BioShock Wishlist (What Would You Most Like the Series to Feature?)

[Hatesink]

If everything were possible and you could add everything you want to the game engine, the resource list (e.g. Plasmids, weapons, devices, pickups, collectibles etc.) character manifest, environment, storyline, genre and/or game mechanics, powers, skills, abilities, character types, equipment etc. what would you add?

(Your chanced to make or suggest ideas for your ideal game / game-engine)

Here's my list:

I'd like the environments to be totally destructible, with weapons able to be ripped from almost every surface: floorboards, beams, fire-axes, bottles, cables and cords etc.

Perfect physics and with everything interactive and having a dialog commentary.

Region/area specific damage administered and taken based on trajectory, distance, type of weapon etc., much in the style of Soldier of Fortune.

Real-time simulated deformation for injuries (i.e. not just damage modeled skins etc.). [yeah— I know, but I did say 'if everything were possible'.]

Ragdolls with proper weight, which can be manipulated and disposed of (for chaotic-bad, or chaotic-neutral characters, or even desperate lawful-good characters). With ragdolls & environments totally destructible right down to the masonry, so that they can be shattered, shredded and/or turned to mush under sustained machine-gun fire.

I'd like the option to use a blow pipe or bow (with arrows with parabolic flight) to administer drugs, or plasmid residue harvested from fallen splicers (so that I can free up my plasmid slots for other plasmids).

I'd like full stealth options with silent-footfall so that I can creep up behind Splicers without having do all of the crouching and creeping bull***t that the Hitman series makes you do now.

I'd like a garrot/fibre-wire/piano-wire, or be able to make one out of cable-flex or other similar items found in the environment, and for it to have full and accurate animation similar to the original Hitman game (not like the instant collapse that the later titles have implemented).

For playthroughs as a totally wicked-bad character I'd like a knife similar to the oyabun knife from Codename 47 (with full and accurate animation (it'll never happen, but one can dream ;) ))

I'd like a few processes included also, like the cooking, weapon-making and alchemy of Arx Fatalis (e.g. laundering a teddy bear for a Little Sister etc.)

[ComradeP]

I agree with most of Hatesinks suggestions.

Some additions:

Underwater environments with a variety of pressure levels and life forms, perhaps with the occassional underwater lava fountain and associated effects on the current and the water.

Realistic and customisable explosives. I don't care if a character blows to bits in a very gory way, as long as the explosives I made displayed a realistic explosion and had a certain effect on the surroundings (not the "you can blow up everything! Well...except for this, that...oh! and you can't blow up that either" approach from Red Faction 1 and 2).

More computer and hacking related gameplay, perhaps with a sort of Tron-like cyberspace.

[Renight]

I would like a plasmid editing table, but if you screw up the formula, it hurts you and does negative effects to you. (ie, speed plus strength would make you lame and weak until they were off.) But if down correctly, it could be a powerfull weapon.
And more offensive plasmids, like having a plasmid that makes your arms have 2 viney, blisster like bubbles full of liquid. If you activate it, it would mix in midair and make a explosion like effect. (Much like the bombadier bettle.)

[beirut]

if this is supposed to be a next level game then why do all the AIs look alike? I think that its about time that there would be many different models for "splicers"
"little sisters" and so on. I don't play a lot of video games but i am certainly sick of games where all the enemy's of one type look identical, it brings a boring repetitiveness the game. Perhaps each given type of enemy could have a semi-randomly generated design from hair, dress, weight, and so on. I also hope that you can truly "customize" weapons go into a menu and actually modify your own gun accounting for the fact that it could be too strong and blow up, or just simply not work. Lastly, your under water... in a glass bubble... this game talks about strategy... yet your playing with grenades... I think there should be consequences for your actions on the level of breaking a hole in the glass of rapture and consequently drowning or needing to remedy it.

[piet11111]

the ability to use water as a weapon like say a waterjet to flush away enemy's.
and if you use that plasmid for a while then the room you are in starts to flood.

realistic damage to NPC's like broken bones
say you use the telekinises plasmid with a brick and launch it against the leg of a splicer then that leg should be broken.

more plasmids (too much plasmids is never enough i say)
and ofcourse more weapons and more means to modify them.

