BioShock news

[Tannhauser]

A recent flurry of BioShock news is here summed up, put off briefly because of Fallout 3 trailer.

The Cult of Rapture has a new podcast, the seventh in their series, focused on the computer animation of BioShock. It features Shawn Robertson, Lead Animator, and Grant Chang, Animator.
Link: Episode Seven: Inside the Animations.

Gamers With Jobs has an interesting article about Ken Levine and BioShock, declaring it "Levine's magnum opus."
Link: BioShock perspective.

Jörg Langer has a new interview with Ed Orman, lead designer of the PC version of BioShock at Irrational Games Australia. While mostly treading old ground on various aspects of BioShock, Ed does elaberate on the differences between the two versions.
<blockquote>Jörg: Concerning the two versions of the game, for Xbox 360 and PC: With console shooters, you always have the issue of being limited in your aiming, because pointing with a game pad just doesn’t equal pointing with a mouse. So have you (that is: Ken Levine’s team in USA) made the game easier for the Xbox 360, are there less opponents, or are they weaker, slower?

Ed Orman: There are very substantial gameplay differences between the two versions. Look, our heritage is PC. We’ve taken the differences between the two platforms very seriously. We look at history, we look at other PC/console games like Deus Ex 2. We realized that you need to treat them differently. Not only in terms of the balance, but also in the interface. We have a very different interface for the PC version of Bioshock, using much more drag and drop functionality. In terms of the gameplay, we’ve rebalanced all of the enemies to make the PC version harder. We’ve taken Softlock out of the PC version. You need this “locking on” with a console, because it’s so much harder to aim at something with a game pad, but you don’t need it on a PC. But of course, the Xbox 360 version still is the lead version of Bioshock.</blockquote>Link: Ed Orman interview.

Finally, The Cult of Rapture has released images of the box art of the game.
Link: Box art of BioShock.

 

[Ausir]

Wait... isn't Ed Orman one of the Tactics people? It's funny because Bioshock looks more fallouty than FOT did.

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

I would like to say "Bethesda's Fallout 3 team, take a look at this and learn" but that would mean I actually cared about their product.

 

[SuAside]

i'm glad this Ed dude finally goes on record to state such things. too often is this overlooked or even flatout denied.

 

[Nauris]

Gamers With Jobs also has an interview. Focusing less on the gameplay, more on the philosophy of the game.
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/32465

 

[Tannhauser]

It was all ready in the news post:

Gamers With Jobs has an interesting article about Ken Levine and BioShock, declaring it "Levine's magnum opus."
Link: BioShock perspective.

 

[Nauris]

Gah, I am truly blind. My apologies.

 

[Brother None]

Wait... isn't Ed Orman one of the Tactics people?

Lead designer, baby....well, kind of together with Chris Taylor. I was never clear on how that was balanced.

Orman was pretty noobish when he did Tactics, tho'. He obviously learned.

 

[Lexx]

But of course, the Xbox 360 version still is the lead version of Bioshock.

This is gay.


And I hope, BioShock will be more SystemShock 2 then Doom 3... I really like the under water setting, but I don't want to have a Doom 3-like first person shooter in this setting.. :/

 

[Briosafreak]

We look at history, we look at other PC/console games like Deus Ex 2. We realized that you need to treat them differently. Not only in terms of the balance, but also in the interface. We have a very different interface for the PC version of Bioshock, using much more drag and drop functionality. In terms of the gameplay, we’ve rebalanced all of the enemies to make the PC version harder. We’ve taken Softlock out of the PC version. You need this “locking on” with a console, because it’s so much harder to aim at something with a game pad, but you don’t need it on a PC.

And this is excelent

 

[SuAside]

But of course, the Xbox 360 version still is the lead version of Bioshock.

This is gay.

but somehow understandable. xbox is a single platform without variation and hence easy to design for. a pc on the other hand can have a near endless variation to one another.

while disgusting, it makes sense. and i'm sadned to admit that if i were to make a multi platform game, i too might for simplicity's sake design for xbox primarily and expand towards pc.