engaging in combat as they ride the roller coaster-like tracks.

Stall has escaped to a part of the city equipped with gigantic canons, and he takes aim at DeWitt. The city explodes around DeWitt and forces him to hop onto the rails, riding first upward then accelerating down and around a bend. A deranged citizen comes at him on the opposite rail and DeWitt readies a hammer, pummeling the man through the air and into the side of a building, leaving a bloody splotch as he bounces off and downward.


As grandiose as the first BioShock.
DeWitt lands back on solid ground and enters a tavern to an audience that becomes almost immediately violent. What follows is a flood of combat that shows DeWitt psychically disarming characters, blasting them with gunfire, and releasing swarms of crows on a crowd of enemies. The sequence ends with a familiar lightning power used to fry enemies in their boots. When DeWitt confronts Stall a second time he stops one of the mortars fired at him with a wave of his hand, then turns it back on the gun and blows it to hell.

It's at this point that the attacking city folk start looking like a mob. The new engine can currently throw about 15 enemies at players at the same time. It's a good thing players will have some help. At this point in the demo DeWitt is joined by Elizabeth, the woman he's been sent to liberate from Columbia and she has some powers of her own.

Not only does Elizabeth react to the combat, she helps by using her own powers to add elements to the environments. In one sequence, she sends a rain cloud over a mob of enemies giving DeWitt's lightning an extra kick if he decides to use it. And he does have a choice. Elizabeth's actions will never directly kill people off, so she won't do all of the work for you. And according to the developers she won't get in the way either as players can choose to ignore her actions and handle threats themselves.

As DeWitt and Elizabeth head toward a bridge, they get pinned down by gunfire behind stacks of what look like kitchen supplies. Elizabeth somehow turns the metallic cookware into a cyclone and then fuses it into a molten ball of metal, instructing DeWitt to launch it at their enemies using the game's version of a Force Push. The plan works, but it's at this point that the two are introduced to BioShock Infinite's version of a Big Daddy.

These creatures have a human head set atop a large mechanized body. Their visible heart is encased in glass and their oversized bodies have something of a steampunk aesthetic, only slightly less advanced. Bullets don't seem to do much to the behemoths so Elizabeth and DeWitt try to bring down the bridge around the threat. She shoots a beam of light at the top of the structure (perhaps the same heat ray she used on the pots and pans) and DeWitt sends an explosive towards it to bring the whole thing down. As the hulking enemy tries to claw its way off the collapsing bridge a few more shotgun blasts send it into the abyss.

Elizabeth collapses in exhaustion after the encounter and a trickle of blood runs out of her nose. Her actions are extraordinary, but they also drain her physically. She needs DeWitt's help if they're going to take on the entire city.


You'll use these rails to zip around the city.
DeWitt exclaims that the "thing" is what had been chasing Elizabeth. She corrects him and points towards the sky, at a much larger, much more ominous threat. A giant mechanical bird-like creature swoops down from a building, crushing DeWitt, leaving the screen black and ending the demo.

The demo showed off quite a lot for a game's debut. It gave us a look at a completely new setting among the clouds and a BioShock game with two compelling characters. Levine promises that by introducing two well-defined main characters, BioShock Infinite will make a huge leap in storytelling when compared to its predecessors. Though there was nothing revealed about the economic elements of Infinite or any hacking puzzles, this was just a first look. There's a lot more still to be revealed.

BioShock Infinite is scheduled to be released in 2012 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC so it may be a while before all of the wondrous secrets of the flying city of Columbia are known

 http://pc.ign.com/articles/111/1111864p2.html

[cool breeze]

What will be interesting is seeing how this one ignores story wise everything in 2. (Not that storywise any of it was particularly relevant) I assume Levine was against that one since they were doing their own sequel it turns out.

Won't be too hard since it takes place decades before Bioshock 1, and that's assuming they take place in the same continuity.

[Stoney Mason]

What will be interesting is seeing how this one ignores story wise everything in 2. (Not that storywise any of it was particularly relevant) I assume Levine was against that one since they were doing their own sequel it turns out.

Won't be too hard since it takes place decades before Bioshock 1, and that's assuming they take place in the same continuity.

Yeah I just read that bit that its a prequel. Sort of odd actually imo but whatever I guess.

[Stoney Mason]

Wait, Bioshock Infinite is a prequel to Bioshock 2 which is a prequel itself? Zuh?

