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BioShock 2's 'Capture the Sister' mode isn't kidding around

by Randy Nelson { Oct 28th 2009 at 8:20PM }

The citizens of BioShock 2's undersea dystopia, Rapture, love them some ADAM -- especially when it's been freshly harvested by a Little Sister. It's with this in mind that Digital Extremes tweaked the tried-and-true Capture the Flag multiplayer contest to place one team in charge of abducting one of these adolescent creepsters while the other must lay their lives on the line to protect her.

As the above first look at the mode explains, the "attacking" side's goal is to return the girl to a Little Sister vent. The defenders -- well they defend, of course ... but one of them gets to be a Big Daddy. We'll have our hands-on impressions of BioShock 2's single and multiplayer modes tomorrow, so look for more details then.

Ken Levine lists favorite games again, changes mind on a few

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 28th 2009 at 2:00AM }

Ken Levine plays video games. Shocking, we know! Speaking with IndustryGamers, Levine, who is currently working on a super-secret project, listed his ten favorite games. Occupying the top five spots in descending order are: World of Warcraft, Civilization, Beyond Good & Evil, Ultima Underworld and Company of Heroes.

Back in 2007, Levine produced a similar list for MSNBC. His top five have apparently shifted in the last two years, though, as Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past have fallen even beyond the BioShock developer's top ten. How hast these games forsaken thee, Ken? What hast they done for thou to banish them from thy heart likest so?

2K Boston's next big thing is a shooter

by Justin McElroy { Aug 10th 2009 at 5:31PM }

"Yeah, that and 90 percent of the other games released every year," you retort.

Okay, we hear you, and trust us, we get it. It's not exactly earth-shattering that a 2K Boston job listing indicates that the follow-up to the studio's big-hit shooter BioShock would be another shooter. But do you remember the part where 2K Boston made BioShock? Yeah, you better believe we're going to tell you everything we learn about it until we have it in our trembling, grateful hands. (Speaking of which, it's also hiring a multiplayer level designer, for your info.)

Besides, we weren't positive it was going to be another shooter. It could have been another Freedom Force game, for all we knew. Actually, 2K Boston ... could you go ahead and make that too, while you're at it?

[Via Gamespot]

Coo over Sander Cohen's BioShock statuette

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 7th 2009 at 7:00PM }

GamePro has a photo set of the statuette based on BioShock's homicidal artist, Sander Cohen, given to 2K Boston employees by the studio's Creative Director Ken Levine. The sculpture was created by "Irrational" artist Robb Waters, produced by Patch Together and infused with mental instability by Fontaine Futuristics.

2K Boston is currently working on a secret project while 2K Marin (and a half-dozen other studios) try to get BioShock 2 out the airlock.

BioShock surfaces on Games on Demand, costs $30

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 6th 2009 at 12:15PM }

A quick note for those lucky enough to be part of the Xbox Live Update preview program: BioShock is now available from Games on Demand. While you might be keen to download it just to try out the Games on Demand feature, you should know that it will cost you $29.99. Considering you can pick up a new copy of the game from GameStop, eBay or Newegg for only $20 (or less), it's not exactly worth it -- unless the convenience of not leaving the house is worth $10 to you, of course. It's also worth noting that the XBLM price is only $10 shy of the BioShock / Oblivion combo pack.

Still, if you just have to try Games on Demand, don't have BioShock already and have 4.66 gigs of spare room on the ol' hard drive, go for it. Just remember, a man chooses!

Verbinski doubtful about BioShock flick, wants to make games

by Justin McElroy { Jun 1st 2009 at 12:30PM }

We've been a little doubtful that the BioShock movie would actually get made after it was first announced, but director Gore Verbinski is starting to come around to our way of thinking. Verbinski told the LA Times that he thought the movie could still get made, but likely in a foreign country that offers tax breaks for movie makers.

Verbinski also says he wants to get into the games business, which would be more troubling if the very first thing he'd said about it hadn't been, "It's a mistake for Hollywood to impose themselves on the gaming space. Not only is it arrogant, but it hasn't really worked." Music to our ears.

