The Breakthrough and Decline
Initially, when Bioshock was being planned, the thinking was to create a story based around a cult de-programmer; the kind of guy who readjusts victims of a cult back into real life. The original idea was to have a deprogrammer, hired by a politician, to save his daughter. The cult would have had genetic experimentation, resulting in various enemies with specific skills. But as the design process went on the story was tailored to Irrational Games’ mantra of always putting design first.
Levine, holding a Liberal Arts degree (basically like a BA Own Choice) started peppering the cult with ideas from the books he read at university, like Ayn Rand and George Orwell. He also cited works like 1984 and Logan’s Run; books based around dystopian futures, where the citizens were partly (if not wholly) to blame for their misery.
Most people who played System Shock II, in particular Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw from the Escapist, immediately linked the gameplay and design in Bioshock to System Shock, and Levine himself called Bioshock the spiritual successor to System Shock II. Both also included multiple types of ammo, weapon customisation and multiple mission paths.
Bioshock also introduced a moral choice system, which was incredibly hit and miss; it didn’t create a choice as much as force the gamer to complete the game twice to enjoy both endings. Ken Levine did say, however, that the multiple endings came from a higher up and wasn’t part of the original development document.
All this came to a head in 2007, when Bioshock was released on PC and Xbox, with a PS3 port following a year later. Bioshock didn’t just break ground, it formed a huge canyon. The seamless integration of RPG elements essentially resulted in hundreds of FPSRPG clones, including Bioshock II, which tried to cash in on the success. The 2006 awards season was absolutely dominated by Bioshock, with Bioshock winning most of the medals at E3. It also peppered the majority of lists for 2006 as the best game that year. Financially, Take 2’s shares increased by 20%, aided by excellent reviews. As of 2013, around 4 million copies of the game had been shipped – excluding digital sales on Steam.
2007 was the annus mirabilis for Irrational, allowing them to open a 3rd Studio. At that stage it had Irrational Games and 2K Australia. The new studio was called 2K Marin, which eventually helped develop the less-than-stellar Bioshock 2 in 2010 together with 2K Australia. By all rights it was a pretty game, but there was no need to return to Rapture, and the story just felt unnecessary.
Mechanically, the game was an improvement, but it felt more like a prettier play through of the first Bioshock than a new game in its own right. The fans agreed and although Irrational Games wasn’t really involved in the project, sales for Bioshock 2 slumped completely. This was a bitter pill for 2K, as the chairman publically stated he expected at least 500,000 sales in the first few weeks.
The Last Great Hurrah
In July of 2010, many game journalism sites reported on a strange new website called whatisicarus.com, with a trailer teasing a new release by Irrational Games. Many gamers were hoping for a System Shock III, but the release turned out to be Bioshock Infinite.
Irrational probably realised that another trip to Rapture would not be well received, and instead determined to create a whole new story, with similar elements to the original Bioshock. Ken Levine himself said that Irrational asked to not be involved in the development of Bioshock 2, so they could focus on Infinite, and to their credit 2K allowed the team complete freedom to develop the game as they saw fit. Thus, Columbia was born, incorporating an inventory element that included gear designed to favour weapons use or vigour use, as well as the traditional RPG element that the original made so revolutionary.
It also introduced the Sky Hook, which was not only a satisfying melee weapon (ranking only below the Doom Chainsaw) but also a breath-taking way to make your graphics card hate you. The views in Columbia were enough to cement Bioshock Infinite in the category of best designed game of 2013.
There were huge differences between the two games. While Jack (the protagonist of Bioshock) was completely silent, Booker de Witt (the protagonist of Infinite) had a voice, and interacted more with the people in Columbia. Also, while Jack was basically solo, it was decided that Booker should have a companion who could act as the emotional driver for the story. Elizabeth also allowed Irrational to incorporate new elements into the gameplay. Bioshock used the Unreal 2.2 engine, whereas Infinite used a heavily customised Unreal 3 engine, and Levine stated that all the assets were created from scratch. Not a single asset was taken from the previous games, accounting for the long development time.
When the game was released in March 2013, it received critical acclaim. To be fair, not as much as the original Bioshock, but reviewers were all blown away by how the sequel improved the existing gameplay, while still making its own game. Much like its predecessor, Infinite peppered the “Best of” lists for 2013. Jim Sterling, formerly of Destructoid, openly sang its praises, and called Bioshock Infinite the game of the year. Financially the game sold over 4 million copies across hardcopy and Steam.
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Last Updated: February 19, 2014
Skoobaz
February 19, 2014 at 12:37
RIP
Devourer of Small Bunnies
February 19, 2014 at 12:38
Whoever wrote this. Feels man, the feels.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 12:47
Thanks. Initially I started trying to stay impartial, but then the memories came to flooding back.
Particularly sitting and starting at the System Shock menu screen, asking it why it wouldn’t love me.
Hammersteyn
February 19, 2014 at 12:49
Good job bud
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 12:54
Thanks.
Devourer of Small Bunnies
February 19, 2014 at 13:43
Twas you? Kudos good sir.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 13:47
Thanks, btw for some reason, I read your name as “Devourer of small businesses.”
Both are pretty great handles.
Devourer of Small Bunnies
February 21, 2014 at 12:07
*makes notes* lol
Uberutang
February 19, 2014 at 12:50
Great write up, but tomb raider is a far more enjoyable and better overall game than infinite.IInfinite tried far to hard to be clever and was far to heavy on shooting and light on exploring Columbia.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 12:54
I have a friend that is telling me the same. Personally, I found Tomb Raider to be a little schizophrenic at times. Infinite was my favourite PC Game last year, and 2nd only to TLOU.
