Ken Levine on Directing BioShock Infinite

We've spoken to Ken Levine about The Songbird, heard his thoughts on character appearance, but we've heard little of his storytelling methods and process while working on BioShock Infinite. Unsurprisingly, his history as a playwright, director, and all around drama nerd has had a significant influence on how he works on games, despite the limited crossover between mediums.

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Talking to Gamasutra, Levine says "Learning what actors can do for you, and how to work with them is really what I took away most from [working on plays], and that came back." Infinite has shown him the ever growing importance of putting faith in his actors. "You have to give them space, you have to make them partners with you," he says, "don't try to overwrite for them. You have to let them find good stuff in simplicity sometimes." Levine remembers sitting down with Infinite's stars, Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt) and Courtney Draper (Elizabeth), and hashing out the details of a scene he hadn't even written yet.

Levine's reluctance to use cutscenes to tell stories has made his life as a writer harder. "I've made certain choices in how I tell stories that are a little different from some of my colleagues'," he explains. "I've given myself some limitations, because I think what you lose in being able to pull the camera and show emotion, you gain in immersion, and you gain in mood." This worked brilliantly in the original BioShock, of course, and Levine has learned some important craft skills since his last project.

"Every time I write a game," says Levine, "I think I learn how to write less -- how to get an idea across with less text." This plays into creating dialogue appropriate to his games. Conversations are succinct and clear not only for player direction purposes, but because Levine can't be sure as a writer when his words will get interrupted by action.

Another crucial lesson learned was how "to rely on the visual space, whatever the visual elements you have in the world, or in the characters." In turn, the more Levine sees of a character or environment, the easier it is for him to recreate and reinforce the aesthetic within his writing. Sometimes he'll turn it around to show Draper and Baker art and storyboards so they have a stronger understanding of Infinite, too.

Naturally, creating a cohesive, convincing world is an important asset in games. In involving his actors in the thought process, Levine is going out of his way to accomplish that.

Via Gamasutra

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