11/25/2023 0 Comments Bioshock infinite racismThe violence isn't only justified by character, story or themes. It's also saying a lot about video games, and as it delivers its story and themes, it does it through patterns and behavioural codes that we all understand. It's a story about extreme beauty, and extreme ugliness. It is a story about a violent man, and about the violence within society. If there is any game that can justify its violence, it is BioShock Infinite. Here the writer and comedian addresses Hamilton's concerns and defends the level of violence in the game: The Kotaku contributor asserts that the outrageous violence in the game prevents it from being something that can be held up as a great work of art.īioShock Infinite is in many ways so, so close to being That Game, the one we can show to our non-gamer friends and say "See? Look at this! It is so awesome! Check out the story! It's like LOST! How neat is this?" But it's not That Game, because it's so hilariously, egregiously violent that a large number of people will never give it a chance. Bioshock Infinite is insanely, ridiculously violent. Some are from established writers, some from bloggers and game designers, one is from a politician, but all shed light on why this idiosyncratic release has provoked so much discussion. In case you've missed any or all of these, here is a selection of articles that interrogate the game in interesting ways. Because it refuses clarity, for good or bad, BioShock Infinite has inspired a huge range of impassioned and conflicting responses. And that is where the discourse comes in. Its commentary on racial segregation and civil rights its sheer violence the lifelessness of its world – these have all fascinated and concerned players. It drops hints and red herrings, it throws in cultural and academic references it provides the impression that its creators are mad scientist authors with notebooks filled with backstory.īut yet it leaves players to figure out a lot of the stuff themselves – and the evidence it gives us is sometimes troubling. Like Lost, it blurs the boundaries between fantasy and scientific possibility, and like Lost it revels in ambiguity. And yet while most Triple A shooters confine themselves to achingly unimaginative military scenarios or archetypal man v alien slugfests, Infinite thrusts us into a bizarre rendering of early 20th-century America and places its combat within the context of religious hysteria, racial struggle and quantum mechanics. Here is a mainstream, hugely expensive action game, developed by a team of hundreds over several years. The value was as much in the conversations between fans as it was in the onscreen machinations devised by the scriptwriters.Īnd this, ultimately, is the critical appeal of BioShock Infinite. It was a shared viewing phenomenon that drew audiences into a cabal of co-conspirators and theorists. This was a mainstream show that constructed its own densely elaborate mythology, employing everything from number theory to ancient religion a show that encouraged readers to explore the philosophy of John Locke and David Hume a show that used alternative reality gaming and brilliant community management to broaden the reach of the fiction beyond linear storytelling. Whatever you think about that ending, when ABC brought its hugely expensive series Lost to a close in 2010, it concluded perhaps the most fascinating and complex franchise in network television history. Warning: this feature and all the articles it links to contain details of the game's story and outcome.
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