Take-Two and Tor releasing BioShock novel

by Justin McElroy { May 27th 2009 at 11:59PM }

We're still not sure why anyone would want to retrofit video games with last-gen tech and turn them into books, but sci-fi/fantasy publisher Tor has apparently had a lot of success with the practice lately, with franchises like Halo and Dragon Age. The next game to get the dead tree-ment? BioShock, which will be the subject of a 400-page hard- and softcover release this fall.

Currently, the book's author is listed as Ken Levine, but we're pretty sure that's a placeholder, because we don't live in a magical alternate dimension where we can make things happen just by wishing for them. We'll let you know when we find out more.

MIT BiG: Levine talks life before BioShock

by Christopher Grant { May 8th 2009 at 7:30PM }

We're here at the MIT Business in Gaming conference this afternoon to watch Ken Levine – who holds the title trifecta of "co-founder, "president" and "Creative Director" at 2K Boston (née Irrational) – take the hotseat in a Q&A format (that, for some reason, is being billed as a "keynote"). No bother – given an opportunity to hear the BioShock developer discuss the current state of the industry (not to mention regaling us backstage with amusing yarns about Strauss Zelnick's protein-centric diet), we took our spot in the front row, laptops at the ready.

After an introduction by one of the show's sponsors (get off the stage, bub!) the Q&A was handed over to MIT graduate student Dennis Fu, who peppered Levine with a series of questions inspired by the day's panel topics: digital distribution; in-game advertising; MMO business models; and serious games. Fu stepped right into the deep end, asking Levine "What can you tell us about BioShock 2?" As he's said before, he's keeping himself intentionally in the dark so that he can play it "as a fan." "We're sort of keeping ourselves at a distance," he explained.

Continued →

Ken Levine: Next project will cost 'a fair amount of money'

by Christopher Grant { May 8th 2009 at 7:00PM }

During his Q&A at the MIT Business in Gaming conference, Ken Levine revealed the cost of some of his projects and hinted at the cost (and scale!) of 2K Boston's latest, still secret, project.

"Freedom Force was $2 million; System Shock 2 was $600K, it was nothing. BioShock, I think it's been published, was $15 million," Levine said. When we asked how much, on that scale, his new project would cost, Levine teased, "It's more than System Shock 2."

He elaborated, "It's a fair amount of money. Our goal is to build experiences." Referring to the craft of building experiences, Levine noted that BioShock "didn't have the best shooting compared to Call of Duty" and "it didn't have the most revolutionary AI." What it did have was an "experience [gamers] couldn't get anywhere else." It was something "that people can look at it and say, 'I can't have this experience anywhere else.'"

Here's the thing: "Generally those experiences cost a fair amount of money to make," Levine says. Of course, he can't say how much – "because I would probably get fired before I walked out the door" – but he assures us "It won't be the cheapest product ever made." So we've got a ballpark here: Somewhere between $600K and infinity.

Ken Levine keynoting first MIT 'Business in Gaming' conference

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 13th 2009 at 11:15AM }

Focusing on riveting hot-button issues like "digital distribution, marketing, and in-game advertising," the MIT Sloan School of Management is kicking off its first ever "Business in Gaming " Conference (BiG) with BioShock magnate Ken Levine as inaugural keynote speaker.

We'll be there, Big Daddy statues and permanent markers in tow, and when we're not ogling KennyL we'll likely check out the panel featuring ex-Boston Red Soxer Curt Schilling of 38 Studios speaking about MMO business models. Hey, maybe he'll talk about that game his company's been making for three years! Code-named Copernicus? No? You don't remember that one? Yeah, neither do we.

Take-Two files trademark for 'Irrational Boston'

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 1st 2009 at 10:50AM }

The clues have been building up and it appears that 2K Boston may be changing its name to Irrational Boston, the original name of the development studio (albeit now with a location tacked on to the name). The information comes by way of a trademark registration (via superannuation) filed by parent company and publisher Take-Two Interactive, not to mention shirts we spotted 2K Boston employees wearing at GDC last week.

