The Rise and Fall of BioShock | Documentary

[Music] [Music] akin to the great musical artists and films of our time certain video game releases have instituted a culture shift establishing a clear demarcation line dividing the art created before its existence and after Wolfenstein 3D earned its place among such a prestigious list having fathered the modern first-person shooter in 1992. the 2001 launch of Grand Theft Auto 3 similarly shifted popular culture birthing the open world genre whose potential Knows No Limits Bioshock from boston-based developer Irrational Games Drew yet another indelible line in August 2007 its immersive gameplay gripping atmosphere and pioneering use of inventive storytelling devices elevating first-person shooters on countless fronts the original Bioshock constituted irrationals attempt at bringing the Hallmarks of the critically acclaimed yet commercially unimpressive System Shock to mainstream audiences it accomplished as much by coloring outside the lines of Market expectations over the course of the series however adapting to set expectations deeply affected the core of the brand development woes affected all three entries as well often driving a wedge between members of the creative team that series Creator Ken Levine was supposedly difficult to work with only exacerbated the tension internal and public-facing issues aside many would argue Bioshock never shied away from challenging the status quo all while raising the bar but for a rationals publisher a contingent of fans and even some developers that bar could never quite reach high enough this is the rise and fall of BioShock [Music] no I mean we were there's like you know the three co-founders of irrational only one of us you guys hear me by the way okay okay the three co-founders only one of us had ever shipped a game before um Rob fermier and John founded in 1997 by Ken Levine Jonathan Che and Robert formier irrational game started as an outfit primarily comprised of Alum from System Shock Studio Looking Glass fittingly co-development efforts with Looking Glass on 1999's System Shock 2 marked irrationals industry debut it was far from a bad first outing considering the follow-up garnered enough critical Acclaim to be dubbed Game of the Year several times over glowing reception did not translate to Blockbuster success however thus triazemite Levine had no luck securing a green light for the team's proposed System Shock 3. the designer sent a rudimentary pitch document for the third game to publisher Electronic Arts one year after System Shock 2's release outlining a resolution for the Cliffhanger ending EA dismissed The Proposal presumably because of the sequel's poor sales performance an insatiable hunger for additional adventures in the system shock Universe drove irrational to quietly manage a pet project one the studio tinkered with while developing Freedom Force and Deep Cover the latter a cancel joint Endeavor with Looking Glass Levine's idea for the sign project stemmed from an interest in further exploring the free-form gameplay and immersive storytelling that permeated System Shock brainstorming sessions began around 2001. by 2002 irrational had built a Bare Bones demo on the original Xbox using Unreal Engine 2 technology according to a Eurogamer profile on bioshock's production the demo took place aboard a space station overrun with genetically mutated creatures whose conceptual stylings harken back to B-movie sci-fi Fair the mutants in question included the likes of eelman and Jellyman while the narratives that prompted their existence followed Carlos cuello a deprogrammer tasked with rescuing cult members and reversing their psychological conditioning so during the earliest version of Bioshock around occult was born out of necessity the team needed something as it ironed out various game Design Elements impressively even the 2002 build boasted tentative game systems split into three main pillars protectors Harvesters and drones all of which later manifested as big daddies splicers and little sisters respectively the quillio stirring narrative didn't occupy the playing field for long eventually morphing into another pitch that positioned an abandoned genetics lab run by Nazis as its backdrop neither of these nascent ideas sparked the interest of Publishers given that Atari codemasters and EA rejected irrational system shockesque concept 2K Games on the other hand Inked a deal in 2004 on the good faith of little more than ideas about game systems Levine explained that without big daddies little sisters and antagonist Andrew Ryan in the picture at the time 2k's commitment shown a lot of Vision irrational put that faith and the Publisher's expansive budget to good use quickly what began as a low-budget RPG leaning production with 30 developers evolved into a 25 million dollar FPS RPG hybrid supported by a core team of 90 people but before the crew could get too comfortable with this new status quo narrowing down Bioshock setting characters and overarching narrative was a must [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] it's beaut the once shining underwater