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I made BioShock... BUT IT'S 2D
Key insights
6 takeaways- 01Technical implementation in the Unity engine relied on 2D lighting systems, particle kits for environmental effects, and custom code to manage background movement.
- 02Integrating character sprites for the protagonist, splicers, and the Big Daddy demonstrates that 2D adaptations can effectively maintain the narrative weight and aesthetic identity of a 3D masterpiece.
- 03The project successfully translated Rapture’s complex Art Deco architecture into 2D by utilizing layering, parallax effects, and strategic lighting instead of high-fidelity 3D models.
- 04The project incorporated a Flappy Bird-style puzzle sequence to contrast the original game's tone and simulate the high difficulty levels common in 1995-era console gaming.
- 05Recreating a small fraction of the BioShock environment in 2D required eight hours of dedicated illustration and design, highlighting the significant labor investment behind seemingly simple art styles.
- 06The endeavor serves as a practical case study on the scale of the original 2007 production, which required a $25 million budget to achieve its immersive 3D world.
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Transcript
did you know that pyos shck was originally a 2d game from 1995 me neither that's because it wasn't what you're seeing right now on screen is actually me trying to recreate Bioshock as a 2d game originally I had a simple plan I was just going to take the first 5 minutes of shooting splicers recreate it in unity and hooray I've impressed the internet then I realized something the entire Bioshock series is kind of built on a beautiful foundation and that is those games have incredible introductions so it would kind of be a disservice to not create the introduction to Rapture now believe it or not the legendary intro was not even in the original game Ken LaVine had to quickly throw that together to help bring some context to the game now in order to create the introduction obviously we got to create a 2d Jack because the camera is pretty far away from the protagonist in unity his design can actually be pretty simplistic anything more complicated is going to look pretty messy and Unity the only
real detail is the sea far shirt and Bam you got Jack this thing is so hot I can't do this so I began illustrating the Lighthouse at the crash site in Photoshop I started with a 3840 X 2160 canvas that's 4K and I wanted to match the colors of the game exactly so I simply just took a screenshot stole the hex values and used those complimentary colors to create a beautiful scene now ever since I was 13 years old my approach to 2D game art has always been kind of minimal I start with a few colors super simplistic shapes and I add detail slowly if I start too complex I kind of get lost and I end up giving up trust me I'm a Layman when it comes to 2D artart and as you can see anyone with just few simple shapes like a rectangle a few triangles you can create a breathtaking scene now in my opinion this simplistic art technique pays off so be sure to stick around at the end of the video to experience the full dive into rapture I polished off the scene in
unity with a $20 asset called 2D water and also a $10 particle kit called tune fire so what do you think did I accomplish the crash scene let me know in the comments below and would you kindly feel free to leave a like and also would you kindly be sure to subscribe and would you kindly be sure to hit the notification Bell what you got [Music] the most challenging scene was actually the inside of the lighthouse I started with a massive golden head of Andrew Ryan and believe it or not illustrating a giant golden head is kind of challenging especially with just this simple mouse the trick here is starting with a generic head shape and just using gradients to create shadows and highlights now here's a quick trick putting Dark Shadows next to really bright highlights can make your scene really pop it makes it look three-dimensional believe it or not this trick is accomplished with just the Marquee tool and the gradient tool that's about all I used for Andrew
Ryan's head now I was feeling kind of proud about my artwork so I asked my wife to come into my office she saw the 3D Bioshock original game first and then showered me with praise she thought I made that no honey this this this is what I made so I took to Twitter instead to see what they thought and Ryan's lips be smacking doubled down I spent a couple hours on the bathos spere at the bottom of the lighthouse I Incorporated the Photoshop layers into my 2D game kit through in some of unity's 2D lights and Presto were ready to descend into the 2D Abyss there's a common Trope with a lot of classic Super Nintendo games they take something very simple like say a song from The Lion King and they turn it into a ridiculously hardcore frustrating puzzle sequence that makes absolutely no sense if I die I'm fighting somebody I swear oh my so obviously I had to do just that for bioshock's introduction to rapture
