BioShock would never have been half as good as it turned out to be were it not for the time and faith publisher offered the project, that's the word in from designer Ken Levine, speaking at Develop today.

Levine says that the time he and his team were given meant mistakes could be made and rectified during the period.

"We didn't get as much time as does, but it was a lot more than we used to get," he explained.

Games should evolve, rather than be planned out, according to the team. Lead artist Nate Wells said it was a more artistic project. "Making art is about fighting, arguments, throwing glasses."

They also revealed that an 'eel man' monster was axed from BioShock. The beast dragged itself across the floor and could become invisible, but they quipped that its main attack was "making you feel awkward".

Moral decision making, despite being one of the most lauded features of the game, were not part of the original concept - the Little Sisters arriving on the scene surprisingly late. Levine is also an enemy of focus testing early-on in development, stating that "really bad data" can emerge from such sessions.

Word out of Brighton today also reveals that Levine is not taking a highly active role in BioShock 2, but rather he's just kicking-off work on a secret brand new project. The ambitious title will be just as daring as BioShock according to Levine, with Take-Two once again backing the game maker to the hilt.

By Luke Guttridge