Let's Talk Games

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Transcript for “BioShock 2 Developer Chat”, Tues Feb 2 2010 (Part I)

Aaron-GS: Good evening and welcome to our BioShock 2 developer chat! Tonight we have with us Jordan, Melissa and Zak from 2K Marin.

Aaron-GS: This chat is queued and moderated, so please allow the developers some time to review and respond to your questions.

Aaron-GS: Please also refrain from asking complex, multi-part questions to be fair to other participants.

Jordan-2kMarin: Hi. I'm Jordan, and I'll try to refrain from asking flattering questions to myself.

Zak-2kMarin: Hey everybody! Really cool to get the chance to talk to actual Bioshock fans -- looking forward to you questions. Fire away. Give Jordan the hard ones.

Melissa-2kMarin: Hey all - I'm Miller and I'm less funny than Jordan and Zak

Guest-12: To all three: What would you say is your favorite aspect of Bioshock 2?

Melissa-2kMarin: I think my favorite part of the game is watching players discover new combinations of Weapons and Plasmids in Multiplayer (MP). There are so many different ways you can use the Plasmids in the match to help you win like using Winter Blast on doorways to block players from escaping you.

Guest-66: Is there multiplayer?

Melissa-2kMarin: Yes

Guest-27: Hi guys! Thanks for this awesome opportunity. How will the matchmaking system in multiplayer work? ie. will it have a local search or pick whoever has the better connection, regardless of distance?

Jordan-2kMarin: For me it's probably the extension of the argument about player choice (particularly within shooters) that the original posed. In BioShock 2, not only do you have the freedom to make story-altering decisions, but that freedom defines you. So by Act 3, the broad strokes of the story are all about you.

Melissa-2kMarin: Matchmaking takes 3 things into account - ping, skill level and your Rank in game. The system tries to match you with other players with similar values for those 3 things. Additionally we have Private Matches so you can play with your friends regardless of differences in Rank but you won't earn ADAM to rank up.

Guest-59: Geez, idk what to ask. hmm. I know! Thanks for making a great game! Will there still be houdini splicers? :3

Zak-2kMarin: Yep, we brought the Houdini's back! Plus, we now have that Plasmid in MP, so you can use the same hit-and-run tactics yourself.

Guest-43: What was it like to develop the multiplayer? Was it a challenge considering it's the first time you have made a multiplayer section of a game? (I assume)

Guest-58: Was there more focus on the single player or multiplayer?

Guest-65: how much of a challenge was it to come up with a new creative way to add more in depth story line and game play this time around?

Zak-2kMarin: We actually had full teams working on each portion -- the 2k Marin studio on SP and Digital Extremes on the MP side. The big advantage for this is the BOTH were the main focus, just for different teams. Lot's of communication back and forth, but both sides were primarily concerned with making MP or SP as good as possible.

Guest-45: What was the most difficult part you found when going back to Rapture and creating BioShock 2?

Melissa-2kMarin: MP was a really interesting challenge but in a good way We had to look at all the things that were truly 'BioShock' and figure out which ones worked for MP and which didn't. For instance, you can't have 8 Weapons equipped at once in MP like you do Single Player - trying to choose between that many Weapons would get you **bleep**ed - so we gave the player 2 Weapons slots in each loadout so they can switch between Weapons faster. Also tech wise, MP wasn't even part of the engine when we started. The tech team at Digital Extremes did an amazing job of getting MP working and making it great.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-65 ... a big fat drug-addled screaming one. We had sort of a two-audience challenge this time, building new unknown territory into the Rapture mythos for veterans of the original, while introducing the setting to people who were unfamiliar. So our best strategy is the sort of double-entendre, i.e. the introductory levels serve as a crash course in Rapture, but they're filled with references and layered meaning for people who know the first game intimately.

Zak-2kMarin: Trying to recapture that first feeling of discover and mystery that we all got from coming over that sea wall and seeing Rapture for the first time. It's a hard act to follow, but we really focused on trying to get that mix of wonder and foreboding back into Rapture, without totally rebooting it.

Guest-74: As Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy clearly influenced and formed the basis of Rapture in the first game, can we expect to see any other philosphical viewpoints explored in the second iteration? Obviously without spoilers

Guest-12: Can we expect secret achievements besides the story specific ones?

Guest-14: Who gets to wear the Delta suit that was supposed to come in the Uber edition? Like is it the same person at the Splicer's Unite and the video of unboxing the collector edition, or is it shared? (As well as how fun is it to be wearing it)

Jordan-2kMarin: Dr. Sofia Lamb, our primary antagonist in BioShock 2, is sort of a union between philosophy and evolutionary psychology. To get an idea of how her mind works, check out the works of John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, and Richard Dawkins.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-12... Yep, there are a ton of secret achievments and trophies! Some of them are focuses on totally mastering specific systems or gameplay, but there are some other ones that just reward clever or interesting behavior -- Like the famous "Irony" achievement from Bio1.

