BioShock wasn't always underwater

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 16th August 2007
Comments (13) Stumble
BioShock wasn't always underwater

"I wasn't always a Big Daddy. I used to be a Nazi."

I've been following BioShock with a religious zeal for many, many years. I was honestly reading all the teaser information about the project back when it was first a glint in Ken Levine's eye.

I'm a minority though, so while it isn't a surprise to me at all, some of you may be shocked to know that BioShock wasn't always set in the underwater city of Rapture. Back in 2004 (and in planning before that) the game was going to be set in an underground bunker on a tropical island.

Gone too was Andrew Ryan, Atlas and the splicers, all of whom we touched upon in our spoiler-free preview. Instead, the original plot was about genetic experiments being performed by Nazis.

In a recent interview at CVG, Senior Designer Joe McDonagh talked about how the focus of the game shifted from this Nazi-infested island.

"Every studio has its own dynamic, but we believe that original games require a lot of iteration and sudden changes of direction. It can be terrifying and ageing at times. But it's impossible to sit down at the start of a project and say this game will be XYZ and it will be fun. Bioshock for instance started out on a tropical island with Nazis."

It's funny how things change and moving from a tropical island and Nazi setting to an underwater, art deco city heavily influenced by 50s science fiction is certainly what we'd call a sudden change of direction.

Our comprehensive review of BioShock is currently in the works, but in the mean time why not let us know what you think about the demo and the original setting for the game? You can do that in the forums, y'know.
Quote Seraphim Works 16th August 2007, 09:52
I'm glad they changed it to be honest, the whole bunker / tropical island doesn't sound like it would be quite the experience that an underwater art deco city would be. Mind you, if the art design was as good as it is now, they could well have made that bunker an incredible place to be.

Now I've just got to get a new mobo and cpu for the game, and I'm sorted!
Quote Tim S 16th August 2007, 09:53
I'm getting giddy, dancing around the office like a little kid :o
Quote topher 16th August 2007, 10:01
Why did they change the plot all of a sudden Tim ?
Quote Hugo.B 16th August 2007, 10:13
Quote:
(and in planing before that)
Cookie to the guy that spots the spelling-mistake.
Quote Bogie 16th August 2007, 10:17
When is the demo out?
Quote naokaji 16th August 2007, 10:17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim S
I'm getting giddy, dancing around the office like a little kid :o

you aint the only one
Quote Xir 16th August 2007, 10:29
Hmmm. Running around a bunker on a tropical island with nazi genetics-gone-wrong...

Sounded too much like Far-Cry with nazi's?

Xir
Quote ohdarklord 16th August 2007, 10:31
I rember reading about it when it was about a nazi undergraound bunker but i didnt really notice when they changed it to an underwater city untill last week.
Quote Jamie 16th August 2007, 10:31
Nazi's and a tropical island? Sounds like farcry with a touch of the Darkness.
Quote CardJoe 16th August 2007, 10:56
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bogie
When is the demo out?

The PC demo will be out in a week or so. Xbox demo is out now.

I'm glad they changed the setting too, but it really isn't unusual that the game has changed so much. Games often go through massive revisions like this. It's one of the reasons that STALKER was so delayed - they wanted to suddenly redo all of the gameplay aspects and trim the map down to make the game more accessible. Thats why the game has all those fenced off areas - outside of them is lots of perfectly built mappage which the developers cut out at the last minute.
Quote LeMaltor 16th August 2007, 11:55
Quote:
Originally Posted by CardJoe
The PC demo will be out in a week or so. Xbox demo is out now.

I'm glad they changed the setting too, but it really isn't unusual that the game has changed so much. Games often go through massive revisions like this. It's one of the reasons that STALKER was so delayed - they wanted to suddenly redo all of the gameplay aspects and trim the map down to make the game more accessible. Thats why the game has all those fenced off areas - outside of them is lots of perfectly built mappage which the developers cut out at the last minute.

In a week the game is out though?

tropical island -> sounds like Lost, im glad they changed it to underwater
Quote mikeuk2004 16th August 2007, 12:40
I hadnt read anything about Bioshock and only knew about it when I had seen a video on 1up. I downloaded the demo and it sold me big time.

I dont know if I should buy the normal box with the free bioshock face plate from play.com at £39.99 or go for the tin edition from HMV for £39.99 or £35.99 with student discount using my wifes NUS card.
Quote Tulatin 16th August 2007, 13:05
Underwater city? Looks like Aquanox all over again.
Quote Veles 16th August 2007, 14:35
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeMaltor
tropical island -> sounds like Lost, im glad they changed it to underwater

Thought that looks more like Cornwall myself
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