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This week I posted about the coming announcement from Irrational Games. Speculation was thick in the air, and the anticipation weighed down on us like millions of tons of seawater. Today is the big day and, oh, what a big day it is. Today we find out what Ken Levine and the boys at Irrational have been working diligently on for the past three years.
Bioshock Infinite.
Excuse my while I clean up the mess I just made all over my desk. In a move of sheer genious Ken Levine has taken us away from the crushing and claustrophobic ocean depths, and sprung us upwards into a much more free and expanded sky, to inject a new sense of life into a series that may have been in the danger of finding its original atmosphere just a little tired after all these years.
A few points from the trailer. First off you can see that the Big Daddy's are going to get another new look while still retaining their hulking demeanor. The hands alone tell a lof of the story. The hands are obviously crafted and I would imagine that the Big Daddy's may have more of a Clockwork Golem look to them now then in previous iterations of their design. The embodyment of the human, though enlarged, heart harks back to Bioshock 2 and the idea that the Big Daddy's were once in-fact people.
Also, it seems that platforming and speed are going to be a bigger part of the series. Its quite possible that the roses shown in the trailer might be used as a platforming feature, much like the blue Excursion Tunnels in Portal 2.
But this, of course, is personal extrapolation. If you want the real meat of the deal you can hear it from Ken Levine himself who posted an announcement on the Irrational Games Website.
The last three years for me have been dominated by a single question: “What are you guys doing there?”
Some of you were pretty certain it was an X-COM game, which I can now safely say it is not. It is also not part of the Freedom Force, SWAT, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, Kingdom Hearts or Yar’s Revenge franchises. The time for discussing what Irrational Games is NOT doing is over.
Today we announce BioShock Infinite.
That’s right, this is a BioShock game.
It’s a sequel.
But it’s also not a sequel.
Let me explain.
At Irrational Games, we believe that in order to fulfill expectations, you have to defy expectations.
When we completed the original BioShock, we felt we had said all we wanted to say with Rapture, but we weren’t done with the idea that is BioShock. BioShock is so much more than a story of a single place or a single time. We had so much more we wanted to say.
There are two core principles for us that define a BioShock game. First, it has to be set in a world that is both fantastical and yet also grounded in the human experience. Second, it has to provide gamers with a large set of tools, and then set them loose in an environment that empowers them to solve problems in their own way.
It would have been easier for us to go back to the well. We could have taken the easy route. We could have simply done more of the same, but we would not have been true to ourselves as game developers. Making the original BioShock was hard. We challenged ourselves every step of the way, and we tossed aside many elements and ideas simply because they weren’t good enough.
So when we started the sequel, we said to ourselves: “We want to expand on those core principles, but beyond that, there are no sacred cows. Everything else that people know or think they know about BioShock is open for negotiation.”
You will find yourself in a completely new world. Columbia is not an unknown secret city at the bottom of the sea. It’s a creation of an America transforming from a regional agrarian collection of states into a world power with global reach.
You now play an actual character, and not a cypher who is unaware of his own identity. You are Booker Dewitt, a particular character with an established history, with a voice you will hear as he talks to himself and others in the game.
You’ve come to Columbia for a reason: to find a mysterious young woman named Elizabeth and bring her safely out of the city. She will travel with you, interact with you, and react to the situations you cause to happen, and through your relationship with her, we’re able to tell the story of this new and amazing world.
This world of Columbia presents radical differences in scale from what you are used to. You’re not crawling through corridors on the ocean floor, claustrophobic with the weight of the ocean bearing down on you. Instead you find yourself navigating through huge environments, zipping around on Sky-Lines at eighty miles per hour and getting into firefights at ranges of two thousand yards.
In fact, there is so much new and radical about BioShock Infinite that we simply can’t tell you all about it in one revelation. What we present to the world today is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. In the coming months we’ll begin to reveal more of what BioShock Infinite is all about and let the world know why we are so excited.
