Who Should Make The Next BioShock Game

[The Crispy Tiger]

If you're not into reading and would like to see this in video form, you can check this out right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gqw4qbWwJU

(It should be noted that there are small differences *cough* Runner-Up's *cough*. But you can hopefully enjoy both.)

Otherwise, let's write this down!

So if you have been high or preparing for the ass whooping that will be Dark Souls II, you might not have heard about the recent passing about Irrational Games. Ken Levine is apparently done with Irrational Games and leaving. Now most of these guys will be picked up by other companies, so don't worry too much. But I'm not here to talk about Irrational.

I'm here to talk about who should start making the new Bioshock games. Personally I would've ended the series of Infinite. It's a great final game to a franchise if you had to end Bioshock, but this industry has no artistic integrity so that's not going to happen anytime soon. Instead, I think that if anyone should take the series it should somebody outside of 2k games.

If you look at the potential list of studios to grab the franchise, it would be between 2k Marin, 2k Czech, Fireaxis, and Visual Concepts. 2k Marin is the obvious choice since they are made of former employees of Irrational, but my problem with them is that they aren't very good storytellers. 2k Marin's BioShock 2 story sounds awful and The Bureau: Xcom Declassified was even worse.

2k Czech is probably the best choice, but they are extremely obscure and as far as I know they're only huge rally big success was Mafia. Which is fine because Mafia and Mafia II are known for great storytelling, world design, and fun gameplay, but I still don't know if they could one-up any of Irrational Games.

Sid Meier would probably tell 2k to go fuck a dick if they told him to make an action RPG, so we can count Fireaxis out. And giving Visual Concepts (The guys responsible fore the NBA 2k games) Bioshock would be like giving Creative Assembly the Alien Franchise... Oh wait a second....

Take Two Interactive also owns Rockstar games. That would be a great choice for the Bioshock games, if you can get past the fact that it would be a third person action game, because that's all that Rockstar does. The only time that Rockstar has not done a third person action game is with the Midnight Run franchise. I still think that will be a rare exception for a while.

So the last and final pick that we could go with is an external developer. My personal pick would actually be The Chinese Room. They're independent, they're innovative, they're great at storytelling and world building, and if you force them to be innovative in the gameplay department, they are more than capable enough of doing fun and interesting things with the gameplay.

Runner ups were:

Bioware
Eidos Montreal
Arkane Studios
And because fuck it, they're making everything nowadays
TellTale Games

Anyways, I would love to hear your guys opinions, share yours and tell me who should make the new Bioshock Games.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Absolutely no one, the series ended because they were done with it and they want it kept as good as it got.
Do not start coming up with harebrained ideas that will shit on their work, start a new IP if you got plans but do not fuck with with one of the rarest examples of story gaming done right.

 

[OneCatch]

No one! The franchise is done, three games is a decent number, and they'll just run out of political or religious critiques. Why not leave it on a high note and come up with a new IP, even if it's similar in concept or gameplay?

If they have to make one, in an ideal world I'd give it to 4A Games (the makers of the Metro Series) or Arcane, ideally a partnership between the two. I always thought the most effective part of BioShock was the survival horror side of it (that opening sequence is still among my favourites), so go back to it's roots.

 

[Zhukov]

Nobody.

When the original creator of a thing decides to call it quits, that's generally a good place to stop.

Sure, technically speaking, there's no reason why some other bright young spark couldn't waltz along and do something incredible with the property, but come on, we know the chances of that happening are downright dismal.

Personally, I want just want to know what Mr Levine is planning next, if anything. Dude knows his stuff. I'd hate to see him disappear from the industry.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Nope, nada, zippo, the franchise is concluded and done, there doesn't need to be any more Bioshock games, there shouldn't need to be a slew of them or it's going to end up like every other game that get's 5 sequels or more.

Also no, not Telltale, just no.

 

[shrekfan246]

Bioshock 2's story is actually quite good.

