BioShock Creator Discusses "Judas" Story Elements

[T0@st]

Ken Levine (Creative Director, Ghost Story Games), creator of the BioShock series, unpacks how Judas will be an experience where players influence how relationships and the story unfold: "Characters have always been the driving force in every game we've ever made. Whether fighting beneath the ocean to assassinate Andrew Ryan or escaping a city in the sky with Elizabeth, these personalities have always been at the heart of our stories. But what if you could choose between who to befriend and who to stab in the back? With Judas (coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), we wanted to craft an experience where these decisions and how the story unfolds is up to you. Because you, as Judas, are the driver of every event in a story with a new cast of characters to get to know—and change—in ways you haven't experienced before in our games.

In Judas, we give you a whole new world to explore: the corridors of the Mayflower, a spacefaring city whose citizens are trained to spy on one another and tear each other apart for the slightest offense. Where machines control every aspect of business, art, and government. The ship's leaders tried to turn you into something you're not: a model citizen. And you sparked a devastating revolution to tear it all down. Do you want to fix what you broke or leave it all to burn? That's a decision only you can make."




A disintegrating starship. A desperate escape plan.

You are the mysterious and troubled Judas. Your only hope for survival is to make or break alliances with your worst enemies. Will you work together to fix what you broke—or will you leave it to burn?

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[claylomax]

Cannot wait.

 

[Double-Click]

YES. I am so ready for this.

 

[THU31]

So Ken Levine created a new studio to make something other than BioShock. I guess that plan didn't work out, which is good news.

 

[b1k3rdude]

If this is anything like BS, as in a story rich SP game then this should be brilliant.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Yeah this is 100% Bioshock *IN SPACE* (Sorry Prey 2017) which is alright.

Levine clearly has found his niche, if he can make money on it then more power to him.

 

[c2DDragon]

Cannot wait.

I just can add :

Cannot wait.

 

[ZoneDymo]

idk man... I mean I HATED Infinite... which Kevin was the lead on while Bioshock 2 (which I thought was fine, not as good as the first but fine non the less, good addition) he did not work on...
But het did also work on Bioshock 1 and System Shock 2 which are both excellent, but my worries is just that his most recent project, again, was infinite....

soooo yeah, we will see.

also that title image with the girl reminds me of Soma/System Shock, lets hope that means something for this one.


EDIT: the actual trailer reminds me depressingly enough far too much of Infinite, the style, the message, the enemies and even the story "fix what you broke" and its called "Judas"....I feel im going to hate this one.

 

[Sithaer]

idk man... I mean I HATED Infinite... which Kevin was the lead on while Bioshock 2 (which I thought was fine, not as good as the first but fine non the less, good addition) he did not work on...
But het did also work on Bioshock 1 and System Shock 2 which are both excellent, but my worries is just that his most recent project, again, was infinite....

soooo yeah, we will see.

also that title image with the girl reminds me of Soma/System Shock, lets hope that means something for this one.


EDIT: the actual trailer reminds me depressingly enough far too much of Infinite, the style, the message, the enemies and even the story "fix what you broke" and its called "Judas"....I feel im going to hate this one.

I loved Infinite, its arguably in my top 10 fav games of all time. 'Finshed it 2 times but I've also finished BS 1 and 2 once and while those were good its still Infinite that I like the most'
So ye this game is def on my list now.

 

[Lionheart]

Yeah this is 100% Bioshock *IN SPACE* (Sorry Prey 2017) which is alright.

Levine clearly has found his niche, if he can make money on it then more power to him.

Prey is better than alright it's frigging awesome & underrated!

 

[NC37]

So, guess I'm the only one that looks at the description of the story and it just sounds like more of the same. Rehashing the same elements from Bioshock except in space. Tweak a little here and there, rinse and repeat. Reminds me of CoD.

 

[Denver]

Lady Gaga - Judas (Official Music Video) - YouTube

I understood the logic just by glancing at the first image lol

 

[ZoneDymo]

I loved Infinite, its arguably in my top 10 fav games of all time. 'Finshed it 2 times but I've also finished BS 1 and 2 once and while those were good its still Infinite that I like the most'
So ye this game is def on my list now.

cannot conceive of the mind, the story with the multiple worlds is just so lame, the "big twist" you see coming from MILES away....and that betrayal on how the world functions....like the first time you enter the sky city adn you see those stores coming in and going, that is cool and interesting and logical...then when you play the game its nothing like that all, all effort is dropped after the fare...its like that was for the demo to reel you into the disappointment that is the actual game.

the bioshock dlc for it was ok enough but man....christ!

 

[Sithaer]

cannot conceive of the mind, the story with the multiple worlds is just so lame, the "big twist" you see coming from MILES away....and that betrayal on how the world functions....like the first time you enter the sky city adn you see those stores coming in and going, that is cool and interesting and logical...then when you play the game its nothing like that all, all effort is dropped after the fare...its like that was for the demo to reel you into the disappointment that is the actual game.

the bioshock dlc for it was ok enough but man....christ!

Thats entirely the opposite of how I look at the game and gaming in general. 'yeh I've had my clashes about this with ppl in the past and that wont change I guess..'
When I game I'm not trying to make sense of anything and I just let myself be the part of the game's world/fiction and for me Infinite was amazing in that regard +I loved the interaction with Elizabeth/her character in the story.

