Nicolas Courcier - BioShock: From Rapture to Columbia

For JMC. MC. both MEs B and MN.

BioShock. From Rapture to Columbia
by Nicolas Courcier, Mehdi El Kanafi and Raphal Lucas
published by Third ditions
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Published by: Nicolas Courcier and Mehdi El Kanafi
Text by: Nicolas Courcier, Mehdi El Kanafi and Raphal Lucas
The Music of BioShock chapter by: Damien Mecheri
Edited by: Thomas Savary and Zo Sofer
Layout: Julie Gantois
Classic cover: Johann Papayou Blais
Collector cover: Bruno Wagner
Translated from French by: Meghan McCallum (ITC Traductions)

This educational publication created by Third ditions is a tribute to the popular video game series BioShock. The authors aim to tell a piece of the BioShock games story in this unique collection by deciphering the inspirations, context and content of these elements through reflections and original analyses. BioShock is a registered trademark of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Cover art is inspired by the artwork in the BioShock video game series.

English edition copyright 2017 by Third ditions.

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 979-10-94723-63-0

I grew up playing role-playing games and had the great fortune to begin my personal gaming quest in the late 1970s, when gaming really began. Over the years I continued to play almost every RPG that came out in an effort to remain informed on every new feature and approach used by the most modern games of the time. I also had the great fortune to be one of the founders of BioWare, and had the chance to work on a number of successful role-playing games. Its fair to say I have a bit of a passion for a well-made game.

So when I was asked to write a few words of introduction for one of my favorite games of all time, BioShock, I jumped at the chance. I felt I could share how the game really impacted me, and how it advanced the art of gaming.

In BioShock, like most games, the first few moments are an experience of exploration: learning the controls, learning how to explore the environment, and eventually achieving a certain level of comfort in your knowledge of how the world worked. BioShock was one of those rare games where that comfort never appeared. As a player I was always on edge, uncertain what to expect next, but I was also mesmerized by the world woven by the Irrational team.

BioShock was the one of first examples of what I would call environmental storytelling. Rather than hitting the player over the head with the narrative arc (like we tended to do at BioWare), BioShock embedded the story in its world, like breadcrumbs to follow. And, if you watched really carefully you would find subtle clues of what happened in Rapture. The more you searched, the more you learned about yourself, about Rapture, and of course about Andrew Ryan.

As gamers were conditioned to anticipate boss fights with a level of grim enthusiasm. It seemed like Andrew Ryan was the big boss that we were going to battle, and the grand narrative carefully set up the encounter, but what you discovered as a player was completely different. The phrase a man chooses, a slave obeys has stuck with me ever since. And that is all Ill say about what I think is one of the most powerful moments Ive experienced in a game. Id expect that if youre reading this book, youve played BioShock, and in the rare case you havent you need to play it immediately to understand the nature of man.

GregZeschuk

Greg Zeschuk was born in 1969. In 1995, he co-founded BioWare with Ray Muzyka. The two worked on Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Dragon Age and Mass Effect. After the publisher Electronic Arts purchased BioWare in 2012, the two founders left their positions and turned to various other professional ventures. Zeschuks passion for beer, shared among ail the writers of this work, led him to start a blog and show about the topic.

Preface

THE BioShock saga indisputably bears the mark of its creators. The team from the U.S. developer Irrational Games was led by Ken Levine, who made a name for himself with his first game, System Shock 2. The similarity between the two titles is no coincidence. Above all, it shows a connection between the sources of inspiration that drove their creations. The trademark word, Shock, seen again in the BioShock Collection, draws ties between games with extremely detailed gameplay. Behind the controller, the player has a wide variety of tools at his disposal, and is free to use them at his convenience. His playing technique depends directly on his own hopes and desires. Does he want to be strong and forceful? Or maybe a little more subtle? Does he expect to use reflection and anticipation as he moves forward? All of this is of course possible, because the range of actions is so opendespite the apparent simplicity of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. The Shock identity is built and develops in an extremely detailed universe. It is coherent and credible, and offers a perfect environment for this open gameplay. While it is high quality, the established universe never actually defines the game. It accompanies it, envelops it, but remains a backdrop that could be swapped out for another. Finally, each part of the Shock saga sets itself apart with its mature, intelligent approach, which leads receptive players to carefully reflect on mankind and its dreams.

While this technical and artistic touch is effectively expressed through the various titles, its also shown though the games ability to progress and adapt over time. Although a fingerprint of the Irrational Games philosophy is found in all their games, System Shock 2, BioShock and BioShock Infinite are distinguishable from one another. System Shock explores science fiction, trapping the player on a spacecraft, while BioShock enchants us with biopunk and Art Deco. Without a doubt, in a perfect worldwithout the pressure of an editor wanting to make a profit from a well-known name, or the weight of expectations from the fans of Irrational Games previous gamethe third installment,