Back in December, there was a survey from us here at Irrational to better understand how you play games. We had a hunch about a new feature for BioShock Infinite, and we built this survey to see if it’s something that our fans wanted. The results of the survey are in and we heard what you want loud and clear, which is why we’re proud to announce something new for the game: 1999 Mode!

BioShock Infinite’s 1999 Mode will feature an especially demanding gaming experience, forcing you to examine your decisions while going through your adventure in Columbia. With every choice you make, there are irreversible implications, and if your choices guide you down a path not suited to your play style, you will suffer for it.

It’s not simply a matter of adjusting the difficulty sliders in the game – the team went much further than that. Resource planning? If you’re to survive this mode, proper planning will be crucial. Combat specializations? You’ll need to develop them efficiently and effectively throughout the story; any weapon will be useless to you unless you have that specialization. Combat? You will need to carefully target every shot, and your health will be set to an entirely different baseline. Game saves? Well, yes, there will be those, but according to Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine “there are game saves, and you’re gonna f***ing need them.”

“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots,” said Levine. “In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, 1999 Mode will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them.”

As you may already know, Levine embraces all facets of nerd-dom, but in this interview, you’ll find out a bit more about why he loves geek culture, and why there’s no shame in that. If you’ve ever wondered a bit about Ken’s youth, how he got into writing, or if you’d simply like to know about some of the influences found in BioShock Infinite, this article may be well worth your time.

Click here for the full interview on the PlayStation Blog.

With the 1893 World’s Fair used as an influence, the discussion turned to the famous Columbian Exposition, examining how some ideas found in BioShock Infinite stemmed from the work of Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. “When you go back to that time period and start examining the fiction being written, the art, the early science-fiction – there were all these images of cities floating in the sky,” says Creative Director Ken Levine. “That’s where we got this idea from, and really ran with it.”

Care to discover more about the influences of BioShock Infinite? Would you simply like to know how some pioneers of science helped direct the creation of Booker and Elizabeth’s adventure in Columbia? Head over to the Geek Out blog on CNN for the entire interview.

Guillermo del Toro is known for films like Blade 2, Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy series, bringing a specific brand of horror to his works, but it’s his passion for the nerd culture and a love for games that has guided him to where he is today.

In this second part of our Guillermo del Toro interview, Creative Director Ken Levine chats with Guillermo about what’s necessary to tell a story in a brand new medium, and how he’s adapting to the gaming industry to ensure his upcoming projects live up to his standards. These two narrators also discuss how to tell stories in various mediums, and how flexibility and dedication are necessities to the creative process.

To close out the interview, Ken and Guillermo return to the concept of passion, and how hard work and persistence will lead to bigger and better things.“At the end of the day, it’s about love. You can love wherever you are and you can love whatever you’re doing,” says del Toro. “I don’t want to sound like Mr. Chirpy, but put your shoulder to it, and put your heart into it.”

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for a more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 9

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Julian Murdoch
• Editing by Ant Bear Audio
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

Click here to view the embedded video.

The People Behind Booker and Elizabeth Part 1

Guillermo del Toro is known for films like Blade 2, Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy series, bringing a specific brand of horror to his works, but it’s his passion for the nerd culture and a love for games that has guided him to where he is today.

For this Halloween installment of Irrational Interviews, Creative Director Ken Levine had a chance to sit down with this master of horror to talk about how to tell a frightening story, and how to create a character that is a monster to better suit the narrative at hand. Levine and del Toro also chat about the concept of passion, passion for what they do, and how that kind of enthusiasm helps on each project they work on.

“Films are fantastic – they are one of the peaks of human narrative. But I’m sorry to break the news to the movie industry: So is a video game.” – Guillermo del Toro

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for a more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 9

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo
• Editing by Ant Bear Audio
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

In this “Making Of” feature, the Irrational Games team chats about nearly everything you’d like to know about what’s shown off in the demo. Have you wondered what it’s like to write these scenes? Are you curious what the characters are up to? Do you simply have questions about some of the gameplay elements like the “tear” system or how the Sky-Lines work? The IG crew covers all that and more. All you have to do to get the answers is head over to GameSpot.com and watch the video. Enjoy!

If you keep up with our blog and podcasts, you’ve heard about how we throw a lot of work away. Some pitches, like Monster Island, never make it past the documentation stage. Others, like newly-rediscovered RPG/RTS hybrid Dungeon Duel, get more than a handful of assets developed before being ultimately consigned to Irrational’s own dustbin of history.

Dungeon Duel was in development back in 2002, so it took some asking around to find Irrational staffers who still remembered working on it. As it turns out, technical director Chris Kline dug up a folder full of ancient email attachments showing game materials in various stages of completion. A lot of the folks listed in those decade-old CC lists still work here–art director Nate Wells, lead artist Shawn Robertson, concept artist Robb Waters, and creative director Ken Levine–not to mention Kline, of course.

As described in the pitch, “Dungeon Duel combines fast-paced RTS strategy with the addictiveness of card game trading in a unique fantasy setting–a true RTS game built specifically with consoles and their controllers in mind.” You can download the whole document as a PDF, including numerous pieces of artwork and mockups.

The concept art seen above was created by Robb Waters. Here are some more pieces we dug up while researching this forgotten bit of the studio’s past:

Sketched concept of what a built-out scene might look like.

Party and inventory sheet concept.

Fighter class concept and in-game model.

Environment concept created by Nate Wells.

In-game mockup based on Nate’s map concept.

We have to commend Chris Kline for somehow failing to lose track of these materials after nearly a decade. That’s why he makes the big bucks.