For now, we want to thank you all for your patience, and for sticking with us all these many months while we labored in silence.The time for silence is over. First up for the fans of this site is another episode of Irrational Behavior with Shawn Elliott that covers the announcement of BioShock Infinite and the work that led up to it. I’m sure you’ll dig it.
Down the road a bit, actual gameplay footage awaits. It’s something you’re going to want to watch more than once. Trust me on this one.
No release date has been announced and gameplay videos are forthcoming. Joystiq also has a detailed preview of the demo which was shown to the press earlier this week.
Now about those tissues.
Comments
13 years, 8 months ago
I can't wait for a release date to come out now. This has the potential to be really cool. I'm not cashing my chips in until I check the expiration date(see what I did there?).
13 years, 8 months ago
This game looks sweet, I was hoping the next Bioshock got out of Rapture and sure enough it didi
13 years, 8 months ago
This game looks sweet, I was hoping the next Bioshock got out of Rapture and sure enough it did
13 years, 8 months ago
Perfect title. I hope this has a nice feel to it. Not the feel of "Fuck its dark and blue in the ocean". Also I still love Bioshock combat. I love plasmids and I love the feeling guns have. Most don't have a good feeling early on but once you start becoming bigger and more badass you get that I'm a bamf feeling.
13 years, 8 months ago
Oddly enough, I'd never actually played any Bioshock at all; I only got my 360 last year and never got round to it. Just yesterday I downloaded the Bioshock 1 demo and I've been playing it. Now this pops up.
What did the general feeling here end up being about Bioshock 2? Reviews were still very good, but I seem to remember certain things 4PP were less than impressed by. Could it be even a sequel I could skip and just go from Bioshock to this one?
13 years, 8 months ago
Bioshock in the sky? That sounds awesome!
13 years, 8 months ago
Do want.
"At Irrational Games, we believe that in order to fulfill expectations, you have to defy expectations."
More companies need this outlook. It seems that game design as a whole, and especially for sequels, is only out to give us more of the same with one or two "new" pieces stuck to it. The best way to give people something they want is to give them something they've never seen before. While I'm sure Bioshock Infinite will similarities to the other Bioshock games, they are presenting it in a new and exciting way.
After reading this Irrational Games is now one of my favorite developers, and I will forever recognize Ken Levine as being awesome.
13 years, 8 months ago
[...] of…fanciful…meanderings. Or something.Never one to be outdone by a little Bioshock Infinite news, Kojima took to his Twitter account to offer a bit of news as well. And much like the sun will [...]
13 years, 8 months ago
the trailer was really well done and this game looks ood
13 years, 8 months ago
Cool, I'm might just get that.
13 years, 8 months ago
I dunno if it's just me, but this looks less 50's and more Victorian Steampunk. And I do not hate that one bit. Count me excited.
13 years, 8 months ago
I hope they have another great twist at the end.... I mean how in the world can they top the last one?
13 years, 8 months ago
It looks soo amazing!! i absolutely loved the 1st, and adored the 2nd. Now with this, i'm really excited over, but i'm curious to see how they will tie it all together so it doesn't seem like the idea of it wasn't just picked randomly. cant wait to check it out more!!
13 years, 8 months ago
This looks very promising to me.
I like how Levine describes "Bioshock" as being "much more than a story of a single place or a single time." I feel like I felt that while playing both previous titles, and I'm glad to see them developing on this idea.
Bringing it back to the early 1900's intrigues me, me being a history major (who salivates at any mention of days past). The open air concept sounds, and looks, very interesting. And looks beautiful! It seems like quite a shift from their self-confessed claustrophobic halls of the city of Rapture, but in a good way. I'm both excited and a tad apprehensive about those Sky-Line battles; they could either be really awesome, or very tedious.
I think that, for the world of Bioshock, "Rapture" is more an idea than a physical city, a concrete entity. A place where a man can be and do all he wishes, without repercussion...could be anywhere. A Rapture in the sky sounds positively brilliant.
