Bioshock – Interactive Digital Narratives

Narrative Architecture in Bioshock

One aspect of Bioshock that I feel the developers excelled at is environmental storytelling, as discussed by Henry Jenkins in his “Game Design As Narrative Architecture”. Although Bioshock certainly contains strong narrative elements present in the dialogue and progression of gameplay/gamic goals, there is very little initial information that the player has about what is going on in Rapture beyond the clues they have in the virtual environment. Despite this, the player is able to use the clues around them to infer what kind of situation they are in and the progression of the game creates a smooth narrative flow with the nature of Rapture and the player’s surroundings becoming uncovered as they move through the game. The ways in which water and destroyed environments are used is very effective at this, with the sense that nature is taking its course and reclaiming Rapture from humans. There is also a sense throughout the game that Rapture was a project that never should have been conducted, that it goes against nature and is fundamentally wrong. The environment is dark and overrun with criminals, science experiments gone wrong, and insane people. There are lots of instances of broken furniture and machinery littered around the environment, creating a strong sense that the player is traversing through some sort of haunted house 1950s-inspired version of Atlantis. Through the initial elevator sequence alone, the player is able to get a fairly good grasp of the nature of Rapture and what kind of environment the game will be set in. The music and sound design strongly add to this environment, with shrieks and odd scraping sounds permeating the environment from unknown but seemingly nearby locations. The water covering almost everything in Rapture adds a unique element to the lighting, with reflections being cast from small pools of water or shine added to objects from their wetness. This creates even more dramatic lighting than the broken and patchy initial lighting causes, and when supplemented with the gaudy neon signs in some of the levels the lighting becomes a very strong element of the game environment.

Blast From the Past

Having played and loved Bioshock Infinite already but not either of the first two games in the Bioshock series, I was very excited to play the first game in the series. I love the narrative and character building present in Infinite, and the overall experience of playing the game was one of my favorite experiences with digital art that I’ve ever had. I’ve heard and seen so much about the original Bioshock game that I knew it would be good. Given this and my experience with Infinite I was pretty excited to play Bioshock. My excitement proved valid, with the engaging narrative, smooth gameplay and great graphics all creating a very enjoyable gameplay experience. I find it very interesting that Bioshock doesn’t really masquerade itself as some “art game” and is definitely geared toward a variety of audiences, especially some more hardcore gamers. I find that a lot of games now seem to try to achieve an artistic feel by including some sort of meaningful narrative and de-emphasizing every other aspect of the gameplay or at least making it feel more casual. Bioshock doesn’t really seem to do this, with the enjoyable gameplay style complementing the worldbuilding and narrative nicely. I find the graphic and setting contrast with Infinite very interesting, with very dark and dirty surroundings and characters fighting each other in the darkly colored abandoned underwater city of Rapture compared to the almost angelic coloring and character design present in much of Infinite. The religious references in Infinite contrast heavily and poignantly with the frequent drug references in the narrative and gameplay mechanics of Bioshock, bringing up some very interesting thematic concepts. I really like how creepy the first Bioshock feels, with the sound design and soundtrack creating an amazing sense of space and the sense that there’s always something out to get you just around the corner.

Final Game Log

We spent a lot of time talking about gender and feminism in class, because of this I had a feeling that it would be a common topic to blog about. I was curious what my classmates would come up with in terms of games that addressed or failed to address this topic. In my mind I had already picked games such as GTA and Gone Home, which fit both sides of the spectrum for how they approach these two major subjects. I was reading through people’s blog posts, and found that Samantha, Emi, and Luke all wrote about misrepresentation of women in videogames. Sam Wrote about Grand Theft Auto, a game the, unsurprisingly, was a common topic in class and in our blogs. I agreed with most of what Sam wrote as GTA is well known for its objectification and misrepresentation of women. Emi chose to write about Bioshock which surprised me. I had never thought of Bioshock as a game that sells masculinity. Her post made me think more about Bioshock Infinite more than the original, which she wrote about. The “little sisters” are just little girls, yet in Bioshock Infinite you have a female follower that is very powerful and eventually changes the outcome of the game. Lastly in Luke’s post he wrote about a game I had never heard of called Broken Age. His analysis was investing especially his statement about how girl’s common role in most science fiction games. All of these were strong points that I hadn’t necessarily considered when playing through games. I typically, subconsciously, turn a blind a blind eye to this topic as I do not look forward while I play a game.

