What, specifically, are you looking forward to in BioShock?

[warcrow]

Obviously, the game is going to be gorgeous! So, lets just get that out of the way.

For me, I'm looking forward to crafting my very own custom experience with the game. Back when I played Doom I use to purposefully try to get the demons to fight one another -especially in large rooms filled with multiple types of demons (same types would not fight amongst themselves). I would spend hours upon hours trying to get Pinky caught up in the crossfire of some Imp's fireballs. Once the fight's between the demons would take place, I would sit back and watch the show. It was great!

Well, when we had Ken on the show, he we talked a little bit about this and said that they've kind of built upon that whole idea with the game

I can't wait to try it out! :)

[vrap]

To be general I think I'm just looking forward to a game from the System Shock/Deus Ex school of games. It's been a while since we had a game like that, and I'm glad it's Irrational that is bringing it to us.

To be more specific I like what little we've heard about the customisability of the weapons, and I'm really looking forward to playing around with how the AI interact with each other. I hope the game is sandboxy-enough to satisfy my obsession for messing around.

[FrenchTart]

I agree with vrap for the most part :) I really want to get my hands on a game that's been described as a "spiritual successor" to my one of my favourite all-time games and I really trust Ken & Co to do a good job of it.

Can't wait :)

[Newbeing]

I really look forward to exploiting or even just observing the AI. I have always loved watching AI interact with each other and (as you said in your interview) like DOOM battle each other.
The dynamic nature of this game really seems to aim at revitalizing how NPC are used in games.

[jackinthebox]

i love the way BioShock is looking :cool: the art deco design seems to fit perfectly... i'm looking forward to explore the world of rapture on my own and decide what to do next!

[Adam Nuhfer]

A Fantastic gaming involvement I haven't seen since SS2.

Halo: Good game on line. Single person play, so so. Problem is I worked my butt off keeping my fellow team soldiers alive only to have the programing script kill them off. Why even bother having them there if they are just shield fodder for me.

Half Life 2: Good game. To linear. AI related to Alyx. She just got in my way to often. I think she is a double agent for the Combine trying to slow me down. She should of played the part of Dog and I would have preferred the Robot companion. To linear

Half Life 2 Eps 1: Why didn't they include a Lawyers office in the game so I could get a protection from abuse restraing order against her. To linear

Doom 3 and EP: To much in the dark. Would have liked to be able to use the little protector bots more. All in all, not a bad game.

Fear: Very good game. Take away the linear nature and it could have been much better

System Shock 2: Open ended game play. I can go back to any level where I stashed supplies until I inject into the body of the many. I also get threats/respawns of monsters on each level when I go back. It's not a barren wasteland devoid of life, even though I cleaned it out earlier. They just keep coming and coming. It's great! I get to explore,trip the security camera on purpose just to get into a fight. Great music. Just a totally awesum gaming experience I haven't had in any other game. None since it.

Hence, what I'm looking forward to in Bio Shock is all the same great/fantastic creativity that made System Shock 2 such a fantastic gaming experience. From what I've seen so far, I won't be disappointed.

Thanks for that excellent Pod Cast.

[InvaderBotGir]

hey Adam Nuhfer...if you are looking for a similar game to play while waiting for Bioshock, you should definitely check out the original Deus Ex for the PC or PS2. Didn't see it on your list, so I thought you might be interested. its very open ended in terms of the flexiblity on how you decide to play...along the same lines as SS2. I liked it alot anyways...

[InvaderBotGir]

open ended gameplay...this is what I'm craving from Bioshock...

[dphrygian]

To be general I think I'm just looking forward to a game from the System Shock/Deus Ex school of games. It's been a while since we had a game like that, and I'm glad it's Irrational that is bringing it to us.

No kidding. I really hope that BioShock is a huge success and that all this "Shooter 2.0" stuff has an impact and we see more games along those lines. I love the immersion of first-person games, but they really need the amount of player choice that a game like SS2 or DX offers to realize their full potential. First-person RPGs are a step in the right direction, too, but I always feel like the combat mechanics of a game like Oblivion can't compete with shooters in terms of fluidity and polish.

I'm also really looking forward to seeing what the AI is capable of. Irrational's got some top-notch AI programming talent, and they seem to be pushing the design of AI as well as the technical side in BioShock. Couple that with great voice talent (and sound production) and fluid animation (what we've seen in brief clips looks fantastic), and these characters are going to be incredible. I've got high hopes.