 

[Guwapo77]

Wooahhh, "Eat the Cookie" does NOT mean eat the actual cookie. I can't believe they got this up there like that. hahah

 

[ZoneDymo]

Thats entirely the opposite of how I look at the game and gaming in general. 'yeh I've had my clashes about this with ppl in the past and that wont change I guess..'
When I game I'm not trying to make sense of anything and I just let myself be the part of the game's world/fiction and for me Infinite was amazing in that regard +I loved the interaction with Elizabeth/her character in the story.

idk how you can enjoy a story with that mindset, you have to store things in your mind, you have to remember and have to make conclusions....which then can lead to insulting end results, but whatever, you do you.

 

[kapone32]

The Racism was a huge turn off for me in Infinite.

 

[MarsM4N]

The Racism was a huge turn off for me in Infinite.

Well, some are just too weak to swallow the bitter pill of reality. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana

BioShock Infinite forces players to confront racism (hands-on preview)

In BioShock Infinite, developer Irrational Games presents a nuanced experience of 1912 U.S. race relations.

venturebeat.com

 

[kapone32]

Well, some are just too weak to swallow the bitter pill of reality. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana

BioShock Infinite forces players to confront racism (hands-on preview)

In BioShock Infinite, developer Irrational Games presents a nuanced experience of 1912 U.S. race relations.

venturebeat.com

Games are not supposed to be reality but an escape from such. There was no need to insert that social aspect of American life to make the Game good. I enjoyed the Mechanics. I also do not play GTA because of the way it stereotypes groups but I come from a time where the Arcade was king and fun was the selling point, like Redout 2 or AMS2.

 

[Sithaer]

idk how you can enjoy a story with that mindset, you have to store things in your mind, you have to remember and have to make conclusions....which then can lead to insulting end results, but whatever, you do you.

After finishing Infinite it kept me brainstorming for days actually so ye I do think about conclusions and whatnot but I know that a game is a game and I threat it as such same as movies.
I've been gaming since my elementary school years and now I'm close to 35 and I still enjoy games all the same with this mindset so yeah I will keep at it thanks. 'non story based games I play for other reasons obviously but at the end of the day its entertainment really, I aint playing games to be nitpicky about every detail and whatnot'
Also what kapone32 said.

 

[RogueSix]

Yeah, this will be wait & see. I loved the first two BioShocks but hated Infinite for various reasons including its consolitis. Prey was a pretty good game (way overpraised by some people imo). I will take a wait and see approach with regard to Judas. If (user) reviews are positive, I will probably buy it on sale one day as I have a huge backlog.

 

[AusWolf]

city whose citizens are trained to spy on one another and tear each other apart for the slightest offense. Where machines control every aspect of business, art, and government

Why does that sound awfully familiar?

Anyway, I'm sure it'll be an interesting game.

 

[[crs]]

Looking forward to it, really enjoyed the original Bioshock and Infinite (never played 2)

 

[Shou Miko]

Looking forward to it, really enjoyed the original Bioshock and Infinite (never played 2)

Oh you should I completed the original Bioshock and Infinite when they were released years after I played Bioshock 2.

They are all this really good games in their own rights and it all starts with a lighthouse.

 

[ZoneDymo]

After finishing Infinite it kept me brainstorming for days actually so ye I do think about conclusions and whatnot but I know that a game is a game and I threat it as such same as movies.
I've been gaming since my elementary school years and now I'm close to 35 and I still enjoy games all the same with this mindset so yeah I will keep at it thanks. 'non story based games I play for other reasons obviously but at the end of the day its entertainment really, I aint playing games to be nitpicky about every detail and whatnot'
Also what kapone32 said.

Well then what are we talking about now, again, I say the story is bad, that you see the conclusion, the big reveal from a mile away and the whole multiple worlds thing is SUCH a turn off, how can it not be, it means NON of it matters, it might as well ended with a "it was just a dream"...would you have still enjoyed it then? and if so...why?

and what could you have possible been brainstorming about, the stuff that wasnt actually explained perhaps? which would be a waste of time because the writers apparently never figured it out anyway....
Its like how Mass Effect's writing team was fired between every entry and thus the end of it all is a convoluted mess of nonsense....

But I dont understand this reaction when you previous reaction to me pointing out the problems was:
"When I game I'm not trying to make sense of anything and I just let myself be the part of the game's world/fiction"

so when you game you dont care about the story at all, you dont try to make sense of it, you just let it happen....but then when its over you suddenly do? and then you dont care enough that its just awful that you still enjoy the game?

I dont combine these mindsets, either you care and somehow do not think its dogsh!t which I cannot combine with 35 years on this planet with all the media you (could have) consumed already....OR you dont care but then why would you be thinking about it later.....

I mean seriously, if you play any kinda weird game that tries to create this mystery and the answer to the mystery is "time travel, clones, aliens, multiple worlds or it was all a dream" it just sucks to start with, its so basic, so done to death and such a weak and easy answer....

Bioshock and System shock actually had some decent writing, heck you could say that Bioshock kinda pulled the same twist but just done much better and much more grounded, "would you kindly" was a legendary reveal.

whatever, rantings of an old man who has to come to terms with the fact that they are no longer the target audience because "writers" take the easy path and appeal to 12 year olds who dont know any better rather then putting in some effort.