The Reason Behind BioShock 2′s Multiplayer Mode

2K Games has commented on BioShock 2′s multiplayer game. The original game had multiplayer where you could play the original story, however the new version didn’t allow this. Destructoid contacted Jordan Thomas, the creative director, about this where they asked about why there is no single-player in multiplayer.

“Our first decision with Multiplayer was to recruit Digital Extremes to own the experience completely, precisely so that neither component would suffer a lack of creative focus,” explains Thomas. “I think if we had tried to do both in-house, it absolutely would have been detrimental, so I understand the concern.

“Our internal multiplayer liaisons (headed up by Melissa Miller) helped to keep both teams apprised of our shared goals, keep us playing the game and offering direction on fiction and tone when needs be. I think everyone who put their hands to MP, internal and external, have done excellent work on a very hard creative problem.”

In other words, they got someone else to do multiplayer while they focuses on single player.

Destructoid then asked why BioShock 2 even has a multiplayer mode, and Jordan said the following:

“Well, 2K sought the opinions of players from all walks of life, who game for different reasons. And we found that a lot of people craved an extension of the experience, that to them, multiplayer was a way to keep their favorite games alive,” he answers. “And since we knew we’d be focusing on the game’s single player legacy internally, the choice to partner up naturally followed.

“I wouldn’t call the decision easy, in the sense that (just like playing a Big Daddy, say) we knew that it’d be turned into a sound bite initially, and critiqued at about that level of surface engagement, with no explanation forthcoming for a while. But we felt that if, again, we took the question seriously — “what does BioShock mean to people, and how could some of that set of sensations be expanded to involve others?” –then we could win some people over, and make others who were crying out for it very happy.”

There’s more at Destructoid, we think you should pay them a visit and read why this all happened.