People have been saying that despite not being set in Rapture and having a largely different world than the first 2 Bioshock games, thematically speaking, BioShock Infinite still feels like a Bioshock game. So what exactly is it that makes a Bioshock game a true, core Bioshock game?
Well, thankfully, someone asked Irrational Games’ boss Ken Levine the same question during a Reddit AMA session. Here’s how Ken responded: “I think it actually has a lot in common with the first game,” he began, talking about how not so different it is in terms of themes from the first BioShock entry. “I’ve said in a bunch of interviews that we had to step back when we started working on this game and say “What makes a BioShock game?”. If it was Rapture, there would be no Irrational BioShock game coming out now.”
He continued: “After a lot of soul searching, we determined it was a) The game takes place in a world that is both grounded in reality and fantastical at the same time. That world needs to be more detailed than any other game world out there.”
And of course, who can forget the combat? “b) The combat has to have a strong improvisational nature, with a suite of player tools that lets everyone approach combat differently.”
Levine was also asked if Irrational would make BioShock sequels if Infinite were successful. As expected, he gave a pretty vague answer.
“In terms of more Irrational BioShock games, it’s way too early to say,” he said. “It will ALWAYS be dependent upon us having an idea that we’re in love with and excites us. IF we don’t have that, I suspect it would be another studio making one, if there was one to make. But I can’t imagine doing it if we weren’t in love with the idea.”
In the same AMA session, Levine also talked about Infinite’s replay value and length. Read the full story here.