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[IbizaPocholo]

DX and Ken Levine take you through the history and development of BioShock Infinite, on the eve of its 10th Anniversary/Birthday. You'll learn about the creation of Booker, Elizabeth, and their crazy journey taking place in Columbia, the city in the sky.

0:00 - DX & Ken Levine Introductions
2:28 - BioShock 2 & Creative Differences
3:53 - Flapture
5:01 - Columbia: The City In The Sky
6:50 - Growing Scope & Unreal Engine 3
8:11 - Creating Elizabeth & Booker, catch!
14:14 - Infinite's Cut Content
17:25 - All Hands On Deck for Infinite's Development
18:24 - Schrödinger's Cat
19:17 - Infinite's Twist & Ending
21:46 - Infinite's Release & Burial At Sea
24:17 - The End of Irrational Games
25:06 - BioShock Infinite's Legacy & Ken Levine's Closing Thoughts

BioShock Infinite: A Pioneering Game That Shaped the Industry​

BioShock Infinite, released in 2013, is a game that has left a lasting impact on the gaming industry. Developed by Irrational Games, the game takes players on a journey to Colombia, a sky-bound city, where they play as Booker DeWitt, seeking to rescue a woman named Elizabeth. BioShock Infinite explores the possibilities of the BioShock universe, delving into Prophecy, Revolution, and quantum mechanics. As we reflect on the eve of BioShock Infinite's 10th anniversary, we explore its development, the roadblocks, and the triumphs.

The Beginning of Infinite​

Ken Levine, the creative director of Irrational Games, was the mastermind behind BioShock Infinite. He describes himself as the "Creator Director" and the "guy who had to communicate to the team what the game was and work with them to give them feedback on all aspects of the game." Levine was also the lead writer and directed most of the acting, especially the Booker and Elizabeth characters.

BioShock Infinite was not the first BioShock game. Irrational Games had previously worked on System Shock 2, Tribe's Vengeance, and SWAT 4. After the success of BioShock, a sequel was inevitable, but there were internal discussions over what it would be and who would make it. After many months, it was decided that 2K Marin would do BioShock 2, and Irrational Games would work on a new sequel.

BioShock Infinite was always set at the turn of the 20th century, but its first iteration was much different aesthetically than the final product. The game was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau, an ornamental art style originating from Europe, and was more closely aligned with the horror atmosphere of BioShock 1. The game's world was jokingly referred to in the studio as "Flasher" because the only difference between it and Rapture was that it was in the sky.

However, this version of Infinite was determined to be too similar to BioShock 1, and Irrational Games sought a change in art direction that would make Infinite more distinct. While the team worked on "Flasher," a book was being passed around the studio called "The Devil in the White City," which told the story of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This book was the inspiration for the final version of Infinite's setting, the sky-bound city of Colombia.

The Role of Elizabeth​

Elizabeth is a central character in BioShock Infinite, and her relationship with Booker is one of the game's defining features. The developers spent a lot of time on Elizabeth's design, making her more than just an escort mission or a damsel in distress. She is intelligent, curious, and independent. The game's mechanics were also designed to make her an active participant in the gameplay, not just a passive character who follows the player around.

There were voices on the team who were saying that Elizabeth was too complicated, and they suggested cutting her character from the game. However, Ken Levine felt that if they cut Elizabeth, there was no point in doing the game. He didn't really know what the game was without Elizabeth. The team worked tirelessly to create a character who was not only a great companion but also a believable one. They went through many iterations before landing on the final design.

Painstaking Iteration​

Developing BioShock Infinite was not an easy process. The game went through numerous iterations, with the team working to refine the gameplay mechanics, design choices, and story. Incorporating Elizabeth into the gameplay was a significant challenge. The development team experimented with different ways of implementing her role, including having an AI companion and even a playable character. Ultimately, they settled on having Elizabeth be an AI companion who would assist the player in combat and puzzle-solving. The team also focused on developing Elizabeth's character and creating a strong emotional bond between her and the player. This was achieved through various methods such as motion capture, voice acting, and animation. The end result was a highly praised game with a compelling story and a memorable companion in Elizabeth.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I miss the entire Bioshock series, including Infinite. Here's looking forward to Levine's next game!

 

[ssringo]

 

[Killer8]

I regularly forget this game even exists, unlike the first in the series. It lost a ton of the immersive sim magic.

'Painstaking iteration' is also a bold take on 'cut half the content promised in the so-called gameplay trailers'.

 

[Flabagast]

​

Yeah I literally laughed out loud when I read this non sense.

The game was an absolute disgrace. I have never seen another piece of media thinking this much it was so smart while it was being so dumb in reality.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Those Elizabeths in the video thumbnail have no regard for each other's personal space.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I miss the entire Bioshock series, including Infinite. Here's looking forward to Levine's next game!

There's a new Bioshock in the works.

 

[Northeastmonk]

There's a new Bioshock in the works.

2K’s Cloud Chamber is the studio working on it. They have someone who worked on 2017’s Prey.

Cloud Chamber

Cloud Chamber is a new 2K studio based in Novato, CA and Montreal, Quebec, and we're making the next BioShock game!

cloudchamberstudios.com

 

[Power Pro]

This reminds me that I still have yet to ever play Infinite's DLC....should I get around to that?

