Two by Sea, One by Air: How BioShock Continues to be the Pinnacle of Video Game Storytelling

The year was 2007.

BioShock is released to the masses, and for the first time, the term Rapture is given a place as awe-inspiring as the word itself.

The year is 1960.

The player is plunged into the depths of mankind’s greatest achievement yet: A city underwater void of all obstacles obstructing science. What could possibly go wrong?

A city wide drug dependency turned ugly has plagued society with addicts fiending for the next hit of “ADAM”, the super drug capable of altering one’s genetic make up to allow for wonderful, horrible things. In order to survive, the player must use the drug to evolve into the ultimate killing machine. The search for truth, as per usual, is a muddy one, leading all over the city in an attempt to familiarize oneself with the surrounds and, unfortunately, the people. What BioShock capitalized on repeatedly throughout the adventure can be divided into two schools of thought: The tangible and the intangible.

For the tangible, it is easy to fall in love with the romantic disaster that is the City of Rapture. 2K and Take Two Interactive created a world by starting with the small things, such as vending machines. These zany pit stops were shortly followed by slightly larger pieces of the puzzle, with walkways, elevators, and theaters being as beautiful as they are haunting. The setting begins to take place with rooms being filled with deranged embodiments of the human spirit and dismantled remains of the human body. At last, Rapture is full. But it’s missing something.

That’s where the intangible comes in.

Ken Levine and his team built a world that was flooded with culture, social taboos, and heart. The story is told through the eyes of Jack, a character full of his own personality, in contrast to many first-person shooters. This allows players to identify with their passenger instead of using a blank and lifeless shell to carry them through to the next challenge. Levine’s vision to create a critical thinking action game that challenges morals and questions your beliefs every step of the way came to fruition through painstaking attention to detail and relentless perfectionism.

The year is 2010.

BioShock 2 hits the shelves and we are pulled by the heartstrings through rapture once more, this time through a different lens.

The year is 1968.

After awaking from a ten year coma, the player takes over as Delta, a behemoth creature nicknamed “Big Daddy”, in a search for his biological companion, Eleanor. The journey is a treacherous one made possible by the use/abuse of “ADAM”, focusing more on the aftermath of the first installment (Spoiler Alert: It’s not pretty). With a few more years under their belt, Take Two Interactive combined with Unreal Engine to go darker and deeper into Rapture than previously possible, creating a terrifying tale depicting just how far one will go to protect the ones they care about.

BioShock 2 was neither a placeholder nor a sequel.

It was its own, unique, standalone story.

Staples of the first game could be found (vending machines, drug-addicted inhabitants, etc.) interwoven with new breathtaking places and people, but friend and foe. By the end of the second journey, it seemed that Rapture had seen it all.

The year is 2013.

BioShock: Infinite takes the world by storm by shooting the Bathysphere up into the atmosphere.

Levine’s team is back at it in the tale of love, loss, and lessons learned. Booker Dewitt is the character of choice in this instant classic, as Infinite takes gaming and storytelling to a whole new level.

Gameplay was never an issue for BioShock, yet it was never the focus, either. Adding new complexities to their combat system was the only wrinkle needed to keep the gameplay fresh and inventive. Instead of changing the formula that was already working, they changed two factors instead.

Where. And when.

The year is 1912.

Columbia is the floating city in the sky that seceded from the Union to protect their ultra-religious beliefs. The change of scenery was a drastic shift and a welcomed one, as the series had never looked better with such a dynamic range of colors to play with in the heaven-esque landscape. The constantly moving and evolving background makes the player forget about the linear development of the game, which is well masked (Disclaimer: Linear gameplay is not a sign of narrative weakness, but that’s a discussion for another day). With the eye-opening surroundings and high-speed combat, the only thing needed was a story for the ages.

Levine delivered yet again.

Booker is thrust into a world he’s never seen before with simple instructions: Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. The further one unravels the story and gets questions answered, the more questions pop up. The game is narrated by two scientists, which can both help guide and confuse the player. Their hopeless romantic style is catalyzed by their poetic yet scientific observations. Do not despair, for this is the story that was always meant to be told. The emotion, experience, and pure awe is still palpable to this very day.

The year is 2016.

BioShock graces the newest generation of consoles to be played in 4K resolution, the way these tales were always supposed to be shared. Some games come and go with their respective consoles. Others, such as the BioShock Trilogy, transcend generations because they transcend what it means to be a video game.

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Patrick Bardenett, Contributor

Patrick is one of Game Chop's first contributors. He covers reviews and news, and keeps his finger on the pulse of the indie game field. He enjoys story-driven games, and loves diving into the more complicated plots of some of the world's best games.

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