Blue's News: Comments - Ken Levine Shooting for "Something Awesome"

Ken Levine Shooting for "Something Awesome"

[Aug 05, 2008, 7:21 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

The Ken Levine Q&A Part One on GamesIndustry.biz talks with the 2K Boston honcho about rising game development costs and other relevant industry issues. They also ask about what he's up to now, learning that if he told us, he'd have to kill us: "I actually can't talk about it, without talking about the game itself. There are things related to story, gameplay and...I don't know how to describe it...people's relationship with the game over the long term. That's what we're thinking about, but it's about as clear as I can be." He does confirm that whatever his next project is, it will have a heavy dose of awesome: "I think for any company to look at the team to make BioShock and not have some faith in them doesn't make any sense. I think it would be crazy to say that we shouldn't try to do something awesome."

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19.	No subject	Aug 6, 2008, 08:52	dryden555
	let's not forget that terrible last level. And level design took a turn downward at the half-point of the game. It was a "B plus" game that was hyped.

18.	...	Aug 6, 2008, 01:55	theyarecomingforyou
	I don't get why people think bioshock's so good... it's a game on rails. room/corridor/room style that's been around since doom. It had a very focused and well written storyline. The voice acting was very strong. The theme was fresh and very idiosyncratic. It featured new gameplay mechanics (plasmids: freezing, stunning). It had very good licensed music. The graphics were good. It's the polish that made it such a good game. It wasn't revolutionary but it was decent and I enjoyed it. Now Stalker, on the other hand, is pure awesome. I agree. I liked them both, though favour STALKER myself. They're very different games. STALKER was a lot less polished, a lot less focused, had very poor weapon balance early on (pistols / shotgun are terrible)... it was very much a diamond in the rough. However, it had exceptional atmosphere (first game where I truly feared areas, particularly underground) and challenging AI. Personally I am very excited about STALKER: Clear Sky, which will hopefully eliminate many of the weaker aspects of the original - I'll be ordering it as soon as it's available on Steam. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Founder of the "I Hate Smiley Fitz" society Remember: Riley has autism. He has trouble communicating, and in an overstimulating environment, he can get frightened and run away, leaving his parents frantic. - Auburn




	Founder of the "I Hate Smiley Fitz, n00bdog and Twonky" society CPU upgrade? Check. Graphics upgrade? Not sure. I can wait for DX11 or grab a second 4870 now... or do both. Hmmm.

17.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 6, 2008, 01:43	Jerykk
	That was pretty damn awesome, in my book. Yeah, fighting the Big Daddies was pretty cool... the first couple of times. After that, it just became formulaic.

16.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 6, 2008, 01:05	starmonkey
	That's pretty damn standard to all games, in my book. But I don't really have a book. More like a collection of half-truths and pocket wisdoms

15.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 6, 2008, 00:55	Wowbagger_TIP
	I don't get why people think bioshock's so good... it's a game on rails. room/corridor/room style that's been around since doom. It had no new features, was a rehash of SS2, and had two endings (good/bad). I got bored with it and never finished it. Same here. Nice atmosphere and somewhat interesting story, but just too repetitive and lacking any real challenge. One of the really cool things about Bioshock was that YOU decided how to deal with the Big Daddies, and in which way to kill them. There was little scripted about that. They roamed the level, and you were free to deal with them in any way possible within the confines of the game. Yeah, but the confines were pretty tight. And if you die, you pop right back out of a tube 20 feet away. yawn

14.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 6, 2008, 00:35	Creston
	Bioshock is a completely scripted "world" Hang on there, tiger. That's not really true. One of the really cool things about Bioshock was that YOU decided how to deal with the Big Daddies, and in which way to kill them. There was little scripted about that. They roamed the level, and you were free to deal with them in any way possible within the confines of the game. That was pretty damn awesome, in my book. Creston

13.	Something awesome	Aug 6, 2008, 00:31	Creston
	= Bioshock 2. Followed by Bioshock 3. Bioshock the RTS. Bioshock the Movie. Bioshock for PSP and DS. Bioshock the MMORPG. Bioshock the interactive DVD adventure. All of which will save/restart their respective genres. Because, you know, if Ken Levine fails at something, then NOBODY could ever do it anymore. Creston

12.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 6, 2008, 00:04	starmonkey
	"living world" and "on rails" are mutually exclusive terms! Bioshock is a completely scripted "world" (if you can call an endless progression of rooms + corridors a world). Stalker's inventory system is fine. At least it has an inventory! Starting your character off with amnesia is cliche for sure, but so far the rest of the game's story is just fine. Have you tried stalker with the oblivion lost mod? http://forums.filefront.com/s-t-l-k-e-r-soc-modding-editing/340033-s-t-l-k-e-r-oblivion-lost-kanyhalos.html This message was edited at Aug 6, 00:06.

