Ken Levine, the creator of the BioShock franchise as well as a writer and designer on System Shock 2 (another game hailed as a breakthrough for the industry), has said that he always “wanted to change the way people about shooters.” The richness and detail of Rapture and Columbia was second only to the fully fleshed-out antagonists at every step, characters that made players question the world around them (both in-game and real-life).
This made the game more atmospheric and experiential for players, as opposed to previous cinematic iterations of games that had audiences sitting through minutes-long cutscenes (see: Metal Gear Solid, whose third game has a 25-minute cutscene and a 71-minute cutscene at the wrap of the fourth installment). Instead, players could investigate the worlds of Rapture (the underwater city of BioShock 1 and 2) and Columbia (the floating city of BioShock Infinite), stitching together a comprehensive picture of how they got to that point in the story. A first-person shooter that had been in development for five years, it fused the potential of storytelling and game mechanics, and, as New York Mag put it, “proved that video games could be art.” Though expectations following such reviews were high enough that disappointment seemed inevitable, the game delivered in spades and changed the future of the video game industry.Ī first-person shooter with the pioneering mindset that “ the story was as important as the visuals,” the narrative and environmental aspects of the game encouraged the player to venture beyond the traditional “go forth and conquer” mentality. Now, a fourth installment is confirmed to be in development, but it could do more harm than good.īack in 2007 when it was first released, BioShock hit the shelves as a defibrillator for the video game industry.
The first game won the BAFTA-sponsored Game of the Year award and the following two installments, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinit e, bagged several nominations and wins in sound design, music, artistic achievement and performance categories.
A combination of innovative mechanics, philosophical ideals and phenomenal concept art, the game takes place in the underwater city of Rapture, which has hosted some of the best story arcs in the gaming world. With over 37 million copies sold (as of May 2021) and more selling daily, the BioShock franchise is one of the most successful in video game history.
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