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Bioshock Infinite’s Elizabeth Should Be Both Smart And Savvy

Ben-Dutka 3 Comments

A crappy AI companion is just the worst. And it seems developer Irrational Games completely understands that.

After deciding upon an AI buddy for the upcoming Bioshock Infinite , Ken Levine and Co. knew they had to create a realistic, believable – and likable – character who "reacted to the world around her and to the player's actions."

In speaking to Eurogamer about the process of developing a solid, reliable AI character, Levine spoke in detail about what they wanted to do:

"One thing AIs generally don't do is react to what's around them. They don't observe what's around them. They have no interest in what's around them. So we spent a lot of time making Elizabeth notice the world and react to the world and engage with the world. That was heightened by the fact she's been locked up. But even so, people are always looking at stuff. When you walk down the street you don't walk down the street like a robot, which is generally what companion AIs do."

Elizabeth will frequently interact with the player, hand out health and ammo, and can even draw supplies to her with her special "tear" power. Heck, she even has the capability of resurrecting the player if need be. But in addition to her functional roles, she will also issue commentary on the engrossing environment, and her facial expressions will accurately reflect her emotional state. Added Levine:

"So we had to seed the world with things she was interested in and things she could interact with. We had to seed her with various emotional states that are primarily an overlay on the animation she does. And she has sounds to go along with all of those things. Making her present in the world was one of the most difficult things and one of the most important things."

It's tough to do AI just right and in fact, we haven't seen too many examples of fantastic AI allies over the years. Personally, I thought Elika in Prince of Persia was the best…the kind of ally you don't have to worry about; she was more of a tool than anything else. Of course, she didn't have anywhere near the personality Irrational has infused into Elizabeth.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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Don’t Like Bioshock Infinite’s Cover Art? Pick Another One!

John-Shepard 13 Comments

Despite Ken Levine's explanation , many fans aren't too happy with the box art for Bioshock Infinite .

Ah, but a reversible cover makes everything better, especially if you vastly prefer the alternate artwork. As announced over at Irrational's website , the hotly anticipated title will come with an option…picture one or picture two?

You can vote for one of six covers and you better do it fast, because Levine says that print deadlines are coming up fast. And if you're still not happy with whatever the majority chooses, you're not totally out of luck, as the developer will create "a whole mess" of extra alternate covers, which will be available to download and print out. These will show up at a later date, but isn't that nice of them?

Bioshock Infinite will be ready to go on March 26, 2013.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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Levine On Bioshock Infinite Story: “I’m Not Afraid Of Any Topic”

Ben-Dutka 7 Comments

As fans of the franchise well know, the storyline and atmosphere of the Bioshock games are of the utmost importance. Which is great.

And Irrational Games boss Ken Levine is only interested in generating the best possible plot and set of characters possible. If that involves potentially controversial subject matter, then so be it.

In a recent Joystiq interview , Levine, who is the president, creative director and lead writer of the game in question, said he's not about to run from the controversial stuff:

"For my own personal tastes, I'm not afraid of any topic or I wouldn't walk away from any topic because it was controversial. And I wouldn't run towards any topic because it was controversial. There's a story I want to tell.

Originally, the conflict in [BioShock Infinite] was one between technologists and luddites, and it just wasn't very interesting for us. The story didn't go anywhere, because there wasn't a lot of historical precedence for it and it didn't really resonate. And it evolved, and it kept evolving many, many times. But it's all about how you do it, not what you do."

Being an amateur writer myself, I have to agree with this. Nothing bugs me more than people who either purposely avoid or purposely include controversial topics for the sake of attention. The story is paramount. If the story requires something that might offend people, too bad. If it doesn't, don't put it in just to make a social point. This is art , not a political platform. And even if you wish your art to make a political statement, the quality of the art should still be the primary, manifest intent. This, I strongly believe.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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Bioshock Infinite Box Art Designed For The “Uninformed” Gamer

Ben-Dutka 21 Comments

When people saw the box art for Bioshock Infinite , some of the hardcore gamers and avid fans of the franchise were a little confused and disappointed.

It just didn't seem to be in the spirit of the award-winning series, and it was altogether underwhelming. However, Irrational Games boss Ken Levine told Wired that he anticipated the backlash and in fact, the design is marketed toward the "uninformed gamers."

And when he says "uninformed," he doesn't necessarily mean totally casual. He said the team went on a tour to a bunch of places (like frat houses) where people play video games but don't read IGN. When they asked if these people had heard of Bioshock , none had. But these are important consumers, says Levine, and he compared the situation to salad dressing…yeah, salad dressing. Check it out:

"Our gaming world, we sometimes forget, is so important to us, but… there are plenty of products that I buy that I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about. My salad dressing. If there’s a new salad dressing coming out, I would have no idea. I use salad dressing; I don’t read Salad Dressing Weekly. I don’t care who makes it, I don’t know any of the personalities in the salad dressing business. For some people, [games are] like salad dressing. Or movies, or TV shows. It was definitely a reality check for us."

He added that he wanted the uninformed to pick up the box and say, "okay, this looks kind of cool, let me turn it over." Then they'd see a flying city, Elizabeth, and some freaky creature, and they might start to get interested. From my point of view, I understand the approach, Ken. But I believe there may be one glaring flaw in your salad dressing analogy: Salad dressing is pretty much for everyone; it's basically "casual" right out of the box. Bioshock was never meant to be for the "uninformed," was it…? It's a very exotic salad dressing that not everyone is going to like.

Then again, if Irrational can get all the fans to buy the game anyway, and rake in a few others who hadn't expected to buy it, then they win. And that might just happen.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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Bioshock Infinite Pushed Back Again

Ben-Dutka 13 Comments

Well, at least this time it's not a huge delay.

Bioshock Infinite was originally supposed to release this fall, but was unfortunately delayed to February 26. Now, we've learned that the launch date for this hotly anticipated title from Irrational Games has slipped another month .

The new date is March 26. This is due to former Epic Games producer Rod Fergusson joining the team back in August; he said the game would benefit from an extra 3-4 months of polish. That's not entirely surprising, as the studio suffered several key losses over the past year; it started with director of product development Tim Gerritsen and art director Nate Wells, but it didn't end there. It's just good to know that at least the game is still coming. It looked for a while that such losses could permanently cripple the project.

Anyway, when Infinite does arrive, you can expect a lot of anxious gamers, and I'm one of them. Can't wait .

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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Irrational Hires Cosplayer Ormeli To Help Promote Bioshock Infinite

Ben-Dutka 25 Comments

We were really blown away when we saw Russian cosplayer Anna Moleva, also known as "Ormeli," dressed up as Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite . Just amazing.

But we weren't the only ones to be impressed. The game's development team, Irrational Games, saw those pictures and opted to hire Moleva to help promote one of 2013's hottest games.

As announced at Irrational's Blog , the girl who is essentially Elizabeth brought to life will become the "official face" of Bioshock Infinite thanks to her "uncanny portrayal." And "uncanny" it most certainly is. Said Irrational boss Ken Levine:

"We were so amazed by her dedication and her resemblance to Elizabeth that we decided to ask her if she’d like to be involved in helping bring Elizabeth to life in our box, our key art, and our upcoming television ad."

By the way, that costume Moleva made for her Elizabeth character took "a month or two" to make…that is one dedicated cosplayer! And if you want to learn a little more about "Ormeli," read the Q&A through the link above. You'll be seeing her a lot more in the near future, as she may be on hand at various events to help promote Infinite , and her face will definitely be more prominent on the Internet.

Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite

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