Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
James holds the Alice stuffie in concept art by Jean Walter
Adventure Games Alice Madness Returns creator American McGee is making a spiritual successor, and he's not worried about EA
BioShock 4: a screenshot of a Big Daddy and a Little Sister.
Adventure Games BioShock 4: Everything you need to know about the next BioShock game
Key art for Control Resonant showing Dylan with The Aberrant in its axe form standing on a ruined taxi as he faces shadowy figures across a twisted Manhattan
Action RPGs Control Resonant trades shooting for a shapeshifting sword because "melee is cool", its creative director tells me
Clockwork Revolution screenshot showing the player character in conversation with a mechanical NPC
FPS Games Clockwork Revolution: Everything we know so far
A woman in a space helmet stares at something off the screen in Arc Raiders
Action Games "I think it's going to be the next big thing": As Marathon's launch looms, will Arc Raiders' success help or hurt Bungie?
A Vault-Dweller with a backpack looks at their Pip-Boy in front of the Vault door
Tabletop Gaming New Fallout solo RPG lets you go off the beaten track, no gamemaster or party required
A young James Bond smirks in 007 First Light with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame
Action Games 007 First Light will do something no Bond game has done before – slow down: "Players might be surprised"
Fallout 3
Fallout Fallout 3, 4, Skyrim, and Starfield lead says Deus Ex was a "huge influence" on him and his RPGs at Bethesda
Exodus
RPGs More than Mass Effect's spiritual successor, Exodus wants to pull decades of player choice into a single story
Key art for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy with Sophia standing in front of a labyrinth-style mural with a curved sword, with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 brand frame
Action Games Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy "changes almost everything" about the series – and its "more trained, more physical, more offensive" protagonist proves it
Halo: Combat Evoled screenshot showing a grunt running away from an explosion in the sand
Games The head of Xbox Game Studios on Developer Direct reveals, multiplatform strategy, and hard lessons learned from 2025
Fable 4 keyart
RPGs How Fable's open world fantasy lets you meddle in the lives of over 1000 living NPCs
Arc Raiders cover art with three raiders
Third Person Shooters "It's emboldened us to keep going": Arc Raiders dev dives deep on bigger updates and learning from players
Judas, the new game from Ken Levine
Action Games After it "spent 5 years in just R&D," Judas lets you "truly inhabit a character" in a way BioShock didn't
Clockwork Revolution
RPGs With Clockwork Revolution, inXile aims to "bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person"
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Bioshock
  4. BioShock Infinite

E3 MVG 2011 Selection: BioShock: Infinite interview

Features
By Charlie Barratt published 10 June 2011

Ken Levine lists his influences and inspirations for BioShock: Infinite – and discusses a return to Rapture

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

After 20 minutes of BioShock: Infinite, I was speechless. So much awesome was crammed onto the screen in such a short time %26ndash; blistering gun duels, wild skyhook rollercoaster rides, old-fashioned rocket launchers, magical reincarnation, adorably suicidal sidekicks, nightmare bird romance, Star Wars-themed time travel, Abraham Lincoln impersonations %26ndash; that even now I can barely find the right words to describeeverything I saw.

Luckily, I had BioShock creator Ken Levine to do that for me. In a secret room hidden deep within the 2K booth at E3, he went into surprising, fascinating, super nerdy detail about his influences and inspirations for Infinite, including the love story in Ico, documentaries on Teddy Roosevelt and Devil in the White City, a nonfiction book about a serial killer terrorizing early-20th century Chicago. Oh yeah, and I ask if Rapture could possibly appear%26hellip; Ken Levine doesn%26rsquo;t say no.

For our full E3 preview of BioShock: Infinite,head here.

You may like
  • Judas, the new game from Ken Levine After it "spent 5 years in just R&D," Judas lets you "truly inhabit a character" in a way BioShock didn't
  • BioShock 4: a screenshot of a Big Daddy and a Little Sister. BioShock 4: Everything you need to know about the next BioShock game
  • Clockwork Revolution With Clockwork Revolution, inXile aims to "bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person"

Jun 9, 2011

After 20 minutes of BioShock: Infinite, I was speechless. So much awesome was crammed onto the screen in such a short time %26ndash; blistering gun duels, wild skyhook rollercoaster rides, old-fashioned rocket launchers, magical reincarnation, adorably suicidal sidekicks, nightmare bird romance, Star Wars-themed time travel, Abraham Lincoln impersonations %26ndash; that even now I can barely find the right words to describeeverything I saw.