Jordan-2kMarin: (also, if you do so, congratulations, you're a nerd)

Guest-84: Is there one underwater section, or are there multiple ones throughout the game?

Jordan-2kMarin: There are several of varying lengths, which help break the pace.

Guest-35: What system should i get it for!Trick question lol! DLC will 360 get before ps3!

Jordan-2kMarin: I think Guest-35 may be a splicer.

Zak-2kMarin: We recomend you get them all.

Guest-39: Compared to the development of Bioshock 1, which was originally for Xbox 360 and PC before being ported to Playstation 3, this time around you've obviously developed the game from the beginning across all three consoles. Did this cause any issues/ limitations between versions?

bnogradi28: I am very well informed about BioShock 2 due to many previews. So my question is about beyond BioShock 2's release, the DLC. Can you give us info about this. Are you panning on having challenge rooms like the first or added story? And, will Digital Extremes be producing any DLC for the multiplayer like skins and maps? (PS loved the first, I be in line at midnight!)

Elizabeth-2k: There are a couple different people who have worn the Delta suit - and yes, it's very fun to wear it (although the drill is very heavy and quite intimidating as you can imagine.)

Guest-86: Did multiplayer have a story from the beginning, or was it a decision that was made much later in development?

Jordan-2kMarin: Story integration was always part of the design, but setting it in the 1959 Rapture Civil War sort of emerged over time.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-39 ... It was actually pretty smooth. We had the experience from porting Bioshock 1 over to PS3 at the studio and nearly everybody has all three platforms sitting on their desks. We're constantly running the game on all three.

Melissa-2kMarin: bnogradi28 - Yes we will have DLC!!! But we unfortunately can't talk about the specific details right now.

Guest-82: One of my favourite parts of the game was the audio diaries and ghostly images that appeared in places will there still be the same quantity of diaries/strange events?

Guest-32: Who is responsible for the development of Something In The Sea?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-82 - We have a similar density of those kinds of events in BioShock 2, if anything, there may be a few more audio diaries per level, and unlike the original, you meet several of our main characters face to face.

Melissa-2kMarin: Something in the Sea is the awesome brainchild of our community manager Elizabeth Tobey

Guest-85: Can we in Boston expect anything else for Splicers Unite? Do you guys have anything planned for PAXEast in March?

topdawg116: Hi, I'm a student studying at Rochester Institute of Technology majoring in Game Design & Development. I was wondering if you had any tips or secrets of being successful in the games industry. Thanks!

Elizabeth-2k: Splicers Unite has moved west - our last event is happening on February 8th in San Francisco.

Guest-59: Will you guys be watching TV for your launch trailer tonight?

Guest-89: can we see Delt's feet if we look down or can we see a refelction of ourself if we look in a mirror?

Guest-42: To all three: Would you say Bioshock 2 multiplayer is competitive enough to lead to tournaments, clan gaming, and even MLG?

Guest-43: For the multiplayer did you take inspiration from other multiplayer games while making it? What kind of ideas did you expand on or bring into the MP that we havent seen before?

Guest-23: Did you plan on meshing the Mark Meltzer plot into any portion of Bisoshock 2?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-23 A - wait and see.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-89... Feet / reflections for Delta is actually something we played around with for a while, but we ultimately made the decision that we wanted to focus on more of the stuff the player would see all the time. Delta does have a shadow at all times, though, which leads to some pretty cool freakouts when you come around a corner and see it looming ahead of you.

Guest-65: How conflicting was it to make a visual point to show andrew ryans side as opposed to sophia lambs side, since the civil war started 3 yrs prior to bs1?

Guest-45: How do you all feel about having worked on this project; it now being such a large influence in so many people's lives?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-65 - well the Single Player component takes you to all-new locations, many of which were either where Lamb's followers were hiding out, or are one of her properties, et cetera. So while we made sure to showcase Ryan's ideas in the intro levels, we sort of circumvented that issue by taking you on a sort of "backstage tour" with the SP campaign.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-45... It's pretty humbling. We've all been heads down on the project for a pretty long time, so coming up for air finally and seeing how big and how excited the response is has been fantastic. Knowing how much every loves the world of Rapture has kept us pretty honest throughout the whole project, though. We can wait to see how people really react to the final game!

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-43 - Definitely. Multiplayer fans know what works and we didn't want players to quit the game before they've even started. We spent a lot of time looking at other successful MP games and pinpointing the aspects that worked (accessible and clear UI to get into matches quickly or connecting with friends easily). We tried to make sure that we provided those elements in BioShock 2 MP. In terms of new ideas, the BioShock gameplay is completely unique to our MP mode. There is nothing else like it out there

Guest-35: Is there going to be a underwater MP level!

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-35 - Well technically they are all underwater But there is no MP underwater combat.

Jordan-2kMarin: She's sassy.

Guest-81: Seeing Heavy Water made an awesome looking Big Daddy costume, can we expect more Bioshock items for PlayStation Home?

