Irrational Games Interview

1Up had the opportunity to chat with Irrational Games’ Ken Levine about the many games he has worked on over the years, including System Shock 2, Freedom Force, and Bioshock.

Q: Storytelling is important in your work, but, at the same time, it always seems to come back to killing something–is that the unavoidable nature of modern gamemaking?

A: I’m a games-first man. Stories come pretty late for Irrational, much to the dismay of my producers. I don’t usually have the story in line until halfway through development. In fact, if you go back and look at the first previews for BioShock, the story line and setting were very, very different. As my punishment, BioShock’s listing at GameStop.com still talks about Nazis and other story elements that have been gone for well over a year.

At the end of the day, we’re here to serve the player. Gameplay has to work. If you can fit story to gameplay, it’s going to be a better experience.

And I’ve got a message for game writers who put in unskippable cut-scenes: I hate you. You suck. Go write a graphic novel and leave us gamers alone. If you look at Irrational’s games, we’re big believers in allowing gamers to skip whatever they want and play the parts they enjoy. My goal as a writer is for the player to want to see the cutscenes. Earn your audience. Forcing people to sit through your glorified fanfic is the gaming equivalent of date rape.