[Pinstripe]

Most important of all is that Irrational stand behind the game and the creative vision once it's released. I'm sure there will be lots of controversal content and, who knows, good ol' Thompson gonna pull another scandal because of this or that, but stay strong, because you don't have the chance to release a game of that calibre and emotive weight very often!

[Xerxes]

Im looking foward to the same feeling of dread i had when playing system shock 2 back in the days... The fear, the claustrophobia, the "monsters", the logs (characters), me saying to myself "damn i'm out of ammo, arghhhhh", etc. :D :D :D

[Pinstripe]

OMG it's Xerxes! Now that reminds me, I've 305 days left to buy a Christmas present! :eek:

[^ilovebioshock!]

OMG it's Xerxes! Now that reminds me, I've 305 days left to buy a Christmas present! :eek:

WTF!Wat are you talking about.

[Pinstripe]

WTF!Wat are you talking about.

Obviously you never played Shock 2, Herr ilovebioshock?

[Xerxes]

WTF!Wat are you talking about.

Lol, its a quote from System Shock 2 : "Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. Just 1 extra work cycle twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one."

Greatest game ever so to be followed by Bioshock

[CrimsonAngel]

Yeah the mall was a spooky place to run through.

If it can live up the pure awesome of SS2 then i will be happy.

It managed to keep your in a emotional state of scared, Pissed off and generally curios about what was going on.

Only short coming SS2 had was that you could not kick the dam monkeys half way through the ship GOD how i hated them.

[One0Shot]

I want a involving story and for the love of God a ending that does not have a to be continued thing. I swear every game I haved played in the last 2 two years have been nothing but let down endings and to be continued in like three years years.

[FrenchTart]

I don't reckon they'll go overboard on that side of things - Ken stated in the recent podcast that he's not particularly 'into' the episodic content idea so although they'll obviously need to keep options open for sequals (maybe?), I wouldn't expect anything quite so lame as a FEAR ending or some such.

[Mega Raptor]

Hmmm... what am I looking forward to...

Well, first of all, no game has ever had the effect of inducing curiousity and sheer terror into me since SS2, and I'm hoping Bioshock will live up to that little legacy, perhaps even surpass it.

Secondly? Plasmids. Those look incredibly interesting to me, especially the effect they have on the character's body and the moral ramifications I'm sure they'll spawn at some point in the story.

[Corgano]

i love the way BioShock is looking :cool: the art deco design seems to fit perfectly... i'm looking forward to explore the world of rapture on my own and decide what to do next!
You said it. I'm looking forward to: The mood/setting/story. Rapture has a feeling all its own and it's a good thing. I'm very tired of the DOOM/Aliens monsters.
I'm also looking forward to exploring the world, and seeing how it all can interact together. I'm glad we don't know a lot about Rapture and its workings. I'd much rather observe and learn as I play the game. Figuring things out, and using them on the enemies can be very much fun.

[Necros]

Well, let's see:
- open ended and rich gameplay
- wonderful design
- good story
- hopefully great AI
- great graphics (UE3 rocks)
- a bit sick :D


Though there's just one thing that keeps me somewhat worried. The main platform is the X360 and that can be trouble. But I trust IG, so they won't make the same mistake under pressure like Ion Storm did with DX:IW. And the optimisation is an other "issue" - but let's hope, the team will do a good job with this too. :)

[Avatar]

Though there's just one thing that keeps me somewhat worried. The main platform is the X360 and that can be trouble.
As I'm a dedicated PC gamer, and I assume you are too, I also hope that the quality of the PC version doesn't suffer, as so many console ports have done in the past.
One of my biggest concerns has been the interface, but I believe Ken indicated that the interface for the PC version would be totally revamped from the one used by the console. The relatively clumsy UI from consoles just doesn't mesh well with the flexibility and high-res interfaces possible with the PC. For example, the neat HUD and inventory interfaces from Deus Ex compared to the piece of junk UI we got in Invisible War was nothing short of painful. I mean, I literally winced whenever I had to open it.
Things like custom key bindings and quicksaves are also highly appreciated.

I trust IG, so they won't make the same mistake under pressure like Ion Storm did with DX:IW.
To this day, the tragedy of Invisible War (which I generally refuse to refer to as "Deus Ex" at all) makes me cry. As a fan and supporter of the original Deus Ex, I still can't help feeling betrayed by the mess they handed us. But I'd better not get into a rant about that, I could go on all day.

