BioShock should’ve failed... In fact, it did fail a lot, over the course of time. A series of big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates, but all of these helped make it a good game... Some people think that constantly messing up, and pushing dates isn’t a good way to make a game, but as far as I’m concerned it’s the only way to make a good game.

Bungled development and repeated delays are your friends! Do not hate. Do not.

Wy BioShock Should Have Failed [Gamasutra via Binge Gamer]

Irrational's 'The Lost' Turns Up... In Bollywood?! [GameSetWatch]

Yes, it looks like I'm going to need kids after all. World overpopulation, global food crisis and those freaky mega cities you see in movies from the future are a small price to pay for a few Bioschock family movies.

Bioshock halloween [youtube]

I had the distinct pleasure of being shown BioShock by Mr. Levine himself and I must say it was the highlight of my entire E3. Being on Major Nelson's podcast and interviewing the great Sir Peter Molyneux were definite close seconds, but being the BioShock devotee that I am, Ken Levine wins the big prize.

As you may or may not have read in my last weekend's note to Ash, I will be attending the BioShock launch party taking place in Boston next month so I'll be sure to grab some pictures and bring you all the details as they happen.

Operating Systems: Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) orWindows Vista

Minimum System Requirements:
CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor
System RAM: 1GB
Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).
Sound Card: 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
Hard disk space: 8GB free space

Recommended System Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
System RAM: 2GB
Video card:
DX9: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better)
DX10: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better
Sound Card: Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)

Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation

So... do you make the cut?

Finalized PC Specs are here! [The Cult of Rapture forums, via IGN]

Bioshock Exclusive Interview 1 [Pro-G]

BioShock's first moments are claustrophobic, giving one a genuine feeling of suffocating panic. Its first moments, alien, uncomfortable and wet, are not too heavily metaphorically like being born into its world.

As the game takes place largely underwater, showing off Irrational Games' brilliant technology that creates the best water reflections and effects ever seen in a video game, you'll be brusquely baptized prior to your first steps into the new world of Rapture. The beautifully designed art deco undersea city, a man-made creation envisioned as a refuge from the oppression of invasive religions and governments, is quite literally coming apart at the seams. But you have nowhere else to go. So you go down.

You'll journey down to Rapture via bathysphere, quickly primed by the beauty and horror of the city. Propaganda posters and instructional films serve as brief history lessons on the whos and whys of this submerged attempt at utopia.

While I'll steer clear of much of the story-driven aspects of the game, as its justification for inserting your character into this world, one genetically spiraling into insanity, is worth experiencing within the confines of the game, I'll say that BioShock's characters and its world are mostly wholly convincing. That the team at Irrational infused the game with such an overwhelming sense of horror and constant fear makes suspending disbelief forcibly easier was either a wonderful byproduct or a stroke of genius. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and call it the latter.

Like BioShock's first-person shooter peers, you'll find yourself slowly building your personal armament. You'll start off with a wrench, perfect for crushing the skulls of Rapture's bloodthirsty Splicers until you pick up your first handgun. You'll, of course, find more powerful weaponry throughout the game, including semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers, many of which have special rounds with armor piercing or anti-mechanical attributes.

The traditional weapons are only half of BioShock's offensive system and assigned to the right half of the Xbox 360's shoulder buttons. The left half is reserved for your character's Plasmid-based powers, including metaphysical skills that allow him to fire bolts of electricity, shoot flame or manipulate objects via telekinesis. These skills aren't just bluntly offensive, they're tactical. You'll need to burn oil slicks to eliminate out of range enemies. You'll melt blocks of ice that interfere with your progress. You'll stun the game's automatons with a shock of electricity in order to reprogram them to your advantage.

The game is packed, but not too densely, with many machine types, from security cameras to machine gun turrets to health stations to "Circus of Value" vending machines. Hacking each has its benefits, with health stations charging less of the game's currency for medical attention while making the use of health stations harmful to your enemies. Hacking is little more than a time-based tile puzzle, but it's not necessarily a given that you'll be successful with each hack attempt. You'll swap out tiles in order to create a pipe that connects the start of a liquid flow to the end, avoiding hack-ending tiles under the gun. Hacks will range in difficulty, with that difficulty shown in meter form before you attempt the hack.

Multiple weapon types, multiple ammunition types, multiple Plasmid powers, combat and hacking skills—it's a lot to absorb. Fortunately, the game ramps you up slowly, limiting the number of Plasmids you'll be able to outfit your character with until you've become accustomed to using them, swapping them in and out. You'll buy upgrades from the game's vending machines to open up new slots. This can't be done with Rapture dollars, though. You'll need Adam. Adam is the genetic material cultivated by the Little Sisters—always paired with the game's iconic Big Daddies, the BioShock coverboys you'll have a hard time bringing down throughout the game. You'll need Adam to progress, to become more powerful as you take on the game's later levels when the whole of Rapture commits to taking you down.

Getting your hands on Adam presents one with an in-game moral choice. If you want to get more Adam, you'll need to take the life of a Little Sister. Or you can spare them, freeing them from their zombie-like Adam addiction, netting yourself a smaller dose of Adam. Why even bother? It's not just so you can feel good about yourself. At one point during the game, a Little Sister sympathizer promises you great reward for sparing them. You'll have to play through the campaign to figure out exactly what that reward is.

