I think for us, we come out of our BioShock coma - from shipping that game, and how hard that was - and then making a determination. What's next for us, and how aggressive are we going to be?

And we all looked at each other, and these guys have worked together for maybe six or ten years, all the senior creative guys on BioShock, and asked what do we want to do? Do we want to do something a little more straightforward next time, or do we want to swing for the fences again? To paraphrase, we decided to swing for the fences.

So...if they're not doing BioShock 2, and have very good reasons for not doing BioShock 2, what are they doing?

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.

So, not very clear at all, then!

Ken Levine - Part One [GI.biz][Pic: Hot Grill]

2K Boston (nee Irrational) has plenty of other titles under its belt and the recently formed 2K Marin is said to have taken the BioShock reins anyway, so all this speculation could point to something else entirely. Whatever the case, having the BioShock team's next effort more widely available is good news for gamers.

Programming Jobs [2KBoston via PS3Fanboy]

I had a tireless, amazing team who was on a mission to make BioShock great. We didn't have 300 people or five years. We had an insane amount of passion. I'd like to thank the people who made it with me, the families that patiently waited while we did our thing, the publisher with the guts not to make us change it, and the fans who showed that gamers have a much broader range of interest and intellect than anybody in certain parts of the media or the political space is comfortable giving them credit for.

It's a relatively short article, but there is some great stuff in there regarding his thoughts on BioShock's weaknesses as well as his pick for 2007 GOTY. A nice bit of weekend reading for your early morning coffee or late night holiday booze binge.

Ken Levine Talks BioShock [1Up]

Girl wrote on her blog that "a good chunk of the BioShock team did not want to work with Ken [Levine] ever again" and that publisher 2K "let them set up a new studio so that they can make Bioshock 2, leaving Ken with Project X." 2K Boston, Girl writes, is "essentially rebuilding a team from almost scratch again." Consider it rumor for now, but, if true,

Ex-BioShock Staff Starting New 2K Studio in Bay Area, Next 2K Boston Project on Unreal Engine 3 [Shacknews]
Disaster: Your Irrational Behavior is BioShocking [Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars]

Diablo II, to me, was a great model for an expansion, because it enhanced the original game, but also extended the game, too. I'm not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience. I think that certainly BioShock's combat experience is great, but it could be broader. I'm a little more confused as far as how to expand the narrative experience.