Bioshock: I’m a new addict!
April 26, 2009
Hey Guys! So I played an interesting game this week, Bioshock! When my friend first let me borrow it he explained that the object of the game was to kill little girls. I took it from him because I figured it would give me plenty to talk about, I wasn’t particularly excited to kill children (that was my disclaimer). Anyway, so I put the game in and it took me through the start button and then there was a small background story about who the character I was playing was. Then, all of a sudden all there was on the screen was fire and water, the game had started and I had no clue!! I’m ashamed to say that I stared at the screen for a good minute before I even though about pushing a button and carrying on with the game. This game was particularly challenging in the sense that it takes a bit of skill in handling the remote. You have to use the joysticks and the other buttons are all used to attack. What was particularly difficult for me was not being able to see the character that I was playing. For example, when I played the Mortal Kombat game I could see which character I was supposed to be. What I found was that because I couldn’t see the character the game sucked me in even more because I WAS THE CHARACTER! There was no role playing involved.
Finally I figured out my way around the fire, out of the water and into what looks like a castle. I move around and get into a submarine thing which closes and begins to descend into the water. As the submarine moves around I can see sort of and underwater community, but it seems to be deserted then all of a sudden a projector goes off and starts to tell a story of a man that was tired of all the restrictions that the world had imposed on people and he set off the create a hedonistic society where people could fulfill the utmost desires. His initial goal was to create a type of utopia, an anti-fascist and anarchist society. Well, apparently something went wrong and everyone turned into zombies and now the projector informed me that I had the luck to have crashed right in the snake bit. That’s when it hit me that I was in the water after a plane wreck…yeah I’m kinda slow sometimes. So, that’s when I hear a voice on a radio, since I’m on easy mode the game instructs me to pick up the radio, the voice tells me that he is going to help me get out alive and that I need to get to higher grounds and so my first mission begins.
What interested me the most was this idea, in the video game, of how careful people need to be about their desires. Let’s face everyone presented with and opportunity to live out every single one of their fantasies and desires would be ready to go. This notion that our desires can bite us in the ass really got to me, it’s the age old idea that too much of a good thing can be bad. The story was put together quite nicely and I kind of enjoyed playing the game. By the way I haven’t gotten to the part where I kill little girls yet. Apparently she’s protected by a big metal robot and she’ll show up as I advance in the game. I didn’t get too far so I’ll keep you guys posted on the progress. That’s it for today! Have a good one.
Cesia.
Ah yes, I think I’ve heard of this game before. A friend of mine told me about it and I’ve been to the website. It seems a dark premise and the sort of thing that would make you jump if you played alone in the middle of the night in the dark. I also heard that there were two ways you could play it though. One were you kill the little girls (and you rack up the most points this way) and another were you save them (less points, but a clearer conscience, which by the by, what does that say about out society if we reward killing over saving, but I digress). And my friend said that she would watch people she knew who had played the bloodiest games agonizing over wheather to play for the kill or the save. Looks like an incredible game though. Thanks for the insight.
-Risa
***SPOILER ALERT***
Bioshock, one of my personal favorites, is a very odd game to say the least. If the Genetic modification and steampunk gore don’t repulse you most likely something will. A lot of the game is based on these moral choices, killing the “little sisters” or saving them. one thing that you find out later in the game is that if you save them you get the same rewards but in bulk for saving I believe 5 in a row. So realistically, what the dilemma ends up being is immediate or delayed reward. The other thing about “little sisters” is that they really are not children but sea slugs. Just a little more back story, I don’t want to reveal the whole thing, but all in all I hope that the game doesn’t turn anyone off of these multi-choice, moral dilemma type virtualities. As long as people keep in mind that the stuff depicted in these games isn’t real and are virtual. Peace and game on!
I agree with you- I definitely think the idea behind the game is really interesting. It’s ironic to me that a society created to fulfill everyone’s utmost desires would end up going so completely haywire. I think a “real-life” reason for this might be that people’s desires are most often pretty selfish because, let’s face it, we all want the best for ourselves. But if we live in a society where all we care about is our own personal fulfillment, no one else would be cared for or looked after and there would simply be a community of people looking out for themselves. This cannot create harmony because no one would be compelled to work together.
I also have a question about the video game. I really don’t know anything about video games, but did this particular game have a certain type of rating since one of the goals is to kill little girls? I mean, that seems really violent to me. It’s one thing to blow up monsters and aliens, but to go after little girls…I just wonder what it’s teaching the young kids that are playing it, unless it has a rating that would caution parents against buying it for their children.
-Amanda