Bioshock Infinite Catch-All

rabbit wrote:

Did y'all see the sly announcement of the BioShock Infinite Boardgame embedded in the release? Being done by none other than Plaid Hat Games, the guys behind Summoner Wars, Dungeon Run and Mice and Mystics.

Woot.

I did! And thanks for bringing back on track. I figured that would have actually been old news and I was just late to the party, actually.

I thought it was ever so slightly tawdry. I can understand exclusive items in physical boardgames, since I realise people at the table will, or rather should, have an equal chance of access to them (which is not the same as in DLC for MP games).

But to announce a piece for a product we know nothing about, and we have no idea what function the piece will have, but at the same time assume people will buy rhe boardgame? Rubbed me up the wrong way.

Likewise the bonus powers and effects for ordering that edition. Again, this kind of partioning customers into slightly different gameplay experiences isn't cool. (And the way to think of said items isn't on an individual basis, but how their small effects might affect a sequences of events. Like small stat bonuses in RPGs.)

Everything else in it looked, if not terribly exciting, well produced and well thought out. But it feels like a shame that even Irrational is moving into that way of doing things, however slight that movement may be.

Edit

Maybe tawdry isn't the right word. Unbecoming?

And, oddly, remove the BG aspect, so it's just a little figure, and I'd be OK with it.

1Dgaf wrote:

But it feels like a shame that even Irrational is moving into that way of doing things, however slight that movement may be.

I'd imagine it is a move by the Publisher. Collector's Edition items sell. Halo 3 proved that even the most ridiculous one will sell. A lot of people learned that if you include nothing but DLC with your "collector's edition" then it will still sell. So basically why wouldn't a publisher want to hop on board?

As far as Collector's Editions with worthwhile content go, though, this one is pretty good. I could care less about the DLC, but the other stuff is at least of good quality (and as I'm a sucker for board games based on video games, I'll inevitably be purchasing that as well, so it's not like the game piece won't be put to use. I'm just wondering what purpose it'll serve or where the rules for it will be located).

1Dgaf wrote:

I thought it was ever so slightly tawdry. I can understand exclusive items in physical boardgames, since I realise people at the table will, or rather should, have an equal chance of access to them (which is not the same as in DLC for MP games).

But to announce a piece for a product we know nothing about, and we have no idea what function the piece will have, but at the same time assume people will buy rhe boardgame? Rubbed me up the wrong way.

Likewise the bonus powers and effects for ordering that edition. Again, this kind of partioning customers into slightly different gameplay experiences isn't cool. (And the way to think of said items isn't on an individual basis, but how their small effects might affect a sequences of events. Like small stat bonuses in RPGs.)

Like ccesarano said, it's likely a publisher move.

"Exclusive" bonus content are usually not that "exclusive" and generally are sold as DLC at a later date. I think most developers acknowledge people want the "complete" experience, but publishers want to incentivize people on the premium editions (which I assume are more profitable, and are growing in popularity) or pre-orders. So I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this, and probably best to get used to seeing it since it seems to happen with nearly every game lately.

As for the board game figurine. Eh. I don't think there's an assumption people will buy the board game. It's just a promo item for the board game which is a fairly standard practice.

ccesarano wrote:

I'm just wondering what purpose it'll serve or where the rules for it will be located).

Most likely, they'd include the rules for the figurine with it. Assuming there's special rules for it.

Steam version for me, and crossing fingers for soundtrack and making of video or art book. Absolutely love that stuff.

ccesarano wrote:
rabbit wrote:

Did y'all see the sly announcement of the BioShock Infinite Boardgame embedded in the release? Being done by none other than Plaid Hat Games, the guys behind Summoner Wars, Dungeon Run and Mice and Mystics.

Woot.

I did! And thanks for bringing back on track. I figured that would have actually been old news and I was just late to the party, actually.

Same here. It was very much in passing so wasn't sure if it was old or not. Hoping we get to hear about it on the podcast! (Assuming there's another rabbitcon episode before release)

It's entirely possible the board game piece will be sold separately as part of a board game expansion, just as DLC that comes with collector's editions is usually purchasable separately.

BioShock boardgame does sound interesting!

I've never seen a VG / BG cross promotion like that in a special edition before.

1Dgaf wrote:

I've never seen a VG / BG cross promotion like that in a special edition before.

