Ken Levine’s next project will be out of this world compared to his previous IPs…literally. For those unfamiliar with Levine’s work, he is the mastermind behind the Bioshock series, considered one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. While the director isn’t working on the next Bioshock title with Cloud Chamber, he is leading a video game development studio called Ghost Story Games. Here, the former Irrational Games studio is crafting its latest narrative-driven IP with Judas. In a recent interview with Levine, he reminisced about his work with Bioshock as being “very different” from what the team is curating with their next project.
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The Bioshock series has captured the hearts of many players with its incredible narrative design, which delved into moral and philosophical concepts, and its immersive environments. Some have even stated that Bioshock’s plot twist (which we won’t spoil), is considered one of the strongest narrative elements ever crafted in video game history. However, Levine’s approach to Judas will differ from what he’s done before.
“BioShock and BioShock Infinite, if you look at them from a development standpoint – and this may be a bit alienating to some readers – but they’re basically a corridor,” Levine said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “A very, very long corridor with a bunch of trigger points that make story elements happen. Judas is made very, very differently and that makes it much more hopefully reflective of players agency, but also much, much harder to make.”
[RELATED: Judas Reportedly Has an Official Release Window]
Ken Levine Describes Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite as “Corridors” Compared to Judas
Seeing how his previous titles gave players a sense of freedom in their choices, Levine is validating the player’s actions, letting them have the ability to handle their situations within the game. While the comment might seem like a dig at the development of his previous titles, it points out how much more freedom a player has in their choices rather than having the story be a start and an end with tons of side stories to get you to the final destination. Judas looks to change the narrative, granting more control to the player within an open-ended context.
“There’s different types of stories. Some stories really want sort of very naturalistic beats in it, beginning, middle and end…” Levine said. “We’re trying to find a more literal storytelling thing that is incredibly open-ended, which is one of the hardest things to do because you have to have the story make sense in a very organic fashion, but you also have to have it be more open-ended.”
Judas’ approach to storytelling will be non-linear, putting the fate of the Mayflower in the player’s hands. Not to mention, that the stakes are already set high as you are on a ship falling apart. The undertaking that Ghost Story Games has taken on is intriguing, as they have given players control of their actions, but have predicted all possible outcomes. Levine noted that the developers have thought about everything a player can do and write in-person responses for various characters in an organic way.
Development for Judas has been going on since 2014, with Levine’s last directorial project being Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea that same year. While the title is rumored to be coming out in 2025, fans should expect to hear more details on Judas within the following months.