And the optimisation is an other "issue" - but let's hope, the team will do a good job with this too. :)
I'm sure they won't do the kind of shoddy work that went into the PC versions of Invisible War or, more recently, Star Trek: Legacy. The PC port of Legacy was an absolute disgrace.

Due to my past experiences with console ports and cross-platform development, I find it difficult to remain optimistic, but I'll certainly give Irrational the benefit of the doubt.

As to what I'm personally looking forward to the most... I guess it must be the promise of being the "spiritual successor" to the System Shock series. Like many here, System Shock 2 is one of my all-time favourite games.
The interaction between various inhabitants of Rapture is fascinating, although I do hope to see some more complex interactions of the citizens with each other than what I've seen in gameplay videos so far.

"Look at you, hacker..." *Tag*

[Newbeing]

I think Ken has mentioned quite a few times that neither the PC or the Xbox360 versions are ports. They are both being developed at the same time so both will be equal in their effort spent with the obvious albeit small differences set for the PC and 360 versions.

[Xerxes]

I basically bought a xbox 360 for bioshock and i agree with Avatar saying that calling invisible war the sequel to Deus Ex is an insult to the original game... Invisible war was a big let down compared to Deus ex, cheap guns, cheap caracters, bad physics, bad plot, bad endings, bad cutscenes... my god i was so disappointed with this game

[Glottis]

OMG it's Xerxes! Now that reminds me, I've 305 days left to buy a Christmas present! :eek:


Thats right insect !!! And dont forget it !!!! Dont forget to get something for that corpse Polito as well :D

[Glottis]

As I'm a dedicated PC gamer, and I assume you are too, I also hope that the quality of the PC version doesn't suffer, as so many console ports have done in the past.
One of my biggest concerns has been the interface, but I believe Ken indicated that the interface for the PC version would be totally revamped from the one used by the console. The relatively clumsy UI from consoles just doesn't mesh well with the flexibility and high-res interfaces possible with the PC. For example, the neat HUD and inventory interfaces from Deus Ex compared to the piece of junk UI we got in Invisible War was nothing short of painful. I mean, I literally winced whenever I had to open it.
Things like custom key bindings and quicksaves are also highly appreciated.


To this day, the tragedy of Invisible War (which I generally refuse to refer to as "Deus Ex" at all) makes me cry. As a fan and supporter of the original Deus Ex, I still can't help feeling betrayed by the mess they handed us. But I'd better not get into a rant about that, I could go on all day.


I'm sure they won't do the kind of shoddy work that went into the PC versions of Invisible War or, more recently, Star Trek: Legacy. The PC port of Legacy was an absolute disgrace.

Due to my past experiences with console ports and cross-platform development, I find it difficult to remain optimistic, but I'll certainly give Irrational the benefit of the doubt.

As to what I'm personally looking forward to the most... I guess it must be the promise of being the "spiritual successor" to the System Shock series. Like many here, System Shock 2 is one of my all-time favourite games.
The interaction between various inhabitants of Rapture is fascinating, although I do hope to see some more complex interactions of the citizens with each other than what I've seen in gameplay videos so far.

"Look at you, hacker..." *Tag*


Excellent post,I totally agree,I hated IW,and pre ordered it for 59 $ many months before launch,what a waste.... Most ports are trash,and this is the only thing that worries me.Its getting the 360 love,and the PC is being done by a "Sub team" qoute un qoute.... I will leave final judgement for when I play it,but I am not too worried as none of the games IGS has done,have
let me down yet.

I pre ordered it a while ago,and paid for it nearly in full

(30$ down...)

[Diabolik]

Well, um, where to start :D. I love the artwork, the graphics are amazing, the story line, setting and the entire mood of the game just feels fresh and exiting. it also looks to be alot different from every other FPS on the market.

[Avatar]

I think Ken has mentioned quite a few times that neither the PC or the Xbox360 versions are ports. They are both being developed at the same time so both will be equal in their effort spent with the obvious albeit small differences set for the PC and 360 versions.
That's why I mentioned cross-platform development as well, as distinct from more direct porting. It can be done well, or it can be done terribly. Originally though, other games have claimed the cross-platform development model, and yet we ended up with blatant ports anyway. Or at the other end of the scale, we end up with Splinter Cell: Double Agent, which had different platform versions being independently developed by separate studios - And the PC version ended up being an unoptimized and buggy port of the Xbox 360 version anyway. On the other hand, the original Splinter Cell and Chaos Theory are examples of good cross-platform games.
I understand the cross-platform development of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfghter turned out quite well also, even though it's more straight action rather than tactical gameplay, and I haven't played that game myself.
There are numerous examples to support either case.