Jordan-2kMarin: We haven't announced anything yet so no definitive answer on that one, but if we did, it'd be based on fan response to our fancy duds.

Guest-131: Who would win in a fight: Two Big daddies Vs. One Big Sister?

Guest-149: How much influence was taken from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand? And what other influences added to the story arcs in Bioshock 1 and 2? Such as novels that would be interesting to read and connect to both games.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-149 ... check out the 2k Forums, there's a thread in the BioShock General Discussion area all about reading material that may interest the arch-nerd audience.

Guest-86: I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone for your hard work and dedication! You guys rock!

Melissa-2kMarin: Thank you and thanks to you guys for coming on and asking good questions

Guest-82: In regards to something in the sea will there be any way for us fans of it to play it offline or be able to go through it again to pick up pieces we may have missed or just to be able to run through again at our own pace?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-131 ... This is actually something that you can try out for yourself in the game! (With the Hypnotize Plasmid) My money would probably be on a Big Sis, though. They can heal themselves back up by absorbing health from other Splicers, so Big Sisters can put up a heck of a fight. And she's fast! So, a Big Sis vs. 2 Bouncers would probably end up with the Big Sis standing at the end, but a Big Sis against 2 Rumblers might be a more even fight.

Guest-89: ahhh sad to see that was pulled how about when we use the scout plasmid will we be able to 360 check ourself out aka delta? does he have a 3D model to look at while in ghost/scout mode?

Elizabeth-2k: Something in the Sea will remain online after release - don't worry about that. Every part of it is still there. There's also a fan-run BioShock 2 wiki that has a fantastic timeline if you wanted to use that to catch up.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-89, yes, you can see yourself in ghost form, and boy does he look confident. He looks like he's dating the entire Ryan's Raider's cheerleading squad ... and all the players.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-89 ... Yep, there's a "Dealta Body" left behind when you go Scouting. It's a little ghostly though so that it isn't such a sitting duck for other Splicers to find. The Decoy Plasmid also uses a Delta model!

Nastadon: Did you guys want to get rid of backtracking? Or did it just sort of happen based on the level design?

bnogradi28: Will the desicions in BioShock 2 be more effective into the storyline instead of the harvest or rescue which led to different ending videos. Will there actually be different gameplay depending on descisions. And, would you kindly give me a free UBER edition?

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Transcript for “BioShock 2 Developer Chat”, Tues Feb 2 2010 (Part II)

Aaron-GS: Just a reminder: this chat is queued and moderated, so please allow a few minutes for the developers to review and respond to your questions.

Zak-2kMarin: bnogradi28... It was a pretty major focus for us to have your decisions play back into the story and endgame in a more significant way for Bioshock 2. Your choices with the Litlte Sisters are part of it, but there are bunch of other important choices you can make to affect how the final moments play out. From a gameplay persepective, we don't want to spoil how this stuff plays out mechanically, but you'll see some pretty neat differences in the late game, based on your choices.

Jordan-2kMarin: It was a combination of decisions - very few players actually did it in the first game based on our data. When they did, it was sort of a slog. Removing it allowed us to spend time on much more interesting features that affected the simulation more directly (big systems like Little Sister Adoption, dual wielding, etc). It just wasn't as important to us in the grand development trade-off, although we completely understand that not everyone would agree.

Guest-175: A question to Liz about that amazing Delta suit that was at the Splicers Unite events. Did you always want to make a Delta suit or did other characters such as the Big Sister come into mind?

Jordan-2kMarin: (the above was about backtracking)

Guest-138: Once we harvest all of the ADAM our Little Sisters can find in a level, is there any use of adopting the other sisters in that level, other than morale choices, or do ADAM bodies respawn?

Guest-12: To all three: Who is your favorite multiplayer character?

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-12 - Naledi!

Guest-71: What are some of the changes that you were able to accomplish by sliding the release date back a bit? (And, thank you for such an immersive and groundbreaking gaming experience!)

Elizabeth-2k: Delta is too awesome to *not* make - he's hardcore. (Not that Big Sister isn't, but how can you resist a chance to create that drill?)

Guest-45: Potentially, what would it take for a fan-club to be recognized by 2k as an "official" fanclub?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-138 ... There are actually more bodies in the levels than the number of Gathers you can do with all the Little Sisters in that level, so you shouldn't usually run into that situation. The Little Sisters do "roll over" into the later levels if you miss them early on, so you can eventually run out, if you're really sadbagging on dealing with them. In that case, you can still Adopt them of you want to drop them off at a vent to save them.

Elizabeth-2k: We have one - the Cult of Rapture! www.cultofrapture.com

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-71 - We were actually able to add more modes to MP like ADAM Grab and Turf War. That was a really cool thing for us. And developers always appreciate more time to polish their game

Guest-31: This question has been eating me: Is Sonic Boom making a return? At all? Someone tells me no, and another tells me yes... who better to hear it from than the 2K Marin crew!?

Guest-169: Will the new adoopt option for Little Sisters be at all like the Proving Grounds from Bioshock 1? Meaning you try to protect the Little Sister while waves of Splicers attack?

