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Move for 'BioShock Infinite' Would Cheat Gamers, says Ken Levine

by Kenneth Hubble, posted on 21 March 2011 / 1,120 Views

Creative Director and co-founder of Irrational Games, Ken Levine, has revealed in an interview to Play Magazine that including PlayStation's Move with BioShock Infinite is not something they are planning to do. Levine says that gamers are, "going to know you’re cheating them.”

In the interview, Levine states that, "I’d never want to throw in Move support just because it’s going to make some first party happy or because some marketing department wants it on the box because, at the end of the day, gamers know,” he admitted. “If you don’t have anything special to say about that control device gamers are going to know."

Levine was a lot more open to the idea of 3D gaming, however he declined to confirm whether or not BioShock Infinite will use the technology, adding that, "3D is a little bit different… it’s something I’d be more open to. I’m not saying whether we’re doing that or not but it’s sort of a passive integration. Unlike movies, you don’t just shoot it differently. Games are 3D. But I think if you’re going to get out, front and centre on something, you have to be able to say you’re doing something special with it. Especially with a control device.

"Do you want to play BioShock and it’s like, ‘okay, do you want to harvest or save Little Sister? Waggle left to harvest, waggle right to save!’ You can have Move support on your box but people are going to know you’re cheating them."

For details on where to view the full interview, give Play Magazine a visit.


19 Comments

Nybbas
Nybbas (on 21 March 2011)

if he said he thought it would be gimmicky, I would understand his position at least... but cheating gamers? by adding an optional feature? (whether or not it worked out is completely besides the point) What a joke.

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Silver-Tiger
Silver-Tiger (on 21 March 2011)

yeah, cheating the gamers... How?

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kingofbubba
kingofbubba (on 21 March 2011)

"...Playstation Move's not only crazy precise, it's also got what we in the future like to call buttons..." [KB] I use the Wii and when I'm playing a shooter (or pointing in general) I find that I don't even have to think about it--particularly in split-second reaction situations--and I end up spot on target. So why wouldn't you make a FPS with the Move? Also, even for games that use no real motion or pointer support, sometimes it's just nice to use a controller that has the hands split so I can just flop on a couch and, have my dog jump up there with me without her getting in the way of using the controller. It's nice when developers put in the extra work to give us as many controller choices as possible. At the very least, the Dev should have just kept quiet about it or not try to pass the blame on some other issues. I mean, it sounds like he's saying that they didn't support Move from the get go because if they added it at the end then players would be able to tell it wasn't implemented from scratch. Uhm, so why didn't they just implement it from the beginning? What kind of logic is that?

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cory.ok
cory.ok (on 21 March 2011)

and they just lost me. after playing killzone 3 with the move i dont think i will buy shooters that dont use it anymore, why would i want to use ds when the move is so much easier to use?

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thismeintiel
thismeintiel (on 21 March 2011)

Waggle? Wow, is that all he can come up with? OR how about something cool like...You move the Move controller forward and move your hand in a gentle stroking gesture, just as the character stroke the little sister's hair in the first Bioshock. And to harvest you just reach forward and squeeze the T button to clamp your hand on her face. Wow, in just 2 secs I came up with a better control method than someone who gets paid to make games. This is guy is either lazy or has only played with the Wii, sans the WM Plus.

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HokageTenshi
HokageTenshi (on 21 March 2011)

i wonder why most developers are not making their multi-platform title better on PS3 ver. but the Xbox360 ver. since the PS3 ver. have the ability to... feel sad for sony that all these developers are ditching its potential... 8(

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halil23
halil23 (on 21 March 2011)

@ RenderMonk, well said.

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osamanobama
osamanobama (on 21 March 2011)

his logic is... lets say lacking. well actually he has none. it sounds like he has something against Move, noone is forcing him to implement waggle. ...oh and Killzone says hi

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ithis
ithis (on 21 March 2011)

What a moron. It's about the pointing not the waggleing. Geeezessss!!

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demonfox13
demonfox13 (on 21 March 2011)

@Dinges I honestly can't speak much for the Wii since the game I most played with that control implementation was RE4, but I can comfortably say that Move integration in KZ3 was amazing. It does have a learning curve that may be steep to some but once you get used to it, you don't want to go back to DS3. Also as a former hardcore CS player (I stopped at 1.6 and did CSS for a bit) I can say the move is fairly close to the kb/mouse combo. I have dead zone at a minimum and it works like a charm. OT: this is a lazy developer that is definitely clueless. The Move has been picking up through word of mouth. Furthermore, in order for Move to work, you have to try it from the ground up and not just patch it up when it comes to an FPS. What a disappointment. I won't be buying this bioshock I guess.

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blunty51
blunty51 (on 21 March 2011)

I don't understand how this is 'cheating' the gamer...It's a very different experience when compared to the DS3. I think he has some personal feelings towards the Move that he can't outright say.

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Attoyou
Attoyou (on 21 March 2011)

@Dinges Killzone 3 says hi. Works Perfectly with move..Much better then the DS3.

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Dinges
Dinges (on 21 March 2011)

Have you ever tried a shooter with a Wii/move controller? It's more "pulling the cursor" than actually "aiming". Move and Kinect shouldn't be used with FPS because it simple doesn't work well. Mouse and keyboard or a controller is much better for FPS.

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Spedfrom
Spedfrom (on 21 March 2011)

@Chrizum Very much agreed!

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LastRambo341
LastRambo341 (on 21 March 2011)

@Chrizum I agree. Pointer controls are much more precise.

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Attoyou
Attoyou (on 21 March 2011)

Ignorance.

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RenderMonk
RenderMonk (on 21 March 2011)

What a lazy ass developer. Here you have a piece of tech that can actually shoot like a gun, and he won't use it, cause either, he's just plain lazy (which it probably is) or microsoft is paying them to not include it, as it would be a clear advantage to buy on the PS3 over the Xbox. So, what have we learned here???.....that no matter what advances in technology we may acquire, greedy/lazy developers will find a way to cheapen or lessen your enjoyment by not including specific supports ie: the Move.

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Chrizum
Chrizum (on 21 March 2011)

What an ignorant statement to make for a developer of his stature. How you implement the controller depends on the developer, not the control device itself. Pointing controls are superior to analog sticks, waggle has nothing to do with this.

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Euphoria14
Euphoria14 (on 21 March 2011)

Ouch! You know Levine, you could just press X to harvest and O to save. The Move controller does have buttons you know? ;-)

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