Irrational’s BioShock Infinite practically swept the awards at this year’s E3 with an amazing, albeit hands-off, demo that showed the player navigating the skyborne city of Columbia as a former Pinkerton agent named Booker along with a young woman named Elizabeth whose mysterious powers are the source of one of Infinite’s key play mechanics as well as the baleful attention of its seeming nemesis, a clockwork automaton called Songbird. The constant character byplay between Booker and Elizabeth was the most impressive aspect of the demo by far, as the two shared a sort of tense banter about every situation they encountered, from the mundane (browsing a shop) to the fantastic (warping nearly a century forward in time to an alternate-reality 1983). I had the opportunity to speak to Irrational chief Ken Levine this morning at PAX; he’s hear with voice actors Troy Baker (Booker) and Courtnee Draper (Elizabeth) to offer showgoers a glimpse behind the scenes of the voice sessions for the E3 demo. The making-of material to be shown at this afternoon’s panel is fascinating; it doesn’t depict people recording in an isolated booth as with most animation and games, but rather a fully interactive session in which Levine, Baker, and Draper bounced ideas off each other and even employ a bit of harsh, verbally abusive method acting to make sure that Draper’s tearful performances are legitimate. These harrowing creative moments help demonstrate exactly why people are so excited about Infinite, though; Irrational is aiming for a truly engaging character-driven narrative, and Levine has offered a little insight into the philosophy and tech that’s being poured into their effort to make Infinite’s floating city in the turn-of-the-century sky the most emotionally convincing game ever.