Mossel
February 19, 2014 at 13:18
But the Lutce twins Uberutang! The Lutece twins!
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 13:39
Rofl!
Alex Hicks
February 19, 2014 at 12:57
To be honest, the only reason I haven’t played Bioshock Infinite yet is price. The starting price point was just too high. I’m not sure that the failure to ship the number of units expected is due entirely to “cult classics that don’t sell”
Regardless … should the supposition that the winding up of Irrational is proof that multiplayer is taking over be true – then I will be a gibbering mess of the weeps and wails.
Hammersteyn
February 19, 2014 at 12:59
If only you had PS+ 😉
Alex Hicks
February 19, 2014 at 16:34
Yeah. I need a playstation first. My PC doesn’t like PS+
Hammersteyn
February 19, 2014 at 18:05
LOL, sorry sir I will remove my peasant self from your highness presence
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 18:26
Heathen!
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 13:00
It’s all conjecture on my part, but I’m pretty confident. You should check out the next Steam sale. You can get a pretty decent price, if you’re on PC.
Gareth L (That Guy)
February 19, 2014 at 13:00
Watch the Steam sales. I got all three Bioshock titles in a bundle for R150. 🙂
MakeItLegal
February 19, 2014 at 15:37
i hate you ( in a good way )
Alex Hicks
February 19, 2014 at 16:36
Even then. Was thinking about it during the last sale. Almost got it but the backlog didn’t justify even that price.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 19, 2014 at 13:03
Awesome effort here Daniel (where you from now?) Great work.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 13:05
Still South Africa.
RinceandLeSIGH
February 19, 2014 at 13:06
Lol. I meant who on earth are you, just saw your Avatar and remembered 😉 Brilliant read bro, big up.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 13:09
Lol, thanks!
RinceandLeSIGH
February 19, 2014 at 13:11
I really hope it was a personal choice to close and not a financial one. If it can affect a team like this (MP) then we all better go back to playing Hungry Hippos.
Mossel
February 19, 2014 at 13:22
Damn I loved Bioshock Infinite. Probably the olny reason I enjoyed it more than the original was because I played it before the original. I think what blew me away was a game with an epic story, I was so used to the CoD’s and CS’s of the world, that I forgot that games can have great stories! Seriously cant wait for Burial at Sea pt 2.
HvR
February 19, 2014 at 14:13
With the founder making the announcement and a new small team already in the works in think it is choice. Otherwise it would have the normal EA type corporate BS of “incorporating”, “realligning” and “refocusing”.
Mossel
February 19, 2014 at 14:29
Yup I’m really looking forward to some Levine magic, hope I’m not dissapointed.
HvR
February 19, 2014 at 14:13
Nice eulogy but I’m glad this is happening.
They were one Bioshock away from pulling CoD/BF on us.
Irrational Games is settled with too much past IP expectation and with the games that came out of 2K, Rockstart and Take Two stable the last 2 years I’m not worried at all. They’ve learned from their mistakes in the past and know how to use existing IP and new innovation to bring something fresh (even if it isn’t always perfectly polished and successful) to the table
These guys give me hope for future gaming, it is time that EA and Activision burn in their annualized, copy and paste, DLC ridden hell hole they’ve created and have Take Two rise to the top.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 14:53
It depends on what they are going to do. I still don’t think it was only Irrational’s decision.
I also disagree with your conclusion that they were one game away from self destructing. They have had a strong track record. I’m interested though in seeing what they’ll do now.
MakeItLegal
February 19, 2014 at 15:40
thank you for reading my mind (more or less)
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 19, 2014 at 14:22
System Shock 2! I would sell my own kidneys for System Shock 3. I want more SHODAN in my life.
Bioshock Infinite is on the backlog. I finished Bioshock 2 over Xmas & really enjoyed it.
Mossel
February 19, 2014 at 14:31
Yes! Another guy that liked Bioshock 2! Although not perfect, the ending was nice and me feel all fuzzy inside. Minerva’s Den was also cool.
Alien Emperor Trevor
February 19, 2014 at 14:34
Yes, the ending got me right in the feels. Minerva’s Den was better than most DLCs too.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 14:54
Bioshock 2 improved the mechanics, but I still felt the story felt like a needless addition.
Warren Ross
February 19, 2014 at 14:49
Goes right back to Looking Glass (and earlier, Blue Sky), for me. Ultima Underworld (and its sequel), still one of the most amazing digital worlds I’ve explored. The original System Shock which nobody seemed to play (Shodan!) and the incredible System Shock 2, equally disappointing in terms of sales and only truly recognised for its greatness in later years.
And finally, Thief. The game that is arguably the template for every FPS/Stealth game since. Not much more to be said.
Ultimately, games are created by the people, and hopefully these guys continue to go on and create great worlds for us to play in.
Daniel Keevy
February 19, 2014 at 16:17
It’s why I’m a little reluctant to buy all the hype with the new Thief game, tbh. There’s no one on the original staff involved.
MakeItLegal
February 19, 2014 at 15:36
eish …sent little chills down my back … have only played the original bioshock , and boy oh boy ( should i say oh big daddy oh big daddy ) was that one hell of trip
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
February 20, 2014 at 09:10
I will most definitely miss them. I was rather excited to hear if they will start with a new IP or something.
As much as I love my DOTA I still need a good single player game to entertain me. Good story, touch challenges and awesome scenery. I think in the end they were becoming stagnant in the design of the games. It looked different, but the feel was the same as the other Bioshocks. I honestly couldn’t get through Bioshock 2. Felt like an expansion really.
I hope the new studio brings forth more epicness and that he gets to break away from that AAA pressure. I hope they figure something out to keep making games.