Bioshock 2 Interview

By Gaetano Prestia

You'd imagine that coming up with ideas for a sequel to one of the most acclaimed games of the decade would be pretty difficult. Yet, after having seen Bioshock 2 in action and having spoken to two men involved in its making, it's clear that the team at 2K Marin and 2K Australia are aiming high while balancing everything new with great aspects of the original. There are plenty of new ideas, but it still seems like the same great, intriguing adventure.

I had a chance to sit down with Alex Vancomerbeck, Level Designer on Bioshock 2, and Martin Slater, Studio Director, to discuss the evolution of Rapture and moral dilemmas that look set to plague gamers around the world once again.

My360: Considering the success of the first Bioshock, has it been a challenge coming up with ideas for the sequel to maintain that level of quality?

Alex Vancomerbeck: That’s one of the advantages of so many people having worked on the first Bioshock. We can have a look at what the critics have said, what fans on the forums have said and what everyone wants from the sequel. We have a lot of ground to look on what didn’t work in the first game.

Martin Slater: Yeah, there’s definitely a large weight of responsibility to keep the quality up from Bioshock, harp it up enough to keep everything that everyone loved from the first.

AV: We were very lucky to have had a bunch of people that worked on Bioshock. So that experience was very good. I personally didn’t work on Bioshock, I just played it, and so I came in with some fresh ideas and fresh eyes. I could look at it and analyse it objectively.

MS: It’s a massive challenge when you’ve got the success in the marketplace to make sure you are bringing enough new things. One thing about sequels is that it shouldn’t be a completely new thing. There are plenty of great things from Bioshock that people loved and we want to drive the good things up.

2K Marin's Martin Slater

My360: How has the game evolved from the first adventure? Are we going to see a completely different Rapture? What about the story?

AV: The city has evolved ten years. The city of Rapture is in disrepair. Everything is decayed. There is a new figure that has emerged, Sofia Lamb, as the new leader of Rapture. She is trying to collect all of the A.D.A.M. and why she wants to do that is something you’ll have to find out when you play the game.

My360: With the first Bioshock, we were this mysterious character, thrown into an unknown world, very vulnerable. Now we’re a big, unstoppable prototype Big Daddy. How do you balance that out to ensure there’s that same level of challenge?

MS: Well they’re definitely not unstoppable.

My360: Well, compared to humans.

AV: Yeah well there’s been a lot of evolution in the city. The splicers have been evolving for ten years. There is a new one called a “Brute Splicer”, which is bigger and maybe even stronger than a Big Daddy. Also, Splicers will move in groups more often, as opposed to just one like in the first game.

My360: So previously the Big Daddy’s were kings of the jungle. Now everything has evolved around them and they’re no so tough?

MS: Well yeah, now you have Big Sisters.

AV: Big Sisters are looking after all the A.D.A.M. in Rapture, so if you deal in whatever way with a Little Sister, you’ll have to deal with a Big Sister. They are just as powerful as a Big Daddy, but they are more agile.

My360: In reference to the narrative, how do you think the gamer will respond to this large, mindless, metal beast, as opposed to our human character from the first game?

AV: We form a strong bond at the start of the game with the player’s Big Daddy and a Little Sister. We’re not going to giveaway what happens at the start of the game, but we want gamers to identify with the Big Daddy and know that it’s more than just a piece of metal.

MS: In Bioshock, the Big Daddy was this big brutal thing that was just kicking you all over. Now there is the opportunity to put the suit on. And he’s a bit different. He’s bigger.

AV: Since it’s the first ever Big Daddy to ever bond with a Little Sister, it can use Plasmid’s. There is plenty of free will for the character, so he’s not just a mindless slave like the Big Daddy’s in the first game.

My360: In the first game we were given a choice when it came to the Little Sisters. We were the monster to them, as opposed to the Big Daddy who was Mr. Bubbles and their protector. We’re on different teams now. Are we going to have to make similar choices with the Little Sisters seeing as though now we’re essentially on the same team?

AV: It’s quite similar to the first game. You can either harvest Little Sisters like you could in the first game, or you can adopt them. Once you adopt them, they ride on your shoulder. You can either choose to bring them to a vent and rescue them, turning them into a real little girl again, or you can have her lead you to corpses around Rapture and harvest the A.D.A.M. for your own good, which will in turn attract the attention of all the splices around, so you should always be ready.

My360: Well the Big Sister’s are always watching, so it doesn’t really matter what decision you make – whether you decide to rescue, harvest or use the Little Sister – you’re going to have someone on your back.

MS: Yep.

AV: Well yeah, no matter what you do, you’re going to have the Big Sister watching you.

My360: It’s two different teams working on single and multi-player. Are the two teams working close together? Is there any integration between the two modes?

AV: Well we can’t tell you too much about the multiplayer because we’ve been focusing on the single-player. I can tell you that it happened just before the events of Bioshock, during the civil war.

MS: There’s heaps of stuff going backwards and forwards between the teams, making sure that both are hitting the core fantasy that’s driving the experience into multiplayer.

My360: Is multi-player something you think was completely necessary for this game? What exactly made the team decide to include it? Was it market pressure?

MS: There was a feeling that people wanted to play it. There is a really good ecology of characters in Bioshock – the enemies, the people. A lot of the feedback we got from Bioshock after release was that people wanted to play multiplayer. So it’s driving those core fantasies. As a world, it fits perfectly so we’re really keen to see how it gets responded to in the market.

AV: And we just want fans to know that may be worried that the single-player will be easier or shorter because we’ve included multiplayer. It’s not like that at all. That’s why we’ve got two separate teams. It’s two very different experiences.

My360: Thanks for your time guys!

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Gaetano 15/01/2010

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