It’s hard to imagine that Rapture was developed so early in this generation of titles, yet was such an impact in what it had to offer gamers. Irrational Games was able to create this living, breathing space that had a sense of reality to it despite the impossibilities of it all. However, now that Rapture is a thing of the past, this development team is seeking to do something similar with its next environment entitled, Columbia.

Columbia is the main setting in BioShock Infinite and is set in the air opposed to under the water, which should add an entirely new element to the game world itself. However, the location isn’t going to be a factor in one of the larger changes IG had in mind when developing this new iteration of BioShock. Instead, the developers wanted to provide a more enthralling experience through group combat and combat choice.

Speaking with NowGamer, Irrational Games’ Tim Gerritsen explains how the team wanted to include group combat beyond the 4-5 enemy situation featured in BioShock. Instead, they wanted to see 15 enemies on screen at once where the player was going to have to make a more strategic decision in terms of warfare.

“Group battles is definitely where we wanted to go. With BioShock you could have maybe four or five people on-screen at the same time and we did do waves of those numbers but we wanted to create a situation where you have mass combat going on. If you’re looking at 15 guys and they want to fight you, what do you do in that situation? Do I walk into a bar and go guns ablazing? Do I walk in and do something different? If someone does go all crazy agro on you do you instantly attack them or wait and see to how it plays out?”

What I gather from this quote is that BioShock Infinite is going to offer a world that lives and strives off the notion of pure possibility where one decision can change the type of situation your character falls in. Perhaps leaving enemies alone will result in them fighting each other and saving you massive amounts of time…or perhaps they gang up and decide to come and pulverize you first. Regardless, a game with choices such as these definitely adds a different element of strategy to them and I’m all for that.