city of rapture floated to the surface during Ken Levine's visit to Manhattan setting his eyes upon the Splendor of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center planted the art deco seed couple that with the Plaza's bronze statue of Atlas trapped beneath the weight of the world and bioshock's visual style and philosophical backbone ostensibly came together all at once Levine's Manhattan trip additionally inspired the story behind Bioshock specifically with respect to the Plaza's historical beginnings planning to build a new opera house at the location the Metropolitan Opera initiated the construction of New York City's Rockefeller Center in 1928 then retracted its funding amid the stock market crash the following year JD rockefeller's need to make a profit from the land ultimately resulted in the oil tycoon taking out a multi-million dollar loan and partnering with broadcasting companies RCA RKO and NBC in hopes of establishing a massive entertainment center the fictional Andrew Ryan would similarly erect an architectural Marvel Against All Odds one nestled deep within the waves of the North Atlantic Ocean bioshock's business magnate didn't only draw influence from JD Rockefeller Andrew Ryan's name personal history and objectivist political ideology were derived from 20th century writer and philosopher Ayan Rand the late author's 1000 page Opus Atlas Shrugged explored her belief that selfishness not altruism should guide human behavior Rand opposed the welfare state thinking at a parasitic system that nod away at the productive capabilities of the individual Atlas Shrugged pondered the ramifications of the Rich and talented an analog for Atlas finally freeing themselves of the world's weight Ayan Rand wrote a novel to test the boundaries of rational self-interest Andrew Ryan built a Utopia Rapture where the artist would not fear the sensor where the scientists would not be bound by Petty morality and where the great would not be constrained by the small interestingly embracing rand's political philosophy as the intellectual underpinnings of rapture's rise and demise helped the studio zero in on a solution to its long-standing problem with little sisters irrational had already divided bioshock's key pillars into protectors Harvesters and drones the latter carrying a valuable resource Adam that Harvesters would kill to retrieve thus justifying the existence of stalwart protectors like big daddies drones went through several phases of evolution throughout development they began as slugs a concept the team abandoned over concerns players would carelessly squash them turning drones into figures with whom users could empathize seemed ideal engendering Concepts that replaced small slithering bugs with dogs in wheelchairs little girls were ultimately adopted as raptures resource carriers though art director Nate Wells later devotes the internal wariness that pervaded the decision developers balked at the thought of purposely harming young children in a game in addition to fearing public backlash 2K Games rang alarm Bells because of how ratings boards would potentially perceive the behavior the solution came two-fold making little sisters invulnerable to player attacks and injecting ranting objectivism into binary moral choices which were distilled through Harvest or rescue options harvesting killed little sisters a selfish act that reduced them to slugs harboring the substance capable of genetically altering raptures denizens the altruistic alternative resided in rescuing the girls freeing them from their conditioning and restoring their innocence this level of consequential decision making layered the first person shooter with intellectual depths but solving the little sister conundrum marked neither the beginning nor the end of bioshock's design-related troubles uncertainty about the game's overall direction as well as pressure to deliver a top tier Blockbuster created a pressure cooker at the irrational offices such that tension too often divided internal departments no no I'm trying please once again young Fitzpatrick [Music] speaking with IGN around the time of the game's 2004 announcement Ken Levine remarked that before partnering with 2K Games irrational had previously been in no hurry to present Bioshock to prospective publishing Partners the studio first focused on pinpointing the Project's identity and design preferably Sands the input of external marketing departments that would involve themselves early for purposes of maximizing future profits and Bioshock wasn't exactly an experience the average Marketing Group would have eagerly endeared itself to Levine argued not until Grand Theft Auto 3's meteoric rise did gaming ads plainly discuss Concepts such as open-ended or emergent gameplay without stealthily threading them into promos littered with popular buzzwords Levine and Company believed the tide was turning though thanks in part to the positive reactions that greeted bioshocks reveal players craved Innovation and irrational planned on delivering One initial design pitch described Bioshock as a modern day nightmare of the terrifying Nexus between