[v.dog]

More computer and hacking related gameplay, perhaps with a sort of Tron-like cyberspace.In the 1960's? Do you really think it'd fit the era?Perhaps each given type of enemy could have a semi-randomly generated design from hair, dress, weight, and so on.I don't know about weight, but this is in.Lastly, your under water... in a glass bubble... this game talks about strategy... yet your playing with grenades... I think there should be consequences for your actions on the level of breaking a hole in the glass of rapture and consequently drowning or needing to remedy it.While that sounds like a good idea at first, I get the feeling the novelty of if would start to wear thin after the fourth time it happened because a splicer 'naded you from behind in the middle of a BD fight, and you forgot to save.

[Nik]

i wish all the classes didnt look alike, little sisters, slicers, ect.
i hope the maps r very long like a 30mins - 1hr :)
and i hope there are alot of maps, not like every other mission based game that is only 10 missions.

[ComradeP]

In the 1960's? Do you really think it'd fit the era?

The game also features intelligent helicopter security drones and camera's, all linked to an integrated security system which can be accessed by using terminals - all of that in a historical era where mankind launched things in to space based on a computer chip with the capacity of your watch (if electronic/digital)/less than your cellphone.

Why not have hacking, regardless of the facts that "computers" were about as big as a level of Rapture in that era?

[Pinky_Powers]

I think each level/area should contain at least one Grizzly Bear, standing at a Plasmi-Quik machine trying to make his sex-organ larger. If that seems unreasonable, then I guess I just don't know. The game looks fairly good to me, and I like some of the other ideas posted.

[^ilovebioshock!]

I think each level/area should contain at least one Grizzly Bear, standing at a Plasmi-Quik machine trying to make his sex-organ larger. If that seems unreasonable, then I guess I just don't know. The game looks fairly good to me, and I like some of the other ideas posted.

OKAYYY:confused:

[PolterChrist]

I don't need any gimmicky crap. I just want the term survival-horror to actually mean just that. Surviving in this horror.

So, you're a dude who crash-landed next to Rapture. Do you have combat experience? Are you a super soldier? Can you easily dispatch numerous enemies?
If so, where's the horror? Because survival is a given.

Granted, I've never heard anyone put this game in the Survival-Horror genre. But why not? Do we really need another FPS on Xbox?

[^ilovebioshock!]

I don't need any gimmicky crap. I just want the term survival-horror to actually mean just that. Surviving in this horror.

So, you're a dude who crash-landed next to Rapture. Do you have combat experience? Are you a super soldier? Can you easily dispatch numerous enemies?
If so, where's the horror? Because survival is a given.

Granted, I've never heard anyone put this game in the Survival-Horror genre. But why not? Do we really need another FPS on Xbox?

Whats wrong with you :confused:

[PolterChrist]

Just tired of people advertising these games as scary. Not scary at all to whip everything you come across. I'm sure they're gonna do the old console explosion, but that's not scary. That's startling. Very different.

Just like getting caught in Thief is sure death, so should it be in Rapture. If I wanna be Master Chief, I'll play Halo. I want to dread opening the next door.

But, I'm a minority, I'm sure. And you guys need to make your money. So let's welcome Master Chief to Rapture.


My point is, I'd rather compare this game to Resident Evil than to Half-Life and Halo.

[HeckYesForBioShock]

Just tired of people advertising these games as scary. Not scary at all to whip everything you come across. I'm sure they're gonna do the old console explosion, but that's not scary. That's startling. Very different.

Just like getting caught in Thief is sure death, so should it be in Rapture. If I wanna be Master Chief, I'll play Halo. I want to dread opening the next door.

But, I'm a minority, I'm sure. And you guys need to make your money. So let's welcome Master Chief to Rapture.


My point is, I'd rather compare this game to Resident Evil than to Half-Life and Halo.
Well, it appears that the minority of horror-lovers consists of at least two folks. However as I dream of a chiller, BioShock may be formidable enough in the scariness department. Consider this perspective: you creep down a damp corridor, dimly lit by the suffocating ocean outside of uncomfortable, thin layers of glass. Granted, chances are that the glass isn't going to break and neither will the loaded shotgun or the prescription of instant bees. But when a shadowy corner starts emitting a mechanical hum and a previous trailer depicted a bloody drill emerging from your stomach, your adrenaline will probably start pumping.

