Philosophy through gameplay. Levine brought literary ambitions to interactive design. System Shock 2’s SHODAN, BioShock’s Andrew Ryan, Infinite’s Comstock—his antagonists embodied ideas as much as threats. The “Would you kindly” twist interrogated player agency itself. After closing Irrational, he pursued smaller-scale narrative experiments at Ghost Story Games.
Fast facts
Looking Glass era
| Title |
Year |
Role |
| Thief: The Dark Project |
1998 |
Designer |
| System Shock 2 |
1999 |
Project lead |
Irrational Games
| Title |
Year |
Role |
| BioShock |
2007 |
Creative director |
| BioShock Infinite |
2013 |
Creative director |
| Irrational closure |
2014 |
Decision |
Narrative approach
| Technique |
Implementation |
| Environmental storytelling |
Audio logs, details |
| Philosophical themes |
Ideas as conflict |
| Player agency questions |
Meta-commentary |
| Strong antagonists |
Ideological villains |
Ghost Story Games
| Status |
Focus |
| Founded |
2014 |
| Approach |
Smaller team |
| Project |
Narrative experiments |
| Philosophy |
Replayable stories |
See also