BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

[Wrestlevania]

BioShock 2's broken cover, thanks to a teaser trailer revealed at the end of the Playstation 3 version of BioShock.

I know 2K said this was a certainty some time back - along with Ken Levine's swift departure from Irrational Games 2K Boston being rumoured to be because of this - but it's still nice to see something tangible of it.

I've been meaning to pick up the original to replay for a few months now, really enjoyed it the first time around.

[Roderick]

This is one of those things where I just for the life of me cannot imagine what it must be like. A sequel to Bioshock seems so utterly impossible. I look forward to seeing more, but hesitantly, as if I were a little bit frightened they might muck it up.

[elmuerte]

I think it involves a city of sandcastles

anyway, also looking forward to it

[n0wak]

I know 2K said this was a certainty some time back - along with Ken Levine's swift departure from Irrational Games 2K Boston being rumoured to be because of this

Huh? He's still there, isn't he? He's just not directly involved with Bioshock 2 as 2K Marin is doing it; he still adds his input, of course.

[Wrestlevania]

Huh? He's still there, isn't he? He's just not directly involved with Bioshock 2 as 2K Marin is doing it; he still adds his input, of course.

My mistake, I thought he'd left.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Huh? But why isn't Levine being more involved? It was his baby wasn't it, and didn't he say (after the surprise success of BS) that they were planning to do lots of sequels, telling different stories from within the city (like maybe answering the question: "Where are the sane people at?").

Sucks

[ThunderPeel2001]

“A good chunk of the BioShock team did not want to work with Ken [Levine] ever again, and 2K definitely understood the sentiment and let them set up a new studio so that they can make Bioshock 2, leaving Ken with Project X. A good chunk of the other senior 2K Boston people who were sick of Ken but didn’t move to San Francisco ended up scattering to other AAA developers instead. In Quincy, they’re essentially rebuilding a team from almost scratch again.”

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/11/30/filthy-rumourmongering-bioshock-2-sans-ken/

Interesting!

So maybe Ken's departure isn't so bad, afterall. I played through BioShock on the PC to begin with (veeeeeery nice), but I've got the 360 version hanging around. I might play through it again on the 360 to see how it plays differently.

[toblix]

Ken Levine sounds like a huge dick. I mean, why else would nobody want to work with him? Because he's too awesome?

[n0wak]

Yeah, don't worry. The game is in good hands

[DanJW]

Ken Levine sounds like a huge dick. I mean, why else would nobody want to work with him? Because he's too awesome?

Maybe he shouted at them for trying to ruin it?

It's the kind of thing I'd do.

Maybe.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Maybe he shouted at them because they looked at him "funny". He sure sounds like a dick:

"Maybe I’m the nicest guy in the world, maybe I’m the biggest asshole. I couldn’t tell you. I think people choose to work with me because I can work with them and make a game called BioShock."

(Does he realise that there's already a game called BioShock?)

Still, he did a brilliant job with System Shock 2, you have to give him that.

[Wrestlevania]

Still, he did a brilliant job with System Shock 2, you have to give him that.

Ah, but that was a different environment (i.e. the much lamented Looking Glass) to 2K Boston.

From what I can make out, peering in through Looking Glass's virtual windows, LG was a collection of hugely talented, very "characterful" individuals that were so bloody minded together to make great things. It's my feeling that Ken, now working more or less on his own in relative terms, sticks out like a sore thumb.

That's not to imply 2K Boston don't give a shit either--BioShock speaks volumes for itself in that regard. It's just my opinion.

[Chris]

Ah, but that was a different environment (i.e. the much lamented Looking Glass) to 2K Boston.

From what I can make out, peering in through Looking Glass's virtual windows, LG was a collection of hugely talented, very "characterful" individuals that were so bloody minded together to make great things. It's my feeling that Ken, now working more or less on his own in relative terms, sticks out like a sore thumb.

That's not to imply 2K Boston don't give a shit either--BioShock speaks volumes for itself in that regard. It's just my opinion.

This seems like a minor point to make, but it's more of a guess or an assumption than an opinion. We really have no actual frame of reference from which to form a credible opinion on that particular comparison.

[Wrestlevania]

Yes, it's based on complete guesswork and supposition. I'm not intentionally trying to berate anyone here, just thinking out loud on why things might be the way they might be.

[Cigol]

Maybe they can put some of that pretentious crap everyone bangs on about in the game this time.

/runs away before the internet assaults him

[Wrestlevania]

BURN THE WITCH!

[DanJW]

In any case, I think the fear is that without him, the sequal will focus on recreating the finger without the things it was pointing at.

[miffy495]

Maybe they can put some of that pretentious crap everyone bangs on about in the game this time.

/runs away before the internet assaults him

If that's enough to make you flee, I'll have to join you in escaping. I thought Bioshock was a fun game, but the message was about as sublte as a day-glo painted clown screaming in german during mass. All the subtlety and nuance just didn't seem there to me, and it took countless articles espousing it's virtues for me to even understand why the hell so many people were saying it was the best thing ever. Even now I think most of that was just people reading too much into it because they really, really wanted it to be just that deep.

Again, fun game. Enjoyed it immensely. Will play the sequel. But I just don't think it's as deep as people have convinced themselves.

[DanJW]

I think the reason for that is perhaps for the first time ever a game creator has spoken about the subtext. Most games, if they have a subtext at all, keep it backstage for fear of scaring away people who "just want to be entertained, y'know?" Actually being man enough to state the philosophical stuff as even being an important part of the games creation is an important step forward in Games as an Artistic Medium.

[vimes]

It looks like it's going to be a sequel (the grown up Little Sister, the barnacle on the logo ...). I am the only one to believe this is the most obscure choice they could make in terms of storytelling? What kind of interesting use could they make of the now deserted Rapture?

Pronostic of premices : "lead by a nostalgic or still brainwashed Little Sister or out of pure luck, a bunch of scientists/adventurers discover or stumble onto Rapture and, subsequently, a conflict arise : some of them (including governments) decide to use Rapture technology for evil, others want to use it for good and the rest think they should not use it at all since the circumstances that lead to these progress are stained with inhuman intent"

[LOPcagney]

There's no reason to franchise this game in my opinion. It works so well as a standalone title.

I'd love to see another "spiritual successor" under the Bioshock name, employing similar utopian principles to a completely new setting and context.

Of course, I'm one of those crazy people who still thinks the team should be working on rewriting the last 5th of the original game.

[ThunderPeel2001]

It looks like it's going to be a sequel (the grown up Little Sister, the barnacle on the logo ...). I am the only one to believe this is the most obscure choice they could make in terms of storytelling? What kind of interesting use could they make of the now deserted Rapture?

Maybe it's not deserted... dun dun DUN!

[ThunderPeel2001]

Of course, I'm one of those crazy people who still thinks the team should be working on rewriting the last 5th of the original game.

I don't think you're in a minority there. Good though it was, it wasn't SS2 or Deus Ex in terms of plot.

[Chris]

If that's enough to make you flee, I'll have to join you in escaping. I thought Bioshock was a fun game, but the message was about as sublte as a day-glo painted clown screaming in german during mass. All the subtlety and nuance just didn't seem there to me, and it took countless articles espousing it's virtues for me to even understand why the hell so many people were saying it was the best thing ever. Even now I think most of that was just people reading too much into it because they really, really wanted it to be just that deep.

Again, fun game. Enjoyed it immensely. Will play the sequel. But I just don't think it's as deep as people have convinced themselves.

It's not that it was subtle, it's that it was there.