Usually because the BG tie-in comes well after release

I've never seen a cross promotion like this, but board games have promotional pieces/cards all the time, and they're often obtainable after the fact (BoardGameGeek often sells them). Not to mention they could simply include the piece in a future board game expansion.

So...Have you seen that kind of promo before or not? That's what I'm confused about. I've been collecting BG versions of VGs for a few years and hadn't heard of it before.

EDIT

To answer myself partially, I do have the Civ special edition witht he CIv card game.

I might be speaking slightly out of place, but I'm really pretty sure the boardgame piece is the equivalent of getting, say, a monopoly pawn. There's no special thing you can do in the BG because you bought the collectors edition of the video game. My understanding was more "we have these super cool sculpts, it seems a shame that only boardgamers will ever see them."

It could be worse 1D, they could be setting off stink bombs in cinemas.

What happens on Xbox stays on Xbox.

AUD168 down here for the Songbird Edition, but that statue is pretty sweet looking.

Of more interest is the Skyhook 1:1 scale replica full details here.

IMAGE(http://members.iinet.net.au/~monkey.boy/GWJ/Skyhook.jpg)

That's really damn cool.

New Trailer

This looks artistically awesome!

It was a good trailer, but while the music fit the trailer itself, it felt at odds given the era within the game. The most recent example of a game that's done it very well, though with total fiction on its side, was Dishonored. They slightly changed a well known folk song, Drunken Sailor, to fit both the advertisements and the game's tone.

Dishonored doesn't have Horn-head, though.

One thing that strikes me from that trailer is how much action there was, I know from previous trailers that there are quieter moments, and perhaps quieter ways of handling situations, but it seems that when it kicks off in BI it's a good few steps above anything seen in BS/BS2. Having said that, it's a fast cut trailer, so it could be hard to say for definite.

So the beginning of the trailer suggests you start out in the ocean and then go up to the sky. This is the reverse of how the original Bioshock ended, where it starts out in the sky and then you go into the ocean. I like that, and will choose to believe that they did this on purpose.

I know it was all in-engine footage, but I couldn't always differentiate the regular combat from in-engine cinematics. Not that I'm bothered, I trust Irrational. Just an observation.

What song was that? Anyone know?

Nevin73 wrote:

What song was that? Anyone know?

Yup.

Nevin73 wrote:

What song was that? Anyone know?

If you scroll up a little

Sorry, I thought the video was for a song from Dishonored. Duh.

Nevin73 wrote:

What song was that? Anyone know?

It's the one cyrax posted. Just a remix.

[edit] Aaaand that's what happens when you leave a window open for a couple of hours and think it's refreshed when you come to post

Scratched wrote:

One thing that strikes me from that trailer is how much action there was, I know from previous trailers that there are quieter moments, and perhaps quieter ways of handling situations, but it seems that when it kicks off in BI it's a good few steps above anything seen in BS/BS2. Having said that, it's a fast cut trailer, so it could be hard to say for definite.

I noticed that as well. I'm guessing this (or a cut down version) is probably going to be used for TV ads.

ccesarano wrote:

So the beginning of the trailer suggests you start out in the ocean and then go up to the sky. This is the reverse of how the original Bioshock ended, where it starts out in the sky and then you go into the ocean. I like that, and will choose to believe that they did this on purpose.

If I'm remembering right, the original BS intro had you drifting toward a lighthouse-esque structure much like this one. I agree this was probably intentional.

shoptroll wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

So the beginning of the trailer suggests you start out in the ocean and then go up to the sky. This is the reverse of how the original Bioshock ended, where it starts out in the sky and then you go into the ocean. I like that, and will choose to believe that they did this on purpose.

If I'm remembering right, the original BS intro had you drifting toward a lighthouse-esque structure much like this one. I agree this was probably intentional.

It starts on an airplane over the Atlantic, which you hijack and crash into the ocean near the lighthouse.

cyrax wrote:

It was a good trailer, but while the music fit the trailer itself, it felt at odds given the era within the game. The most recent example of a game that's done it very well, though with total fiction on its side, was Dishonored. They slightly changed a well known folk song, Drunken Sailor, to fit both the advertisements and the game's tone.

Dishonored doesn't have Horn-head, though.

I thought it was a very good fit for what we know of the setting so far.

For a game that includes Tears for fears, and the whole weird potential of Elizabeth's tears, I'm not sure what wouldn't fit right now.

That trailer was sh*t. It doesn't tell me anything about the game except that you shoot stuff. It's like a bad action movie trailer with fast cuts, all action and no substance.