Ken Levine: scripting Elizabeth “is the most complicated thing” in Bioshock Infinite
NPC companion, Elizabeth, is set to a vital part of Bioshock Infinite’s storyline. She follows playable tough-guy, Booker DeWitt around the floating metropolis of Columbia, trying to evade the nightmarish Songbird that has kept her captive for years.
In spite of her torrid past, Elizabeth is a playful, funny sidekick. Some of the best moments from the superb fifteen minute E3 demo (above) were Elizabeth’s brief, incidental skits in which she banters with Booker and at one point puts on a giant Abe Lincoln head for a quick impression. According to creative director, Ken Levine, these small acts are the “most complicated” development task for Irrational.
Bioshock Infinite trailer talks storytelling and character in the floating city of Columbia
Ken Levine is joined by the voice actors who play Bioshock Infinite’s protagonist, Booker, and his NPC companion, Elizabeth for the new trailer. The most telling moment comes when the actor who plays Elizabeth, Coutnee Draper, says that she doesn’t know exactly how long her character has been kept captive because Levine hasn’t decided yet. Later, Levine talks about the process of working with the actors, saying that “sometimes they’ll bring something to the role and I’ll change the role,” confessing that “a lot of times I don’t even know what I want.” It’s an interesting insight into Levine’s flexible approach to creating the game’s story, almost as though he’s making it up as he’s going along. It’s a strategy that seems to be going well, the fourteen minutes of footage from E3 were incredible.
Bioshock Infinite’s Elizabeth shaped by Ken Levine’s experiences
The Bioshock series has shown off a few human issues in its time; the ethics behind child experiments, human genetic manipulation and artificially manufacturing the father-daughter bond. CVG are reporting that Infinite will offer something slightly more personal, with the history of central character Elizabeth drawing influence from designer Ken Levine’s personal experiences. Read on for the full story.
PC Gamer Digital Episode 2 now available!
Last week we announced the landmark launch of PC Gamer Digital, and today we’re excited to let you know that Episode 2 is now available on Steam – you don’t want to miss it! In the second episode of PC Gamer Digital, you’ll climb into the ethereal world of BioShock Infinite for a self-guided, 360-degree tour of Columbia, go behind the scenes of upcoming free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend, discover the cerebral tactics of Frozen Synapse, and much more!
Purchasing PC Gamer Digital Episode 2 also scores you the Killer Exclusive hat in Team Fortress 2. (It’s extremely sexy!)
MSNBC talks to the Bioshock: Infinite actors
Joystiq spotted this MSNBC interview with Courtnee Draper and Troy Baker, the actors voicing Elizabeth and Booker DeWitt in Irrational’s upcoming Bioshock: Infinite. The actors talk a bit about the demands of playing these roles, and Ken Levine discusses the changing role of acting in games. Plus, there’s a lot of good (albeit familiar) Infinite footage here.
Bioshock Infinite screenshots show sad Elizabeth, Revenge of the Jedi
Why is Elizabeth crying? Will we be able to go into that cinema and watch Revenge of the Jedi? These are the two questions raised by the four new Bioshock Infinite screenshots that just dropped in from Gamescom. The answer to the first question is “because she’s being kidnapped by an enormous bird-freak,” we know that from the incredible E3 trailer, the answer to the second question is sadly “probably not,” but we can dream. See the new screens below. Click to make them huge.
PC Gamer US, September issue: BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite stole the show at E3, and now it steals our September issue cover with an in-depth look at the high-flying shooter sequel and interviews with Ken Levine and his team at Irrational. We also got hands-on with two real-time strategy heavyweights, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and Age of Empires Online, took an exclusive look at Diablo III’s followers, and reviewed indie tactical strategy hit Frozen Synapse and gorgeous racer DiRT 3. Oh, and we show you how you can strap a heavy machine gun to a cow in Arma 2.
Bioshock Infinite trailer shows stunning aerial battles, blimp assassination and monster crow
You won’t want to miss the fourteen minutes of remarkable footage from Bioshock Infinite contained in the video above. It’s hard to pinpoint the best bit. Is it the giant robotic crow-monster? Is it the skylines that let you carve your way through the skies of Columbia or the gutwrenching moment Booker dives out of an exploding blimp to freefall onto a rail miles below? It’s best to watch and decide for yourself. For more information on Bioshock Infinite’s skyline battles, check out the recent dev diary with Ken Levine, and check out our E3 impressions.
