In a new interview with IGN, BioShock creator Ken Levine was asked questions about his work on games such as System Shock 2, BioShock, and the upcoming Judas, as well as how he feels about the industry as a whole. While discussing artistic value in different games, Levine stated that he believes that Nintendo’s approach to games, and specifically the Switch 2, prove that the medium has reached a point of “diminishing returns” when it comes to visuals.
When talking about how modern graphics keep trying to chase photorealism, Levine said, “[Realism] doesn’t age as well as more stylistic things, BioShock still looks good, I think, because it wasn’t trying to get every nut and bolt super realistic.” He then noted how rising costs for not only hardware, but general living, have pushed people to seek out cheaper experiences, which is exactly what Nintendo is delivering with the Switch 2 (for now).
“Look at say, the Switch 2 and [even] the new Steam Machine coming out. Those are not massive technological upgrades. That wasn’t their strategy. I think, people are realizing we’re hitting a bit of diminishing returns with that.” As Levine lays out, developers don’t need cutting edge technology all the time. Finding the right artistic vision and sticking to that will always trump going all in on raw fidelity, which looks good in the short term, but ages poorly.
While Levine wouldn’t comment on whether Judas would release on Switch 2 or not, it seems he is aware of the current economic situation most people are facing. He’s also very aware that pumping Judas full of current graphical techniques wouldn’t be the best use of his teams time.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