Guest-166: What kind of unlockables will we see for the multiplayer? Any D.L.C plans for multiplayer?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest 169-A ... no, actually, we're not wild about the escort quest design of that level, or really the whole concept of hard-fail AI escorting in general. Rather, the design is player-centric, meaning when a Sister is Gathering ADAM for you, if splicers get near her they try to grab her, which interrupts her work, and causes the encounter to keep going. Blow away the creep in question and she returns to your work. So if you aren't protecting her, you're going to be overwhelmed and die eventually, but she herself can't die because that's just plain fun cancer.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-31 ... Yeah, we did cut Sonic Boom. Basically, it's core use for players (knocking guys down temporarily) was already being supplied by a bunch of other Plasmids and Weapons or ammo types. For example, Telekinesis 3 actually lets you pick up Splicers directly and throw them around at your whim, and the Solid Slug ammo for the Shotgun consistantly throwns guys down on their butts. Or you could always Drill Dash them.

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-166 - Your BioShock toolset for MP is unlocked through ranking in the Sinclair Solutions Consumer Rewards Program. So Weapons, Plasmids, Gene Tonics, Masks and Melee Weapons are all items that you can unlock as well as Diaries. And we will have DLC - sorry no details at this time on the exact content.

Guest-44: When you were asked to work on this project what were your reactions?

bnogradi28: Is Andrew Ryan a playable multiplayer skin. He's my favorite! "A man follows, a slave obeys"

Guest-74: Me the nerd? I'm not the one making a (brilliant) game centred around philosophy and moral choice The ultimate question: do you believe in games as an art form?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-74 A - Easy. Yes.

Jordan-2kMarin: But I think that in games, more than other mediums ... the art lies between developer and player. It's a lot more subjective. You've got the paintbrush and at least half the pretty colors.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-44 ... The most consistent reaction was probably giddiness. Giddiness mixed with a bit of fear. Pretty much everyone who joined this team was a huge, super-fan of the first game, so it was pretty much a dream job for a lot of us. It's been great to work on a project that is so near and dear to so many people. Really inspiring!

Melissa-2kMarin: bnogradi28 - The Splicers in MP are all new unique characters. They are sometimes fighting for Andrew Ryan in the team based modes (against Atlas). He doesn't take part in the fighting himself.

Guest-158: Question for all of you what kind of splicer do you see yourself as?? also just wanted to give a big Thank You to Liz for the Splicers Unite Boston Event had an awesome time

Zak-2kMarin: Jordan is clearly a Thuggish Toasty.

Jordan-2kMarin: I found her that way.

Zak-2kMarin: Mellisa is probably a Houdini Ladysmith.

Guest-107: Is Delta a character that was mentioned at all in BS1even vaguely or someone new to us entirely? And could you possibly make some dynamic themes for us fans for 360/PS3?

augustphantom: what was the hardest part in creating bioshock 2?

Melissa-2kMarin: I'm definitely a Spider Splicer

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest 107 - he's part of the Protector program, and some sharp fans may notice a few connections, but he wasn't mentioned by name.

Guest-71: Which of the multiplayer melee weapons is your favourite/the most absurd?

Zak-2kMarin: augustphantom ... The hardest thing was probably the weight of everyone's expectations -- including our own. There's so much about the first game that people loved or hated (a lot!), that it could have been really easy to second guess ourselves until the end of time. At the end of the day, the team had to strike off on its own a bit, and I, for one, am pretty proud of the results. Hopefully, you guys will be too!

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-71 - Definitely the football trophy, that is my favorite melee weapon to beat people to death with followed closely by the frying pan. The candlestick makes me think of Clue

Guest-45: So from a previous question, am I understanding this right: Little Sisters have a limited amount of ADAM they can harvest before you decide what you want to do with them?

Guest-140: how long does it take for you to get bored of your own games? its not like you are going to surprise yourself at any point, and seeing it everyday for years before the finished product must be repetative.

Guest-212: Will there be any sort of behind-the-scenes look at Something in the Sea when it's all over?

Elizabeth-2k: I haven't decided that yet - possibly!

Guest-82: In BS1 the big daddy rumble from round a corner was clearly one of the most welcome and feared noises in the game will BS2 have a similar trademark sound that will have us jumping out of our seats in anticipation or fear?

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-82 - the Big Sister screech

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-140 ... I take it as a good sign that even without the dev team being able to be surprised on the narrative front, the game is a simulation with tons of really dramatic inputs, we can't predict how any given fight is going to play out exactly, we still make ourselves laugh with all the ways in which splicers end their short, silly lives. The other day I managed to catch one in an explosion and he made this perfect arc through the air, plunging past the balcony I was on, shrieking a final "I LOVE YOU"

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-45 ... Yep. You can only Gather twice with each Little Sister you adopt before she gets a bit sleepy and needs to be dropped off at a vent. We played around with larger numbers earlier in development and a lot of "completist" players felt like they had to exhaustively search the whole level for bodies every time they adopted. 2 ended up being the best compromise -- you get to spend some time defending your new little ward, but it doesn't derail you from the rest of the game for too long. Naturally, there are still several Little Sisters in most areas.