Bioshock Infinite trailer teases first two minutes of E3 demo, full video out next week
Irrational have released the first two minutes of the Bioshock Infinite E3 behind closed doors demonstration. It’s a teaser for the reveal of the full fifteen minute video, which will premiere on Spike TV next Thursday. Until then, we’ll have to make do with the video above, which gives us a taste of the banter we can look forward to between Booker and Elizabeth, and a closer look at the level of detail in Columbia’s brightly coloured environments. Read Graham’s Bioshock Infinite E3 impressions for an idea of what to expect from next week’s video. the game’s due out in 2012, which now seems so far away it hurts a little bit.
PC Gamer UK Podcast 58 – Hitman: Absolution, Bioshock Infinite and Team Fortress 2
Tim, Rich, Craig and Tom Francis amass for episode 58 of the PC Gamer UK Podcast. Topics include Hitman Absolution, Bioshock Infinite and Valve’s recent Team Fortress 2 announcement. Of course, we answer a stack of your Twitter questions too.
Download the MP3, subscribe, or find our older podcasts here. Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments.
Bioshock Infinite trailer shows Elizabeth’s inter-dimensional superpowers
The latest Bioshock Infinite developer diary has Ken Levine discussing the ghostly tears in reality that can be found throughout Columbia. The theory is that there are hundreds of alternative, parallel versions of the floating city, each with its own slight differences. Your companion, Elizabeth, can use tears in reality to reach into these parallel universes and pull objects into your world. In fights you can ask her to materialise any one of a number of different tears, giving you extra cover, a helpful turret, or even a mob of friendly fighters.
In the last clip, we see that Elizabeth has the power to revive the dead, and change reality completely if she wills hard enough. It’s a considerable step up from the occasional apparitions that would appear in the underwater city of Rapture in the first game. For more on Bioshock Infinite, check out the previous dev diary showcasing Columbia’s Sky-line firefights, or read our E3 impressions.
Bioshock Infinite trailer shows sky-line gun battles
Creative director of Irrational Games, Ken Levine talks us through Bioshock Infinite’s sky-lines in a new dev diary. The sky-lines are golden transport rails that link Columbia’s floating buildings, and can be traversed using sky-hooks. While riding the rails you’ll be able to sky-shoot people with powerful sky-guns from the sky until they are dead. The footage we’ve seen so far has consisted of very scripted sequences, so it’s hard to know how free-form Bioshock Infinite’s sky-line battles will be. Still, the in-game action that is shown looks spectacular. Learn more in the E3 2011 trailer, or have a read of our Bioshock Infinite E3 impressions.
The best of video from E3 2011
E3 is a reason to get excited every summer. It’s not like GDC where we get to hear the insiders story on game development, or the day to day coverage of the industry. E3 is all about seeing. That’s why E3 is the event where developers and publishers show off the most spectacular trailers and offer extensive demo footage of the next big titles you’re going to be playing. E3 2011 was packed with video footage of some of the most exciting upcoming titles, from those just around the corner like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, to those still a long way off, such as Tomb Raider. Read on to find a round-up of the most impressive videos from this year’s event.
Ken Levine exposes the conflict in Columbia from BioShock Infinite
After last week’s E3 bonanza, top scientists have verified that it is officially impossible to not be excited about BioShock Infinite. That’s why we jumped with joy when we saw that Irrational Games is releasing several short vignettes on Infinite that delve deeper into the game’s background and lore. Join us in our giddy, schoolgirl-like excitement as we listen to the always-articulate Ken Levine discussing the opposing factions that are tearing Columbia apart: the Founders and the Vox Populi.
E3 2011: PC Gamer’s E3 video roundup
Graham and Tim gather in front of the most ornate painting they could find to deliver their picks of the best three games on show at E3 this year. Battlefield 3, Bioshock: Infinite, Skyrim, Payday: The Heist, Hitman: Absolution all feature, but which was the best? Which game won E3? Will Tim and Graham make it through the video without falling off the chair with tiredness? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to watch the video diary above.