What surprised me the most about reading through people’s posts was the level of detail and range of discussion. People were writing about things ranging from Chris’ article on perspective within Skyrim to Jasmine’s post on Rhythm Heaven. I learned a lot and enjoyed scrolling through people’s blogs. Chris wrote about my favorite game of all time and yet he still noticed things that I had overlooked about the impact of changing perspective. Jasmine wrote about a game I had never even heard of, yet I still was interested in reading what patterns and ideas she had noticed in her play-throughs. Overall these blogs helped me learn more about the the gaming industry. I was able to see patterns across games and platforms. It helped me connect much of what we discussed throughout the year into the real world.

Game Log #11 (Reflection): Summing it All Up

Looking on back on the various topics I discussed in my Game Logs, I am actually surprised by the lack of constant themes that tie my logs together. I find it pretty impressive that the games I chose were able to spawn unique topics of conversation that did not overlap with each other, especially when considering the fact that one of my games was Ratchet and Clank (not exactly a work renowned for its intellectual musings). There are some notable similarities, however, between some of the topics I discuss in my posts and posts authored by other members of the class. While on a base level this is perhaps not the most earth-shattering revelation, given the fact that as a group we studied the same topics and read many of the same assignments, I do find it interesting the Game Logs of my classmates actually serve to support some of my arguments and suggest that my posts were not simply incoherent ramblings.

For instance, Patrick’s post on death in Infinity Blade III relates to the concept of death in games that I discuss in Game Log #10, specifically in how we both explore how games can use death as a mechanic that ultimately leads to the development of a player’s skill. While Patrick tends to focus more on how this mechanic assisted his immersion in the gameplay, we both come to similar conclusions that death does not always act as a simple punishment for the player. Instead, it can provide a player with greater knowledge, skill, and power that will assist their next attempt. Another one of Patrick’s posts discusses the definition of a casual game in a way that mirrors my thoughts in Game Log #5, in that we both played iPhone games that defied the simplistic tropes tied to most mobile experiences. Several posts also discuss race in a manner that reflects some of the discussion I attempt to carry out in Game Log #6. Sam’s mention of potentially unintentional racial undertones in the intro of Grand Theft Auto V and Desmond’s exploration of Arab representation in Metal Gear Solid V point to the sort of conclusions I make concerning the depiction of Lee’s character in The Walking Dead.

I found Violet’s take on The Last of Us to be particularly intriguing. While her analysis tends to center around feminist critique, it also shares some interesting parallels to the popularity of zombie media I discuss in Game Log #7. I argue throughout my post that the recent decline in zombie games and the continued popularity of The Walking Dead can be attributed to a lack of public interest in the same old shoot-em-up gameplay that has characterized zombie games for years. The personal, human issues discussed in The Walking Dead are at the forefront of its appeal, with the apocalypse setting eventually fading into the background. I found it interesting that Violet’s distain for The Last of Us’ inability to accomplish anything interesting with its protagonists’ relationship resulted in her calling the game “another tired hyper-masculine experience.”

I am satisfied with the similarities that cross between my posts and the posts of my peers, as they allow me to fill in the gaps where my Game Logs fail to speak to each other. If I had to find a significant similarity that exists between two of my blogs, however, I would have to point to the personal anecdotes I use in Game Log #3’s discussion of Bioshock’s music and the gameplay of Halo I mention in Game Log #10. In both of these instances I used memories of my old gaming days that I had not thought of in years in order to prove my points. In writing Game Logs about them, I was able to determine what it was about these memories that made them so special to me in the first place. This was certainly an educational and valuable experience, as I was able to greater contextualize the joy I felt playing Bioshock and Halo for the first time all those years ago.