religious fanaticism and unbounded Science in an undersea complex yet even while leaning Into the Now iconic Art Deco style irrational developers struggled with nailing down a visual language that complemented the pitch earlier versions of the undersea Colony boasted levels adorned with industrial-looking space corridors where bog standard mutated creatures roamed former irrational staffers claim these complications Grew From a rift between the Art and Design departments it took the collaborative efforts of two relative newcomers level designer JP labretton and a level artist Ogie de la Plante before the location's General aesthetic found its footing sensing the in-house friction new hire de la plot who joined irrational in 2006 asked to work with liberaton on a week-long experimental level building process most importantly nascent designs for the Botanical environment known as Arcadia spawned from the collaboration impressed by their work Levine showcased the Arcadia level to staff labeling at the bar to reach for all of bioshock's explorable spaces unfortunately establishing an agreed-upon Baseline for the look and feel of rapture had virtually no impact on the interdepartmental tension Levine added to the friction too given his reportedly fraught relationship with the design crew lebreton posited into Eurogamer interview that pressure to produce a successful Blockbuster placed the co-founder at odds with designers fears of repeating System Shock 2's underwhelming sales presumably fueled one Outburst in particular during a meeting centered on condensing Bioshock into a compelling demo for game informers March 2006 cover Story one developer submitted an idea using System Shock 2's cyborg ninjas as a point of reference some in attendance allege Levine threw his glasses down then shouted expletives that underscored his disinterest in the topic those who interjected in hopes of diffusing the tension similarly attracted the director's iron system shocks influence on Bioshock constituted the source of much inner turmoil though irrational considered its new title of spiritual successor to the Looking Glass classic the need to ship a bankable first-person shooter outweighed all else this especially became evident after bioshock's E3 2006 showing when Levine returned from a 2K marketing meeting and announced the underwater Adventure would be promoted as a shooter from that point onward the creative director assured staff the game hadn't lost its identity as a smart FPS RPG hybrid but explained that a few tweaks were critical to attracting the Halo Market it made sense an action game focalizing a failed undersea Utopia and the overt objectivist philosophy that precipitated his ruin would have been a difficult cell since shooters were predominantly associated with the likes of Call of Duty the pressure never hit a standstill either in fact crunch in the final year of production exacerbated the issue courtesy of mandated six and seven day work weeks J.P lebreton said Levine ordered the crunch directive meanwhile leads like producer Alyssa Finley disapproved the Mandate worse still feedback from focus group testing conducted months ahead of release raised questions about whether these laborious efforts were for not [Laughter] Bioshock has an amazing opening sequence that I can't imagine the game without it with uh you know playing and sort of the crash but I understand that didn't come online until like the very end of development Sean is that true we had a couple of really depressing play tests early in 2007 the Bioshock creators hosted focus group testing sessions that didn't go as well as anticipated their brutal feedback delivered a huge blow to morale for one players mocked atlas's accent while expressing immediate distrust in the character meant to initially feel like an ally Bioshock zombie-like enemies counted among the more confusing factors for testers other noteworthy complaints pointed out how dark the shooter looked but most debilitating was how many users understood neither the story nor what they were supposed to do and apparently at least one participant had no idea they'd been exploring a City Beneath the Sea fully aware of the titles esoteric themes developers expected testers would have difficulty grasping everything set before them yet no one prepared themselves for bioshock's brief turn as a laughing stock thus as the unfavorable feedback flooded in so too did self-doubt regardless addressing the criticism seemed the natural path forward fix has added following their focus group testing even fostered some of the game's most memorable qualities bioshock's lighting system received an overhaul for example in addition developers reworked the controls and implemented a large Quest arrow that provided players with better navigation tools recasting Atlas as an Irishman helped tackle the disdain for the character and finally the user's introduction to Rapture underwent extensive changes the end result showcasing underwater Vistas that established the colony setting despite the setbacks turmoil and daunting feelings of uncertainty bioshock's creative crew felt validated