Don’t hold your breath waiting for a BioShock movie.
Ken Levine’s really looking forward to Burial At Sea, and he took to Reddit with his colleague and lead level designer Andres Gonzalez to answer any query the internet had to offer, including a bunch of Burial At Sea questions. First up, release dates! Everything’s been sent off for Episode 1 verification, says Levine, so it’s up to the console guys now. “It will be before the holidays and hopefully fairly soon,” says he. As for Episode 2, there’s no date yet, but Irrational’s working its collective ass off to get that done.
But what about gameplay? How will that work? Well, there’s a much greater emphasis on stealth and resource management, and for those of you who like the narrative but not the combat, there’s also a greater emphasis on dialogue. Fontaine’s Department Store in Episode 1, for example, will be pure narrative, with no combat whatsoever. If you were wondering why, in the first five minutes video, Rapture looks as nice as it does, that’s because Episode 1 is set in pre-fall Rapture; but fret ye not, Episode 2 will be set after the fall, with all the Splicer nutjob goodness you’ve come to expect from your city under the sea. Designing a functional Rapture was one of Levine’s great pleasures, and he can’t wait for players to see the result.
“As you play it, I’d encourage you to walk around and really take it in,” says Andres. “There is a lot of attention to detail in the spaces we built.” Spaces that should take about 2-3 hours to explore, at least in Episode 1, but that will depend on your level of involvement with the story. Those of you who don’t care so much for narrative may speed through, while others could be lost under the sea for a lot longer. Particularly since, as Andres points out, “the experience in Burial at Sea is more open than Infinite though, so there is a lot of optional content to explore and see.”
Music’s going to be a big part of Burial At Sea, but the team wasn’t about to say anything specific. Levine did say a Patsy Cline tune would be part of Episode 1, and “if you don’t want to kill yourself after listening to that track, you need to check to see if that’s a heart in your chest, or just a thumping piece of metal.” But will the Luteces be there? After all, Elizabeth will be, so there’s always a chance … “Hmm, can’t say. I’ll suppose I’ll flip a coin,” says Levine.
Will there be new stuff? Yep, Episode 1 will add a new weapon, a new Plasmid, new Gear, new Tears, and the Plasmids and new weapon are upgradeable. Plus, the outfits! “The clothes are great,” says Levine, who revealed that Elizabeth’s outfit is based on a mix of period looks from Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, and other actresses.
Were you wondering if Levine, currently working on the screenplay for Logan’s Run, was going to get involved in a BioShock movie? Well, thanks in part to Burial At Sea discussions have started up again, but Irrational will only do it if it thinks it’s the right BioShock movie. But if you were wondering what comes next – more DLC, another BioShock game – Levine doesn’t know yet. Or perhaps he isn’t about to say.
You’ll just have to wait for another AMA to find out.
Source: Reddit