Exploring and Unraveling: Things Aren’t As They Seem

On the blog posts I’ve read from some of my classmates so far, I have been quite impressed. Each person I’ve read has really tried to explore what ideas are really present and how these ideas–removed from any glitz, marketing, or common platitudes–guide the mechanics in their respective games. Five posts especially showcase how our … Continue reading “Exploring and Unraveling: Things Aren’t As They Seem”

On the blog posts I’ve read from some of my classmates so far, I have been quite impressed. Each person I’ve read has really tried to explore what ideas are really present and how these ideas–removed from any glitz, marketing, or common platitudes–guide the mechanics in their respective games. Five posts especially showcase how our class has really dived into a lot of game worlds to discover new meanings embedded, intentionally or unintentionally.

Luke in his blog post on Broken Age discusses at length about how the game makes the player question their perception of reality as the in-game characters find assumption after assumption about the in-game world to be false. I’d be interested to see how that concept of an unreliable perception of reality would be applied to countergames, which disintegrate our expectations of what game is and should be. A lot of the counter games we saw in Galloway’s essay collection were very perception-bending, so I wonder how a narrative misperception of reality would pair with a visual misperception of digital objects?

Screenshot from Brody Condon’s Adam Killer

Violet’s blog post on Kim Kardashian: Hollywood also explores and unravels the idea of simulating reality in a way. The player simulates a fantasy reality of going through Kim Kardashian’s career trajectory. I would ask Violet how this celebrity game about becoming famous stacks up to other celebrity games? Does Kim Kardashian just have an incredibly strong brand (which she does), or is there a larger social phenomenon these kinds of games tap into (young people wanting to be celebrities so badly now)?

The societal want to attain celebrity status is not a super hidden feature, even though Violet still explores it well. On the other end of the spectrum, some classmates extrapolated a lot of interesting things by analyzing the real ideas behind some games. Matt wrote about Dear Esther, a game that challenges notions of action in a first-person format, and with the help of some organic chemistry clues hidden in the game, discovered a game that lost any air of pretension and became a touching game about loss and depression. Alec wrote about Desert Golfing and Harvest Moon and how the latter has the disguise of zen to its time-based system but does not have the required neutrality that Desert Golfing has. Emi wrote about complicated gender representation in Bioshock and how the Little Sisters appear to have agency without any power structures (because there is no society) yet are still at the mercy or cruelty of violent men who kill Big Daddies well.

Each of these five scholars have picked apart in similar ways what makes these very different games. They’ve approached these games’ systems by also approaching characters (usually the player’s character or actions). They only got to the larger points of each of their post by exploring the world through some character’s personal view that became their own, whether that was Kim Kardashian’s journey or Alec’s personal journey of relaxation and frustration. These games were rooted in people’s stories, and I found them to be interesting analyses because of it. I suppose it’s always important to remember that games are always connected to people, never really in a fantasy that’s far from a human author, political issues, or personal stories.

Image Sources:

Condon, Brody. Screenshot from Adam Killer. “Interview: Brody Condon’s ‘Adam Killer’ (1999).” Gamescenes, 31 May 2010, http://www.gamescenes.org/2010/05/interview-brody-condons-adam-killer-1999.html. Accessed 10 Dec. 2016.

“Little Sister Dresses from Bioshock.” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515802963548960476. Accessed 10 Dec. 2016.

Game Log #4 (Bioshock): Cultural and Scientific Significance

While researching literature that has discussed Bioshock, I came across an interesting piece by Adam Briggle and Meera Lee Sethi that discusses the relationship between narratives and scientific understanding. Briggle and Sethi illustrate that stories can frame complex ideas in ways that make them fathomable to a wide audience, making them an essential educational tool. Illustrating this point, the article looks to … Continue reading Game Log #4 (Bioshock): Cultural and Scientific Significance →

While researching literature that has discussed Bioshock, I came across an interesting piece by Adam Briggle and Meera Lee Sethi that discusses the relationship between narratives and scientific understanding. Briggle and Sethi illustrate that stories can frame complex ideas in ways that make them fathomable to a wide audience, making them an essential educational tool. Illustrating this point, the article looks to a quote from author David Foster Wallace: “Human beings are narrative animals. That is how we understand science” (35).