PAX Prime 2011 saw the first public appearance on behalf of BioShock Infinite by the game’s two lead voice actors, Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt) and Courtnee Draper (Elizabeth). They participated in our panel to discuss the process of bringing video game characters to life, alongside Irrational creative director Ken Levine. For those unable to make it to the show, our friends at G4 helpfully recorded the whole thing! Its a good solid 45 minutes of insight and behind-the-scenes video, so head over to G4’s site and make with the watching already.

But as much as we enjoyed putting the panel together, we can’t overlook a pretty major flaw: There just wasn’t enough time for the planned question-and-answer session.

We want to make things right, and what better place to do that than on the internet, where none shall be denied answers due to lack of PAX badge ownership. Send your questions for Ken, Troy, or Courtnee to voiceactorqa@irrationalgames.com. Get them in by Wednesday, September 7, and we’ll address them in an upcoming feature here on the site.

And hey, if you were one of the privileged PAX attendees and you made it to the panel, share your feedback in the comments below!

Our booth was staffed not only with humans but also with the massive Songbird statue we debuted at PAX East earlier this year. All weekend we enjoyed fans dropping by to chat or take photos, some in impressive costumes–both BioShock-related and otherwise. Browse through some of our favorites in our PAX Prime 2011 Flickr gallery.

We were also graced by the presence of Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, the voice actors behind Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth. They participated in our panel alongside creative director Ken Levine and G4’s Adam Sessler, and were on hand for a signing session with Ken.

The official Irrational Games Award for Most Delicious Cosplay 2011 goes to Bacon.

Jess (our official Elizabeth model), Troy Baker (voice of Booker DeWitt), Courtnee Draper (voice of Elizabeth), and Ken Levine (Irrational Games creative director).

A fan came by to model his wrist chain tattoo inspired by BioShock, and asked Ken Levine to autograph it. Which he did. That’s not actually two overlapping tattoos.

Troy is, quite frankly, terrified by the Swag Monster who stopped by the Irrational booth. As for Courtnee and Ken, they cool.

If you couldn’t make it out, Irrational has more event plans soon. We’re calling for cosplayers at Dragon*Con in Atlanta this weekend, and we’ll have Troy and Courtnee back for another appearance at New York Comic-Con in October. Mark your calendars!

This episode of Irrational Interviews features two guests. That’s particularly noteworthy, because either one of them alone has a list of accomplishments a mile long.

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk co-founded BioWare, the RPG-oriented group that now consists of five locations within Electronic Arts. They started out as doctors (actual practicing medical doctors, mind you), and BioWare was once a developer of games as well as medical software.

As a fellow entrepreneur, Irrational creative director Ken Levine chats with the doctors about the challenges and perks of running a video game company–all three have seen their studios grow from small PC-exclusive teams to modern, triple-A, multiplatform dev studios. They also share the experience of starting out in fields not particularly related to games, Ken in screenwriting and Ray and Greg in medicine.

“We were having lunch one day after having made some medical education software,” recalls Ray, “then we realized what we’re really passionate about is video games. Why don’t we just make some video games? Take everything we own, and everything we make as doctors on weekends, to fund the company. …That was the extent of the conversation.”

It seems to have worked out.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 8

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo
• Editing by Ant Bear Audio
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

PAX Prime is just days away, and Irrational is gearing up for the transcontinental trek from Boston to Seattle. We’ve got plans.

THE PANELS

You’ve got two chances to see Irrational in PAX panel discussions. Mark your schedules:

- Friday, 2:00PM (Unicorn Theatre): Creative director Ken Levine will be a special guest on Geoff Keighley’s GT.TV Bonus Round panel along with fellow game designers David Jaffe (God of War) and Todd Howard (The Elder Scrolls series). They’ll be discussing what’s the state of the industry, talking shop, and generally shooting the breeze. GameTrailers will be there to record the panel and air it online at a later date.

- Saturday, 2:00PM (Unicorn Theatre): Ken will be joined by the Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, the voice actors behind Booker and Elizabeth. It’s their first public appearance in support of BioShock Infinite, so you won’t want to miss it. They’ll discuss what goes into bringing video game characters to life and screen some unique behind-the-scenes footage. If you can’t make it to PAX, catch it streaming live on G4TV.com.

THE BOOTH

If you attended PAX East this year, you saw our life-sized Songbird statue, accompanied by a model playing Elizabeth. They’re back, so be sure to stop by our booth to say hi and take a photo. While you’re there, check out our other activities:

- Entire weekend: We’ll be setting up a BioShock Infinite gallery with a collection of gorgeous Irrational-created concept art. Browse through it, and pay close attention, because if you can successfully answer a few questions about what you saw, we’ll hook you up with a poster.

- Saturday, 3:30PM: Creative director Ken Levine and Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, the voice actors behind Booker and Elizabeth, want to sign your stuff.  Throw them a bone.

- Throughout the show: We’ll be announcing t-shirt giveaways over the course of the weekend with a 15-minute heads up on Twitter. Follow @IrrationalGames to stay in the know–we’ll also be tweeting about the sights we see, the fans we encounter, and any other promotions we come up with.

Be there.

You won’t want to miss Irrational’s PAX Prime 2011 panel, where you’ll be able to see the voice actors who bring BioShock Infinite’s Booker and Elizabeth to life.

Troy Baker, the voice of Booker DeWitt, and Courtnee Draper, the voice of Elizabeth, will join Ken Levine for a discussion about creating characters in video games. Although you’ve heard their performances in our recent gameplay demonstration, it’s the first time Courtnee and Troy will be representing the game in public.

PAX Prime runs from August 26 to August 28 in Seattle. The Irrational Games panel will be held on Saturday at 2:00pm in the Unicorn Theatre. Check out the official PAX site for more schedule information.

