About a month after BioShock Infinite released, graphic designer Joe Trinder invented a an advertising poster for a vigor that harkened back to one of the plasmids from the original BioShock. That poster and its plasmid will be featured in the “Burial at Sea” extension due to release later this year.
“Old Man Winter” was a hypothetical BioShock Infinite vigor based on “Winter Blast,” a plasmid from BioShock that would freeze enemies solid and allow you to shatter them. Trinder’s work was quickly noticed and received praise from Ken Levine, the BioShock creator,
Turns out that Irrational Games bought Trinder’s design from him a month later, and now it will be featured in the game. IGN has the full story, and video of Old Man Winter in Action.
“I just saw the piece of art and I was like ‘Holy shit, this is fucking great,’” Levine told IGN. Levine said he noticed it because “I go to DeviantArt all the time” — a habit we know all about already. “I’m constantly trying to think of ideas about how to leverage the fan community, because some of them are amazingly talented.”
Booker DeWitt will see Old Man Winter posters early in “Burial at Sea,” reports IGN, and must obtain the plasmid to advance the story. He’ll do so in a section of Fontaine’s Department Store that has been taken over by splicers.
The Story Behind BioShock Infinite’s Old Man Winter Plasmid [IGN]
Comments
6 responses to “BioShock Infinite’s DLC Will Feature One Fan’s Home-Brewed Vigor”
Sooo, people are getting praised, for giving the creator an idea that they already thought up years ago and implemented themselves?
He’s not being paid for the idea, but for them to use his artwork in the game.
What are you talking about?
Why do they keep bit linking to their own articles? The gain NOTHING from this, just making the whole process opaque.
I hope he got a good deal that doesn’t leave him regretting not going for royalties instead. Though I guess there’s a certain amount of prestige at being able to say “I made that” that supersedes any desire for money.
Unfortunately, they probably offered him a sum. If he stuck up his nose for wanting royalties they would probably say “that’s the offer, take it or leave it”. As you said, he’s probably stoked for having it in their game!