Guest-85: What is your favorite plasmid/weapon combo in Multiplayer?

bnogradi28: Will I see Andrew Ryan at all in the game, I really miss that poor fella, I hate golf clubs because of you guys. lol jk

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-85 - Using Insect Swarm to blind other players then hammering them with a couple of grenades from the Grenade Launcher and then finishing them off with Geyser Trap

Jordan-2kMarin: bnogradi28 - He's dead now, but he returns as a rotting animatronic in the Ryan Amusements level, lurching back and forth like a crack-addled Abe Lincoln and belting out all his hate for the weak and the grasping. There's a lot of Ryan talkin' in the game, for those who will sit and listen, or ferret out the audio diaries he left behind.

Zak-2kMarin: bnogradi28 ... Andrew Ryan ... Man, that guy is ALL OVER Rapture. It's pretty hard to make a Bioshock 2 and not have him still be a huge presence in the world and in the minds of the citizens of Rapture. Ryan fans will find plenty of traces of him all over Bioshock 2. The Ryan Amusements level even has animatronic recreations of him. So you can use Telekinesis to pull of his head and use it as a weapon! Or, uh, listen reverently to his thoughts on objectivism.

Guest-198: The NECA Bioshock 2 figure line can we expect to see more announcements of figures coming out later or any plans to make some characters from the first game?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest 198 - nothing to announce yet, but as with all meta-merchandisin', anything more would follow from overwhelming fan response. We have no idea how many people want more, just yet.

Guest-175: On the 2K forums, there was a suggested reading list posted by Jordan. I have read most of the books on that list and I was wondering, are there any movies that you suggest for us die-hard fans to watch?

Guest-202: How does Mark Meltzer's story tie in to bioshock 2?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-175 - too many to list here, but keep an eye on the 2k Forums, that's been asked a lot there and hopefully I'll have a chance to bang out a reference film & TV list sometime soon

augustphantom: concerning the soundtrack, will it be releaced to the public? and are you very pleased with the soundtrack? i remember that the first was amazing the music worked perfectly.

Zak-2kMarin: Well, we sure don't want to spoil that! But let's just say that people who are looking for some additional info on Meltzer in Bioshock 2 won't be disappointed.

Guest-201: Have you really taken advantage of the PS3s open ended platform for online? Only a few third parties have done this compared to the first party games. And a Bioshock 2 dynamic theme on PS3 would be awesome.

Guest-71: Will we be able to play as all of the multiplayer characters or will we be limited to one at a time? And if we are limited, can we go back and start another when we hit rank 40?

Elizabeth-2k: The Special Edition has the original BioShock soundtrack on an LP (along with a new track) and a CD that has the BioShock 2 score on it - 26 new tracks by Garry Schyman - they are SE exclusives!

Guest-16: Who's idea it was for the Uber Edition video and is he/she getting a raise? It is well deserved.

Elizabeth-2k: That was the product of a very late night and a team that is as crazy as I am and are completely game for everything and anything. And I'll tell them that you think I should get a raise! ;-)

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-71- You can play as any character you want. Your rank is tied to your profile and not the character. So if you were playing as Danny Wilkins (the football player) and feel like something different, you can change to Barbara Johnson for the day and keep all your progress.

Guest-31: When it comes to sitting down and writing a story board, where do you start? How much of the process is brainstorming and how much is individual pitching? You must have had to bounce a lot of ideas around!

Guest-158: will Sometthing in The Sea continue adding new stuff after BS2 launch????

Elizabeth-2k: Guest 158 - You'll just have to wait and see.

Guest-232: Ok i have just one question are you all happy with the final product or are you feeling there could be someting better done with Bioshock 2? Sorry about my English

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-232 ... There are always places you wish you could improvve. One of the hardest parts about making games is knowing when to stop! Beyond that, it's really easy to get to close to it all and end up with "developer-goggles." At this point, we're all just holding our breath to see what the world thinks of our baby. I do wish we had found a place to use the song "Magic Carpet Ride" somewhere in teh game. That would have been great.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-31 - It varies... starts out with group brainstorming, and we entertain the most unforgivably dopey ideas ever along with the cream. Then individuals or pairs of partners (a Level Designer and a Level Architect) will go off and work on one of the ideas that made it through the cull, and pitch it back to the leads group. Some of them become story boards, others become paper maps with furious scribbles all over them (you can see some in the special edition art book, actually, shameless plug) ... and finally we settle down and start building stuff, which is when we have to be more cautious about Thick Meaty New Plans.

BioshockBigdad: Im so glad and can talk to you guys that I love you all for bringing Bioshock back, and I would like to know how many game modes are in mutiplayer and if you can name me them and what you must do unless you can't tell me that then its all good. you rock Jordan Thomas but the rest of you do too.