Bioshock 1 was set in the 60's (looking back at sort of the 40's and 50's). This one is set in 1912. So unless they are using some alternate time line or time travel plot then I think so.

[Stoney Mason]

The thing that sounds interesting and makes it potentially very different is the larger areas. If its truly large and massive that alone dictates something different from Bioshock which is really a rather smallish game.

Now whether that actually turns into great gameplay is another question but it sounds like this one on scale will be different than the original which alone is different than Bioshock 2. That and by the time it has come out, it will have had about 4 or 5 years in dev time. So hopefully with that amount of time they will be bringing a lot of new ideas to the table.

[Robo]

Wait, Bioshock Infinite is a prequel to Bioshock 2 which is a prequel itself? Zuh?

Bioshock 2 is set after Bioshock 1.

If not for the plasmid-like abilities, this game sounds like it could have an entirely different title.

[Third]

Or undergound.

Bioshock Underground 

Take Two should leave this franchise alone for now. It's getting tiring.

Underground? Gotta save something for the 5th game, guy. In Bioshock: Underground you only have one power, the power to emit sunlight, which hurts enemies because they have never seen it. The game ends with you realizing that YOU CAME FROM UNDERGROUND, NOT THEM.

Sounds distinguished mentally-challenged enough to be a concept for a future Bioshock game.

[Stoney Mason]

My problem with this is, as there's nothing in the first that even alludes to this, how do they tie it into the other two? Do they ignore those completely or do they retrofit Bioshock 1&2 characters into this game?

Oh I agree but honestly if the gameplay and story is dope I probably won't overly be bothered by it although that was my very first thought also. Ryan never mentioned any of this. Just as he never mentioned any of the stuff in Bioshock 2 even though they tried to explain that via story things in Bioshock 2.

Oh here is an embed of the CG trailer.

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Howard Alan Treesong]

jingoistic floating city in 1912? sounds like a Bioshock game for hipsters. realistically, I don't see a single metalhead, hip hopper or Wall Street yuppie playing Bioshock Infinite

[Third]

Amazing trailer.That's for sure. The way he falls down has been done really well. My fear of hights has been reconfirmed by this trailer.  :'(

[demi]

THEY'RE MAKING IT UP AS THEY GO ALONG WHAT A SHITTY SERIES </lost>

[Stoney Mason]

It was certainly surprising to learn that, in three years after developing the award-winning BioShock, Irrational Games was working on... BioShock.
With the announcement out of the bag and BioShock Infinite revealed to the masses, Shacknews cornered Irrational Games boss Ken Levine to discuss the concept of BioShock versus Rapture, "American Exceptionalism," and his thoughts on possible fan reaction to the game's reveal.
Shack: You've finally revealed your latest title. In seeing the footage and the trailer, it appears to be a brand new intellectual property. There are, however, connections to the original BioShock title sprinkled throughout the trailer, but this is a totally different direction. So, with that in mind, why is the "BioShock" name attached to this project?

Ken Levine: The truth is, for us, BioShock was never a place. It was never "Rapture." It was never, "this location" or "this time." It was an idea. There are things that you can see [in the trailer] that are very connected in a lot of ways but are also very different.

For us, we weren't going with branding, we weren't going with a lot of the core ideas. But we said what we needed to say about Rapture. I think if you know our history and the games we've made, that was connected to some previous games we made as well; in some ideas.
We said what we needed to say about Rapture; we have a lot more to say about Bioshock.
Shack: On the Irrational Blog, your team have been showing off some of the design documents from the original BioShock. How has Infinite evolved over time since your team began working on it?

Ken Levine: Quite substantially. We had a city in the sky very early but the whole notion of "Columbia" and "American Exceptionalism" is actually about six or eight months old for us. We had the city in the sky and we start with this central idea and then that expands out, and expands out and expands out.

We worked that way with BioShock and that gives us a certain amount of freedom. And in making the demo for you guys, we learned so much about the game and how it would work and how it would feel. In fact, when we started this demo, we didn't even have the whole "American Exceptionalism" concept, it wasn't actually central to it. It just evolved.
You know, we put ourselves in the shoes of the audience. We ask, "What is interesting to the audience and how to be engage on that?"
Shack: In BioShock, the imagery of a ruler was this wise and powerful man. In BioShock Infinite, the imagery of the city is a strong, beautiful woman.

