Gameplay Journal Entry #7
One of my favorite video games that has political undertones and subtle, yet effective commentary on society is the Bioshock series. It takes place in 1960 in an underwater city known as Rapture located in the Atlantic Ocean. Rapture was built with the intention of creating a utopia for members of high society, where they could escape the rules and limitations that the common citizen had to deal with. However, Rapture quickly became a dystopia when former gangsters began taking power and increased class divisions, eventually leading to a violent rebellion that left the city largely destroyed. The game begins with the protagonist, Jack, getting into a plane crash that he is the sole survivor in. He then swims to the entrance of Rapture, which is an elevator on a small Island. Above the elevator is a banner with the phrase “No Gods Or Kings. Only Man.” This quote, which almost instantly became famous, is a great example of the political commentary present throughout Bioshock. It shows how the founder of Rapture had good intentions in attempting to create a utopia, but human nature makes utopia nearly impossible to achieve in reality. This could also be commentary on how society’s richest thinks they know what’s best for everyone.
One of my favorite parts about Bioshock is that its political and societal commentary isn’t intrusive or annoying, and the player doesn’t feel like they’re having the beliefs of the game developers forced upon them. This is a concept that was discussed in Exploring the Creative Potential of Values Conscious Design: Students’ Experiences with the Values at Play Curriculum; “students are likely to perceive some degree of incompatibility between designing games to be entertaining and integrating values as a core design consideration. This may be in part because they think that values-conscious games should not be based on conflict, and they see simulated conflict as one of the chief “fun factors” in mainstream games. We regard this as a misconception, and believe that it should be addressed directly by the instructor and in the instructional materials.” (Belman & Flanagan). This quote further supports the claim that when political commentary is done correctly in terms of value-based design, it should not subtract from the gameplay experience. This let’s play video shows the entirety of the first Bioshock game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myzFQ-1ODyI.
Works cited:
Belman, Jonathan, and Mary Flanagan. Exploring the Creative Potential of Values Conscious Design: Students’ Experiences with the Values at Play Curriculum. 2010.