 

[Rendered Tangent]

I was never a huge BioShock fan, though I did play the original game and some of the sequel, so I went in to infinite without much expectation.

On the whole, I thought it was decent.

The world they created was interesting, the characters engaging, the combat accessible.

I found the hook thing where you had to ride around on rails a bit boring, but otherwise I enjoyed the game.

 

[TexMex]

I feel like the Infinite dog pile has gotten more intense with time, but that game fucking rips. Absolutely love it.

 

[THE DUCK]

Wait, infinite had an add on?
Game was probably better than it was given credit for, but it just felt a lot different out of the dark, confined spaces.

 

[DonJimbo]

Such an awesome Game
Loved Elizabeth so much

 

[EddieVanHelgen]

This reminds me that I still have yet to ever play Infinite's DLC....should I get around to that?

Yes.

 

[k_trout]

deleted: shit take

 

[DevilHunterX0]

Bioshock should be rebooted with all the cut contents. So much lost due to time and bad decisions.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Watching that really has me wanting to play them all again now. Good thing I own the collection. I really enjoyed all 3 games. Infinite kind of had the Fable problem in that it over promised and didn't deliver what it promised. However if you took it and judged it by just what it was, it was amazing. I'm lucky in that like with Fable I was able to enjoy it for what it was and not what it was promised to be.

 

[MadPanda]

This game is one of the biggest gaming disappointments for me. After the amazing first two game which I adored, I got this abomination. Can't believe I paid good money for this back in the day.

 

[FullMetalx117]

Love this game and want more of this exact type of game today - short/to the point, quality/polished, solid narrative, amazing setting.

I didn’t really watch many trailers for it or cared for much of the development story prior to release - game was releasing at a point in life it was hard to keep up with that stuff. Guess it was a blessing in disguise I didn’t know what the game was “supposed to be”, I enjoyed it for what it was.

 

[Little Mac]

Bioshock peaked with the amazing first game. Went downhill from there.

 

[mindfreak191]

Infinite is the perfect example as to why you should just play a game that you're interested in first before checking on the internet discourse around it. I remember playing through it during release week and absolutely loving it and thinking it was a cool conclusion to the Bioshock series, then I went online and saw that apparently this game is a crime against humanity lmao

 

[DGrayson]

Bioshock peaked with the amazing first game. Went downhill from there.

I never played Infinite but I played 1, 2 and 2 DLC. I agree 1 was the best.

Infinite is the perfect example as to why you should just play a game that you're interested in first before checking on the internet discourse around it. I remember playing through it during release week and absolutely loving it and thinking it was a cool conclusion to the Bioshock series, then I went online and saw that apparently this game is a crime against humanity lmao

I don't recall that it was badly received but it definitely seemed that people were let down in some ways. I def need to play it.

 

[Rush2112]

Bioshock series were great but they had zero effect on the industry. In fact, single player FPS DIED soon after. So if anything Bioshock ended the genre lmao.

 

[hemo memo]

Infinite is the perfect example as to why you should just play a game that you're interested in first before checking on the internet discourse around it. I remember playing through it during release week and absolutely loving it and thinking it was a cool conclusion to the Bioshock series, then I went online and saw that apparently this game is a crime against humanity lmao

Yeah I remember release week reading GAF with members calling it a timeless classic. The praise was mostly positive. Not longer after and it became not only the most hated Bioshock but among the worst games ever.

The game has its flaws. Not anywhere near the negativity surrounding it.

 

[lostinblue]

Ah, the little mermaid/disney princess walking simulator.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I regularly forget this game even exists, unlike the first in the series. It lost a ton of the immersive sim magic.

'Painstaking iteration' is also a bold take on 'cut half the content promised in the so-called gameplay trailers'.

"Promised" is a bold statement considering that literally every trailer ever is captioned with some form of "pre-alpha footage, may be subject to change" message on it.

And then people are surprised why gamers are being called "entitled"...

 

[winjer]

It's a good game, but it's not "A Pioneering Game That Shaped the Industry".
In fact, it's a bit limited in gameplay, compared to Immersive Sims of the time.

 

[Laptop1991]

I replay Bioshock Infinite every couple of years, i loved the game, infact it shouldn't be a whole 10 years since a new Bioshock game was made, yeah it could of been better but i liked what it was, but i didn't like the dlc.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I'm not a fan of the Bioshock franchise, but what I like the most is Bioshock Infinite, because of its protagonists and development.

Bioshock 1 seems to me apart from an overrated game, a artistic and playable disappointment... I don't like the first video game at all.

I haven't played 2.

A pioneering game that shaped the industry, not at all... not even with Infinite, I would give it an 8.5.

It is seen that the person who wrote the article has not played Gravity rush, that game is a pioneer in the art of the modern video game.

 

[rabbity-thing]

I like all the Bioshocks a good deal. I think it's interesting how IMO they all seem to get a little worse as you progress through the levels. I think that the world building is top notch, but the combat can get fairly annoying. The powers are cool, but the late-game encounters are just not particularly engaging with enemy characters being either pushovers or bullet-sponges. Moreover, the environmental considerations become less and less of a legitimate combat option.