Briggle and Sethi focus particularly on a presentation given by David Rejeski, in which he made this point by looking to several particularly influential narratives that contain scientific concepts. One of the main examples given by Rejeski was Bioshock, along with Spiderman and Captain Marvel comics and Michael Crichton novels. Rejeski refers to these works as “deep, deep narratives” that served as the primary source of scientific understanding for many people: “the thing that scientists have to understand is that people will fall back on these narratives long before they will ever pick up a biology book” (37). While the dark themes of science fiction narratives like Bioshock and Jurassic Park have the potential to create a sense of scientific risk and unease, they also tend to instill readers with a sense of scientific fascination.

My initial reaction to Rejeski’s claims was directed towards the lack of actual science involved in Bioshock’s narrative. Many Michael Crichton novels, while fantasized in certain degrees, at least make attempts to ground themselves in the scientific world. Bioshock, on the other hand, takes place in a world of pseudo-science, where fantasy and magic has sprung out of “scientific” discovery. The scientific basis behind Eve and Adam is never actually explained, and is instead passed off as the result of the unfettered scientific progress allowed in Rapture. Similar claims can be made about the comic book examples that Rejeski refers to. However, Spiderman and Bioshock both fuel the human fascination with scientific possibility whether or not they are grounded in reality, and according to Rejeski this is makes them incredibly culturally significant regardless of the actual facts behind their subject matter. Ultimately, I have to agree with Rejeski’s assessment on this level. Wether the science behind Star Trek’s warp drive, Bioshock’s plasmids or Westworld’s hosts is ever truly explained is not actually that relevant. Instead, they instill an audience with a sense of scientific possibility that has the power to inspire.

All of this leads me to a final consideration: Bioshock’s inclusion in Rejeski’s list of culturally significant narratives. Bioshock has been significant to me for years, but does it occupy the same space in the public consciousness as Jurassic Park or Spiderman? My initial assumption would be that it does not. I doubt that many of my friends who do not play video games (which is most of them) have ever heard of Bioshock, while nearly everyone I have met has come across Jurassic Park at some point in their lives. However, some considerations still lead me to believe that Bioshock holds an important place in the public consciousness. For example, in previous posts I have mentioned the extensive internet communities that have sprung up around the game, and the well-recognized phrase “would you kindly.” Bioshock is also often referred to as a blockbuster in the gaming world, with 4 million copies sold across various platforms by 2010. While it may not hold a place in everyone’s minds, Bioshock has still managed to reach a broad range of consumers, enough to have scholars like Rejeski, Briggle and Sethi discuss it. In the end, the points rasied by the article point to the significance behind our class, as scholars can consider as games culturally important art forms that can affect societal change.

Source:

Sethi, Meera Lee and Adam Briggle. “Making Stories Visible: The Task for Bioethics Commissions.” Issues in Science and Technology, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2011, pp. 29-44.

Game Log #3 (Bioshock) – The Dissonant, Diegetic Soundtrack

Bioshock’s underwater city of Rapture is an environment that physically embodies broken dreams. Built by the visionary Andrew Ryan, the city was meant to represent the high-minded ideals of creative and scientific freedom, along with the optimism of 1950’s America. The freedom that Rapture offered ultimately lead to its downfall, however. The invention of Plasmids and Adam … Continue reading Game Log #3 (Bioshock) – The Dissonant, Diegetic Soundtrack →

Bioshock’s underwater city of Rapture is an environment that physically embodies broken dreams. Built by the visionary Andrew Ryan, the city was meant to represent the high-minded ideals of creative and scientific freedom, along with the optimism of 1950’s America. The freedom that Rapture offered ultimately lead to its downfall, however. The invention of Plasmids and Adam gave citizens new, powerful abilities, but ended up driving the populace into a state madness and obsession. The once-pristine, rusted and flooded environments of Rapture stand as a testament to what Rapture once was and how the errors of man caused everything to quickly go awry.

In Dr. Lerner’s Film Music course, I learned a great deal about how music is used to compliment film, and I find that many parallels can be drawn between video game and film soundtracks. In the case of Bioshock, dissonant, diegetic music can regularly be found playing from phonographs and radios within the game’s world. I am drawn to one particular memory from my first time playing Bioshock, when I found myself pinned between one of these radios and a horde of angry splicers. As Bobby Darin’s rendition of “Beyond the Sea” played in the background, I desperately used the last shells in my shotgun to dispatch my attackers that dashed at me from the dark. When the cacophony of my firing had died down and the splicers lay dead, I finally could take a deep breath. All the while, “Beyond the Sea,” kept playing softly.

