BioShock 2's supercharged Big Sister enemies could have been a lot freakier if the shooter's developer 2K had gone with an abandoned concept from designer David Lindsey Pittman. Actually, maybe it's better that 2K didn't – after more than a decade, Pittman's using his idea of a "dynamic 'Big Sister scare' system" for his own new game.
"Way way back in the day on BioShock 2," Pittman writes on Bluesky, "me and [senior designer] Kent Hudson talked about doing a dynamic 'Big Sister scare' system, where we'd spawn the ostensible villain at the edge of your vision any time the game's tempo slowed down."
Bioshock 2 released in 2010, the same year as Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which introduced oppressive stalker monsters that pursue you on sight. With Pittman's scare system, BioShock 2 would have been in good company while innovating relentless video game enemies.
But, "It didn't end up happening," Pittman says, "and the Big Sister's appearances were all scripted." So the toddling enemies are more predictable (though the weapons of minor destruction they wear like a uniform are just as intimidating). That could be why "that idea has stuck around in my brain ever since," Pittman continues.
The designer is now using his dynamic scare idea for The Killing Stone, his just-released occult deckbuilder about "outwitting the Devil himself," as its Steam description says.
"CJ (artist) and Gretchen (engineer/designer) built a scare system, and it has added so much life to the level," says Pittman. "It's very fun as a gamedev to be surprised by something in your own game."