We’ll also be holding a signing session at our booth on Saturday at 3:30pm, soon after the panel ends. Bring your swag–Ken, Troy, and Courtnee will be happy to autograph it. And come by our booth at any time during the show to browse our BioShock Infinite art gallery and have a chance to win some Irrational loot.

If you aren’t going to PAX, don’t worry: G4TV.com will be streaming the panel live starting at 2:00pm Pacific Time. We’ve got you covered.

JUST TRY IT!

In the latest PC Gamer, you’re going to feel the intense rush of a Sky-Hook to your FACE! Either that, or an awesome six-page feature packed with BioShock Infinite details and interview material from a quartet of Irrational folks: creative director Ken Levine, director of product development Tim Gerritsen, art director Nate Wells, and lead artist Shawn Robertson.

There’s a lot of roundtable discussion about the influences behind Infinite, and the development choices and design evolution that led to the E3 gameplay demonstration. And vigors. There’s a whole sidebar about ‘em. You’ve already seen Murder of Crows–that’s the bird-based crowd control vigor you saw for the first time in last year’s gameplay demo. You send forth a flock of particularly aggressive crows to temporarily incapacitate a group of your foes.

You may not be as familiar with Bucking Bronco. That’s the vigor you saw Booker use in the latest gameplay demo to forcibly eject his enemies out from behind cover with a rolling wave of turbulent force. And after you’ve tossed enemies up with Bucking Bronco, you can extend their forced airborne relaxation session by juggling them. With bullets.

And finally, while it’s common knowledge that dead men tell no tales, it’s a slightly less-well-worn (but equally true) maxim that dead men fire no weapons. With the Weapon Slave vigor, you can put those abandoned arms to good use by turning them into your own personal automated turrets that hunt down those enemies who have not yet discarded their own lives (and guns).

As always in game development, these details are subject to change. And rest assured–there are more vigors to come, but you’ll have to wait for more details. In the meantime, why not pick up the new PC Gamer and check out the BioShock Infinite cover story. If you don’t, you’ll disappoint Shawn and Nate, and do you really want that on your conscience? Just look at those faces.

That gorgeous cover, by Irrational’s art team, marks the first time we’re showing the official face of Infinite’s protagonist, Booker DeWitt. And while the Ken interview is the primary focus of the feature, there’s also a nifty sidebar with background on a number of Infinite inspirations like the 1893 Columbia World’s Fair, the roots of the female figure Columbia as national personification, and–of course–zeppelins.

In our final teaser video before the full E3 2011 gameplay demonstration is released, creative director Ken Levine introduces the first two minutes of the demo. We’re also excited to announce that the whole shebang will premiere on Spike as part of a half-hour special with Ken and Geoff Keighley!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tune in to Spike on the evening of Thursday, July 7–check your local listings for the airtime of GameTrailers TV. It’ll be all over the internet the next day.

In addition to these honors, the press had high praise for what they saw of the game at E3 2011:

E! Online called BioShock Infinite “simply gorgeous, the best looking game at E3,” while USA Today said BioShock Infinite was “The most talked-about game at E3.” The New York Times wrote, “In narrative depth and intellectual ambition, Infinite appeared to be the top of the class at E3.”

“At this year’s E3, members of the Irrational team were honored to see the amazing games our industry friends and colleagues are producing. And we are thrilled that the gaming media selected BioShock Infinite as a standout title at the show,” said Ken Levine (@iglevine), creative director and president of Irrational Games.

In addition to the many independent editorial awards, BioShock Infinite also earned the industry’s most coveted E3 honor, the Game Critics Awards’ “Game of Show.” This marks another significant win for a title developed by Irrational Games, as the original BioShock was awarded the Game Critics Awards’ “Best Action/Adventure Game” honor in 2007.

A complete list of awards follows.

Best of Show Honors

• 1UP
• CNET
• CNET TV
• Cheat Code Central
• Destructoid
• Digital Trends
• EGM
• Electric Playground
• Eurogamer.it
• Everyeye.it
• Examiner
• FPSGuru
• G4 X-Play
• Game Informer
• Game Informer — #1 Game in E3 Hot 50
• Game Rant
• Game Critics Awards
• GameReactor TV
• Game Revolution
• GamerNode
• Gamer Theory
• GameSpy
• GameTrailers
• gamrFeed (VGChartz)
• Giant Bomb
• GotGame
• IGN
• Lazygamer.net
• Machinima
• Meristation
• MovieStinger
• MSNBC
• MTV Multiplayer
• Official Xbox Magazine UK
• Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Game Guy Blog
• Ripten
• USA Today
• Venture BeatVideogamer

Other Awards and Honors

• Eurogamer.it – Best FPS of E3
• G4 X-Play – Biggest Surprise
• Game Critics Awards – Best Original Game
• Game Critics Awards – Best PC Game
• Game Critics Awards – Best Action/Adventure Game
• Game Informer – Best Multiplatform Game
• Game Informer – Best Action Game
• GamePro – Most Awards Award
• GamePro – Modern Warfare 3 vs. Battlefield 3 Award
• Gamer Theory – Most Anticipated Games After E3
• Gamer Theory – Best FPS
• GameSpy – Best Multiplatform Game
• GameSpy – Best Shooter
• GamesRadar – Most Valuable Game
• GameTrailers – Best PC
• GameTrailers – Best X360
• GameTrailers – Best PS3
• GameTrailers – Best First Person Shooter
• GamingExcellence – Best Graphics – Artistic
• GamrFeed (VGChartz) – Best First-Person Shooter
• Glitchytasty – Most Artsy
• Glitchytasty – Best Story Teller
• GotGame – Best FPS
• IGN – Best Xbox 360 Game
• IGN – Best PC Game
• IGN – Best Shooter
• Jeuxvideo – Best FPS
• Lazygamer.net – Best Shooter
• Meristation – Best FPS
• MSNBC – Best Art Direction
• Nowgamer – Best First Person Shooter of E3
• Official Xbox Magazine – Most Valuable Game
• PC Gamer – Most Valuable Game
• PlayStation: The Official Magazine — Most Valuable Game
• Spaziogames – Best Action/Adventure
• Xbox 360 Achievements – Most Anticipated Games of E3

Click here to view the embedded video.