Unnecessary, sure, as it would've been the same in any other fictional city with fictional crazy people and it by and large tread the same philosophical and political paths already blazed by the first Bioshock, but the actual story was much more impactful. It was more personal and had more tragic characters who were actually memorable. Really, Bioshock stands up almost entirely on the shoulders of Andrew Ryan, with a tiny bit of help from Sander Cohen and Atlas; Bioshock 2 has Sinclair, Gil Alexander, Mark Meltzer, and Eleanor and Sophia Lamb. No single character beats out Andrew Ryan, certainly, but that's a damn tall order to ask and the characters in Bioshock 2 most certainly beat out the rest of the characters from the first one.

And at the end of the day, there was no reason for the first Bioshock to exist either. Or Bioshock Infinite. Or The Last of Us. Or Devil May Cry. Or Mass Effect. Or Baldur's Gate. They're games. They don't need a reason to exist, so what does it matter if they're using an already established world to tell a different story with the same themes?

And that's ignoring the fact that Bioshock 2 is magnitudes more mechanically solid than the first game.

So with all of that out of the way, my answer is "wherever most of the Irrational staff end up". If they're folded into 2K Marin, I'd love to see them pick up the mantle. While Infinite is my favorite of the trilogy, I had far more fun with Bioshock 2 than the first one, and would be interested in seeing if XCOM Declassified was just a fluke due to the absolutely abysmal management it had during development.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Platinum. But that's only because whenever asks "Who should make X game" I always say Platinum, I don't actually think it'd be a good idea in this instance =P

Honestly though, I think they should leave it. They won't though, so whoever does get chosen has some shoes to fill.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I prefer them to move on from Bioshock. After Infinite I don't see many areas where the series can move on to and still feel fresh. I mean going into space, or back to Colombia or Rapture would feel like a step backwards. I supposed they could try things like deep jungle, underground city or far future settings but I feel that would just stall the inevitable. It would be better for the Shock series to just go out on a high.

 

[Cerebrawl]

If I was going to give it to anyone I'd give it to Obsidian for their skill at world building and setting, or CD Project Red. There's a few tempting choices on the FPS side of things too, like Digital Extremes or Bungie... I'd have said Gearbox but they've got a bad history when it comes to other companies' franchises.

Arcane as someone suggested might be a decent pick too, likewise Eidos Montreal.

 

[MasterPaz]

I'm hoping that they'll continue the System Shock series. I loved Bioshock and liked Bioshock Infinite, but I think the past settings are done.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I'm rarely against sequels, but I wouldn't be too heart broken to see Bioshock end with Infinite and the Buried at Sea DLC. It could be seen as a good close to the series. On the flip side, I wouldn't mind seeing another one in a new setting too. Oddly enough, with Infinite's storyline, one could theoretically create a million Bioshock games each with their own stories.

I don't have any ideas for who could make more Bioshock games, Ken Levine was the main person behind the story of the games I believe. If he does not want to make more, it kinda has to die with him leaving 2K.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I mean whoever it is, they can't just churn out a sequel for profit. If they don't respect the IP, the tone of the series, the spirit of it, it'll suck. No one wants that.

Bioshock 2 was good only in the sense that it was MORE of Bioshock 1 but did very little to push the bar. They had a great idea in "play as a big daddy" and then they shoot it in the foot by making you the weakest Big Daddy (unless you play on Easy, which I did because I wanted to feel like a juggernaut damn it)

The question is, HOW THE HELL DO YOU TOP INFINITE? It gave us Bioshock in basically Disney Land, you can't get much better than that.

 

[TristanBelmont]

Two perfectly good games in the series is good enough. Bioshock and Infinite are great, and I think we should leave it at that.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Well, the creative director of the original Bioshock, Paul Hellquist, was also the creative director of Borderlands 2, just saying. But that's the last thing I expect anyone wants to hear.

 

[MasterPaz]

Well, the creative director of the original Bioshock, Paul Hellquist, was also the creative director of Borderlands 2, just saying. But that's the last thing I expect anyone wants to hear.

What's so bad about that? I thought Borderlands 2 was great.

 

[shrimpcel]

I think OP must be ashamed that everyone's hating on his idea, but I have to add my voice to the chorus and agree that Bioshock can die a noble death now and be remembered and replayed with joy in the years to come. Much better than see it turned into a chain of annualized drivel.