"The downsizing of Irrational Games is not only rational, it’s the most notable blip yet on a growing trend whereby established blockbuster talent is jumping off a sinking ship and swimming to the greener small-scale pastures enjoyed by the indie scene." - Grab It Magazine
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
DualShockers Writes "One of the most important shooters of all time, BioShock, has turned 15. Playing it today, it doesn’t feel like a 15-year-old game, and I realise that’s in large part because so few games have attempted to really follow in its footsteps. It’s a predecessor to certain genres that would come later – like the ‘walking sim’ – and it was the first blockbuster game that showed the medium to be capable of seriously exploring some high-minded ideas, but that mix of emergent gameplay, eccentricity, and worldbuilding where you piece together the story of a fallen city through desecrated rooms, meticulously positioned corpses, and brilliantly delivered audio diaries hasn’t quite been repeated."
The BioShock director has hinted at his new project but isn't giving too much away.
More and more Levine comes off as that great "ideas" guy, and less someone who should be directing the project.
Infinite came out very little like it was supposed to be, and whatever they're actually working on has been in development hell for years, with nothing to show for it.
Every project he heads is riddled with reworks and reimagining.
He needs to team up with Warren Spector again. They seem to balance each other out.
The list of big name devs that have left their big time studios in recent years to begin again in the downloadable indie scene is getting pretty epic.
I don't think Levine jumped off a sinking ship. He was one of the founders and wanted to work with a smaller team
And he never got to release Bioshock PS Vita as it was announced.
I don't think it's wrong to suggest that devs getting leaner and smaller will create more creative and innovative titles... the more people working on a game, the more it can become homogenized. Not always but usually. Ken Levine will make gold with 15 people or 200 people though.
Its stupid. You want to make "smaller" games then friggin do it, why blow up a company to do it though? 100's of people lost their jobs just because one guy wanted to try something new? really?
You can't say IG was in financial ruin either as every Bioshock did perfectly fine commercially... if they did then perhaps fire the people involved with finances because they must suck at their jobs.....