ken levine
Latest
Levine talks BioShock DLC and what's to come
In the latest issue of Games for Windows Magazine, 2K Boston head honcho Ken Levine talks about what's in store for BioShock as far as downloadable content goes and what they're already working on. Levine confirms that their studio is working on new content, but will not be adding new narrative storyline saying that "I'm not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience". Levine then goes on to say that he feels that BioShock's overall combat can be expanded upon and that numerous plasmids were cut during development, so they could be brought back in the form of DLC. Nobody knows when the expanded BioShock content will land on the Marketplace or what specifically 2K Boston has planned, but what we do know is that we won't be getting our hopes up for an expanded BioShock storyline or additional campaign missions. Though, we're simple people and would be happy with a few new plasmids.[Thanks, xenocidic]
Irrational developing X-Com sequel?
If you played PC games during the 90s, chances are you've played X-Com. A memorable turn based strategy title, X-COM put players in control of an elite agency tasked with defending the planet from alien invaders. Players researched alien technology and built their arsenals to combat different types of enemies. All in all, X-COM earned a fond place in many gamers' memories. Potentially good news then, as Irrational Games, makers of the upcoming BioShock, may be working on a sequel. A client document from Irrational's law firm, Fierst, Pucci, & Kane LLP was discovered by Shacknews. The document in question lists X-Com among Irrational's games. Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that Irrational's Ken Levine himself has professed his love for the X-Com series and Take-Two (owner of Irrational) purchased the rights to the series in 2005.Should the rumor prove true, we can only hope that the imminent success of BioShock will convince Irrational Games to bring the game to the Xbox 360.[Via 1UP]
Trash talk: Bioshock designer scolds uncultured peers
Speaking with MTV's Stephen Totilo, Bioshock designer Ken Levine, a self-proclaimed "Vassar-educated twit," took a jab at his fellow developers. "Most video game people have read one book and seen one movie in their life, which is Lord of the Rings and Aliens or variations of that," said Levine, adding, "There's great things in that, but you need some variety." While no doubt a gross generalization, Levine's criticism sparks a worthwhile question, as put to us by Totilo:Do culturally illiterate developers bear any of the blame for the creative conservatism that usually gets pinned on corporate game publishers? Marinate on that for a minute.Original source: GameFile [Warning: 'MTV assault' awaits]
Irrational boss: EA didn't give a sh-t about System Shock 3
In an article from PC Gamer, Irrational boss Ken Levine had some pretty choice words for über publisher Electronic Arts and their relationship with the groundbreaking System Shock franchise. In reference to System Shock 3, Levine said: "One of the reasons I wasn't interested [in System Shock 3] is EA just didn't give a sh-t about that game. I think if EA were to do it, it would've been just a regular first-person shooter with a boss monster at the end. They [EA] didn't see it as big brand and I didn't want that uphill battle."Currently developing the heavily-anticipated BioShock, Levine says new publisher 2K Games is more of the nurturing type: "We have a publisher who cares about this game, and they believe in this kind of game. 2K Games is the company that helped reinvigorate Elder Scrolls [with The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion] and Civilization. They believe in core games."So, is this just bitterness talking or was EA more concerned with gettin' that paper and not unique games? Well, with games like Army of Two and Spore on the horizon, maybe bitterness is the answer.
