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In this third and final analytic construct on games that serve as examples of fine art in their acoustic, visual, and narrative formats, a total of six games are highlighted. This list presents select legendary franchises that gave birth to a new wave for games to follow while still retaining their arty identity. Others stand out for their sheer level of dementia and emotional context, while some initiated a new world (or two), one character and dialogue piece at a time. So here they are: the end-result of a nearly one month of writing and a short, rather, incomplete, yet insightful register of art in gaming.
Sounds zany, huh? But that’s how BioShock started out apparently, according to senior designer Joe McDonagh, who spoke at length to CVG about his career - selling no-good games for a living, his stint at Lionhead and the really interesting way in which he landed it (think tea leaves, burnt matches and a letter in a bottle), starting his own company and then losing it all before heading over to Irrational to work on BioShock as a senior designer.
We all saw how BioShock was almost never made, but then, it was also a pretty crappy concept at first, according to Joe. A plot that involved an island and lots of Nazis, BioShock almost became Far Cry meets Return to Castle Wolfenstein, before they took the out-there idea of building a game based on Ayn Rand’s principles and what happens when you take it too far.
Read the complete Creative Minds interview at CVG and thank the stars that the game you enjoy is built so because people like Ken Levine, Nate Wells, Joe McDonagh, Melissa Miller and a hundred other dedicated individuals broke their collective backs for years making it so that we could enjoy the romp through the dystopia of Rapture.
How I hate my stupid 256k connection. Been downloading the BioShock demo since 9 AM and the damn thing still isn’t done. Of course, until I wait for the remaining 31% of the demo to complete, I need something to do. Thankfully, for sorry blokes like me, 2K Boston, formerly Irrational, have released the launch trailer for BioShock, which is, eerily, set to the upbeat tune of Frank Sinatra’s “Somewhere beyond the sea”, even as the video shows off the Big Daddy holding and (comically, yet painfully) shaking the player’s head with just one gigantic hand. Ahh, good times, although I must say, I don’t like the Little Sisters’ red eyes. They were a lot more creepier when they looked like regular, sick 12-year old girls who kept yelling “Look, Mr. Bubbles! Adam!” and “Get him, Mr. B!” Oh well!
BioShock Launch Trailer - HD Windows Media [GameTrailers]
And oh, in case you are a PS3 owner and still wondering if the game will hit your favorite Piano Black console with the Spiderman font on it, well, sorry, chumps. Ken Levine has pretty much stated that BioShock will stay exclusive to the PC and the Xbox 360. Looks like you’ll have to spend money on that shiny PC upgrade after all.
Strangely though, for a game that has been generating tremendous applause ever since it was first announced, it looks like the game almost didn’t get made, according to senior designer Joe McDonagh. Speaking to CVG about the game, Joe said:
“Bioshock was a long time in the making. Ever since System Shock II the team had talked about everything they wished they’d done differently. Ken (Levine) spent years pitching the game to publishers but no one was interested, incredible as that seems now. I joined Irrational in December 2004 and my first job was to get a publishing deal for the game (I worked as the Business Development Director for the first six months). I remember pitching the game to one publisher who later told a friend of mine that it was ‘just another fucking PC FPS that’s going to sell 250,000 units.’”
Just another fucking PC FPS? Looks like BioShock might go the way of System Shock 2, which is probably one of the greatest games ever made in the history of gaming, but sadly, didn’t too well at the market. Of course, one hopes that won’t be the case, since the future of a lot of my favorites, including the “Shock” and the SWAT series depends on Irrational scoring big time with this game. Time for FPS fans and jaded game publishers to take their heads out of their ass and start seeing the quality that’s around them instead of sinking more funds into a brain-dead Need For Speed franchise!
Like the head pencil pushers at 2K Games have been playing too much Bioshock these days. So much so, in fact, that they decided to take the game’s mantra and apply it to Bioshock’s creators, Irrational, itself. In a major Borgification move, Take-Two announced that Irrational Games’ offices in Boston and Canberra will henceforth be known as 2K Boston and 2K Canberra respectively, and what do they attribute this rechristening to?