I think the series is at its best when it's more atmosphere-focused and lets the chaotic gunplay take a back-seat. The first, I want to say, half of every game is great. Perfect balance. Bioshock up until the twist is phenomenal (not counting the nursery, cause that part is legit). Infinite up until the first world-shift is just as good. It's a shame that they lose focus in their closing acts.

 

[Art The Clown]

Infinite is my least favorite of the three but to be fair I didn’t care for 2 that much either. The first one was magical on so many levels when it launched.

 

[mindfreak191]

Actually, now I remembered, what the fuck is going on with the announced Bioshock 4? Did they cancel it or smth?

 

[LordOfChaos]

​

The Rule 34 industry

 

[Killer8]

"Promised" is a bold statement considering that literally every trailer ever is captioned with some form of "pre-alpha footage, may be subject to change" message on it.

And then people are surprised why gamers are being called "entitled"...

I'm not sure how expecting the game to live up to what it's advertising itself as is 'entitlement'. If I go to McDonalds and order a burger but it's missing half the ingredients in the picture, would I be entitled if I felt a little disappointed about that? Restaurants often say that ingredients are subject to availability too, so just including phrasing like that in marketing doesn't just magically act as a shield against criticism.

The definition of entitled is demanding special treatment, which doesn't fit at all with just wanting what you're buying to live up to what it's selling itself as. I'm not asking to go the extra mile, I'm asking for the bare minimum. Gamers can be entitled for numerous other reasons, but this issue isn't one of them and the blame rests purely with the industry's very frequently deceptive marketing.

 

[Flabagast]

I like all the Bioshocks a good deal. I think it's interesting how IMO they all seem to get a little worse as you progress through the levels. I think that the world building is top notch, but the combat can get fairly annoying. The powers are cool, but the late-game encounters are just not particularly engaging with enemy characters being either pushovers or bullet-sponges. Moreover, the environmental considerations become less and less of a legitimate combat option.

I think the series is at its best when it's more atmosphere-focused and lets the chaotic gunplay take a back-seat. The first, I want to say, half of every game is great. Perfect balance. Bioshock up until the twist is phenomenal (not counting the nursery, cause that part is legit). Infinite up until the first world-shift is just as good. It's a shame that they lose focus in their closing acts.

To be honest, I think starting with Dishonored Arkane took the Bioshock template and straight up surpassed it in a million ways by focusing less on action and going all in on setting, lore and creative ways of playing.

 

[Moon Grape Donut]

People like to shit on Infinite but I fucking loved that game.
Elizabeth also was top tier char design.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I'm not sure how expecting the game to live up to what it's advertising itself as is 'entitlement'. If I go to McDonalds and order a burger but it's missing half the ingredients in the picture, would I be entitled if I felt a little disappointed about that? Restaurants often say that ingredients are subject to availability too, so just including phrasing like that in marketing doesn't just magically act as a shield against criticism.

The definition of entitled is demanding special treatment, which doesn't fit at all with just wanting what you're buying to live up to what it's selling itself as. I'm not asking to go the extra mile, I'm asking for the bare minimum. Gamers can be entitled for numerous other reasons, but this issue isn't one of them and the blame rests purely with the industry's very frequently deceptive marketing.

Game's scope very often changes during development. What was originally intended to be a vision for the game will rarely end up retaining the same shape in a final product. That's why when you see some early cinematic trailer, publishers and devs cover their ass by highlighting that this is a pre-release footage. It's also why some games get announced, and then disappear for a few years only to resurface as something different.

It happens all the time, dude. The same thing happened even to the original Bishock.

If you latch onto a trailer for a game that's still very clearly not even close to being a finished product then you only have yourself to blame for getting disappointed when it comes out a few years later and it's different. Those early trailers are usually there just to generate buzz and give people a general idea for what the game will be. It's something else when Gearbox is pulling wool over our eyes about Colonial Marines right until the very day of release and we don't find out what the game really is until we play it for ourselves, but in case of Bioshock Infinite the trailes that came out in the months leading up to the release very clearly showcased what the final product will be.

People who complained about the final version of Bioshock Infinite were the ones who still expected it to be like the preview that came out a few years prior, but it's stupid to assume that the game will retain the same exact shape if it's still gonna be cooking for another 2-3 years.

 

[Alan Wake]

I loved BioShock Infinite in 2013 and I still love it. Few games have just grabbed me from the first moments without letting go until the credits roll. An amazing experience, and at the time it looked awesome too.

 

[wipeout364]

I liked infinite, the buried at sea DLC was great but it’s easily the worst of the three games.

I have to say that Infinite is notable for being a big time release that resulted in the shut down of one of my favorite studios at the time Irrational. They made some excellent games in their time system shock 2, SWAT 4 and I even liked Tribes Vengeance

 

[begotten]

Infinite is just okay but it's the DLC for it that makes it a lot better.

Also can't wait for Ken Levine's return with Judas

 

[Camreezie]

Its fucking mad that theres been nothing from Ken Levine or the bioshock series since. 10 whole years wasted