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BioShock 2: Why there's more than one Big Sister now photo

During the hands-on preview night of BioShock 2, we learned a lot of new details about the game. Probably one of the bigger revelations about the BioShock 2 that was shown was the fact that there are multiple Big Sisters now. She isn't the central bad guy anymore, but she still is going to a tough character to fight.

I got a chance to talk to Lead Level Designer JP Lebreton and Senior Designer Kent Hudson on BioShock 2 and found out exactly why the Big Sister's role in the game has changed. Hit the break to get the lowdown.

DESTRUCTOID: Initially when the game was announced, it sounded like the Big Sister was the one just big bad guy that you'd be fighting throughout the entire game. It seems like that's changed, that there are multiple Big Sisters now.

JP Lebreton: It's true. And it's a combination, honestly, of some story developments that we can't talk about, but also the fact that the work that we invested in her, making her a memorable character, and a cool AI to fight with a lot of different abilities. Kind of like the Big Daddies of the first game, although, yeah, she's kind of a swiss army knife of different cool behaviors.

Part of the decision to make her a plural thing, a force in the world and part of the ecology of Rapture in the way that Big Daddies and Little Sisters are, was really just, yeah, A) letting the player experience that as much as we wanted them to, and B) giving them the satisfaction of defeating one, rather than having a story character that shows up -

Kent Hudson: Every time you see the health bar reach 15% they run off, and it's like "aauuggh COME ON!"

So they're definitely not as ubiquitous as the Big Daddies, they're definitely a lot more like Lamb's -- almost like Lamb's personal assassins.

JP: Because they're harder fights.

Kent: Yeah, they're harder, and they're just different. You know, we wanted the Big Sister to not feel like just another Big Daddy. We do have another Big Daddy, he's different and he's cool. He's a lot more defensive and he's got those turrets, he shoots rockets. He's got his own personality. But we wanted her to be fast, you know, be agile, be scary. You know she's darting around the environment, she's jumping off walls, she's jumping up and down on balconies and going behind you. Just really have that different sense that, okay so yeah, now you're a Big Daddy and a lot of people are saying "Well if you're a Big Daddy, what do you have to be scared of right? You're the most powerful thing in the environment." And it's like, well, no, wait a minute -- there's this other thing -- and you're a big strong dude, but these Big Sisters are just a whole different level of challenge for you, and they hunt you, and pay attention to what you do in the world.


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31 comments | showing # 1 to 31

Zombutler's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 17:43
Zombutler
I dislike myself for spoiling even an inch of this game for myself, but I cannot wait holy holy.
link331's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 17:55
link331
Wow, you might want to change the title so it doesn't spoil the game for others. I've been keeping away from all information about BioShock 2, and seeing the title was a kick in the nuts.
HiddenAHB's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:02
HiddenAHB
BioShock 2 is disapointing me a little bit.
I hope i'm wrong though.
Naim Master's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:03
Naim Master
Fuck, spoiler in the headline.
Naim Master's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:05
Naim Master
There are so many headline spoilers these days, Destructoid really gotta watc out, I'm almost thinking of switching my source of gaming news, because of the uncountable spoilers I've gotten on the headline & image...
Count Grishnack's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:07
Count Grishnack
It's been said before, but stay the fuck off the internet if you're that adamant about avoiding spoilers. At least stay away from gaming news outlets.
Naim Master's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:07
Naim Master
@count
Just don't put the spoiler in the headline or the image, it's not so hard.
Hamza CTZ Aziz's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:12
Hamza CTZ Aziz
This isn't a spoiler at all. Hey, the game has Big Daddies too. And guns!
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:21
Holyetheline
I must agree that this isn't a spoiler. I would assume there were multiple Big Sisters from reading the singleplayer impressions today... there was mention of how easy the FIRST Big Sister was to take down...
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:51
mOnion
fuck spoilers dude, goddamit
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:53
mOnion
you cant just say "because its been said" hamza

obviously there are people who don't follow the details on the game for the surprise. things like "big daddies" and "guns" are clear. don't be naive.
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:56
mOnion
gawd i really can't believe you did that. that's incredibly frustrating, since i had all these theories on Masha from Bioshock 1 being the big sister, but now i know that's not the case.

this is tempting me to not read Dtoid until February. that was a pretty severe blunder.
MasterBalls's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:05
MasterBalls
Darth Vader is Lukes father
Bruce Willis is a ghost
Snape kills Dumbledore
The Princess is in another castle

And so on. Welcome to the Internet sport.
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:09
mOnion
Mkay, so if we're all pretending to be adults here, and can realize the difference between plot twists in 10 year old movies and a game that's not even OUT yet, and the spoiler was revealed in a hands on session

"one of the bigger revelations about the BioShock 2 that was shown was the fact that there are multiple Big Sisters now."