Ken Levine: That's just a symbol. If you go back through American history, before there was Uncle Sam, there was this image of Columbia. She was a recognized symbol at the time. We liked the look of it and her as an icon. There are actual leaders in the city, but she [the image of Columbia] is not a real person.

Shack: During the presentation it was mentioned that Columbia is a democratic society. So, there isn't one primary evil controlling the entire world as was the case, to some degree, in the original BioShock? The primary conflict is Booker DeWitt's quest to enter this hidden city and save Elizabeth who is being held in Columbia because she is very powerful?

Ken Levine: There's a number of different forces at work in this city. You saw a lot of the character of the city and a lot of the ideas that are present in the city. You might not necessarily agree with those ideas and that tension causes a lot of problems. The city has obviously evolved from its original Jeffersonian Principles, I think what you see in Columbia is not really that different, in the political field, from what you might see in history or today.

Shack: Irrational loves taking a time period and injecting a "super" element to it, or take a concept like "American ingenuity" and pushing it beyond what it found in history books. Obviously it was present in BioShock, to some degree it exists throughout the Freedom Force franchise. What is it about working on these "American ideal" concepts that makes your team keep coming back to it for the framework your narrative direction?

Ken Levine: I'm lazy. It saves me a lot of work.


Shack: (laughs) It makes for some good reading and research, at least.

Ken Levine: Right. But go back to the topic, like that President McKinley speech [Ken read the famous McKinley "disputed quote" regarding the Philippines during the presentation] -- I was talking to someone and he said, "God, no one really knows about this time period." It's not that common, who knows about 1900? But all those ideas, America "waking up" and presenting itself on the world stage.

At the same time, it's 1880 and you've got cows in your field and the next day you've got indoor plumbing and electricity and radios and movie stars. That's twenty-years apart. Think about that. It was almost like waking up and seeing a city in the sky. It would be as shocking as that to those people. There's a sense of optimism in the technology and the American vision. You see where the optimism goes, what happens to that dream. Here, does it succeed or go into a different direction?
Shack: There's a small window today where fans will get to see the trailer before they get to read any coverage. You said it was important that people see this reveal for the`mselves.

Ken Levine: I want people to see it the way that you saw it, where they don't know. I want people to not know what the game is. Even when you go to our webpage, it's not going to say the name of the game. It's going to just be, "Hit this button for the trailer."

Shack: What do you think the initial reaction will be to this idea that Irrational is going back to this franchise? You could have went in any direction, and I think fans expect a lot from Irrational Games at this point -- that isn't to pre-judge this title, of course -- but you could have done anything. What do you think people will say when they finally see that title card read: BioShock Infinite?

Ken Levine: I think it's a lot to take in, right?

Shack: It was surprising, that's for sure.

Ken Levine: I think people who understand our history will realize that we've been jamming on some of these concepts since the beginning of the company. BioShock was an evolution of that and BioShock Infinite is an evolution of that.

Hopefully they know us well enough, and they trust us; they trust that we're not interested in just repeating ourselves. The world in BioShock Infinite is as different as the world in the original BioShock was from everything else, and so are our goals for the game.

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1374

[Stoney Mason]

a few pics.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[maxy]

hmmm




 

[Mupepe]

I would have rather have it been back in Rapture while it's either a worse shithole or the new year's eve party while things start falling apart.  FUCK

[chronovore]

They're either still calling it Bioshock for marketing or because plasmids and shit are still a part of the game (that rose scene looked like telekinesis).  Otherwise it looks like there is more of a mechanic theme to it and just as different as Bioshock 1 was to System Shock.

Yeah, they probably just slapped the Bioshock name on whatever new IP they were working on because 2K Marin were the guys from the team that wanted to continue with Bioshock while Levine wanted to do something new. Either way, this is clearly not a cookie cutter sequel so I'm optimistic.

I thought it was "Ken wanted to do something new, and the team wanted to do something, anything without Ken. Maybe even open a burrito stand."

[Bebpo]

I like that dude's mustache.

Also, the city looks pretty good. Is this UE3? Or that crazy hybrid engine.

Hmmmm, would be nice if it's a new engine because Bio2 (especially on PC) showed the engine's age/limits.  But that would mean doing an entirely new engine when they already have a good running multi-platform engine so dunnoooo