And head over to the BioShock Infinite official website for three new screenshots from the upcoming gameplay demo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tuned for the next video explaining Elizabeth’s ability to manipulate tears–and then the release of the full E3 2011 gameplay demonstration.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tuned for more of these videos–and then the release of the full E3 2011 gameplay demonstration.

If you’ve played Civilization II, Alpha Centauri, Rise of Nations, or Frontierville, you know the work of Brian Reynolds. Having spent 30 years (and counting) making games, Brian’s game design experience spans the most hardcore to the most casual. He co-founded Firaxis Games and Big Huge Games, and he’s now Chief Game Designer at social game giant Zynga.

Brian sat down with Irrational’s creative director Ken Levine for a chat that touches on the past, present, and potential future of games, on both the hardcore and casual sides of the spectrum. They discuss the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, the advantages of having Sid Meier around when you start a new company, and how a strategy game like Alpha Centauri and a shooter like BioShock may have more in common than you’d think.

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 7

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

Ken spoke to GT.TV’s Geoff Keighley about the game, tossing out a few new details and hints about what’s coming. Even if you saw the original airing last week on Spike, you’ll want to check out this extended eight-minute cut. There’s brief but tantalizing talk of the Vox Populi faction, Sky-lines, the player’s relationship with Elizabeth, and more.

The special will be televised and made available online this Sunday, and features interviews with industry folks discussing the considerable impact Japanese games have had on the medium, and on their own careers. Irrational creative director Ken Levine offers his thoughts, along with Bethesda’s Todd Howard, Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, Firaxis’ Sid Meier, Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux, and many more.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Initial air times and channels are as follows:

• G4TV (United States), April 4, 2AM ET/PT
• Citytv (Canada), April 3, 4PM all time zones
• G4 (Canada), April 3, 6PM ET/PT
• SPACE (Canada), April 3, 7PM ET
• Sci-Fi (Australia), April 3, 7PM ET

The special will also be available to watch on major online video sources like Hulu and YouTube at roughly 7PM Eastern Time on Sunday, April 3.

Check out the Gamers Heart Japan official site, or go directly to the Red Cross donation page.

That’s the crux of this Kotaku interview with Irrational creative director Ken Levine. Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo delves into the inspirations that underpin BioShock Infinite’s city of Columbia and the forces that are tearing it apart. Those disparate inspirations include historical labor conflicts, Sinclair Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here, Ridley Scott’s film Alien, and…a picture of a dead horse.

Touching on some ground covered during Irrational’s PAX East panel on world creation, Ken described how BioShock Infinite once revolved around “a rift between technologists and Luddites.” That conflict didn’t quite hit home, however, and the “battle of ideas” eventually coalesced into the current factional battle between the city’s nationalist Founders and the insurgent Vox Populi.

The interview is punctuated with historical photography captioned by art director Nate Wells, who explains how the reference material informs BioShock Infinite’s development–both in terms of direct visual inspiration as well as environmental storytelling methods.

Nate’s moustache does not make an appearance.

Ken Levine and Irrational’s senior art team packed the house at PAX East 2011 with an hour-long discussion about the studio’s approach to creating video game worlds. Art director Nate Wells, lead artist Shawn Robertson, and senior effects artist Stephen Alexander joined Ken with moderator Julian Murdoch to show the evolution of BioShock Infinite’s flying city of Columbia–starting from, essentially, Rapture in the sky. Newly-revealed concept art and Sky-Line prototype videos accompanied the presentation.

Video of the panel is available from GameSpot and G4. The GameSpot version includes the Q&A section at the end.

One image that appeared several times throughout the panel was this simple guide, created by BioShock art director Scott Sinclair and given to Nate as he took over art director duties for Infinite:

The image pokes fun at the notion that creating the game would be as easy as moving the city up to the clouds, but it also serves as a reminder that at one point Columbia really was a lot like Rapture. This concept image shows a scene that’s so dark and constrained by clouds that it might as well be underwater. Even the Art Nouveau architecture is reminiscent of Rapture’s Art Deco:

“This is a lie we tell ourselves every time we start a game,” Nate said, referring to early assumptions about the straightforward BioShock-in-the-sky approach. “I think it’s evolutionary. If you go to the dawn of man, there’s a cave with elders sitting around going, ‘Today we’re going to hunt a buffalo. It’s pretty much a big raccoon. We’re just going to do what we do in raccoon hunting, like, more.’”

Of course, he added, “if it really was like this, we’d be so fucking bored that we wouldn’t know what to do.”

The bright Fourth of July Americana look that Infinite had adopted by the time it was announced came later–but once it did, it became obvious to the team that it was the right approach.

Throughout the panel, the crew showed pieces of period reference photography, much of which was drawn from the excellent Shorpy Historical Photo Archive. It’s an invaluable source for those interested in past eras (including Ken, who describes himself as a big documentary nerd). Nate also called out Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, which simultaneously chronicles the creation of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair and recounts the story of Dr. H.H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer. Many Irrational team members read the book while developing Infinite’s setting and concept, and it helped to crystallize the optimism, ambition–and darkness–that characterized the era.

