The Bioshock name still carries a lot of weight despite not having a full new release since 2013. All three of the original games have been highly praised, with the first in particular being hailed as a landmark title in gaming. It’s no surprise that many people are eagerly awaiting what will come next – either from the director behind the first game, Ken Levine, or from any continuation of the franchise itself.
When Ken Levine announced that he will be helming his latest title, Judas, many drew comparisons with the aesthetic of Bioshock. How exactly it would differ remained unclear, but Levine has now begun to outline in greater detail what audiences should expect.
Villainy Mechanic
In a new Judas developer post about the game, Levine outlines what he calls the central mechanic – Villainy.
There will be three central non-player characters in the game known as the Big 3. Each decision that the player makes will increase or decrease the trust of these characters, pushing some away and pulling others close. In effect, players establish who is your friend and who is the villain through these decisions.
Levine pointed to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its nemesis system as the type of emergent gameplay he was hoping to emulate.
What Genre is Judas?
Much like the Bioshock trilogy before it, Judas looks to be primarily a first-person shooter.
However, while narrative elements in the Bioshock games were more subtly influenced, such as how you decide to kill or spare certain characters throughout some of the games, Judas looks to feature heavier narrative elements.
The Villainy system is one major part of that, but Levine has previously talked about how the game utilises ‘narrative Legos’ to build its story, as in each decision a player makes establishes one aspect of it before another is added through the next decision.
Bioshock 4 Details
Of course, there will be some fans that are more connected to the specific universe of Bioshock rather than the future works of the creatives involved.
Bioshock 4 itself is in development, but has had an unfortunately long, arduous and troubled development, with the team recently suffering lay-offs and a change of leadership. However, 2K CEO Strauss Zelnick has reaffirmed that Bioshock 4 will be released.
Before this, it was rumoured that the game would take place in an Antarctic setting, continuing the theme of the series where the setting was a city in an otherwise hostile environment.
