Bioshock Interview

[BigJohn]

Found this interview and thought it was pretty cool. It's a bit old, about the first Bioshock, but you guys may wanna check it out:

http://kotaku.com/354717/no-gods-or-kings-objectivism-in-bioshock

I missed out on the first Bioshock, but am playing the second one right now. I was amazed by the philosophical issues that were brought up in a game, a shooter mind you. Also being a libertarian and fan of people like Ayn Rand, which this game is inspired by, those ideas resonated with me. So I went online trying to find some of the background of the creation of this game, and sure enough Ayn Rand was a major influence.

The tagline they came up with, "No gods or kings. Only man." is now one of my favorite quotes.

I think it's awesome, the amount of depth achieved in a video-game. I'm not sure if I ever seen anything quite like this in the past.

Edit:
I forgot to say. I wanted to ask what do you guys think of making a video-game with depth? As opposed to a pure shooter. Is that a worthwhile goal in your eyes? What are some ways that you think this could be accomplished?

[grimdc13]

I play mostly rpgs if there isn't a story to keep me interested the action gets old fast..unless it's a puzzle game then I might be addicted for a while.

[Maph]

Edit:
I forgot to say. I wanted to ask what do you guys think of making a video-game with depth? As opposed to a pure shooter. Is that a worthwhile goal in your eyes? What are some ways that you think this could be accomplished?

Having depth in a game through story or gameplay is one of the key-elements of making a good game imho.
The whole idea of making a game is having your player immersed in a virtual world. And you'll want to keep it that way throughout the game too. How you do it, is up to you as a designer; but most of the time it's through story.
Take a look at any Bioware game, FallOut 3, Deux Ex, etc... Very immersive games that do very well because they're "good".
Mass Effect 2 is a good example. The gameplay is sometimes pure shite, and the controls are so dumbed down to please the 360 crowd that it's at the point of being ludicrious. But it's still one of the best games ever made imho, and mostly due to it's immense story and excellent character development.

If you're interested in the matter, I suggest you check out Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design. That book is my personal bible and it's one of the best out there considering Game Design.
They briefly touch on story writing though, for a more comprehensive look on the matter, check out The Writer's Journey from Christopher Vogler.

[robinb]

Do yourself a favour and get and play Bioshock 1. It's WAY better than 2. And I wonder whether playing 2 first is likely to spoil the first one.

By the end of 2 i could hardly be bothered to play it. It's rubbish. The first one is great though, so get that.

[joecyriac]

Maph: Thanks for the book recommendation, I'm picking up The Writer's Journey from Christopher Vogler. Out of curiosity, could you elaborate on character development in ME2? I liked the game a lot, but I felt that the experience was memorable as the characters were well realised and well written. But they don't change much throughout the game. imo. The world was believable, and the story itself was a great setup.

robinb: I played Bioshock2, but not Bioshock. Any reasons why the first one is so superior?

[Elcura]

They sealed off the events of the first one nicely, but reopened a lot of doors that should have stayed shut for the sake of making a sequel. Essentially, when it comes to the story of Rapture, Bioshock 1 is the way to go. 2 is fun, but I didn't take it as seriously as I did 1.