Clearly a spoiler. just take it out of the headline. there are plenty of other headlines, like "new details on bioshock 2". see how hard that was?
ace of knaves's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:15
ace of knaves
I liked it better when there was one big sister pursuing you throughout the entire game. Oh well.
Fructose's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:17
Fructose
Oh, come on. Is knowing that there are multiple Big Sisters THAT huge of a deal? I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I don't understand why people have their panties in a knot because of a "spoiler" like this.
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:23
mOnion
ya its a big deal. given what we knew before, this would be like revealing that there were multiple Andrew Ryan's in Bioshock 1. alot of people consider Bioshock the best game of our generation, so details on the sequel should be tread upon tenderly.

ofcourse these are things a journalist should already know. i dont see why this is an issue.
Fructose's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:26
Fructose
Alright. I can kind of understand why you would be upset when you word it that way. I just wanted an explanation for the sudden shitstorm.

BioShock IS undoubtedly one of the best games of the generation, and I absolutely cannot wait until February!
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:27
mOnion
me too ^_^

comes out right after my B-day!!!
mOnion's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:29
mOnion
also might i suggest a way to properly handle a situation like this again.

http://www.destructoid.com/modern-warfare-2-level-about-spoiler-confirmed-153300.phtml
HEL105's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:29
HEL105
I'm not overly concerned about Bioshock 2, but any similar FFXIII spoilers will result in someone's severed head on a platter.

Not really, but try to avoid them when possible, guys.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:33
pedrovay2003
I'm excited for Bioshock 2, but when I was playing, I couldn't hear a damn thing, and I have no idea what the storyline was.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 19:33
pedrovay2003
*When I was playing the first one, I mean.
Luigi takes over's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 21:34
Luigi takes over
Its not a spoiler. It's a change. Originally there was one Big sister, now there are many. Its not a spoiler, they just decided to fucking change it. Shut the hell up.
Los Milty's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 21:49
Los Milty
In my mind its not a spoiler if the developer tells you. What bothers me is that what was a great idea is now just another enemy in a game...
Sentry's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 22:06
Sentry
Kinda' disappointed by the multiple BS (oh ho!) reveal. The thought of this singular, force of nature, deranged, agile-as-f**k ultimate baddie was much more appealing than the details outlined above. Now it sounds much more like the arch of Bioshock 2 is going to strongly mirror that of the first. Perhaps even feel like a reskin.

Mind you, that's a lot to infer from just one piece of information, but I'm measurably less interested now than I was previously.
trsspidey's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/30/2009 00:11
trsspidey
I liked the idea of the Big Sister being a sort of nemesis. Both as a literal nemesis... and also playing a similar role to Nemesis from Resident Evil 3.
Roryzilla's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/30/2009 11:15
Roryzilla
Idiot, there's no spoilers.
Michael Brown's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/31/2009 21:32
Michael Brown
If this game includes the Survivor mode from the PS3 edition then I will be pleased. More Big Sisters to unleash my fury on.
shadowcast's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/01/2009 10:55
shadowcast
At least when there was one central 'bad guy' who'd appear throughout the course of the game it was at least doing something different to the first one... now, they've just reduced it to the level of adding an other type of big daddy cause they're out of ideas.... I'll give it a go, but the more I find out about this game the more it seems.

Also,hurry up and tell us what Irrational are doing now....
Marcutiolives's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/01/2009 18:29
Marcutiolives
I may be a touch harsh here, but, i'll speak my mind.

This was a massive dissapointment for me. I can't really comprehend why this sudden, and rather big, change was made. They had already painted this character, this Big Sister, as an intimidating foe. SomeONE to be feared, someONE that was always watching you, waiting and prowling...SomeONE to fill you with fear and paranoia. SomeONE with motive.
Now that there are more of them...that feeling's more or less gone for me. She's been debunked to yet another throw away enemy, a simple obstacle, a faceless enemy to fend off and think nothing more of. That's highly devistating to my expectations of the game, and i've been fallowing the updates rather closely...

I hope they reconsider and change it back....I doubt they will, though.
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