BioShock’s Ken Levine Talks American Gamers

GameDaily interviewed Ken Levine on the evolution of American gamers and Bioshock. Levine is proud to point out that in this country; video gamers have come far from their “nerds only” roots to develop into a culture that has penetrated the mainstream. Gamers encompass a wide range of people from the nerdy loners to the popular cool kids.

One of the forces that drive American gaming culture is the ability for gamers to express themselves within their favorite games. The ability to design their own vehicles in Forza or create a unique character with World of Warcraft keeps gaming fresh and lets gamers reflect their own personal style.

Levine says this “doing it my way” phenomenon is primarily American. He sites stagnating gaming development in Japan. He feels Japanese companies are targeting the hardcore gamer market which is shrinking because gamers are getting tired of the same RPG game made over for so long.

Making a video game with global appeal is a happy accident according to Levine. Starcraft didn’t do anything special to become the biggest game in Korea it just happened. There has been no pressure to try and tweak Bioshock to pander to a particular audience, so the developers could really focus on producing an original game.

Levine says his top three picks for best American Games are X Com, World of Warcraft, and Civilization.