Luckily, I had BioShock creator Ken Levine to do that for me. In a secret room hidden deep within the 2K booth at E3, he went into surprising, fascinating, super nerdy detail about his influences and inspirations for Infinite, including the love story in Ico, documentaries on Teddy Roosevelt and Devil in the White City, a nonfiction book about a serial killer terrorizing early-20th century Chicago. Oh yeah, and I ask if Rapture could possibly appear%26hellip; Ken Levine doesn%26rsquo;t say no.

For our full E3 preview of BioShock: Infinite,head here.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Jun 9, 2011

CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Xbox Platforms
Charlie Barratt
Charlie Barratt
I enjoy sunshine, the company of kittens and turning frowns upside down. I am also a fan of sarcasm. Let's be friends!
Read more
Judas, the new game from Ken Levine
After it "spent 5 years in just R&D," Judas lets you "truly inhabit a character" in a way BioShock didn't
 
 
BioShock 4: a screenshot of a Big Daddy and a Little Sister.
BioShock 4: Everything you need to know about the next BioShock game
 
 
Clockwork Revolution
With Clockwork Revolution, inXile aims to "bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person"
 
 
Exodus
More than Mass Effect's spiritual successor, Exodus wants to pull decades of player choice into a single story
 
 
A character in Ontos' key art sits in a chair that merges purple, floral, biological design with high-tech cables - their face is blurred with multiple expressions showing inner turmoil while their eyes are closed - with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 frame
Soma successor Ontos is "like Shadow of the Colossus" says its creative director: The moon-set horror is "built around the looming excitement and dread of what the next big Experiment will be like"
 
 
Fallout 3
"Fallout was one of the first games that really shocked": Our first hands-on with Fallout 3 back in 2007
 
 
Latest in Bioshock
BioShock 2
BioShock 2 could have had a "Big Sister scare" system, but its designer is "finally" using it for new occult deckbuilder
 
 
BioShock 2
6 years since BioShock 4's announcement, South of Midnight star thinks she might have had a role in the long-awaited FPS but there were so many NDAs she's not actually sure
 
 
BioShock Infinite Elizabeth Booker
BioShock 4 is "going to take the franchise to the next level," which is why publisher Take-Two is "shifting some things around" to make sure it exceeds expectations
 
 
Bioshock Infinite screenshot showing Elizabeth about to hit someone with a book
"I don't think it works super well": BioShock creator Ken Levine hasn't been involved in BioShock 4's development, and he's not sure if people would want him to "come in and punch things up" anyway
 
 
BioShock
2K lays off unspecified number of BioShock 4 devs, brings in ex-Diablo boss Rod Fergusson 12 years after he helped save BioShock Infinite to show its "commitment to deliver the best game in franchise history"
 
 
BioShock
BioShock 4 has "had some ups and downs along the way," but Take-Two CEO promises "hand on heart, without question" that the immersive sim is "going to come out"
 
 
Latest in Features
BG3
The future of RPGs is isometric
 
 
Photo of a Mario nendoroid figure holding a microSD Express card with a Turtle Beach Switch 2 case in the background.
These Mario Day-inspired Switch 2 accessories will power up your console more than a super star
 
 
Underside of Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop with glass viewing window and RGB fans
We could get a shock when 2026 gaming laptop prices are unveiled, here's what you need to know about buying this year
 
 
Emily Rudd as Nami and Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in Netflix's One Piece
One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr. Zero? Who dies? Will there be a season 3?
 
 
In Hitman World of Assassination, Agent 47 sits at the departure gate in an airport during the loading screen
After weeks spent locked into Hitman's Freelancer mode, I realize there's one vital thing 007 First Light needs to learn
 
 
Mario gadgets, accessories, and games on a blue background
The ultimate Mario Day starter pack, kit up for the plumber's big day
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
    1
    Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
  2. 2
    Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
  3. 3
    Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
  4. 4
    "I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
  5. 5
    Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...