Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: 2k marin, bioshock, Bioshock 2, JP LeBreton, Steve Gaynor, System Shock 2

Bioishock 2's Minerva's Den DLC Was Inspired By Sytem Shock 2

In an interview with IGN, developer Steve Gaynor revealed how System Shock 2 inspired the creation of Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den. Before founding Gone Home developer Fullbright, Gaynor worked at 2K Marin on BioShock 2: Minerva's Den which is widely regarded as BioShock 2's best DLC.

On the latest episode of IGN's monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered, Gaynor said the idea for Minerva's Den began during his interview at 2K Marin, when he was asked to pitch a level that could be slotted into the BioShock story. "I had pitched the computer core of Rapture as a thing with a guy who was splicing to become smarter and see all of the possibilities with math and stuff," he said.

Then, when the team was working on BioShock 2 proper, Gaynor said lead level designer JP LeBreton recalled how he and the lead level designer of BioShock 1 were "bulls***ting and saying like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if, like with Rapture's advanced technology, if they had created the original AI that sort of—in the unspoken fan fiction—had led to the technology that ended up being Shodan in System Shock 2?'"

So, when it came to fleshing out the concept for Minerva's Den, Gaynor took both ideas and proposed the following scenario: "We should do the computer core of Rapture and it can be about this kind of steampunk AI that's sort of created, and draw from… System Shock 2 ideas of like, spoilers, Shodan being able to impersonate people and kind of have multiple identities."

And the rest, as they say, is history. We got one of the best DLCs for Bioshock 2 and undoubtedly a whole host of fan fiction on the subject.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BioShock franchise, and in celebration 2K has announced a new collector's edition for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!