"Messing up" was crucial - BioShock dev

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 June, 2008

"BioShock should've failed."

BioShock lead programmer Chris Kline has said that "constantly messing up, and pushing dates" is "the only way to make a good game".

Speaking at GDC Paris this week, in comments recorded by Gamasutra, Kline explained that "BioShock should've failed."

"In fact, it did fail a lot, over the course of time," he added, pointing to "big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates".

Kline's contention, however, is that Irrational Games - these days known as 2K Boston - wouldn't have enjoyed so much success without learning things the hard way.

Examples include the need to emphasise the game's first-person shooter credentials - something that only really became clear after its first E3 showing - and a decision early on just to remake System Shock 2 with "all the things that kept it from being financially successful".

Like System Shock 2, BioShock debuted to huge critical acclaim - it currently has a Metacritic average of 96 on both Xbox 360 and PC, which means a lot to publishing types - and became the first shooter in some time to win credit for its narrative as well as its ambitious location and mechanics.

Just last week, an associate professor of classical studies at the University of Connecticut in the US said that BioShock was "capable of the depth of artistic-philosophical expression reached by the Iliad in the Choice of Achilles".

We didn't say exactly that, but it was on the tip of Kristan's tongue throughout his review, probably.

BioShock 2, developed by 2K Marin, is currently in development, while a PS3 version of the original is due out this year.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rayn #1 4 years ago

    Yeah, whatever

  • nickthegun #2 4 years ago

    "We didn't say exactly that"

    Gillen probably did. I was too thick to understand it.

  • Darren #3 4 years ago

    BioShock... whaddagame eh? If all games were that good and so compulsive to play, well I definitely would never have any spare time!!! LOL

  • Eraser #4 4 years ago

    lol Darren. For that very reason I'm happy that 90% of the games out there are utter crap ;-)

  • andromeda #5 4 years ago

    just shut up and make the next one

  • Max_Powers #6 4 years ago

    Already forgot how unique and great an experience playing Bioshock was. Utterly fantastic. More please!

  • Farfarer #7 4 years ago

    "capable of the depth of artistic-philosophical expression reached by the Iliad in the Choice of Achilles"

    I think the key phrase there is capable. Doesn't actually indicate that it actually happened...

  • systems #8 4 years ago

    @Max_Powers. It wasn't a unique experience - it was System Shock 2 all over again, but underwater and not in space. If you want more, find a copy of SS2 for PC (assuming you played the PC version).

    Glad that they've admitted that all they wanted to do was remake it but make money this time.

  • GamerG #9 4 years ago

    Awesome Awesome game

  • kangarootoo #10 4 years ago

    That just makes no sense.

    Yes we all learn by our mistakes, but if you can someohw magically avoid making mistakes and get things right first time, that is better, surely?

    I recall some dude I was reading about in some free paper, waffling on about all the accidents he had had on his scooter in the city. By his mind, this meant he was a great rider because he had learned something new every time. In my book, the cop that never has an accident whilst riding is probably the better rider.

    Bioshock was a great game I might add, but getting there the hard way is hardly to be applauded in principle.

  • bdc #11 4 years ago

    More Bioshock please. I have the 360 version and will buy the PS3 version too just to support the developers and send a message that we need more games like this.

  • HermitArcader #12 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • VMerken #13 4 years ago

    Chris Kline: "big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates"

    I hope the retarded DRM system of the PC version is now also considered to be a "big mistake" rather than a "sign of worse things things to come" (Gears of War, Hellgate: London, Mass Effect, ...).

  • actionfitz #14 4 years ago

    system shock 2 wont play on vista :/
    was able to borrow it off a mate - cant run it :/
    wont even install.
    gutted.
    might persevere and nab an older pc somewhere to play it on.
    :)

  • diz93 #15 4 years ago

    @bdc

    If that's how you feel, please send me a copy of the next 360 Bioshock while you're at it (supporting the developers, that is).

    It was a truly great game - I think it was a milestone for that elusive "interactive experience", where films and games meet.

  • mikeck #16 4 years ago

    "I have the 360 version and will buy the PS3 version too just to support the developers and send a message that we need more games like this."

    Well that's a good reason to buy the game again, but of course the best reason is because it's going to add the downloadable content from xbox live into the game, and add an extra level and some extra content.

  • mikeck #17 4 years ago

    "Bioshock was good for one play through, after that it becomes the most boring game ever created for some reason. "

    Fair enough, however I'm playing through the game for the second time, and loving it all over again! I'm taking my time, fully exploring the maps, and trying new tactics etc.

    I concede I'm not looking forward to the damn escort mission again, as that was a pain in the ass, but I'm half way through and loving every second!

  • ChthonicEcho #18 4 years ago

    "BioShock should've failed."

    It did.

    It was the most overrated game in video gaming history, too.

  • kangarootoo #19 4 years ago

    yawn

  • Nikanoru #20 4 years ago

    I could barely finish the game once out of boredom, let alone twice. God it was so repetitive. From the third level onward, you'd basically seen everything there was to see, the only reason I continued was because I didn't know it at the time. I swear, bosses that are just the same old splicer with a bit more health? How the hell does anyone play this all the way and not get bored? I don't understand. Maybe people who do are looking for a book more than a game?

  • CunningLinguist #21 4 years ago

    Sorry but Bioshock failed to scare me in the same way System Shock 2 did. Maybe I've just gotten older, but I remember having to stop playing SS2 for days just cause I was so scared I'd get hit with a wrench over the head by some crazed zombie sneaking behind me.

  • sirtacos #22 4 years ago

    It's not 'just' about the scares, as the poster above me implies... even though BioShock has its fair share of them. And suspense. And excitement. And awe. And so on.

    BioShock was a masterpiece. It is the only video game that (IMO) has managed to transcend its medium to become much more than a game.
    Actually, the gameplay - as great as it is - is only a vehicle. A vehicle for a rebuttal to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. BioShock - an argument against objectivism - could have been a philosophical novel or treatise. Instead, they made one of the best games ever.
    Edited by 1 at 24/06/08 @ 20:19

  • goodshape #23 4 years ago

    I made what turned out to be a big mistake and decided to play SystemShock2 for the first time while waiting for BioShock to come out.

    LOVED SS2 but Bioshock turned out to be far too much of the same thing, only with prettier graphics and less of everything else (scares, suspense, excitement, awe, etc.). And much easier.

    I mean, it's *impossible* to die in that game. Wtf?

  • Nikanoru #24 4 years ago

    Actually, the gameplay - as great as it is - is only a vehicle. A vehicle for a rebuttal to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. BioShock - an argument against objectivism - could have been a philosophical novel or treatise. Instead, they made one of the best games ever.


    See? SEE? These people don't want a game, they want a book!

    Bioshock was just another FPS (with a few gimmicks), and a mediocre one at that.

  • HermitArcader #25 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011