Guest-42: what role did 2k australia play in development?

Guest-227: Since the game is set 10 years after the first game, when you were picking the songs for Bioshock 2, did you think that it was going to change from the Big Band and Great American Songbook-era of the '40s to the British Invasion and Psychedelic Scene of the late '60s?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-227 - we considered a lot of different treatments for the licensed fare, but didn't want it to end up too schizophrenic, so instead we focused on some themes of prejudice, social ostracism, and religion which would have angered Ryan but were being played illicitly in areas where Lamb was popular.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Transcript for “BioShock 2 Developer Chat”, Tues Feb 2 2010 (Part III)

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-42 ... 2K Aus is basically Marin's sister studio. They did a ton over the course of the project ... tech, levels, animation, effects, the whole shebang. We were really lucky to work with them again, because they were so close to the first game. The Siren Alley and Fontaine Futuristics levels were primarily done out of Aus (including that awesome flooding sequence we showed in Siren Alley). We [heart] 2K Australia!

Melissa-2kMarin: BioshockBigdad - There are 7 modes in MP - 5 base modes plus 2 variations. The 5 base modes are Survivial of the Fittest (FFA), Civil War (TDM), Capture the Sister (variation of CTF), Turf War (Control territory points) and ADAM Grab (hold onto the Little Sister the longest). The 2 variations are Last Splicer Standing and Team ADAM Grab.

Guest-85: "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?" Is Bioshock2 as quotable as the first? Answer quickly, "would you kindly." Thanks a lot for answering our questions!

Guest-212: Were there any specific other viral campaigns that Something in the Sea was inspired by?

Guest-45: Will there be any liquor/snacks lying around Rapture for Delta to consume this time around, and will they have the same effects?

Guest-71: Do you guys think you will do a "Game With the Developers" thing? I remember hearing that one was done for Left 4 Dead 2 and thought it would be neat to go head to head in multiplayer with the creators!

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-71 - that would be cool to do though I would probably get my **bleep** kicked

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-85 - actually, only the Internet can answer that question. Wait a few months after release, and see if anyone's quoting Little Sisters in debate class, then posting on AngryJerk.com in triumph.

Elizabeth-2k: Guest 212: There were quite a few that inspired me - you can probably guess a few. I'm a pretty big nerd and love this kind of stuff, so I had a lot to draw on. With a world as rich as BioShock 2, though, you have so much material to work with to begin with.

Guest-175: Rapture, it's full of not only Art Deco but multiple art forms. To what lengths did the artists go to develop such beautiful areas?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-45 ... Yep -- there's still a lot to eat and drink down in Rapture. All those Splicers have to live somehow. We actually added a bunch of new ones that the citizens had to resort to over ten years at the bottom of the sea -- distilled water, homemade medicine, and the like. These have some similar effects to Bioshock 1 -- restoring a bit of Eve or Health.

bnogradi28: Is there any minecarts in the game?

Zak-2kMarin: bnogradi28 ... Almost! We couldn't geta real minecart in, or a snowy level where you slip around and have to race a penguin, but Ryan Amusements does have little mini-bathyspheres that ride around on tracks for the Journey to the Surface ride in that area.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-175 - we have a healthy balance of fine art snobs and bearded, shirtless Outsider Art nutjobs who paint exclusively with anger. For reference, they'd pull from the more fantastical hybrid tech of something like Brazil, to very detailed books about corporate logos of the 30s ... all the way to footage of the Titanic wreck.

Guest-149: Will all the weapons/plasmids from Bioshock be making a return?

Guest-192: Does BioShock 2 have many "jump" moments? Like in med pavilion where the thuggish Dr. Grossman appears behind you after you look at the painting?

BioshockBigdad: Im hearing alot about Lamb the main evil villian in Bioshock 2 but are there anymore lead villians that you can inform me about?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-192... Heck, yes. That kind of "cat in the bushes" scare moment is a classic and something level designers love to pack into their levels when you're not looking. Rapture's still a dangerous place and they'll be plenty of surprises LIEK RIGHT BEHINGD YOU AGAEIDGSDN

Jordan-2kMarin: We've got to hold some back for Scooby Doo reveals.

Guest-202: can we chose conversation responses to ai characters? or is

Chronic_Alchemy: One more thing! What's the max amount of kits & Eve you can carry in Single Player? So far it only looks like 5... :[

Zak-2kMarin: Chronic_Alchemy ... Yep, the default number of First Aid and Eve Hypos you can carry was lowered to 5, but they restore more when you use them. We wanted to capture a bit of the "strength" of being a Big Daddy by having you be a bit more durable and not have to heal quite as often. You'll still be doing it plenty thought -- Brute Splicers and Big Sisters pack a punch. Oh, and there are Tonics you can find / purchase that raise this number.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-202 - there are no dialogue trees in BioShock, we want to keep you immersed, and slowing you down to lock verbal horns with a guy like Andrew Ryan would really kind of ruin the intended pace & momentum of the piece. We're not by any means elitist about them in other games, they just don't fit the bill for BioShock.

