BioShock Infinite’s Ken Levine Explains Columbia and Elizabeth to Adam Sessler

Renowned games journalist Adam Sessler recently interviewed Irrational Games' Ken Levine about BioShock Infinite and its revolutionary companion character, Elizabeth for Revision3Games.

In a two-part interview with Levine, Sessler asks about some of the difficulty in crafting a sequel to the Rapture-centric BioShock games, especially when it came to developing themes and infusing the narrative with history.

Whereas BioShock was about Objectivism and choice, BioShock Infinite centers on nationalism, racism, sexism, American exceptionalism, religious fanaticism, and class warfare. You'll be able to see how much history Levine stuck in the game and how he doesn't censor a lot in his vision of a highly nationalistic, early 1900s America. A subtle example of this would be the segregated bathrooms located on the Battleship Bay beach.

The second part of the interview focuses on Elizabeth and how hard it was to get her right as a character. They discuss how they changed her character design, how they had make her believable as a simulated human being, and perhaps most importantly, how to make it so that she wouldn't get in the player's way. It was of the utmost important that Elizabeth didn't feel like a burden or an escort quest.

Watch the videos and learn about some of the magic that went into several aspects of the game. BioShock Infinite will drop on March 26th, 2013 on Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3.

What do you think about the videos and the interview? Let us know in the comments!