Not that I disbelieve Ken about BioShock's development, I'm sure it will arrive and I'll realise my fears were unfounded. But after being "burned" and disappointed so often in the past, I can't help being wary of the potential for things to go wrong. Just call me a resident cynic. ;)

"...a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors..."

[Necros]

To this day, the tragedy of Invisible War (which I generally refuse to refer to as "Deus Ex" at all) makes me cry. As a fan and supporter of the original Deus Ex, I still can't help feeling betrayed by the mess they handed us. But I'd better not get into a rant about that, I could go on all day.
I feel I've got to defend the game a little bit. :) I agree, it's not nearly as good as the first title. But it's still a good game. And offers a hell of a lot more than for example HL1+2 (dumb story, simple gameplay, can't understand why some people are naming them greatest shooters...) together... ;)


And I've forgotten one thing from my list. The scary parts of the gameplay. This game has lots of horror elements and as a horror fan, I'm looking forward to it. Though a great horror game is coming out a few months after BioShock. (Clive Barker's Jericho :cool:) But I guess some training won't hurt. :D

[Hans]

well iam looking forward to the ausome game play that all the shock series has brought to the great screen ;) , The atmosphere is interging and compaling in all respects of the game play provide in all the the shock games and hopefully this one will most differently bring the best, what i have seen and heard and read it looks like it might get there.

Dam ausome work looking forward to more :)

[v.dog]

I'm looking forward to the 'shooter 2.0' to see if it can pump some life into the genre, and if an innovative game can win in today's market (I hope so, or the 'attack of the clones' mentality (EA is its biggest proponent) by will only spread further).
The story, the atmosphere, and the world of Rapture are the big hooks.

[Signy]

For me it's gotta be what drew me into System Shock 2.

The gritty atmosphere, almost genuine fear the high levels of tension which kept me on edge. Never had a game do that since.

I just want a really good FPS experiance again somthing I havnt been able to have since the days of deus x, half life 1 and of course ss2.

Bring back real gaming!

[Komistis]

Like a number of people here I also think that SS2 was the first game I played that really scared my socks off. It's the first game I actually had to walk away from a few times and come back so that I didn't go completely insane.

Plus, I want to shoot icicles and electric bolts out of my hand as much as the next person :)

[Maniac]

I'm looking foward to a beautiful rendered first person shooter experience. Ever since I read the PC Gamer preview of the game I was just entranced by the art design of the game and where they plan to take the story.

-Maniac

[somecut8]

The main thing I am looking forward to is the unique gameplay experience Bioshock will give. That is, the style, the setting, the gameplay are all different from every other first-person shooter.

[piet11111]

i am looking forward to see the AI responding to the environment and my character.

i am also looking forward to manipulating the environment to set traps and how it can be used in actual combat.

another thing im looking forward to is plasmids and i am hopefull to have some plasmids interacting with the water.
for instance having some waterspout plasmid to flush away those splicers or to flush away a little sister from her big daddy.
this would be especially cool if the water would not dissapear so after prolonged use you could flood some rooms.

[Flash Johnson]

i'm looking forward to deus ex coffee

[Bartekk]

Hell if I know. There's no one specific feature I'm looking forward to. I'm waiting for the damn game as a whole.

[witch]

Atmosphere and AI!

[Gabby_Hayes]

An entire Art Deco world.

Done by the folks that want to create an immersive sense of deadly place like System Shock 1 and 2.

The experience as a whole is what I'm after but the art is great.

That podcast was the best so far Warcrow. I like how the interview led into Ken's background, the games he wants to play, the ones he's made and finally Bioshock. A complete overview of the Shooter 2.0 (and your undying love of spelunking antiheroes).

[warcrow]

Atmosphere and AI!

Yea baby! :)

[karmeck]

The setting and the story.

[LowEnergyCycle]

I'm mostly looking forward to shutting the curtains, sending the girlfriend for a looooong bath, plugging in my headphones, sitting back, pressing the big Xbox-ON button, and disolving into an alternate, fully realised underwater world, only to return if it's an absolute emergency...

Put basically, I'm most looking foward to being in Bioshock.

