The original Bioshock‘s focus was so deeply ingrained into telling a visual story inspired by its narrative locale, that multi-player didn’t seem to fit within the project. Despite the sequel’s foray into the fray with another developer, the team behind the original may keep this creed in their new entry into the universe, the jingoistic-federalist Bioshock Infinite. Kevin Levine, creative director at Irrational Games, talked to Kotaku about the functionality, and how it may or may not be included.
“I will say that we experiment with things, but for us we are never interested in making a multiplayer mode you could just play in some other game. Because, A) that’s not creatively interesting and B), financially, you’re wasting your time. They’re going to go play Halo. They’re going to go play Call of Duty,” Levine said. “If we do something new — if we do something like Left 4 Dead that has something new to say — people will come to your game. If you don’t, don’t waste your time…You’re not much of a game designer if you can’t draw lessons out of A) good games and bad games and B) games that are not really applicable to what you are doing,” he said. “You need to look past the surface.”
Why does it need to go Multiplayer? The Bioshock franchise is fine with its strong narrative that it doesn’t need a tacked on multiplayer.
News of a single-player only Bioshock sequel makes me VERY happy. I’m 100% more likely to play this now.
Yeah I am as well. I wish Bioshock 2 didn’t have that multiplayer, as it could have made the single player mode story better, as I found it too straight forward and not as shocking (hahah, no pun intended) as the first. Not all FPSes need to have a multiplayer and I like Irrational Games for standing up and making a single player only game.