Guest-87: How does a Big Daddy go about eating? Delta in particular.

Guest-127: Hey, will there be more upclose visits with characters in Bio 2 like meeting Andrew Ryan than in 1? Thanks.

Zak-2kMarin: It's really messy. You don't really want to know. Actually, we were really, REALLY close to having a audio diary in the game on this exact subject, but we decided it was too rich, too deep of a mystery to spoil.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-127 - Yes, several more. We put a lot of effort into those, although they're not frequent enough to become annoying. They're kind of apex confrontation moments w/ key characters.

FrenchRapture: Hello! ( I'm a French fan ) In the collector, why did you choose a vynil? It's a very old support...

Guest-85: Last question for me: Is the launch trailer (debuting tonight) going to be the opening cinematic of the game?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-85 - no.

Jordan-2kMarin: :0

Jordan-2kMarin: The intro is its own animal.

Zak-2kMarin: FrenchRapture ... There are record players all over Rapture and it seemed like the most fitting format to deliver the soundtrack on. So far, people have been pretty excited about it!

Guest-255: What is the main language Bioshock 1/2 were programmed in? What languges would you reccomend learning for a student heading to the games industry?

Guest-158: Will there be funny Easter Eggs like the Pacman "Wheel of Cheese" from BS1

Zak-2kMarin: The game is mostly written in C++. This is pretty standard accross the industry, so you can't go wrong with a solid foundation in it. Good luck!

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-158: The real question is, how many of them are genuinely intended, and how many do you guys just make up in your heads, allowing us to later say, "nudge wink oh yeah we're super clever"

Guest-149: Will all the weapons and plasmids from the first Bioshock be making a return?

Guest-123: Was there any one thing in BioShock that you thought, "Oh! I'd love to do more/learn more about that!" that you were able to add into BioShock 2?

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-123 - I was always interested in humanizing the warped father-bond between Big Daddies and Little Sisters. It became the player's core (initial,anyway) motive for crossing the city, his mission in life. Our themes touch pretty heavily on family in a broad way.

Guest-266: will you guys join the multiplayer with us to once the game is released?

Guest-175: Voice acting question! (I'm running out of ides >.<) From what I understand, Ken the clown's voice is actually Ken Levine. If anyone of you could have voice acted in BioShock 2, what would you have been? (Personally, I see Jordan as a book critique, Zak as a shoe shiner, Melissa as a artist and Liz as a scientist ^_^)

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-175 - this is only a partial answer, but I actually do have a single line in BioShock 2. It'll be interesting to see if the fans can figure out which.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-149 ... Except for Sonic Boom, all the original Plasmids are returning in some form, though they all level up as you buy upgrades and some of them change pretty substantially in funcition. Basically, everyone who played Bio1 has ONE Plasmid that was their favorite and we knew we couldn't leave anyone out in the cold. Weapons are a bit trickier -- because you're a Big Daddy now, a lot of the more traditional weapons from Bioshock 1 didn't make a lot of sense. (Subject Delta would look a bit silly holding a pistol.) Beyond that, we really wanted to free up you left hand, so that you could use weapons and Plasmids at the same time, so all weapons had to be designed to work one handed and fit with a Big Daddy. That said, I think we've got a good enough spread of weapon types (and a bunch of great new Alternate Ammo types) that you won't be missing Jack's weapon set. And if you do, most of them are in multiplayer.

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-266 - I don't know if we will have any official event but I definitely plan on playing at home when the game comes out to see what crazy combos people come up with

Guest-45: Going off of my previous question regarding liquor and snacks: does this mean we have the pleasure of seeing a drunken big daddy?

BioshockBigdad: Is there a person in side of the big daddy suit I always wondered about this. lol i guess a dumb question BUT I MUST KNOW.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-45 ... Subject Delta's tolerance is a bit higher,but yeah, you can be a drunk Daddy.

Jordan-2kMarin: BioshockBigdad - yes, we can say definitively (now, as it's sort of central to our story) that Big Daddies were once human, and in BioShock 2, you're sort of a man trapped inside a monster, questing to recover your sole human connection.

Guest-192: If i remember right, there was a plane in one of the preveiw videos? Was that a referance or something else?

Guest-202: are there any ways i can get the tracks from the vinyl on my se in any other way? i really want to listen to them but have no way to play it. allthough i agree it fits the game.

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-192 ... Good catch! We kind of like to leave things like that for the fans to decide, but you can probably make some safe assumptions there.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-202 - the original game's score is available in the Download section of the Cult of Rapture site. Those are the tracks on the vinyl. The BioShock 2 score is also in the SE, on a CD.

Guest-224: Hello again! Do you think a multilayer mode big daddy fight? For an example, big daddy fight or team big daddy fight? Thank you.And i didn't see my first question replied If i'm wrong sorry

Guest-71: Do the various vending machines still make music and the occasional comment?

