IGNPC: Is Bio a true sequel or prequel to System Shock 2, or is it a spiritual successor?

Ken Levine: BioShock has absolutely no relation to the System Shock series in terms of the intellectual property, characters, settings etc. However, it is inspired by the open-ended design principles pioneered by Looking Glass. Irrational is dedicated to maintaining that tradition.

BioShock is also being created by the majority of the team who created System Shock 2 and many of the games which helped inspire it. This group includes me, Jon Chey (project lead), Steve Kimura (Art), Mauricio Tejerina (art), Nate Wells (art), Ian Vogel (design), and Alexx Kay (design). When Looking Glass went out of business (RIP, man, that place rocked the world and never got the credit they deserved), we were able to hire Eric Brosius (sound guru who created the sound for both Shock 2 and the entire Thief series), Dorian Hart (design on Shock 2, Thief and Terra Nova), Shawn Robertson (art), Darren Lafreniere (programming) and Sara Verrilli (design on Thief).

We're also incredibly lucky to have Robb Waters at Irrational, who not only created the look of Freedom Force, but was also the man who did the concept art for System Shock 1 and Terra Nova.