BioShock 2 Without Ken Levine: Why It Doesn't Matter

Recently, it was revealed that BioShock creator Ken Levine had barely even seen BioShock 2 and had basically nothing to do with the project. This was admittedly somewhat surprising, and some gamers may take it as a bad sign that the sequel simply won't live up to the high standard set by the first.  However, Creative Director Jordan Thomas is no rookie himself, and from what we've seen BioShock 2 should meet fans' expectations. 

In an exclusive in-depth interview, Thomas told us that he felt enormous respect for the BioShock property and that's what guided him through the whole development process. 

"I worked on the original game and I learned a lot while I was at Irrational Boston, and I feel like I've worked long and hard to absorb everything that I could about the canon of Rapture and the mythos of BioShock at large, and to treat the name with high respect as we imbue the setting with new mystery. I could have come in and said, 'Oh, now it's mine! Let's do all this ridiculous stuff that doesn't fit!' But I have found that my duty to Ken and to everybody who worked on the original game is to extend this property in a way that is respectful of their hard work," he told us.

Thomas continued, "And for players and fans, I think there are a lot of really potent new mysteries that build on what they know. And for the new players, I still think we do a pretty good job of speaking to two audiences simultaneously with the beginning content. You don't have to have played the first to enjoy the second. So I guess my real answer to that is really foremost among my goals was to treat the property with respect."