once the shooter launched to Universal Praise on PC and Xbox 360 in August 2007. its 96 rating on Metacritic quickly secured Bioshock a spot among the highest reviewed games of all time critics dubbed it in instant classic a masterpiece that demanded everyone's attention reviewers and players agreed the hauntingly atmospheric world of rapture presented a technical Marvel unlike anything else in or outside the medium many also argued the storytelling had demonstrated gaming cinematic potential since it so seamlessly encompassed multiple art forms not to mention the immersive gameplay elevated first-person shooters setting a high bar that few would subsequently dare to reach foreign [Music] unlike its ancestor Bioshock enjoyed both critical and Commercial Success having hit a milestone of 4 million copies sold by March 2010. Ken Levine view the positive reception and strong sales as evidence that players crave the types of thought-provoking interactive experiences his Studio specialized in but their crew at 2K Boston so named following 2K Games 2006 acquisition weren't interested in revisiting the sunken Halls of rapture a sequel wasn't the right thing for 2K Boston Levine admitted in a Gamespot interview the outfit's parent company had other plans in mind in December 2007 publisher take two interactive announced the formation of 2K Marin a new developer under its 2K Games label located in Novato California about half a dozen Bioshock veterans seeded the Marin office with series producer Alyssa Finley serving as founder and executive producer press details confirmed the expansion would permit the creation of original Ip as well as open the door for more collaborative efforts between 2K owned Studios secretly the group had already begun mapping out plans for a second BioShock Finley brought Jordan Thomas on board as Bioshock 2's creative director a big leap for someone who'd previously been a level designer still Thomas's Vision proved rather ambitious in a retrospective by Vice the creative director shared insight into the original pitch which cast players on the role of a former little sister returning to Rapture layers of trauma concerning the protagonist's past would have been peeled back as the story progressed specifically in a manner that Thomas called very Silent Hill however someone higher up the chain insisted Bioshock should embrace its action-oriented qualities believing the brand had the makings of a big shooter franchise like Gears of War or Call of Duty regardless of what awaited them at the Finish Line 2K Marin developers tried protecting the established Bioshock Cannon Above All Else dissecting how best to accomplish as much helped determine the primary Concepts that guided development namely rapture's return the humanization of the relationship between big daddies and little sisters and the positioning of an ex-little sister at the story Center upper management had its mandates too according to Thomas and lead designer Alan good one of which required multiplayer to justify the sequels launching at full price another mandate prioritized a PS3 port for the original Bioshock and finally the publisher wanted the project on store shelves within two and a half years these were tall orders for a studio assembling a brand new team and building the follow-up to a venerated Masterpiece in pursuit of his lofty goals 2K Games provided Marin with support from 2K Boston and 2K Australia the Publishing House additionally outsourced digital extremes for its multiplayer expertise ensuring the lead team could steer its energy towards delivering a worthy Bioshock sequel despite the time constraints and their Myriad limitations Thomas and Company hardly wanted to retrace previously taken steps the creative director advocated against orchestrating an M Night Shyamalan style gotcha twist feeling at risk duplicating the original this meant stripping away the would you kindly mind control Motif to instead centralize how the player's actions impacted the in-game world two Cameron funneled the new approach through additional thematic departures firstly BioShock 2 paid closer attention to the regular people in Rapture emphasizing smaller stories and intimate relationships whereas its predecessor depicted Grand ideas about this City's Elite as a result the sequel did far more than meditate on Free Will thus amplifying the weight of moral choices regarding the little sisters and it all required a very specific story starring a certain type of character five [Music] hello can you hear me said 10 years after the first game the script Thomas Penn for BioShock 2 dropped users back into Rapture where Bridget Tenenbaum the geneticist responsible for Adam and the little sisters awakened an original Big Daddy prototype and restored his Free Will playing as a model from the first line of protectors allowed audiences a view of rapture from the perspective of a man out of time if Bioshock start an outsider discovering a secret society its successor vocalized an Insider reacquainting himself with the Metropolis the relationship between little sisters and their protectors suddenly gained