Title. BioShock Cover (BioShock, 2007)

I have sometimes been asked to describe what libertarian-ism is. I could go into a long discussion about politics, or I could simply reference the city of Rapture from BioShock and say “pretty much that philosophy”.

What Happened to the Illustrious City

Figure 1: City of Rapture (BioShock, 2007)

The main setting for this game is the city of Rapture meant to be a place freed from the constraints of government regulation. Right from the start, one can tell that the city once was grand, but now stands empty except for a few crazies that are the game’s enemies. The mystery of what happened to the city is the overhanging plot of the piece. The 1960s aesthetic is evident throughout the game such as with the music and the retro-futuristic design of the place.

Figure 2. BioShock Radio (BioShock, 2007)

In addition to the mystery, there is a radio through which a narrator/guide leads the player through the city to accomplish certain objectives. Also, scattered throughout the game are radio clips from past residents of the city which the player can find and listen to in order to learn about what happened to the city. Everything throughout the levels suggest a lived-in city. There are radio clips of people making a diary entry about themselves; there are shops and stores with goods lined on the shelves and money in the register; the enemies even babble like madmen suggesting their old lives such as a woman doting over an empty baby carriage and a man complaining about how his wife left him. It’s all crazy what they say, but it all suggests that things were once normal. We even hear from the main villain Andrew Ryan talk about his philosophy about why he built the city and what he meant for the people living there in radio clips found by the player as well as a few quips messaged directly to the player through the radio. These radio clips aren’t just random either, but are often supported by where they are found. For instance, there is a radio about a person describing how the pipes in the city are not treated properly next to an area where leaked water froze into ice or the thoughts of a scientist studying a plot-specific scientific formula next to one of the ingredients for that mixture.

Figure 3. BioShock Surgery (BioShock, 2007)

The player explores through a variety of different levels, each with unique decor and style. As one travels through these levels, they begin to get a better idea about what went wrong in the city of Rapture. For instance, one of the levels has a player travel through a plastic surgery ward. Near the beginning, the player sees posters advertising the procedure and scattered radio tapes talk about the medical advances and wonders of the doctor, but as the player advances, the posters start to appear gratified in blood, the enemies start to complain about how they were once beautiful, and the radio tapes show the doctor turning into a twisted artist. Eventually, the player finds the doctor himself, driven mad by his efforts to create the perfect woman with a string of bloody failures (corpses).

The Gameplay

Figure 4. Little sister (BioShock Remastered, 2016)

In gameplay, along with the guns expected of first-person shooters, the game also includes a magic-like system of enhancing items called plasmids. These abilities are physically added to the human genetics allowing the player to throw fireballs or lightning (a bit fantastic, but hey). These abilities are tied directly to the little sisters, freakish children with glowing eyes who are protected by the hardest enemies in the game: the Big Daddies. These little sisters sir up their own mystery as, early in the game, the guide/narrator heavily recommends the player to harvest the basis for the plasmids (Adam) within the little sisters, killing them, while an unknown maternal figure asks that you simply heal the little sisters with less Adam gained for advancements.

Conclusion

The mystery about what happens to the city is intriguing and well developed into the scenery. The number of collectibles, “hidden” rooms, radio recordings ensures that even a thorough player rarely ever sees everything on the first run through. In addition, the setting is extremely detailed and immersive giving the game its own feel that no other game has yet replicated. The uniqueness of the experience, the immersive, deep gameplay, and the narrative itself make the game fun to play and replay.

References

BioShock. (2007). [PC]. Novato, CA: 2K Games

BioShock Remastered. (2016). [PC]. Novato, CA: 2K Games

BioShock Cover [Digital image]. (2018, October 29). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BioShock_cover.jpg

Rapture [City of Rapture]. (2018, September 10). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rapturecity.png

Little Sister [Digital image]. (2016, October 04). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P94qGxw4uWg/maxresdefault.jpg

Atlas Voice Clip [BioShock Radio]. (2011, January 22). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wq5U33QevgI/hqdefault.jpg

[BioShock Surgery]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTlewuq4cSGfZRrc2TY-5NMPgfb3D2xg9Cu2yk3UheuCpER2CdsmQ

*I was unable to capture my own screenshots so there is a noticeable drop in quality of the game clips compared to my other posts.