Later, the panel audience was shown a proof-of-concept video showing a player leap from Sky-Line to Sky-Line armed with a rocket launcher. While visually primitive, the footage was an important step in development, as it gave the team a glimpse at the kinds of gameplay Sky-Lines could support. That video was followed up with a test from the art team showing how audiovisual presentation could help sell the experience to players. Both videos can be seen in the GameSpot and G4 footage.

Ken summed up the ultimate goal for Sky-Lines in BioShock Infinite: “It’s like being on a rollercoaster, but you’re hanging in the air and you have a fucking gun.”

Finally, during our PAX fan event, we were presented with an unexpected mashup of the Art Director image and Robb Waters’ take on Dog in a Wheelchair. Apparently, community member Japester sketched this remarkable Dog in a Balloon Harness during the panel:

Key Irrational developers will answer that question during an in-depth panel at PAX East in Boston this March, with BioShock Infinite materials ranging from concept sketches to fully formed scenes. Creative director Ken Levine, art director Nate Wells, lead artist Shawn Robertson, and senior effects artist Stephen Alexander will show not just how Columbia was created from a technical standpoint, but how it was originally conceived and how it became a key character at the heart of BioShock Infinite.

“From Background To Center Stage: Building Game Worlds As Main Characters” will be held at 5:00pm in the Manticore Theater on Friday, March 11.

Plan the rest of your PAX East schedule with the official show schedule, and check out how you can pick up some free swag courtesy of Irrational Games!

Randy Pitchford surprised the world when he announced at PAX 2010 that the near-mythical Duke Nukem Forever would actually come out in 2011, courtesy of his studio Gearbox Software. The independent company developed the Half-Life expansions Opposing Force and Blue Shift as well as the successful World War II series Brothers in Arms, and it struck gold in 2009 with Borderlands, a visually distinctive FPS-RPG blending Diablo’s addictive lootfest with the action of a shooter.

Over Gearbox’s decade of operation, Pitchford has become known as an enthusiastic and outspoken representative of his studio–and of the industry. He joins Ken Levine and Shawn Elliott on this episode of Irrational Interviews to discuss how things have changed for game developers and what they want out of the next generation of game consoles. And since both Ken and Randy, now studio heads, started their careers in the trenches, they reminisce on how much more infuriating dev tools once were.

“Kismet is amazing compared to some of the things we had back in the day,” said Randy, referring to Unreal Engine 3’s scripting tool. “It’s funny when all the newbies bitch about it–it’s like, dude, you don’t even know. Shut the hell up, you have no idea what we struggled with!”

“I try to describe to people what it was like working in the Dark Engine on System Shock 2,” Ken agreed, “but you know what you sound like though? You sound like a fucking grandpa.”

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 6

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney, Shawn Elliott, & Chris Remo; editing by Tim Franklin (Ant Bear Audio)
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

They were all among the influences that have contributed to BioShock Infinite, according to GamePro’s new interview with creative director Ken Levine.

Levine discusses the underpinnings of BioShock Infinite and its setting, the floating city of Columbia, and explains how some elements of the original BioShock have earned their place in Infinite while others had to be heavily rethought or even discarded.

“You have both those interior spaces, which are more familiar to people who have played BioShock, and you have encounters that take place from half-a-mile’s distance over the city’s Skyline,” Ken told GamePro. “You’re having encounters with 15 guys at once, both up close and at range.

“You have enemies that move through the sky, enemies that move across the ground, and enemies that jump great distances. You just have this whole range of expression you just never had in a previous BioShock game, and you’re doing it all on an essentially unstable platform; entire parts of the city can move and fall out of the sky at a moment’s notice.”

Does Irrational Games have a mission? Can there possibly be any methods to its well-documented madness? We’re ringing in the new year with an attempt to answer those questions, viewed through the lens of an employee who joined Irrational just four months ago. Discussions with studio members of all stripes–ranging from other relative newcomers all the way to co-founder Ken Levine–reveal that nothing is certain in the world of game development. And that’s just fine.

• Part 1: The Co-Founder – Ken Levine
• Part 2: Immigrants – Don Norbury, Jeff Seamster, Josh Davis, Murray Kraft
• Part 3: Gatekeepers – Bill Gardner, Shawn Robertson, Robert Tzong, Chris Kline
• Part 4: Natives – Alexx Kay, Nate Wells, Scott Sinclair, Shawn Robertson

Going forward, Irrational podcasts will continue to release once a month, but our plan is to alternate Irrational Behavior with Irrational Interviews. If you already subscribe to the individual podcast RSS feeds, please replace them with this new combined feed that incorporates both Behavior and Interviews.

Direct Download Episode 8

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Irrational Podcasts iTunes Page

Podcast music provided by:

• George Glass (Theme music)
• Spirit Kid (Part 1 intro)
• Permafav (Part 2 intro)
• Patrick Balthrop (Part 3 intro)
• Walking Sleep (Part 4 intro)
• The Monolators (Ending music)

Over the last several years, film director Zack Snyder has built a reputation on the back of successfully adapting and remaking fan-favorite works like the comic books 300 and Watchmen, and the zombie film Dawn of the Dead. His next film, Sucker Punch, is based on an original screenplay but draws from many of those same nerd-culture inspirations.

For this episode of Irrational Interviews, Zack joined Irrational creative director Ken Levine as well as Chris Remo for a discussion of how mainstream treatment of niche entertainment has evolved in recent years–but how Hollywood still lags behind when it comes to worthwhile adaptation of video games. Snyder and Levine also discuss the finer points of translating Frank Miller’s comic book panels to the screen, and interpreting Ayn Rand’s philosophical manifestos in a video game; the processes are more similar than you’d think.