an added layer of nuance when Subject Delta took the lead well the moral choice to either rescue or harvest little sisters remained intact between games executive producer Alyssa Finley maintained in a digital spy sit-down that the decision held more weight unlike Jack and Bioshock Subject Delta didn't feel like a stranger given that little sisters inherently trusted Big Daddy's what the player did with said trust drove the sequel's most significant choices all in all two Cameron aimed to produce an experience whose Deep dive into morality read as more fuzzy edged when compared to the 2K Boston title A broader range of sympathetic characters were crafted and pursuit of this goal though Larger than Life figures like Sophia lamb gravitated towards the center of attention lamb in particular constituted the perfect polar opposite of Andrew Ryan assuming control of rapture following his death philosopher John Stuart Mill and socialist Karl Marx provided the building blocks of Lamb's creation her altruistic ideology enforcing the notion that everyone should treat the rest of the world as they would their own children in true Bioshock fashion lamb imposed extremes which blurred the lines between secular and religious altruism to the point of bearing an uncomfortable number of qualities in common with cult leaders like Jim Jones 2K Marin planted Big Sisters in the middle of Cedric Delta's Brewing conflict with lamb the mantle of big sister initially belonged to a soul character Eleanor lamb Sophia's daughter and the little sister formally bonded to Subject Delta speaking to Games Radar months after release Thomas explained that players would have fought Eleanor frequently however this course for the character left her feeling too far gone fragmented in a way that allowed for No Redemption the director also rejected the implication of a Twist wherein the story suddenly unveiled the main antagonist as the protagonist the signed little sister ultimately a combination of pressures engendered the shift where multiple Big Sisters functioned as enforcers before Eleanor later adopted the role Big Sisters represented more than an interesting narrative Touchstone mechanically they made for the ideal opposition to a playable Big Daddy the diving suit wearing enemies and Bioshock dealt with a lot of bulk and unfitting design for a leading character in first person shooters subject Delta's status as an early model protector informed the creation of a faster more agile suit ensuring he stood a chance against the especially spry big sisters who were kitted out with powers that provided yet another combat advantage in terms of sprucing up the gameplay Jordan Thomas told Eurogamer the project started as an examination of what the 2000 title didn't do and what it could have handled better bioshock's upgrade systems which included weapon improvements Gene tonics and plasmid modifiers were nothing if not solid but 2K Marin new customization needed more depth a wider range of specialization options entered the mix in BioShock 2 as a result though the franchise's shooting mechanics received the most measurable enhancements thanks to guidance from designer Zach McClendon tonight I wish to remind each of you that Rapture is your city it was your strength of will that brought you here and with that strength you shall [Music] of course the big daddy starring campaign served as only one part of the sequel's overall offerings produced and released during the height of Tanked on multiplayer modes BioShock 2 featured a narrative driven online component known as fall of rapture developers got word during pre-production that the sequel needed to expand what it meant to be a BioShock game this note presumably from 2K Games leadership nudged 2K Marin in the direction of an online Suite inspiring several loose Concepts that were too complicated for instance Jordan Thomas and lead designer Alan good referenced an mmo-like proposal in a tech radar interview describing it as self-contained and perpetual 2K ultimately outsourced the multiplayer to Unreal co-creator digital extremes which built a more reasonable online component because of the roughly two-year development cycle translating the sophisticated shooter to a PVP setting created several challenges Chief among them being that bioshock's heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 2.5 boasted no built-in multiplayer capabilities forcing digital extremes to create the Necessary Technology from scratch on top of battling technical setbacks the support crew struggled with determining which type of content would best befit Rapture set online modes one embryonic version pitted nine users against a playable Big Daddy in an asymmetrical experience that was sidelined due to balancing issues PVP seemed the optimal route although the established gameplay required fine-tuning according to senior producer Melissa Miller adjusting the pacing of maps in multiplayer proved especially integral the single player campaign let users pause and consider the best path forward online battles offered no such options limiting loadouts to two plasmids two weapons and