author: Michael Kulakowski
BioShock 4 With Open World and More RPG Elements
Online job advertisements from Cloud Chamber, currently working on the latest installment of the BioShock series, suggest that the project will feature an open world and a living city, and emphasize RPG elements and decision making.
The official announcement of the fourth installment of BioShock took place at the end of last year. 2K Games has entrusted the project to the new studio Cloud Chamber, employing the developers of the previous installments. However, Ken Levine, the previous creative director of the series, is working with Ghost Story Games team on his own original game. During the last year we haven't learned any more about BioShock 4, we only found out that its devs are focused on a completely new world and characters. However, the nature of the game can be revealed by Cloud Chamber's recently published job advertisements.
The developer is currently looking for a few people for key positions influencing the shape of the project. These include Senior Voice Designer, AI programmer and Lead Systems Designer. From the descriptions in each ad we get a pretty clear picture of what BioShock 4 is supposed to be.
According to Cloud Chamber, the game is an ambitious project, whose main advantage will be its storyline filled with extremely interesting and distinct characters. The title will also be enriched with an extensive system of dialogues, allowing for making important decisions that change the course of the story.
BioShock 4 will take us to a completely new world, which this time will have an open structure.
The devs expects new employees to have experience in working on high-budget RPGs and possess knowledge of Unreal Engine. Additionally, the new gameplay designer should be able to help prepare an open and fully dynamic sandbox world, in which various elements of the game interact with each other. This includes, for example, virtual ecology and world economy, as well as many systems of character progression.
The task of the AI programmer, in turn, will be to lead the work of a team that will build complex AI scripts for large groups of NPCs, sometimes forming hostile factions and groups. The duties will also include creating a realistic urban crowd. Cloud Chamber also ensures that it plans to make the most of the possibilities offered by AI, also in the field of strengthening the player immersion and enriching the narrative potential of the game.