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 5

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo; editing by Tim Franklin (Ant Bear Audio)
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

Not many game developers can be considered celebrities, but Cliff Bleszinski fits the bill. One of the industry’s best-known names, he travels in star-studded circles and serves as a de facto representative for games among a wider audience. Meanwhile, he holds down a day job as design director at Epic Games, where he’s in the middle of development on Gears of War 3.

Cliff joins Irrational’s own creative director Ken Levine as well as Chris Remo to discuss that unique role as well as how the mainstream perceives game makers. And along with that consideration of game industry celebrity, there is talk of the realities of how games are made: the collaborative team-based development process.

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 4

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo, with editing by Tim Franklin (Ant Bear Audio)
• Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows

“Stop, you fools! Your puny weapons won’t stop that monstrosity…they’ll just make it stronger!” –Dr. Von Eckhardt, Scientist

Many game ideas never make it to store shelves, and Irrational Games has its share of discarded pitches. Among those is the destruction-happy Monster Island, as described in a recently-unearthed document penned by Ken Levine nearly a decade ago.

Inspired by mythological creatures throughout history–but most significantly Godzilla and other Japanese film monsters from the 1950s on–Monster Island would have allowed players to control either a giant rampaging beast or the forces trying desperately to keep the monster at bay.

The pitch promised some 20 monsters, a living city, heavily destructible environments, and a dynamic civil defense network. Its premise and mechanics actually date back to a pen-and-paper game Levine wrote a further 10 years prior. Along with The Lost, Monster Island would have been an early foray into console development for Irrational, which had already developed System Shock 2 and Freedom Force for PC.

• Download the Monster Island PDF file here.

To add some color to the pitch, current Irrational artist Jorge Lacera (the subject of our latest employee feature) illustrated a few formidable monsters for retroactive inclusion. We’ve also uploaded those images in much higher resolution below. They’re even suitable as widescreen desktop backgrounds!

Creative people have no shortage of media through which to express their ideas, and they often move from one to another before they find the one that most speaks to them. Kieron Gillen had a long and successful career as a game journalist, including founding the popular PC game blog Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Now, he has largely put journalism behind him and has signed an agreement to write comic books exclusively for Marvel, following his respected work on Marvel’s Thor and the Image-published Phonogram.

In the third episode of Irrational Interviews, Gillen joins Irrational’s Ken Levine and Chris Remo to talk about how creative works can convey the fears, preoccupations, and passions of their makers. They discuss the similarities (and differences) between comics and games, and how it becomes more difficult for creators to perceive their works in the same way consumers see them. Also, learn what horse-faced hammer-wielding space aliens have to do with musings on humanity and divinity.

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 3

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney, Chris Remo, and Alan Bise
• Music provided by The Happy Hollows

• Ken spoke with IGN Australia about a broad spectrum of topics, including the game’s setting, its expanded combat possibilities, the game engine, and more.
• Similarly, Tim’s interview with NowGamer was wide-ranging, with discussion on BioShock Infinite’s development history, the shift from a focus on darkness to light, and the crucial role of the player’s companion Elizabeth.

Both interviews were based on material shown to the press and PAX attendees in our ten-minute gameplay video, which we’re looking forward to sharing with all the rest of you later this month.

• It was Ken’s birthday yesterday, and 1UP happened to be here in the office to get the party on video, as well as chat about the early development of BioShock Infinite.
• Ken was interviewed by sports radio personality Chad Dukes, but sports talk wasn’t on the agenda. The pair discussed the BioShock Infinite reveal, multiplayer considerations, morality in games, the in-development BioShock film, and more.
• GameSpy spoke with lead artist Shawn Robertson about BioShock Infinite’s visual and historical influences, and Irrational’s attitude to developing the game.
• A musically-attuned fellow set the BioShock  Infinite trailer to song. “Tell a baby to talk to the hand,” he recommends.

Enjoy!

“The city is an equal lead character to whoever your leads are,” says noted comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, author of successful independent series Powers as well as numerous Marvel lines including Ultimate Spider-Man. That philosophy makes Bendis the perfect interview subject for Ken Levine, whose contributions to BioShock’s city of Rapture helped make the game’s setting its most defining element.

Both creators made their biggest impact on fiction after exploring other forms. Bendis cut his teeth on crime fiction, while Levine began his writing career as a screenwriter. Those experiences helped them develop their ideas about writing, as well as an appreciation for what makes their chosen forms unique.

In the second episode of Irrational Interviews–recorded prior to the announcement of BioShock Infinite–Levine, Bendis, and Shawn Elliott discuss lessons learned in writing, the challenges of character permanence in games and comics, and much more.

Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 2

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney, Shawn Elliott and Alan Bise
• Music provided by The Happy Hollows
• Spider-Woman Motion Comic clips courtesy of Marvel Comics

In this episode of Irrational Behavior we let you look behind the scenes of the creation at the BioShock Infinite trailer.  Some of the people responsible for directing and creating the trailer discuss the constant evolution of the material as well as the hurdles that had to be overcome along the way in order to get to what you see released.

WARNING: This episode of Irrational Behavior is filled with spoilers.  Watch the trailer at http://www.BioshockInfinite.com before listening to the podcast.