This isn’t Halo or Half-life….likewise, this isn't Resident Evil--but it never tied to be; by coincidence did these two games play in horror. At that, BioShock has plenty in horror elements to graduate it with a Minor in Terror while majoring in the next-generation of gameplay. Hell of a scary environment to explore? Check. An innovative one, at that? Check. Childlike monstrosities from psychopathic clowns to gleefully-killing, little girls? Check. Requirement of a nighty light for bedtime? Perhaps not. Halo never had injections to pump your arm into an offensive bee hive. Half-life never had drone control. Neither had a trailer of the player dragging a 5-year-old out of a hole to whack her. I can only say that if BioShock did decide to plunge full-heartedly into horror, it would be merely a remake (albeit a graphically stunning remake) of Silent Hill or Siren or Jericho--not the most anticipated game on my list.

[v.dog]

...the prescription of instant bees.Best line ever. :)

[ffanxii4ever]

I want realistic weapons, let me explain:

If you are messing around with a friggen shotgun, with little to no expeirence, trying to mod it, I want that shotgun to be able to misfire and blow-up in your face because you did something wrong when modding it, not to the point of killing you, but enough to be one hell of an inconvience

Also I want that create-a-plasmid ability mentioned a long time ago in previews

[D'Sparil]

I guess you could control it with a mini game or whatnot like hacking.... although if everything is a mini game I am thinking it would kinda pull you out of the real experiences to be had. Remember the devs are trying to make a ton of player choice, but IT NEEDS TO BE FUN. Like I've read in interviews, with regards to negative effects from plasmids for instance, they sounded good on paper BUT the execution of it did not promote a good time. And I believe thats the bottom line. We can all sit here and have unbelievable expectation for the realism of BioShock to a point, but in the end its still a video game and games were meant to be played and have fun. Too much realism sometimes can suck, imagine having a bathroom meter, hunger meter, health meter, yada yada yada, when you get hit you start bleeding, and until you can find bandages you bleed to death ect. No that is not fun, and it would ruin what the actual game could bring to the table. Arbitrarily having a gun blow up in my face would piss me off for one; I wanna upgrade that baby and find something to use it on- no questions asked. Just my two cents of course...

[Mongchimp]

I sincerely hope that the sounds in Bioshock are comparable to the system shock 2 creepfest. Memorable things like the mutants imploring you to run, or the midwives saying "babies need fresh meat!" really make a game special.

A cameo from SHODAN would make my month as well, even if it purely an easter egg. Even the background 'siren' type sound that accompanies SHODAN would send me into nerdgasms if it appeared in one of the audio files.

[Hatesink]

I want realistic weapons, let me explain:

If you are messing around with a friggen shotgun, with little to no expeirence, trying to mod it, I want that shotgun to be able to misfire and blow-up in your face because you did something wrong when modding it, not to the point of killing you, but enough to be one hell of an inconvience

I think that could work really well, providing there's no quick-save/quick-load option, and providing it's properly framed (so that the player absolutely sees it as a bonus, that he or she could use the item, even though the player-character doesn't have the relevant skills (but that the item could backfire or jam or in some way go wrong)).

If you could explain to the player that they're free to try and upgrade any weapon or any item, even if they don't necessarily have the skills to do so successfully (so that they basically think of it as a bonus, and know it could backfire), then I think it could be a really good addition (but only if there's not a quick-save option, otherwise it might just be too tempting to exploit the game by re-loading.)

If there was a checkpoint save system, a little like that of Resident Evil 4 (i.e. a save-point created at every load-zone, so that you can re-start at the beginning of each section if things are screwed up), it could work really well. Plus that kind of save system could lend itself brilliantly to the type of open ended game that BioShock seems to be. Each time you re-load, things could be just that little bit different.

[Laser Eyes]

BioShock Wishlist (What Would You Most Like the Series to Feature?)
It's a series now? Did I miss something?

[vrap]

Nope. As of now BioShock is one game.

[Hatesink]

It's a series now? Did I miss something?Just assuming it might have a couple of sequels.

[Irrational_Alexx]

I think each level/area should contain at least one Grizzly Bear, standing at a Plasmi-Quik machine trying to make his sex-organ larger. If that seems unreasonable, then I guess I just don't know. The game looks fairly good to me, and I like some of the other ideas posted.

Hmmm... Nope, can't do it. Now, if you had asked for a *Polar* Bear, then maybe we could have done something...

Alexx Kay, Designer, Irrational Games