three Gene tonics helped combat the PVP balancing concerns which developers hoped would encourage players to stick with fall of rapture long term digital extremes further stretch the Mode's potential appeal by exploring a prequel narrative recognizing multiplayer as the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into rapture's past between the years of 1959 and 1960. thoughbe is set by a violent Civil War The Rapture of this period still held glimpses of Beauty in areas such as Arcadia Bay and Fort Frolic players could explore the city through a new lens one wherein Andrew Ryan's original Vision didn't feel so distant a man chooses a slave obeys BioShock 2 single player and multiplayer successes weren't possible without impeccable teamwork the Marine office staffed up quickly upon opening its doors going from a head count of 8 to 80 in record time but rapid growth never hindered the team Dynamic if anything Jordan Thomas viewed 2K Marin's approach as egalitarian to a fault suggesting that perhaps everyone on staff had too much of a say as a first-time creative director Thomas gave all developers a voice believing BioShock 2 was much bigger than any one creative mind he may have felt some reservations about this method in hindsight yet members of the crew appreciated the collaborative environment it paid off tremendously too 2K Games lifted the veil on BioShock 2 in March 2008 the excitement quickly reached a Groundswell although news about the newly founded development team and online play fostered a degree of skepticism for the most part 2K Marin proved the doubter is wrong when the title garnered a claim at launch in February 2010 the sequel didn't earn review scores high enough for a place among the upper echelon of gaming greats like the original however most agreed BioShock 2 amounted to nothing less than a worthy second entry plus the Minerva's Den DLC one over series faithful with an emotionally gripping storyline comparable to the 2K Boston developed Adventure across these few experiences existed the foundation of what would later be dubbed albeit condescendingly walking simulators former Bioshock developers went on to produce gone home and firewatch for example bearing that trajectory in mind onlookers might have assumed the Bioshock brand had a clear path ahead of it but during the time in which the Marine Studio descended into the depths of rapture franchise creators in Boston have their heads in the clouds crafting a universe or multiple universes where the variables were infinite hmm [Music] now we're supposed to make contact with the National Guard they've set up a perimeter around this community the second that they heard that there might be an alien incursion there let's look for someone in charge taking a step back from Rapture didn't immediately set Ken Levine and his staff on another course in the system shock inspired world of Bioshock 2K Boston instead cast its gaze towards another classic PC game x-com for his book press reset reporter Jason schreier spoke with former developers who alleged Levine's commitment to the secret x-com project had subsided by mid-2008 leaving 2K Australia and 2K Marin to join forces on the bureau XCOM Declassified while the boston-based subsidiary re-engaged with BioShock the earliest ideas for what would become BioShock Infinite were conceived as far back as February 2008. Levine informed the guardian that infinite's 1912 backdrop settled into place first with the city in the sky concept coming online sometime thereafter the American exceptionalism bent manifested much later each idea coalescing into one thanks to the influence of Eric Larson's The Devil in the White City multiple 2K Boston artists were engrossed in the historical nonfiction book reading about the architect behind the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the serial killer who used the fair as a lure for unsuspecting victims Levine considered the New York Times bestseller Emir of the United States then concurrent events thus believing Devil in the White City a perfect point of reference for the creation of a floating Metropolis that exemplified American idealism and out of that Motif Blossom the vibrant visuals accentuated by the beaming sun rays high-flying national flags and god-like Effigies honoring the founding fathers Columbia signified rapture's polar opposite in every sense Rapture represented a graveyard a time capsule Rife with disturbing histories for players to unearth whereas Colombia offered a lively World whose tragedies users could experience firsthand beneath the Perpetual July 4th veneer arrested something sinister discomforting truths nestled within harrowing political and religious ideologies Colombia very easily worked in concert with Bioshock themes building a character-driven piece to complement them proved rather trying the team made it a point to avoid standard sequel tropes which typically involved introducing a handful of previously unseen monsters and extra playable levels an entirely new Locale didn't seem striking enough either since skirting the usual trappings of a sequel also morphed into ditching