Chris Kohler:
What’s up with BioShock Infinite‘s box art? Here’s the answer.
As part of its media ramp-up for the impending March 26 release of BioShock Infinite, Irrational Games released the official box art for the game on December 1. A great wail emerged from the Internet and there was much rending of garments over the cover, which didn’t seem to befit such an imaginative, ambitious, anticipated game. The majesty of the floating city of Columbia, the intrigue of Elizabeth and the Songbird, the game’s grappling with weighty topics of politics and racism had all seemingly been reduced down to that most generic of videogame tropes: angry dude with a gun.
Personally, I found this all to be a bit of a non-troversy and we said as much on the recent Game|Life podcast. Cover art is sometimes the only thing a consumer makes a buying decision based on, and it’s okay if they use the cover that they feel will put this game in the hands of millions of bros who just want to shoot things. Nobody said when the first BioShock came out that it was about Ayn Rand, they just said you got to set things on fire and throw bees out your hands.
When I got to sit down with Infinite‘s creative director Ken Levine on Thursday after playing the game and asked for his thoughts, I got an extensive, thoughtful answer that in a perfect world would put an end to all of the bellyaching.
IGN: "We spent six hours playing a recent build of Judas, the next game from BioShock creator Ken Levine, followed by a lengthy conversation with the renowned game designer to discuss the long wait since BioShock Infinite, bringing the "narrative LEGOs" concept to life in Judas, what the game is all about, and much more."
YT video : https://youtu.be/aIqmnoo8Ui...
with new gameplay segments
I’m tentatively hopeful for this. Love Bioshock. As far as the narrative Legos we shall have to wait and see. The early trailer for Infinite showed off a lot of stuff that didn’t make it into the finished product, and Levine is notoriously difficult to work for, so if this narrative stuff makes it into the came will be curious to see how impactful it is. I’d be fine with something more in the vein of the first Bioshock. Not much like that now, especially since Arkane’s fall from grace.
I didn’t realize Levine’s new studio was under 2K Games just like Irrational was. What was the point quitting Irrational and then 2K dissolving the studio only for him to open up a smaller studio still under 2K? Why not just downsize Irrational, keep operations going and have the brand recognition. Cuz it’s not like Judas is a departure from his normal style. Must be a story there
Cloud Chamber, under 2K, is the new studio developing the next Bioshock (4?) game.
I imagine he had a negative experience building Bioshock Infinite, due to the pressure on the team. As you pointed out in your other comment, lots from that game was cut out or changed before release. I suspect he wanted the opportunity to step back and create a game in a timescale that allowed him to deliver the product he wanted.
Irrational may have also been locked into certain contracts under 2K, and opening a new studio may have allowed him to negotiate new terms.
Twinfinite: “War may never change, but the prices of rare games do!”
"And lastly, famous Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling helped to create the action-RPG’s setting. What’s really fascinating, though, is that the game was partially financed by taxpayers from Rhode Island (which allegedly lost the state millions of dollars). Yikes!"
1. Now infamous Schilling
2. No allegedly, it did. And they couldn't pay it back.
3. What really lost the money wasn't the SP release but the MMO they were working on. This was supposed to be an introduction into the MMO world.
I hate counting limited editions for these lists. I mean, they're made to be rare and expensive. It's far more interesting to hear about the NCAAs (even if most people know that one already) and the El Chavos than some massive hit that came with a $200 statue at retail.
Me too. Here's the best I can do:
El Chavo Kart $90.14
NCAA Football 14 $87.72
Spiderman: Edge of Time $75.94
Spiderman Web of Shadows $75.09
Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions $67.76
Wow, El Chavo Kart is not at all what I expected by the name. 100% looks like a Sackboy Kart game.
It's so odd that so many Spider-Man games are seemingly given lower print runs, even if they're not the best games.
Most Xbox games don’t hold as much value compared to other systems. Kameo, Blue Dragon, Last Remnant , and a handful or 2 of other games that I kept.
One of the biggest TV and movie tropes in the last decade has been the multiverse, the idea of exploring multiple dimensions to uncover alternate versions of existing ideas. From both a business and creative perspective, it makes sense why established franchises are shaking things up in this way.
However, there aren't many video games latching on to this trend, as rendering multiple worlds in real-time is a difficult feat and the medium is relatively young in comparison to its contemporaries, making crossover opportunities more difficult. Still, there are a few great titles that manage enough to overcome these challenges, and here are some of the best examples.
While I love someone mentioning Planescape, not really multiverse. Planes and dimensions, yes. But, they are typically their own locations and are very rarely tied to another 'verse' let alone another plane. The only things that are directly tied are the ethereal and material planes. Otherwise, they are dimensions created of their own design and goals by the creator/owner and not comprised of 'their own version of another dimension'.
I like Ken but that is the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard...theres no need to come up with excuses like this to cover your arse
"We expected it"
The number one line of this gen that nearly ever developer uses when they get into s***...FF13, Resident Evil 5/6, Dead Space 3, Dmc etc
“We went and did a tour… around to a bunch of, like, frathouses and places like that. People who were gamers. Not people who read IGN. And [we] said, so, have you guys heard of BioShock? not a single one of them had heard of it.”
Sorry but if your a gamer and I actually mean a gamer who likes games for what they are and is actually interested in the industry, not someone who just buys a console to kill time on the new COD or whatever blockbuster game is out then your bound to hear about sites like IGN and I'm pretty sure a lot of people heard about Bioshock with how succesfull it was, sucessfull enough to get a sequel.
"Our gaming world, we sometimes forget, is so important to us"
Nope...I don't think any of us forget a good game, you probably asked a bunch of mega douches who say there gamers but the only game they play on is COD. I still remember Half Life and that was years and years ago.
"“I wanted the uninformed, the person who doesn’t read IGN… to pick up the box and say, okay, this looks kind of cool"
What is it with IGN....not every gamer thinks of IGN as the number one source of gaming, hell I think more people use sites like this where all sorts of gaming infomation passes through it.
So to sum it up, instead of being creative and sticking to what your company is about...creativity you decided to crack under the pressure to sell more copies of your game for more money with a generic cover art that dosent represent the game at all.
I know it's just box art but I really thought Irrational Games were differn't
its just box art the game is what matters. What if the box art was AMAZING but the game was bad?
I bet the guy that made the art is crying in a corner somewhere - so much wide spread hate for his work.
The most obvious solution, and one that will satisfy everyone, is to just put in a reversable cover. Then there will be the one that's there now for the fratboys, and the real cover on the opposite side for the real gamers. Boom, everyone wins, and everyone is happy.