Ken Levine commented this week on downloadable content for BioShock. As the writer points out, BioShock with it’s very closed narrative is not the first game you’d associate with DLC.

For comparison, Half-Life 2’s episodic DLC works well with that game, extending the story after the cliffhanger ending. BioShock’s conclusion (at least the happy one I saw) tied up all the loose ends and left no room for post-plot antics. Another level just would not fit.

Bethesda has provided DLC for Oblivion since launch, with the final pack coming out next week. As an open-ended world, Oblivion readily facilitates the addition of new content, be it an expansion of the story, a new quest, a new weapon, or a new player house. The story in that game can be tackled at the player’s leisure, so it’s easy to add in a new level.

On the other hand, the Rapture of BioShock is such a tight experience that forces the player to move along a set path but in his own way. You can chose what skills to employ in combat and of course whether to save or harvest the little sisters, but you still run through the same number of levels and end up at the same boss. It’s an excellent way of telling a story, but leaves little leeway for a new level or expansion.

“Diablo II, to me, was a great model for an expansion, because it enhanced the original game, but also extended the game, too,” said Levine in an interview with Games for Windows magazine. “I’m not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience.”

“I think that certainly BioShock’s combat experience is great, but it could be broader. I’m a little more confused as far as how to expand the narrative experience,” he added.

The game is not fully linear, but there’s a definite starting and ending point, and the pacing is perfect. It could only be disrupted by attachments to the narrative. New plasmids though, that’s another story entirely. If they are implemented completely and don’t feel tacked on or useless, such DLC would be a welcome addition.