11.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 23:41	Jerykk
	I liked the atmosphere of Bioshock but I couldn't help thinking "Wow, this is exactly like System Shock 2... only dumbed down." I probably would have enjoyed the game more if I hadn't raised my standards with SS2.

10.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 23:29	the_culture
	Yeah, STALKER is so much better with its incoherent/cliched storyline, treking around aimlessly looking at the same 6 anomalies, and its horrible weapon/inventory system. Please... BioShock was by no means perfect, but it created a living world, complete with history, interesting characters, a great story, terrific voice acting, and fantastic set design. So what if it was "on rails." So was Half-Life, HL2, Quake 1&2, SS2, CoD, etc. All great games in their own right.




	Greatest video known to man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfr40TDfmM0

9.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 22:56	siapnar
	I completely agree with starmonkey, STALKER is by far the better, more innovative and atmospheric game. I barely got through the first few levels of Bioshock, then finally put it down to screw around in GTA4. I never went back to Rapture. It's not like I don't appreciate how much effort they put into the game, it's just I don't think it redefines the genre by any means. Maybe I'll go back and play it someday, but I'll have to be in a pretty bored mood. This message was edited at Aug 5, 23:02.

8.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 22:55	starmonkey
	I too enjoyed the vibe of the game, but quickly tired of being not being able to get off the tracks... And by "1920's pop art" I think you mean Art Deco: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco "The structure of Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes. It was widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism, being influenced by a variety of sources."

7.	Re: Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 22:06	kxmode
	I don't get why people think bioshock's so good... Personally I enjoyed the environments the most. I found myself, on more than a few occasions, stopping to look outside the window at various sea life swimming by, or at the cool water effect (they hired a guy just to handle water physics). I also enjoyed the 1920s' style pop-art. The music playing from the radios added to the realism. ----- http://www.gamemusicjukebox.com/ Game p/reviewer for http://www.gameindustry.com/




	end-of-line

6.	Re: Awesome	Aug 5, 2008, 21:40	Jerykk
	If this indeed an X-Com sequel, I wouldn't hold high hopes. Expect all the strategy/tactics and open-ended gameplay to be stripped out. I predict a first-person, squad-based console shooter with regenerating health and invincible teammates.

5.	Re: Awesome	Aug 5, 2008, 21:38	ldonyo
	I hope he keeps his eyes open while he's aiming this time...

4.	Bioshock was bleh	Aug 5, 2008, 21:37	starmonkey
	I don't get why people think bioshock's so good... it's a game on rails. room/corridor/room style that's been around since doom. It had no new features, was a rehash of SS2, and had two endings (good/bad). I got bored with it and never finished it. Now Stalker, on the other hand, is pure awesome. So much atmosphere in that game it's not funny, and the free-flowing style of play was something that Levine should pay some attention to. Last night I literally jumped out of my seat and shouted in fear when something creepy happened. My heart was pounding. When I played bioshock, it was a snore. This message was edited at Aug 5, 21:39.

3.	Re: Awesome	Aug 5, 2008, 21:29	kxmode
	I'm looking forward to playing Something Awesome! I hope it has pew pew lasers! ----- http://www.gamemusicjukebox.com/ Game p/reviewer for http://www.gameindustry.com/




	end-of-line

2.	Re: Awesome	Aug 5, 2008, 21:23	nin
	X-Com, is the popular rumor... ------------------------------------------------ http://theslip.nin.com/ "The Bellic boys! Taking over your town, assholes!"




	http://www.ninja2009.com/

1.	Awesome	Aug 5, 2008, 21:03	PropheT
	It's probably going to save the entire genre of awesome.

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