basic shooter conventions that had comforted the genre for far too long NPCs issuing orders from behind a window or through an earpiece had become old hat the original Bioshock swore by these means of delivering objectives for infinite 2K Boston which reinstated the Irrational Games label in 2009 challenged itself to design a companion character capable of driving the narrative and drawing empathy from players they name the character Elizabeth uh hello games of the past had featured meaningful AI companions but Elizabeth's injection into Bioshock presented obstacles that were fairly novel for the time on one hand the ways in which she enhanced the gameplay had to correspond with the abilities of player character Booker DeWitt though Elizabeth's Powers couldn't prove so dominant that she led the action and consequently outshining the playable hero still her gameplay involvement demanded noticeable impact requiring a balancing act on a rational's part that bled into her narrative function as an NPC making Elizabeth believable worthy of sympathy even was another challenge given that Bioshock and countless of its FPS contemporaries had conditioned users to either kill non-playable characters or view them as commodities unsurprisingly Technical and logistical complications arose from these lofty Ambitions developers argued in favor of cutting Elizabeth from the game on more than one occasion while she ultimately crossed the Finish Line several so-called doomed projects fell by the wayside dedicated multiplayer constituting one example Ken Levine noted not long after infinite's 2010 announcement that online support wouldn't be a guarantee job advertisements posted in May 2012 indicated irrational had big plans for multiplayer though with sources later confirming two separate modes were once in development polygon sources claimed one mode border control offered Tower Defense style Cooperative gameplay its design style mimicking political cartoon art that targeted young children for propaganda purposes meanwhile former developers who spoke with Kotaku said the tentatively titled spec ops shared similarities with modes of the same name in classic Call of Duty Modern Warfare entries in which four players worked cooperatively to navigate levels borrowed from the campaign the studio put both on hold so resources could be diverted elsewhere when Bioshock 2's Jordan Thomas rejoined irrational to steer infinite on course he and Levine agreed the multiplayer efforts were impractical after all the main story needed every bit of help irrational and its sister Studios could muster apparently such a need emerged because the project had suffered a distinct lack of focus when asked to address infinite's developmental woes in a 2016 Rolling Stone interview Levine cited a number of factors regarding the structure of the development house working across continents between the Boston and Australian arms complicated matters of course but the creative director insisted the real disruption stemmed from irrational having to rebuild its internal team a number of key Bioshock developers moved to BioShock 2 in 2007 shattering the work culture and creating a Schism that never properly repaired itself one key departure included co-founder Jonathan Che the head of 2K Australia Shea represented the Yang to Levine zien in that the former led the production side of things while the latter managed the creative Chase exit in 2011 saddled Levine with the responsibility of wearing both hats admittedly unfamiliar territory for the acclaimed visionary after launching a cryptic teaser website 2K and irrational lifted the veil on BioShock Infinite during an NYC event in August 2010 the now Infamous E3 2011 demo exhibited its true coming out party providing a showpiece of what developers planned on delivering yet infinites heavily scripted demo featured Dynamic gameplay sequences the 7th gen consoles couldn't replicate making for a final product that technologically failed to measure up the memory constraints of PS3 and Xbox 360 severely limited everything from Dynamic mechanics to the number of enemies present on screen at once and less on-screen enemies meant foes were bullet sponges such issues added another knock against the franchise's divisive combat systems in some respects the E3 demo and its false promises were the least of irrational's concerns former staffer Sean Elliott divulged that so much effort went into the vertical slice because the studio had nothing else of consequence ready for Prime Time dozens upon dozens of issues had beset the project by this point even infinite's AI Circa E3 2011 earned the description of atrocious according to Anonymous sources interviewed by Kotaku a good chunk of the bloated production cycle May entered to and fro the result of Levine's iterative creative process the director reportedly leveraged a system wherein repeatedly creating destroying and reconstructing ideas became the norm this method served the project well in certain cases having benefited the Skyhook mechanic that nearly Hit The Cutting Room floor multiple times however this one mode of traversal