[Zellie]

The atmosphere looks really really sweet, and the AI sounds like it'll be great fun, nothing like playing around with some monsters and see what you can get them to do.

Also playing though it for the second time, and picking up some of all those things you can't help but miss the first time around (and this looks like one of those games that has plenty of those <3)

[Adabiviak]

I'm looking forward to enjoying this with my girlfriend - she wants to experience this flavor of immersive environment as much as I do.

[Hatesink]

I'd like to be able to dispense with character class or specialisation in favour of be able to 'fit to purpose' plasmids in a way that I can reconfigure the character on an ongoing basis for whatever the game might present to me.

I'm not sure if that's actually going to be possible however.

[Hatesink]

For me, I'm looking forward to crafting my very own custom experience with the game.I really like that idea. I'd like to be able to use the game's resources to recreate all the great things I like about the Hitman series.

I'm hoping I'm going to be able to create a stealth-oriented character also.

[Lucas78]

Well, for me, everything that drew me to the System Shock games and then Deus Ex: open-ended gameplay, amazing story, and realizing that my choices can actually be diverse and have a different impact on how the scene unfolds (albeit within the boundaries of the story and AI).

[Hatesink]

Most important of all is that Irrational stand behind the game and the creative vision once it's released. I'm sure there will be lots of controversial content and, who knows, good ol' Thompson gonna pull another scandal because of this or that, but stay strong, because you don't have the chance to release a game of that calibre and emotive weight very often!http://www.videogamevoters.org/

It seems it's still pending rating: http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

It seems the ESRB maintain a much higher level of transparency than the MPAA (http://www.mpaa.org/)

I was watching a documentary about the MPAA rating system. One of the makers of Team America was interviewed. He basically said that the only way they were able to keep the sex scene in the movie was to submit a copy of the film with a four minute sex scene, so that they still had stuff to work with after they'd sacrificed about three minutes of material to the sensors. They showed clips of the scene that was submitted for rating, and it included all sorts of really far out stuff like urination and defecation. Maybe 2K should add some totally extreme mutilation effects to protect what's already there.

[ComradeP]

-Proper and consistent use of physics:

If a certain object, say, a trashcan is movable in one room it should be movable everywhere unless physically impaired by other objects (ergo: stuck in a pile of rubble, which will not be movable I'm afraid as no matter how good the physics are, rubble never seems to be movable).

Kinetic energy should also be taken into account, although the devs seem to have sorted that out, judging by the videos.

-Abilities not related to level or plot based context:

Example: In the "screenshot scenario" one can see the hand of the main character glowing with electrical sparks and patterns, in order to fry the grenadier in the water. As water plays such a significant role, it would be nice to be able to use electricity on water whenever possible and it might also be nice if puzzles based on that principle were included.

-A use of the little sisters in the overall story, not only as triggered events in certain areas with a pipe and a corpse:

We've seen big daddies roam free, but little sisters seem to be tied to their pipes mostly. As such, little sisters don't have much value in the overall gameplay experience as they only appear when triggered by a Big Daddy or the player. It would be nice to either have those pipes all over the place, or have puzzles based on their presence and so on so that the "little sister" gameplay mechanic doesn't become static.

A general note:

Keep in mind that non-liniear is not related to the overall story and still means the game is probably level based (as indicated by a "boss" fight in one of the videos, which the player will have to engage in no matter what as he/she has to get a certain yellow disk). Free roaming is great, but there's always a limit to it for the sake of gameplay and keep in mind that non-liniear means "non-liniear in how one goes through a level, but liniear to end the level" 9 out of 10 times.

I applaud the efforts by the developers to try and create a fairly non-liniear gameplay experience, comparable to SS2, and I hope they will succeed.

[Booshman800]

What can I say that hasn't already been said far better than I could ever say it?

/Agree with every post so far :D

[Half-Dragon]

There's definately something about hacking in a game that makes me think "ha, it was designed to kill me but i tricked it to kill my enemies." I love that for some reason. not to mention the enrage plasmid. same deal. and of course, the ridiculous customize-ability(<not a real word?) of everything, and the atmosphere, etc...

[Mr Alcoholic]

what i liked most about the demo was that you couls see and hear the ai talking to eachother or even to them selves and definately watching them fight eachother instead of you is always awesome

[Marco Esta]

To be honest, while I am excited to take down a Big Daddy, because I love epic battles, I really want to see the decor, and listen to the early-to-mid 90's inspired music.