“Irrational Games is widely recognized as one of the most innovative development studios in the world,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “Following their incredible efforts in bringing BioShock to life, we are proud to make the newly renamed Irrational Games studios a cornerstone of our game development family.”
That’s right! What better way to acknowledge the sheer creativity and individuality expressed by Irrational in System Shock 2 and the upcoming Bioshock than by renaming them to a nondescript #24601. Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational, is awfully pleased, looks like, judging by his Borgified Cpt. Picard press statement:
“We’re proud to be part of the 2K Games family and enjoy the new opportunities and artistic freedoms this strengthened relationship provides,” said Ken Levine, President and Creative Director of 2K Boston. “The name change signifies our growing position as a central part of 2K Games, and we plan to ensure our future titles continue to set new standards of quality and innovation for the industry.”
I’m pretty damn sure that every time he kills a Big Daddy in Bioshock now, he’s thinking of the guys that pulled this on him. I’m sure the irony is not lost on the poor fellow, though. Expect to get assimilated by Ryan and Fontaine’s dystopia when Bioshock hits shelves on the 21st of this month in the United States and on the 24th across Europe.
To those that haven’t read Krishnan’s blog post next (or below) this one yet: what the hell are you standing around here for? Go read that first! For those of you that did, you already heard of the WiC Beta closure. It may have been a fun time for some, a frustrating time for others, but to me it was but the realization of a hidden Nuklear ambition. Having finished at a decent position overall (and at my peak touching 359 on the ladder board) towards the end, I can’t help but think that this’ll be an utterly great game to play and get hooked on almost immediately - but only in single player.
The negative reaction to the multiplayer aspects stems too much from it’s similarity to Battlefield 2 and 2142. Finding a good game that lasts more than 5-10 minutes thanks to horrible balance in terms of both Rank and Numbers is somewhat rare. Grinding against the same problems repetitively on only two maps made it even worst of a hassle, and eventually, after a full day of 6-10 minute games where our team couldn’t get it’s act together in time for being swamped by the other, stacked team of high-ranking players I quit for a few days out of sheer frustration. However, don’t let this little tale ruin the experience for you - while it can be hassle to generally play online on your own, if you can find and convince a few good friends to play with you online and in the same clan (and on Clan matches no less) then the Multiplayer aspect is an utter, utter blast. After all, its always more fun to play together with friends than random strangers (not to mention a whole lot more co-ordinated). Plus consider that this case was probably isolated, and if you DO get a good team and fairly even skill levels on both sides, like BF2 it can be a blast
That said, its probably best to stop beating a dead horse. Hopefully, the developers will get something planned by the time the game ships.
Now, to move onto more…darker things. For long-time System Shock fans, there’s a somewhat long (yet interesting) article on what is the Gaming History’s most unique villains: SHODAN. You can find it here, and is aptly titled “The Girl Who Wanted to be God”. Even if your not a System Shock fan, its really recommended reading the article anyway, as it describes a breed - nay, a species of awesome villains that’ll probably never be seen again in the future of gaming.
To finish off this less-than-spectacular blog post is a bit of news regarding Firaxis’ new expansion pack to Civilization IV, titled “Beyond the Sword“. The recently released expansion pack gives a vast number of units, civilizations, leaders and other upgrades to the Civ IV games. More awesome than that though, is the way their getting publicity for it: through web comics. Firaxis apparently invited many major web comics to make fan strips for the release in a special event known as “Civilization Daydreams”. Artists from popular web comics such as Player vs Player Online, Ctrl Alt Delete, 8-Bit Theater and quite a few others have given strips for the release. These special strips can be found here: http://www.civilization.com/daydreams/
Enjoy reading them. Until next time something interesting happens (and someone else doesn’t beat me to posting it here *glares at some people*) - this is Singh, signing off.
