Why play as a Big Daddy?
It was one of the first things decided by the team. We looked at ways to re-evaluate a lot of things in the gameplay, and a change in protagonist helped. How do combat and weapons feel? It was also hugely requested by fans, got a glimpse of at the end of the first. Wanted to deliver on the experience. Jordan covered in the story.
How is this prototype different?
The original are slow and lumbering power houses. For a single player game that power is seductive, but couldn’t do a game at such a slow pace. He’s more agile, can use plasmids and more weapons, but at most he has free will.
Big Daddy fights were originally adrenaline pumping and hallmark. Will they be rewarding?
Can’t get to the same experience as the first encounter, but we try that with the Big Sister. We’ve kept it with the current Big Daddies and added one called The Rumbler. It’s not meant to be an even battle.
Who is actually in the Big Daddy suits?
Humans abducted from Rapture, augmented heavily with ADAM and grafted into suits.
Where were Big Sisters in Bioshock?
They are grown-up Little Sisters. Only a few escaped the “great call”, and have become physically unstable as they’ve grown-up.
The Big Sister’s design is amazing. What inspiration did you draw?
The classic diving suit motif, certainly, but while Big Daddies have a kind lumbering old man, the Big Sisters are an awkward adolescent phase. They have leg braces, awkward poses, but are still graceful. Continue with childish feelings, child-like drawings on tanks, ribbons on baskets, several personal details.
What role do they play?
Aside from being pivotal, they do what was done in Bioshock. They accompany Big Daddies, but can also be adopted. You can form a partnership and be led to bodies full of ADAM, and when you place her down you have to hold off a siege against different enemies. Leads to a different sort of lateral thinking of tools and defenses, and helps build a relationship.
Will the killing of Sisters be required?
Requirement would undermine the weight of the choice. It’s still primal and sad, but you are still called upon to make choices but you aren’t required to do anything too gruesome.
In the first game it didn’t feel like you lost enough by saving them.
That’s something that we tried to make a little more gray. It’s harder to be good and more rewarding to be truly evil. If you just save them and never adopt them, you will be starved for ADAM. If you are terrible and adopt and harvest them later, you will be very flush. If you want the middle ground, you can keep a pace, as well as harvesting them out right. More alluring to cash-in immediately rather than gathering from bodies. Hopefully the choices will be more reflective.