All in all, though, colour me excited!
13 years, 8 months ago
Just a thought, here (don't crucify me):they should drop the "Bio" and "Infinite" from the name and come up with a new prefix before the Shock.
My reasoning? Changing the name would establish that the game takes place in a new game world while at the same time preventing sequel fatigue. Keeping the Shock would tie all the games in the series together and let the consumer know that they are by the same developers and of the same quality.
System Shock
System Shock 2
Bioshock
Bioshock 2
?????shock
?????shock 2
Each new game would feature a stunning new fully realized environment with its own rich backstory and artstyle. That world would be built upon in the sequel.
After the first title is done, development of the sequel is handed off to 2K Marin while the original design team works on the next new title in the Shock series.
13 years, 8 months ago
Only one thing can be said about this game in my opinion, FTW!!!!!!!! I'm totally on board with the revamping and "no sacred cows" idea. I think it takes a little from the whole Final Fantasy aspect in the way that the setting, plot, characters are different, but the idea is the same. just approached differently. Okay enough babble, thanks for the insight Joseph
13 years, 8 months ago
When I heard about this yesterday, I was really excited, because it will feel like a Bioshock, but it has a lot of new things, including atmosphere. It seems to be a great idea as it builds upon a series, where they are making some creative improvements, of which seem interesting. For example, interaction with people in the world, sky ships could fall at anytime(?), and a enemy similar to a big daddy but they said it might not be that.
13 years, 8 months ago
I'm totally with Grownshroom on this one. I know that putting "Bioshock" in the title is a marketing move first and foremost, and I'd much rather them name it something else.
Now, if Bioshock 2 was never made, I'd love to see this as Bioshock 2 proper. That would be cool and fit in with Levine's "bioshock is not about a single place" idea. But Bioshock 2 WAS made, and it just feels weird to shoehorn these completely different settings and characters in with the established franchise.
I know I'm just getting caught up on marketing, but for some reason I can't get this to stop bugging me.
13 years, 8 months ago
I just turned into bugs bunny on the moon
13 years, 8 months ago
As much as I am excited, I am a little uneasy they are giving the player a set voice; this feel just like how the next Dragon Age will be.
13 years, 8 months ago
man i cant wait for this game, i only hope that my pc can run this game.
13 years, 8 months ago
I've just returned from a two week holiday to be shown this trailer and boy am I happy, it appears Irrational Games has listened to its fans and fed us with something we would not have expected from the Bioshock series.. and that is a dose of unfamiliarity that we were presented within the first game, I have only one problem with the game and that is the fact that it is no longer as claustrophobic and frightening as the underwater setting in the first two but they have acted on this by placing the new city miles above ground and this is due to a fear of heights that works as one of the most effective of phobia's to place in a game.. And what do I say to this announcement... god bless you Irrational Games!
13 years, 8 months ago
Okay, so I watched this trailer a second time on my Xbox in HD, I noticed something about the Big Daddy replacements. If you look at it's leg when it pulls you out of the fish tank, it appears as though he is wearing blue pants, possibly bell bottom ones, not exactly sure. Also, if you look at it's wrist you will notice what appears to be a cuff, which looks red imo. Then lastly, if you look at it's chest when it's showing you it's heart, it looks like it has gold buttons on it with a what looks like a red and blue vest or something along those lines. That, coupled with the setting of a very America-centric atmosphere, leads me to believe they're somehow an Uncle Sam like robot. It's a guess, but it sure makes sense to me.
13 years, 8 months ago
soooo now the place is in the sky? thats awsome, BUT idk if its gunna b as good as 1 and 2
13 years, 8 months ago
I am absolutely hyped about this one. I am a huge fan of Bioshock 1 and 2. They could changed the prefix though. Like to Aeroshock or something. It's going to be in the sky right? Aero=air. I dunno just an idea. What about vita chambers? It is going to be the same as 1 and 2 with the vita chambers?