Having little to do in the way of activity, the events of the day resulted in much searching, reading and contemplation of various recent and past events in the gaming scene. Chief amongst these is Bioshock, and how strikingly it’s similar to System Shock 2. This is no trade secret by any length of the imagination. At E3 2006, Irrational’s General Manager Ken Levine gave a brief interview and overview of Bioshock; in his comments he noted that there were many similarities between the two games, especially in terms of Mechanics.
Everything, from the old abilities upgrade system to hacking security systems and even the way your lead through Rapture by the instructions of its creator, Andrew Ryan is very, very reminiscent of SS2. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you – SS2’s formula was a successful one, and to not recycle it into something new yet still unique (despite its age) would be an utter shame. The heart still yearns for a true sequel to SS2 after all, but seeing its spirit live on in Bioshock is more than successful.
However, mechanics aside, the observant fan of SS2 will be able to pick up on the clear -and somewhat terrifying – echoes to SS2’s story. Although mechanically, the resource Adam has replaced nanites; its nature echoes a more sinister villain from SS2: The Many.
The influence of Adam on the citizens of Rapture is extremely similar and reminiscent of the The Many’s influence upon the crew of the Von Braun in SS2. Both objects drew in their victims with the promise of Glory, Improvement and most of all; the Glory of the flesh. Each was created by a being that desired something akin to Godhood, playing with the very nature of life itself - albeit, in different ways. Still, despite their different methods of creations, their end results are eerily similar: Zombies and Mutants, taken over by their desires for glory, but reduced to nothing. However, as similar as they may be, The Many were a sentient organism, while Adam is but a substance. Still, despite this other echoes do exist.
One example of such is the settings of the two games. Comparing the city of Rapture to the Von Braun is creepy in its own right. The VB and Rapture share similarities in their origins and fates that are undeniable. Each one acts as a prime example of humanity’s greatest achievements, and desires to expand – yet at the same time, a horrifying warning of the consequences of going too far, and attempting to play God. Where the VB was destroyed by The Many, Rapture has fallen to Adam. The conditions we see in the videos of Rapture are striking; with the sea leaking in, corpses lying everywhere, the entire area in disrepair – it all smacks of a location plunging deeper and deeper into chaos, much like the VB was till we arrived. However, unlike the VB, the fate of Rapture at the protagonist’s hands is unsure, so more parallels from that angle cannot be drawn at this point of time.
But still, there are more echoes – this time in philosophy. Andrew Ryan’s opening statements in the cut scenes bear a striking resemblance to one of SHODAN’s desires: the desire for perfection. Although by no means an uncommon desire, the coincidence between the two is too much to discard – especially when you consider what happens later on. In what one could call a ‘traditional’ battle, like in SS1/SS2, in Bioshock too there is a clash between between creator and creation: this time namely between Andrew Ryan, and the founder of Adam, Tenebaum. Ryan eventually won out over Andrew, much like how SHODAN won out over The Many, and humanity over her even before that. More than that; much like SS1 and 2, Bioshock looked ready to bring back the old issues of the ‘petty morality’ of playing God, especially with human life and genetics.
Still, despite these similarities, there are differences. Where The Many had been eliminated, Tenebaum still exists, alongside Adam, which is in turn where the Protagonist appears. There is no SHODAN, nor is there a single opponent in all of this. Unlike SS2, which had a straight-forward plot, the protagonist of Bioshock appears to have the choice of morality in what he can do.
Irrational has, in essence, borrowed heavily from System Shock 2 – but it is not a bad thing that they did. They have taken the best elements from SS2 and combined it with new elements, stories and choices to make something incredibly unique and interesting. We may never have another SHODAN taunting us along our cybernetic paths, nor will we have The Many enticing us to join in the Glory of the flesh; but their spirit lives on in the conflicts between Rapture and Adam, and our choices within it.