Not only did the diegetic soundtrack serve to draw me into the world, but it served to highlight the broken dreams of Rapture just as the broken physical environment does. “Beyond the Sea” embodies late-40s-early 50s American optimism, with its melody and lyrics conveying a sense of cheerfulness and comfort. The splicers that attacked me, on the other hand, were a reflection of Raptures failures and the monster the city had become. The music served, therefore, as a dissonant soundtrack (or a soundtrack that does not match the actions on screen). Dissonant soundtracks are a common filmic technic, and they often emphasize particular themes or emotions by choosing music that purposely counters what is expected in a scene. Like the once-shining statues of Rapture, the diegetic music represents what could have been. Rapture was founded on optimism and creation, and the contrast between the music and reality confirm this. Ultimately, Rapture’s decaying physical environment and the game’s music work together to solidify that Rapture is a land of tattered dreams and corrupted potential.

Game Log #2 (Bioshock) – Player Choice

Bioshock is often pointed to as an example of a game that turns the mirror back onto the player, making them question the very nature of the game following its major twist and conclusion. As Bioshock nears its final chapter, it is revealed to the player that the phrase “would you kindly” was used throughout the game to … Continue reading Game Log #2 (Bioshock) – Player Choice →

Bioshock is often pointed to as an example of a game that turns the mirror back onto the player, making them question the very nature of the game following its major twist and conclusion. As Bioshock nears its final chapter, it is revealed to the player that the phrase “would you kindly” was used throughout the game to get the player character to perform specific actions. Both the character and the player were subconsciously controlled throughout the entire game without realizing it, a revelation that functions as a reflection on games themselves. In most games the player is expected to obey the game’s instructions without question in order to complete a mission/task, and Bioshock highlights this specifically. How much choice does the player of a game like Bioshock really have? While the player has control over their weaponry, powers and approach to each mission, ultimately the phrase “would you kindly” draws each player of Bioshock to the same confrontation with Andrew Ryan.

It should be noted that Bioshock’s self-questioning nature is a well-covered topic, and the game is regularly pointed to as a “deep” or “thought-provoking” video game (for example, I’m sure several members of our class will be examining Bioshock in Game Logs this semester). The phrase “would you kindly” is a particularly well-recognized term in circles familiar with gaming, and it has become a sort of video game meme on the internet as a result. I have played Bioshock through once, and my play through this semester allowed me to view the game with new eyes. I was aware of the game’s twist and message from the beginning, and so this allowed me to observe the game’s functions from an alternative point of view. Ultimately, I realized that the game directs the player in many more ways than just with the “would you kindly” phrase. For instance, a large, yellow navigation arrow looms at the top of the screen, constantly directing players to the level’s end goal. While I chose to play Bioshock without the arrow because I enjoy exploring the entirety of each level, the arrow functions in the same way that “would you kindly” does, always pushing the player towards a singular goal and inhibiting exploration. The game’s on screen prompts also suggest a similar lack of player choice. Text phrases like “PICK UP EVE” can be read almost as commands, partially explaining why I tended to bound through levels picking up everything I could get my hands on. While it was almost always beneficial to do so, my compulsive collection of items may have been spurred on by the game constantly telling me what to do.

Bioshock’s “would you kindly” phrase works in conjunction with several game mechanics to guide each player of the game in a particular direction. While Bioshock does offer different endings and multiple ways to tackle each level, players are guided down a particular path that leads to the same levels in the same order. In more ways than one, Bioshock questions player choice and the very nature of games

Gender Complications in Bioshock

In his article “Ruin, Gender, and Digital Games,” Evan Watts examines how post-apocalyptic games, like Bioshock, treat gender. Watts questions whether the destruction of social structures in Rapture “compliment freedom from the gendered power institutions of the culture in which both the game and the player are situated” (254). I would argue that Bioshock offers…

In his article “Ruin, Gender, and Digital Games,” Evan Watts examines how post-apocalyptic games, like Bioshock, treat gender. Watts questions whether the destruction of social structures in Rapture “compliment freedom from the gendered power institutions of the culture in which both the game and the player are situated” (254). I would argue that Bioshock offers a complicated presentation of gender.