• Part 1: The Creative Vita-Chamber
• Part 2: Infinite’s Horizon
• Part 3: Listen Up!
• Part 4: Days in the Dark

This completes the first season of Irrational Behavior.  The show will be going on a break but stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for the latest news and content on BioShock Infinite as well as the return of Irrational Interviews starting September 1st.  Continue to discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior and BioShock Infinite in our forums.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 7: Part 2

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Taxpayer
• Cathode Rays

On Thursday, August 12^th, at 1:45 Eastern Daylight Time, we will launch the trailer for our new game at Whatisicarus.com. Our hope is that you all will see it PRIOR to reading any news in the press (which will start to come out around 15 minutes later).

Trust me, there’s a reason.

In the coming weeks, we will be releasing a video of the demonstration to the community as well.  No promises on the date yet; we’re still figuring that out.  You can send me a threatening PM, but it will have no effect other than to hurt my very delicate feelings.

See you all then.

For the pilot episode we are happy to have Todd Howard, Executive Producer and Game Director from Bethesda Softworks.  Howard has been at Bethesda since 1994, with countless classics under his belt including The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and most recently Fallout 3. Howard is well known for his sense of humor and his drive to make great games.

Head over to the forums for the usual lively discussion.

iTunes Feed

Direct Download Episode 1

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

• Produced by James Bonney, Shawn Elliott and Alan Bise
• Music Provided by The Happy Hallows

Sharks, spiders, the dark, and chemistry exams.  These are just a couple of the things that we are scared of.  In this episode of Irrational Behavior we look at the things we are scared of and how it affects the way we make games.  Guest Andrew Weaver of Indiana University explains why we enjoy fun and the staff shed light on the challenges of making a game scary.

• Part 1: What Are We Afraid Of
• Part 2: Why Fear is Fun
• Part 3: The Art of Fear
• Part 4: The Feel of Fear
• Part 5: The Sound of Fear

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 5

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Walking Sleep
• Geoff Graves
• The Happy Hollows

Telemarketer Ken Levine. Playboy illustrator Scott Sinclair.  This month’s episode of Irrational Behavior explores what we did before we began developing videogames.  This months episode highlights include the commiserations of former game store clerks, an artist who accidentally concealed a Satanic message in a Christian comic for children, and a confession from the man who claims to have created the deer in Golden Tee Golf.

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 3

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Josh Rathbun
• Patrick Balthrop
• Justin Schwenk
• Fillipo Beck Peccoz
• Giancarlo Feltrin

Irrational was once a tiny team that made games on miniscule budgets. Today we’re much, much bigger and the budget’s grown along with the ambition of the group’s games. This month’s episode of Irrational Behavior explores what these changes have meant for the studio’s culture and the individuals who’ve been on board as the industry itself has had to adopt the professional practices of big business. Episode highlights include an insider take on the making of Thief, designers Dorian Hart and Alexx Kay waxing nostalgic on the days when they were allowed to do voice over work for Freedom Force, as well as the story of a mysterious onanist who secretly used artist Shawn Robertson’s office for forbidden self-pleasures.

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this months podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 2

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Podcast music provided by:

• Josh Rathbun
• Matt Grimm
• Geoff Graves
• Rich Vreeland/DisasterPeace
• Signal Hill

Apocalypse Shock?

“The original story had the player going to a spaceship to assassinate a character similar to Colonel Walter Kurtz from Apocalypse Now,” says Creative Director Ken Levine. “We pitched the game to Paul Neurath at Looking Glass Studios based on a story outline I wrote and they gave us access to the Dark Engine which was used to make Thief.”

“We took the concept around to all the major publishers of the day and we ended up talking to Electronic Arts, who held the rights to System Shock,” Levine adds.  EA eventually did sign the project and the original story outline quickly emerged. As Levine puts it, “you can’t have a System Shock game without SHODAN, so I wanted to rewrite everything.  I was such a System Shock fanboy that it was a dream come true to create the sequel.”

Zero-G vs. Technology

“Originally, the level that would become The Many had the player traverse from the Von Braun to The Rickenbacker on the outside of the hull,” says Levine. “We thought it would be a really cool mission because it would change everything the player was used to by introducing a zero gravity environment as well as changing the behavior of all the monsters.”  The technology in 1998, when System Shock 2 was in development, really didn’t allow for such grandiose ideas unless it was a major feature in the game.  Levine remembers chatting with Lead Programmer Robert Fermier to discuss the level and being told, “Dude that is going to be a huge amount of work for it to work properly.”  A feature specific to only a single mission of the game didn’t fit into the schedule. Levine adds, “It was good that it got cut. If you don’t have the resources for it, you can’t make it that good.”

F’ing with the Player

“To fuck with the audience was a new concept in video games,” says Levine on creating the plot twists in System Shock 2.  “It was a bit of an experiment and it had some resistance from the team, but once I had the idea I really wanted to run with it.”  With the help of Randy Smith, who was on loan from Looking Glass Studios, the script that Levine wrote was built into the sequence in DromED (the tool used to create levels in System Shock 2). Levine remembers, “That was a very challenging task and ended up being the most complex sequence in the game to script, with the multimedia presentation where the player finds out that Shodan has been posing as Polito the entire time.”

The End?  Rewrite.

“Due to miscommunications or differing ideas, a different cinematic video was created from the one that I originally scripted,” says Levine. “It had this elaborate sequence where Shodan would attempt to kill you in a double-cross, as this ‘cyber stinger’ that was in view provided tension of your impending doom.”  Upon getting his hands on the video for the ending sequence, Levine didn’t see anything that he wrote in the script.  “We didn’t have much to work with.  It was like when you look in the cupboard and you’re trying to make soup, and you have a bag of salt and couple of pinto beans.”  Working with fixed assets can be extremely challenging especially with limited time and resources as well as fighting the technology back then.  Levine remembers, “We had to write to the assets we had at that point, and all we could do was edit it.  We completely ran out of time and that cut scene wasn’t the right ending for the game.”

