Because rumour has it – and has had it for a while now – that Ken Levine and crew are working on a new X-Com game. Whether they are or not, nobody knows. But if they are, that game is a shooter, with job ads for the company revealing that 2K Boston’s “next big project” is “an unannounced shooter”.

Who would have thought that the company behind one of the best shooters of the current generation would be working on another shooter?!?

2K Boston’s ‘next big project’ is a ’shooter’ [GameSpot]

Levine tells game site Gamasutra, “And when we thought about the shipping date of the project… We needed a certain kind of length for the title, because we had a scope and ambition in mind which is more ambitious than anything we’ve ever done.”

“Even more, substantially more ambitious than BioShock,” he continues. “And we knew that was not going to happen overnight.”

Sounds like this will be big, and it sounds like it’s something we won’t see for a long, long time. Be patient!

Ken Levine on Studio Culture: From Looking Glass to 2K Boston [Gamasutra]

Levine had just graduated from college and moved to San Francisco. The lady friend was a few years younger than him, and at the end of the summer, she had to go back to university.

“In our last day together in San Fran, I for some reason picked up The Legend of Zelda,” recalls Levine. “As she stood by waiting for some romantic gesture to happen on our last day living together, she was instead treated to watching me obsessively plow through Hyrule for around 15 hours. By the time the cab showed up to take her to the airport, I realised if I had any hope of keeping her as my girlfriend, it was time to shut off the NES.”

Needless to say, Levine adds, the next summer was not spent together. Good thing he had Link to keep him company!

Gaming Made Me: Ken Levine [Rock, Paper, Shotgun] [Pic]

Want to know what happened at that panel where their Stephen Totilo and Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal talked shop with Ken Levine and Todd Howard? They talked about Teddy Ruxpin.

The actual topic of discussion was whether hardcore gamers should fear the Wii. The answer? Good luck getting a definitive one from this vid. You could read it as a “No” with a “but” or a “Yes” with a “well” – your choice.

The bottom line for Levine and Howard is clarifying whether or not a Wii or DS release is by definition a non-hardcore game. Game developers aren’t out to make games based on the platform; they’re out to make games period, Levine says.

The highlight of the panel for me is the Teddy Ruxpin references. Anybody remember that toy? Why doesn’t Levine make a game about him? For the Wii, of course.

Ken Levine And Todd Howard On Whether Hardcore Gamers Should Fear The Wii

At the New York Comic Con today, Bethesda Softworks executive producer Todd Howard, responsible for overseeing Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls series, said that one of his company’s next project is an iPhone game.

Howard dropped the news of pursuing Apple’s portable platform during today’s “Vs. Mode Live” panel, in which he, BioShock lead Ken Levine, Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal and MTV’s Stephen Totilo flapped their gums about games to the delight of Comic Con masses. Croal dropped word of the reveal on his Twitter, offering no further info.

For all we know, it could be Fallout Touch. Bethesda is no stranger to portable development, publishing The Elder Scrolls Travels for Java-enabled cell phones and Nokia’s N-gage.

Additional highlights from the panel can be reviewed at MTV’s summary of the roundtable.

Ken Levine, Todd Howard Highlights From Our Comic Con Panel [MTV Multiplayer]

In an interview with Forbes, the 2K man speaks of his undying love for PCs, and his hopes that, in spite of “so many challenges” for PC gaming, the old warhorse can be made more successful.

Asked “What is the industry’s biggest mistake?”, Levine responds:

I’m a real believer in industrial Darwinism. It’s hard for an industry to make a mistake because the market tends to be self-correcting…but I wish the industry could find a way to make PC gaming more broadly successful. There are so many challenges for PC gaming—the complications from systems specifications to the drivers—most people look at PC games and say, “What are you talking about?” It’s a shame because as a gamer, I am never more comfortable than I am sitting with a mouse and keyboard two inches away from my monitor.

Good to hear, Ken.

‘Games Are The Convergence Of Everything’ [Forbes]

When you get a chance to work on something that was really creative you get the temptation to re-do things…We chose not to.

That means that the PS3 version will have the same final hours that the Xbox 360 does. Of course, developer 2K Marin is adding extra features to BioShock PS3, but the grist of the game is still the same. Mmmm grist.

‘BioShock’ PS3 Developers Chose Not To Improve Game’s Faulty Ending [Multiplayer]

My job there is to be a friend to Gore and John, be a resource for them and kick ideas around with them. At the end of the day John’s the writer and Gore’s the director. I’m not the traffic cop. They’ve been so respectful of the material and they’re fans of the material — neither of these guys have to make any movie, they’re both hugely successful in their fields, and for a guy like Gore Verbinski to go and make a Bioshock movie, that’s a choice he makes. He’s not in a place where he doesn’t get to pick what assignments come to him. Same with John. So my job is not to watch over them, it’s to say “hey guys, what can I do to help?” We’ve been talking some and it seems to me that these guys really are the right guys to be doing this.

Let’s hope so, Ken. Let’s hope so.

Ken Levine interview – Part 1 [OXM]

When we had the copy protection issues come out, I was out there talking about the product, I didn’t run away from that. And frankly I got some nasty fucking threats… I think it’s important that somebody takes responsibility, and at the end of the day my job as creative director is to sort of be the arbiter of taste… With great power comes great responsibility right?

Righto Spidey, righto.

Levine: “I got some nasty f***ing threats” [CVG] [Pic]