The choice of endings in BioShock was seen by many as the main weakspot of the game.
In a recent interview with
GameSpot, Ken Levine has admitted that the multiple endings to the game weren't his idea. The black and white endings were seen by many as a weak point for a game which focused on trying to pose moral choices to players and lead designer Ken Levine knows it.
"
It was never my intention to do two endings for the game. It sort of came very late and it was something that was requested by somebody up the food chain from me.
"
One of the reasons I was opposed to multiple endings is I never want to do things that have multiple digital outcomes, versus analog outcomes. I want to do it like the weapons system in the combat in BioShock. There are a million different things you can do in every combat; you can play it a million different ways. Looking into the future for the franchise, that's something I want to [figure out], that by the time you get to the ending of that choice path, you have a sense of your impact on the world through lots of little permutations rather than like a giant ending piece, if you follow my meaning."
Oh, like the
Fallout games then? Sorry Ken, but it's already been done.
Fallout 2 perfected the idea of branching endings long before
BioShock was
a twinkle in your eye.
The matter of how to write an ending to a shooter like
BioShock ties in nicely with our recurring feature on video game writing and design,
one of which focused on FPS games. The next instalment will be out soon and will examine the adventure game genre, with interviews from some of the leading figures in the industry. Keep your eyes peeled!
In the mean time, you can head to
the forums and discuss
BioShock a little more and tell us what you thought of the endings - but be sure to use the spoiler tags!
6 Comments
Discuss in the forums Replytwo minutes worth of video of little girls jumping on the baddy regardles of what you did then adding pictures of you either holding their hand or jumping on a sub is just not good enough
Still, it was a bit more satisfying then the ending of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and it was encouragement to play thorough it again to see the other outcome.
I did expect better from Bioshock though, the ending felt a rather like a token gesture, and i felt that the outcome didn't match the spirit in which i was playing the game.
That sounds a little harsh. Why does it matter that fallout did it before if it is a better system? He didn't claim it was an original idea, at least not in the extract you have in your article.
See, the big problem is moral...
Am i a bad person to molester a ingame child? Do others see me as a sick child sucking monster when i will choose the "bad" option. Or do people find me soft, a whimp, gay when choosing the "helping" option. A good person (like me) will choose the "helping" option. But if i see, for example, my brother choose the "bad" option and beat the crap out of little girls without even a wink. Does this mean he is a bad person?
food for deeper thoughts..
Just poking fun, no offense intended to him. Levine is a hero of mine!
:D