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Creating 'Bioshock' was a protracted, ego-driven battle

Creating 'Bioshock' was a protracted, ego-driven battle

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Like many classic video games, the development process of Bioshock was fraught with peril — just a few months before the game's release, developer Irrational Games invited people outside the company to try the game for the first time, and the feedback was entirely negative. The testers called the game too dark, confusing, tedious — and one player didn't even understand that Rapture was a city set underwater. And that came on the tail end of five years of arduous development, all of which is detailed in an in-depth profile by Eurogamer. It's a particularly good time to tell the story of Bioshock — Ken Levine just decided to shut down the studio behind the game a few months ago, so the piece also doubles as a bit of a eulogy for Irrational Games. If you're a fan of the world of Rapture, this profile is a must-read — beyond the drama, Eurogamer also got its hands on early concept art and even a full copy of the original Bioshock pitch.