I transformed the gorgeous submersion sequence into wait for it a Flappy Bird challenge God it it before I built the mechanics which let's be honest is just smashing the space bar spent 8 hours replicating Bioshock layer after layer after layer after layer of Art Deco se- scrapers in Photoshop I then took screenshots of the various neon signs and I replicated them in a minimalistic vector art style now with the help of a for Loop that honestly I don't even remember how I made it or what it even means but this was from my cyberpunk 2D game and as you can see I've taken advantage of unity's particle system and I just put it into the scene and we have that Parallax effect now a lot like the Utopia Rapture this is all just a lie all it is is the layers simply move at different speeds relative to the camera's movement to simulate a parallax effect and just like that Flappy shock was born and hey why
not polish off the scene by stealing Gary shyan's entire score and Amir Shimmer's voice acting we can talk about it later if you like and there you go this never gets old does it last but certainly not least I created the interior Rapture a funny thing happens with Gamers today especially for you spoiled rotten Zoomers sorry Gamers simply run past the gorgeous level of detail that cost millions of dollars to create in a strange way the cost of a digital building is similar to an actual real building it wasn't until I began replicating the architecture in Photoshop that I now kind of understand why Bioshock cost a whopping $25 million to make this interior alone took me a full 8 hours to create and this is perhaps just 1% of what we see in the original game and the elephant in the room is that this is just 2D finally I quickly duplicated Jack's T
pose into a thuggish splicer took advantage of my code for my cyberpunk remake and of course this project would have been an entire waste of time had I not also created Big Daddy and little sister and then bought a Five Guys cheeseburger to celebrate the completion of this Bioshock remake guys this project was honestly way more work than I expected my respect for Ken LaVine and his massive team at 2K has deepened by about I don't know 100 fathoms that's like 600 feet so yeah it's deepened a lot all right let's go ahead and play the game and and just remember guys if you want to join my 2D art program feel free to click below to take advantage of that massive 50% off sale event that's available for the next 5 days all right let's play Super BioShock
[Music] n [Music] city where the artist would not fear the sensor where the scientist would not be bound by P morality where the great would not be constrained by the small
with the sweat your brow Rapture can become your city as well [Music] [Music] yeah yeah [Music]
[Applause] look Mr Bubbles it's an angel I can see light coming from his [Music] belly thanks so much for watching guys would you kindly leave a like if you felt like I did a good job on this game and be sure to subscribe for more videos like this I like to recreate games in unity so let me know in the comments below if you want me to make another game and don't forget about that 2D gam kit below totally free my treat to you cheers guys
Summary
Recreating the iconic introduction of the 1995-era aesthetic for BioShock within the Unity engine serves as a practical exploration of game design, art direction, and the technical challenges inherent in translating 3D environments into 2D. The project focuses on the initial descent into the underwater city of Rapture, utilizing a minimalist art approach to capture the game’s atmosphere while managing the complexity of asset creation. By breaking down the environment into simple geometric shapes and leveraging Photoshop for illustration, the process demonstrates how effective visual storytelling can be achieved through layering, parallax effects, and strategic lighting rather than high-fidelity 3D models.
The technical execution relies on a combination of Unity’s 2D lighting systems, particle kits for environmental effects like fire and water, and custom code to manage background movement. A significant portion of the development involved replicating the Art Deco architecture of Rapture, which highlighted the immense labor required to build immersive game worlds. The project underscores the disparity between the perceived simplicity of 2D art and the actual time investment required, noting that even a small fraction of the original game’s environment necessitated eight hours of dedicated illustration and design.
Beyond the visual recreation, the project incorporates gameplay mechanics that contrast with the original title’s tone, such as a challenging puzzle sequence modeled after the Flappy Bird style to simulate the frustration often found in classic console games. Ultimately, the endeavor serves as a tribute to the original development team, providing a deeper appreciation for the $25 million budget and the massive scale of the original production. By successfully integrating character sprites for the protagonist, splicers, and the Big Daddy, the project concludes that even simplified 2D adaptations can effectively evoke the narrative weight and aesthetic identity of a complex 3D masterpiece.