absorbed resources for lengthy periods distracting from Key areas of design that hadn't been finalized years into development Bioshock 2's Jordan Thomas and Rod Ferguson of Gears of warfame helped turn things around upon boarding the infinite crew in 2012. Thomas guided the production away from iterative tactics using his Talus to assemble the disparate parts of Levine's Vision then cohesively mow them together similarly Ferguson in the role of VP of development established a manageable path forward by providing structure and assigning actionable goals many developers later posited the title may not have launched without guidance from Thomas and Ferguson [Music] I baptize you in the name of our prophet in the name of our Founders and the name of our Lord [Music] I don't know brothers and sisters but this one doesn't look clean to me yourself [Music] [Music] BioShock Infinite finally landed in stores in March 2013 after multiple delays met with rave reviews the series had yet again pushed the medium into a bold New Direction his handling of subject matters such as racial segregation in the 20th century felt eerily prescient though divisiveness about its politically pessimistic Arc for Insurgency leader Daisy Fitzroy dominated much of the conversation the uninspired gameplay further disappointed critics and players who lamented that Bioshock played like an average shooter players could still equip special abilities and mix and match them for stronger effects but gone were bioshock's relatively deep customization options that the actual shooting mechanics felt unrefined didn't do the gameplay any favors either from the outside looking in it all played well into the notion that higher-ups wanted a broader audience for the Brand This Much held true regarding infinite's marketing campaign at least with Levine admitting that ads purposefully focused on the action to attract those who purchase games off the shelf with minimal knowledge hence the generic cover art that relegated Elizabeth to the back of the box over the course of three entries Bioshock had somewhat capitulated to Market pressure the very thing irrational originally bucked against and it apparently took a toll on Levine who began downsizing the Studio's Workforce during production of the Burial at Sea expansions internally the executive expressed doubts about the viability of producing another AAA title in the then current video game landscape even so most were surprised when Levine shuttered the studio in February 2014 to form a much smaller company ghost story games with roughly a dozen irrational veterans 2K Games hasn't given up on the property despite the delays overrun budgets and a PlayStation Vita spin-off that was unlikely to ever see the light of day Bioshock still holds plenty of Promise new development firm Cloud chamber Studios entered production on the next installment years ago as yet uncorroborated rumors allege the adventure will explore an Antarctic setting precedent suggests it may trace the footsteps of its forebears perhaps centralizing a larger-than-life figure who's hubris and inordinate Ambitions send the world tumbling down around them as the industry continues rinsing and repeating exhausted visuals and gameplay systems Bioshock fans can only hope future entries retain the IP's distinctly unique qualities some of which got lost in the shuffle over time but so long as there's a lighthouse a man and a city there will never exist a limit to the stories worth telling in the universe where choosing the impossible requires nothing more than the sweat of the brows [Music] both [Music] this video has been brought to you by you the generous fans and patrons making all of this possible from having your name appear in the credits or even narrated by me to gaining Early ad-free Access to our entire library of content those who support us on patreon will not only become part of the awesome community that enables us to make these videos but receive a host of exciting rewards as a token of our gratitude if you are interested in contributing to our work and helping our Channel grow head over to our patreon page to discover all of the exclusive content and reward tiers we have on offer thank you for your support [Music] thank you for watching we'd like to take this time to thank by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our Hall of Fame rewards here Alex Moretti and those currently subscribe to our producer rewards here Brock pivoto Daria getrek.com Jonathan Kira May Landy K hay Hayes Mario Herrera milkshake if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our Channel and backing us on patreon [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: GVMERS

Views: 221,274

Keywords: BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, BioShock 3, BioShock 4, System Shock, System Shock 2, System Shock 3, Irrational Games, Ghost Story Games, The History of BioShock, BioShock Documentary, BioShock History, BioShock Lore, Making of BioShock, BioShock Remastered, BioShock Leaks and Rumors, BioShock Future, 2K

Id: nJ9pFC6Aurk

Length: 44min 31sec (2671 seconds)

Published: Fri May 19 2023