Guest-87: Which character do each of you relate to the most?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-71 ... For a while, the Ammo Bandito did not talk. And there was MUTINY on the team. Both he and the Circus of Values clown are back, but they're a little worse for wear after all that time.

Jordan-2kMarin: For me it'd probably be Sinclair. Lamb voices a lot of utilitarian ideas I'm interested in, but I'm way, way too selfish to live them the way she does. Sinclair is a moral relativist, like most of us... he's self-interested but not predatory ... has a soft spot for humanity and doesn't begrudge them their shortcomings. He's just, uh, willing to cross several lines I'd probably stop short of.

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-224 - You are able to play as a Big Daddy (the Rosie model) in many of the modes and fight with the rest of Splicers. Playing as a Big Daddy is a very different experience - you are a lot slower and have less combat choices but you are much more powerful than the average Splicer. For balance reasons, its best to have 1 at time in the match

Guest-254: Will we get to see some sane people in Rapture? I heard there were rumors about the splicers having **bleep**ed all of them in the first Bioshock game and I'm assuming that ten years later, they're pretty much non-existant.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-254 - Yep, several of our major characters are unspliced this time around.

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-87 - I relate most to an MP character - Naledi. She's a total tomboy and swears a lot

Zak-2kMarin: Oh good one.

Guest-149: Now I have to ask specifically, will we see the Crossbow again? Or just in multiplayer? Thanks for the answer regarding weapons. And thanks to all of ya'll for asnwering questions.

Jordan-2kMarin: We're gonna have to coerce Melissa into dressing as Naledi at some Splicers Unite event.

Guest-192: Are there new vending machines or are they just the same?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-192 and Guest-271 ... We did play around with adding new machines or changing the Ammo Bandito / Circus of Values for a while, but they were just such iconic parts of Rapture to everyone that we couldn't get them out of the game.

Guest-231: Are the invent machines returning for Bioshock 2?

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-149 - The crossbow does return in MP. For SP it couldn't really work since its too small for Delta. Instead he gets this kick-**bleep** Speargun that is AWESOME. You can headshot Splicers into the wall and leave them their as a trophy to your skills. That's not to say the Crossbow in MP isn't awesome too

Guest-266: will the 2kmarin staff celebrate once the game is released? a big party ?

Jordan-2kMarin: More of an afterparty. First, the blood orgy.

Guest-254: Will we get some more background information on Tenenbaum and her life with the rest of the Little Sisters prior to the events of Bioshock 2?

H00n: When a player hits max level in multiplayer, what happens next? Will they be able to "prestige"?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-231 ... The U-Invent and the crafting system that went along with it is one of the few things that we did cut from Bioshock 1. We had so many other improvements / changes (New Hacking / New Research / Plasmid Upgrades / New Weapons / Etc.) that there just wasn't room to give the U-Invent the time it needed to get into the game. It's not something we did lightly, but there is still plenty of good stuff to loot and find in Rapture. Just a lot fewer Steel Screws and Rubber Hoses.

Melissa-2kMarin: H00n - something really cool that is spoileriffic and can't be revealed

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-254 - A little bit, although Tenenbaum is very focused in her return to the city. She sees the creation of new Little Sisters as the ultimate traumatic echo, her own greatest sin, repeating again as if nothing was learned.

Guest-45: Is there any talk in BioShock 2 regarding a possible reversal of the Big Daddy-ification process?

Guest-12: A question for all three: Harvest, or save?

Zak-2kMarin: Guest-12... I always Save. I'm pretty sure these other two jerks harvest. I think.

Jordan-2kMarin: Guest-45 - Sinclair pitches the idea to the player as a hypothetical. But that's as much as we can say now.

Melissa-2kMarin: Guest-12 - Save - I like the gifts

Jordan-2kMarin: Harvest or Rescue? Bah. Try Adopt, then suicide, then coldly abandon as they cry outside the Vita-Chamber.

Guest-87: Is Fontaine truly, 100% dead?

Jordan-2kMarin: "BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM! SEE HERE AS I TRY TO TALK LIKE CAGNEY FROM MY SEVENTY MOUUUUUTHS"

Zak-2kMarin: Man, thanks everyone! This has been really cool. Lot's of great (and tough!) questions. Hope you enjoy the game and we'll see you on the forums! (When I get off my butt and start posting, which I TOTALLY will do this week.)

Jordan-2kMarin: Thanks for your questions, all. I dare you to start wearing blue butterflies to work, school, or the exercise yard in your correctional facility.

Melissa-2kMarin: Thanks for all the questions people (sorry we couldn't answer every one of them). Hope to see you all online in MP next week

Elizabeth-2k: Thanks guys! See you on the forums (and in Rapture!)

Aaron-GS: That's all the time we have for this evening! Thank you everyone for being here, and a big thank you to Jordan, Melissa, Zak AND Elizabeth!

Aaron-GS: A transcript of the chat will be posted in the Gaming board in the next 24 hours.

Aaron-GS: Happy gaming!