As Watts points out, the “Little Sisters,” the main female presence in the game, exert freedom by roaming the city. They have the power in the collapsed society of Rapture. Additionally, they travel with “Big Daddies,” which Watts describes as “brandishing large phallic drills, [and] seem[ing] almost a parody of traditional masculinity” (255). Whereas female character usually get made into objects or tools in videogames, here the male characters get treated that way. The men stand as objects that must be destroyed by the player to get to the “Little Sisters.” Bioshock then argues that traditional power structures are societally caused, not natural, as the destruction of society leads to a shift in who holds power.

An image of a “Big Daddy,” with his phallic looking drill

Yet, the player must ultimately confront these female sources of power, and take it from them, either by harvesting or rescuing them. The player, who operates a male player-character, gets encouraged to violently murder them for their own personal gain, as killing them gets the player access to more abilities. Even the word “harvest” tries to downplay the act of violence. The player doesn’t have to murder them though, but the other option present equally questionable ideas, for if the player chooses to “rescue” the girls, it implies the need of a male entity to save them. Though Dr. Tenenbaum presents a female who could also save them, removing the issues, she leaves it up to a man, giving him the power to save them rather than using it herself.

The player can choose to harvest or rescue the “Little Sisters,” but either option reinforces negative gender stereotypes

As Watts posits, the “player can occupy the traditional male role of savior and protector of the female or reject this role, murder the child, and reap a greater quantitative benefit” (256). Either option is problematic, as they either end with a powerless female figure grateful to a male one for taking that power from her, or a dead female figure, killed by a powerful male one. Despite offering seemingly positive notions about gender, Bioshock ultimately reinforces negative stereotypes.

Source:
Watts, Evan. “Ruin, Gender, and Digital Games.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 39, no. 3/4 (2011): 247–65.

The Importance of Sound in Bioshock

Sound serves as a key element in Bioshock. With that in mind, I’m going to look at how Karen Collins’s article “Game Sound” applies to Bioshock, specifically in terms of diegetic sound, or sound that occurs within the character’s space. Interactive diegetic sounds are those that “occur in the character’s space, and the player’s character can directly…

Sound serves as a key element in Bioshock. With that in mind, I’m going to look at how Karen Collins’s article “Game Sound” applies to Bioshock, specifically in terms of diegetic sound, or sound that occurs within the character’s space.

Interactive diegetic sounds are those that “occur in the character’s space, and the player’s character can directly interact with them” (126). In the game, these relate specifically to the use of the radio and the audio diaries the player collects as they progress. The radio conversations with Atlas, and the occasional other character, trigger at key moments and get used to give the player goals and instructions. For example, Atlas instructs the player of what to do when they encounter one of the “Little Girls,” getting ADAM to unlock additional powers which help the player progress. The audio diaries develop the world by giving backstory on characters and events. Hence, the player can pick up multiple diaries on or by Dr. Steinman explaining his obsession with beauty and dissension into madness. A key point is the player can choose to listen to these diaries, or even whether to pick them up, so how much plot information they receive gets determined by how they play and whether they pay attention to the interactive diegetic sounds.

The player encounters audio diaries throughout the game, and can choose whether to pick them up and listen to them

Nondynamic diegetic audio “occurs in the character’s space, but the character has no direct participation in it” (126). Bioshock uses this type of sound to drive the player in the correct direction or alert them of danger. Collins describes a specific type of nondynamic diegetic audio, acousmatic sound, or “sound with no clear origin visually” which “may inspire us to look to the direction of a sound” (130). Most of the wandering Splicers operate under this type of sound. The Splicers aren’t reacting to the player, hence the nondynamic, but their noise warns the player of nearby danger, as the Splicers will attack as soon as they are within sight. This sound then gives the player time to prepare before moving forward and attacking.

Before they see and attack you, Splicers make noise, indicating their presence to the player

As the audio plays such a key role in the game, it makes it very difficult to play at times if you can’t hear clearly. For example, often while listening to diaries or the radio, the player will get attacked. The fighting sounds then block out the other sound, which can result in missing key information.