These choices, these RPG-like elements, the artistic direction and atmosphere, they are what separate BioShock from any other first-person shooter coming for the Xbox 360. BioShock further sets itself apart with a bristling constant fear of your environment. Splicers are always on you, but you won't simply face wave after wave of them. Most of the time, they'll be heard before they're seen, spouting off Adam addiction-induced non sequitors. I found myself spinning madly, looking for them, watching shadows and ripples in the water for movement, taking each step carefully to avoid being cut down. Every encounter seems perfectly timed, providing not only a general sense of tension, but well-spaced moments of shock and surprise. Yes, I did jump up from my chair more than once.

The only down side to BioShock's horrific excellence? You might miss some of the game's gorgeous environments. I might've forgotten to mention how pretty this game is. This is showpiece software, a graphical demo disguised as a fully featured game experience that will leave many players slack-jawed as they watch water flow through cracks in the environment. There are dozens of audio logs for you to pick up and listen to, fleshing out the game's story. There's so much to do and so little safety in which to do it. Ah, well. You'll probably want to play through it two or three times anyway. I'm sure you'll get around to it. Michael McWhertor

2K's response? "Sure, we'll do it." If the petition scores 5000 signatures, the BioShock folks say they'll release a limited edition of the game. We're not sure right now if that means the Xbox 360 or PC version, or both, but it's good to read. Michael McWhertor

Collectors Edition Petition [2K Forums]

After the Great Bioshock Scan Debacle Of 2006, I was understandably wary upon hearing the news from YouNewb that a Through the Looking Glass forum poster, claiming to be a 2K employee, stated that Irrational Games' upcoming FPS RPG would be coming out in June.

Well, it seems this time the rumor mill was running properly. In an interview with British game site, Computer and Video Games, 2k games has announced that Bioshock will definitely be landing in the U.S. in June. Later, CVG was again contacted by 2k informing them that the UK and European releases would also be in June. And no, it's still NOT coming to the PS3... Flynn De Marco

Bioshock: June release for Europe in question [Computer and Video Games]
Bioshock out June in Europe, 2K confirms [Computer and Video Games]

[via: YouNEWB]

Need there be any further proof that EA should be immolated and salt spread on the charred earth where once its corporate empire lay than this statement from Irrational's Ken Levine?

For some reason, people think I know more about this than I do. We barely had any contact with EA during Shock 2. They weren't interested in that game. They weren't interested in a sequel. As a gamer, I'd love to see a Shock 3. I just hope EA believes in it more than they did Shock 2.

I think I speak for gamers who have had hot, sexy Gibsonian dreams about Shodan everywhere when I say: EA, you idiots. You only pissed away two of the greatest games ever, not to mention an amazing franchise and gaming's greatest villain. Florian Eckhardt

Ken Levine Talks System Shock 2 [1UP]

And there's cussing! Designer Ken Levine gets catty as he explains why there is no sequel to System Shock 2, saying that "EA just didn't give a shit about that game." OMG, he just said shit!

The PC game System Shock 2 was planned for the Dreamcast, but cancelled. Levine says EA "didn't see it as a big brand." Publisher 2K Games did, which is why Levine brought signed with him to release his upcoming BioShock for the PC and Xbox 360. 2K Games, they give a shit. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Eurogamer]

Earlier today, Ashcraft mentioned how much he enjoyed looking at concept art, following a game from raw, feverish inspiration to a more polished finished product. I'm similar and I was delighted to find that I could recognize almost every area in Gareth's sketches. If you're a fond ex-Rickenbacker, check it out.FLORIAN ECKHARDT

System Shock 2 Concept Art [Gareth Hinds]

As uncomfortable as it makes many gamers, opening up the computer games platform to big corporates as a way to get eyeballs on brands can be a very lucrative trade-off for developers. Digital luddites argue including billboards or product sponsors into virtual environments breaks the immersive quality of gameplay - and certainly this is true if the advertising is implemented in an obtrusive or nonsensical way - but those thousands of dollars could provide a cushion for an ailing developer and may be a lifeline for a future, more innovative project. Immersion could even be increased, as appropriate advertising may enhance the agency of the player.

We think most gamers are amenable to in-game advertisements but they expect advertisements to make game prices go down. Most other advertising-financed media is either free (for example, Kotaku) or extremely inexpensive in comparison to the $50 or $60 expense of a game. Keeping game prices the same and then making additional money by subjecting us to ads during our escapist gaming sessions feels somehow like an insult.

A great example of an otherwise excellent game company that squandered a lot of good will by doing this is Irrational. They released SWAT 4 at full price then patched in-game advertising in. Gamers who might otherwise have felt strongly enough against in game advertisements to boycott the game therefore couldn't do it. It was a cheap, cynical and shady move from an otherwise great dev house.

What do you guys think?

Alternative funding models Part 1 [Guardian Gamesblog]

While talking about some of the games coming out in 2007, the report mentions that BioShock is on its way:

Games' 2007 pipeline includes the next generation console title BioShock from 2K's Irrational Games development studio, among other titles in development.

Wait a minute, next generation console title? I thought it was also a PC game. Sure, it could be that they just left the PC off, but they went to great lengths to describe exactly which systems the other games were showing up on.

Unfortunately, it's too late for me to reach anyone on this just now, so I'll have to check it out in the morn.

Update: Apparently, I am indeed paranoid. I spoke with a kind-hearted and understanding 2K spokestype and was told that posolutely, the game is going to be coming out on PC. Apparently, it was just a mistype... and my paranoia.