Little is known about how the name change will affect the development studio but we are prone to wild speculation. So let's begin! Is it a sister studio inside 2K Boston? Is it to spin off 2K development studios under the "Irrational" name? And what does this mean for the other half of the original Irrational Games that's now named "2K Australia?" The official word from 2K Boston as of this morning was, "No comment," but we should expect to hear something "very soon." We'll update this post as news comes in.

[Via superannuation]

GDC09: An Irrational name change?

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 26th 2009 at 4:00AM }

It appears that 2K Boston may be going back to its original name, Irrational Games, soonish. This evening, at a social event held by the developer's PR company, several 2K Boston employees were wearing the above shirts, promoting that jobs are currently available at the developer. When we confronted several 2K Boston folks about why the two URLs were on the shirt, they were ... well, let's just say they were a little cagey. If it happens, it means Irrational switched its name and back again in under two years.

2K Boston is hiring (Hey, Ken. We have excellent compuper skills!)

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 20th 2009 at 8:40PM }

2K Boston is looking to staff its next project and is blaring that information quite publicly -- a bold move in this economy. The company approached us with images of a postcard it'll pass out next week at GDC on a recruitment mission. It sounds like the developer is casting a wide net for talent and will sift through the candidates to find what the studio is looking for -- we do not envy that human resources person. Almost nothing is known about 2K Boston's next project, other than that, in Ken Levine's words, it's "very, very, different."

According to the flip side of the card (found after the break), the company is currently looking for ... well, it appears it's looking for everyone under the sun. The company has "dozens of openings in programming, design, art, audio and production." Remember to check for typos (like we should have with our headline -- guess that rules us out, blargh) before submitting your resume to the email address found on the card.

Now, let the speculation begin on why the image -- seemingly of a Big Daddy helmet -- was used for this promotion. Best of luck to the applicants!

Continued →

We really want this new BioShock art book

by Justin McElroy { Mar 18th 2009 at 8:30AM }

We know how it is. You're standing at your local department store/Cracker Barrel gift shop/hotel mini-bar and you just can't find the perfect gift for that special video game blog in your life. Hey, we've all been there. This year, we're going to make it easy on you: You should get us ... err, rather, your favorite video game blog, whichever that may be, this new BioShock art book.

Breaking the Mold: Developer's Edition is 174 pages, $24.99, is now available for pre-order and will make us love, prize and cherish you above all other readers from now until the end times. Did we mention there's free shipping?

NYCC 09: Todd Howard, Ken Levine panel

by Majed Athab { Feb 6th 2009 at 8:45PM }

So, what happens when you stick game developers Ken Levine (BioShock) and Todd Howard (Fallout 3) in a room with two outspoken games journalists for an hour? You get a fascinating discussion on how Eastern Europe has become a new haven for PC games, how Bollywood perfected The Lost and, of course, a lesson about Horse Armor. That, and Howard reveals Bethesda is working on an iPhone game. MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo and Newsweek's N'Gai Croal grilled both Levine and Howard on everything and anything gaming, and we were there to absorb it all.

When asked about what he thought the most notable game of last year was, Levine answered he was intrigued with Russian dev Katauri Interactive's King's Bounty: The Legend. He pointed out that Eastern Europe has been thriving with PC games, noting that games like King's Bounty are good reason to keep an eye on the region.

Todd Howard was asked by a fan where he draws the line on DLC, using Oblivion's Horse Armor as an example of seemingly unnecessary content, or content which should have been integrated initially. Howard responded saying that people shouldn't complain about the inclusion of DLC, as devs can't always include certain content within their given schedules. They're really extras for fans, he said; however, he ascribed merit to complaining about how much that content costs.

One last interesting discussion of the afternoon included a glimpse into how companies are using Achievements/Trophies in more ways than just giving you – the gamer – an ego. Game companies are using these accolade systems to check up on completion rates on their games (determined by the number of gamers who've received endgame Achievements). Levine revealed that 50 percent of BioShock players finished the game, while Howard noted a 30 percent completion rate for Fallout 3. Both those titles represented a notch up from the average 20 percent.