900 Square Feet of Amateurs

“System Shock 2 was made in single room, which was around 900 square feet,” Levine recalls of the original office space that Irrational Games called home.  “We didn’t have any money and didn’t have a lot of experience shipping games at that point.  We lucked out by hiring some newcomers like Nate Wells, Ian Vogel, Michael Swiderek, and Mauricio Tejerina, as well as being loaned some guys from Looking Glass, including Dorian Hart, Alexx Kay, and Randy Smith.” Working in such conditions on a project that lasted 11 months lead to many sleepless nights and likely some foul body odor.  “If we knew then what we know now, we probably would have just stopped in our tracks petrified, and not have been successful because we wouldn’t have thought we could pull it off,” remembers Levine.  While conditions were cramped, there was a great deal of optimism while working on System Shock 2. “I remember getting that first milestone check for around $75,000 from Looking Glass and thinking, ‘OH MY GOD! WE CAN DO ANYTHING!’ We made it happen.”

Dog in a Wheelchair

Before BioShock’s “gatherers” became Little Sisters in an artistic process characterized by false starts and filled garbage bins, they were sea slugs. Nobody empathized with the creatures enough to care whether they lived or died. When the call went out to come up with a character that players would pity, Lead Artist Shawn Robertson submitted this insipid image of a Doberman in a wheelchair. The illustration is now infamous at the studio, although Shawn insists that fellow artist Scott Sinclair’s “frog with the funnel in its anus” is more embarrassing by far.

Frog with a Funnel in its Anus

Before BioShock’s “gatherers” became Little Sisters in an artistic process characterized by false starts and filled garbage bins, they were sea slugs. Nobody empathized with the creatures enough to care whether they lived or died. When the call went out to come up with a character that players would pity, Art Principal Scott Sinclair submitted this insipid image of a toad with a funnel and sun tea jug attached to its anus. Scott insists that fellow artist Shawn Robertson’s “dog in a wheelchair” is more embarrassing by far.

Gatherer

The original BioShock “gatherer” — based on a sea slug — was later replaced by the Little Sister.

SloProFum

SloProFum, the studio’s internal name for this prototype Big Daddy variant that mauled players with an enormous hook and fired iron bearings from a barrel, stands for “slow projectile/fucked-up melee.” Hear how the design didn’t work on this month’s Irrational Behavior podcast.

Stay Puft Bouncer

Initially reluctant to add a drill arm to the Bouncer Big Daddy variant at Creative Director Ken Levine’s insistence, artists Nate Wells and Robb Waters started exchanging a series of images in which they attached marshmallows, human butts, and other items to the character’s hand.

]]> http://irrationalgames.com/insider/january-from-the-vault/feed/ 75 http://irrationalgames.com/insider/a-message-from-ken/ http://irrationalgames.com/insider/a-message-from-ken/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:20:38 +0000 IG.Ken http://irrationalgames.com/?p=1631 The Irrational Games website is about secrets.

Secrets. We’ve all got ‘em. When we ship a box to GameStop or Best Buy, it’s only part of the story. There are so many secret elements that go into our games. There are the levels that got cut. There are the monsters that died in childbirth. There are the million interactions a development team has in the long, frustrating, terrifying and often thrilling process of making a video game.

Some of you first heard about us when we released BioShock. Some of you have known us since our first game back in 1999, System Shock 2. Many members of the Irrational team have been with us since either the beginning or damned close to it. Some of them have come on board more recently. They all have a part to play in the development of this website. You’ll hear their voices – quite literally in the case of our “Irrational Behavior” podcast .You’ll get to see some ideas that never made it in our “From the Vault” section that launches next week.   You’ll get to hang out with the team in our forums-and there you’ll get to tell us what you think as well. And we’ll be listening.

And yes, we will tell you about the game we’re working on right now. Just not today.

In any game development studio, you’ll find a bunch of inspired and imaginative people who have a lot to get off their chests. To save on counseling fees, we decided to sublimate these repressed feelings about their gaming lives by sticking a microphone in their faces and creating a series of podcasts that offer an insight into what makes us – and our games – tick.

Each podcast will explore a particular theme in what we hope is an entertaining and insightful way, and this theme will also evolve throughout the month on the Irrational Games website itself. Visit regularly and you’ll find content on the site that helps illustrate what we’re trying to describe in the podcast, or expands and explores the theme further.

Please contribute to the discussions about the podcasts in the forums and if you have a great idea for a future theme then let us know! We might even send you something to say thanks. But don’t hold us to it.

So to kick off, we chose a brutal theme – “ideas that died”. We explore what happens when creativity runs into technical restrictions, a lack of clear consensus, and – at times – its own convolution. You’ll glimpse abandoned BioShock tidbits, as well as an as yet unrevealed game from four years ago when Irrational Games backed away from a zombie invasion. And much, much more.

Oh, and you’ll understand why ‘dog in a wheelchair’ is the answer to just about any question…

Irrational Behavior podcasts act as tables of contents for stories that appear here on IrrationalGames.com each month. January’s content continues to explore dead ideas with the following features:

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 1

Irrational Podcasts RSS Feed

Podcast theme song, “Luna Park”, provided by Signal Hill from the album, “More After We’re Gone”.

At PAX 2008 in Seattle, Ken Levine gave the keynote address which has become a hallmark moment for gaming nerds, geeks, and dweebs around the globe. Penny Arcade was nice enough to give us video of the entire keynote for all the fans out there who might have missed it!  Thanks to the guys and girls at Penny Arcade for providing us with the video!