Aja on 15/1/2010 at 23:26
Actually it's not even that, but I suppose you wouldn't know the difference.
june gloom on 15/1/2010 at 23:33
what's that slurping sound
Jason Moyer on 16/1/2010 at 05:20
This thread.
Scots Taffer on 16/1/2010 at 10:19
Personally I think this was an example of one of the more rounded BioShock discussions (especially in comparison to SS2). It seems like some people take any criticism towards BS on TTLG to mean "oh it's another senseless BS bashing by SS2 fanboys".
Which admittedly, it still is, most of the time.
polytourist97 on 17/1/2010 at 09:07
I probably put more effort into this than it's worth, but the nature and quality of the audio logs in BS is one of my biggest pet peeves regarding the game, especially since it is lauded as one of the strengths of the game.
Here are two audio logs (one from SS2, one from BS) that serve somewhat similar purposes...
SS2:
JANICE POLITO, RICKENBACKER: PANDORA
To: Delacroix, Dr. Marie.
The genie of Citadel station is out of the bottle, and I am the cause. I can't bear to be Pandora. And I'm not brave enough to wait around and see the death and misery I have caused... This is my last transmission, my friend. Be careful... I think SHODAN has plans for you.
Purpose to the player: Points out who was ultimately responsible for creating the situation (though this had been established through other audio logs and interactions), infers the author's fate, indicates a relationship between the author and another character, and clues the player into another potential plot concerning one of the other characters.
Purpose to the character/author: A final goodbye and a cautionary statement to a friend.
BS:
Transcript:
Frank Fontaine: Never play a man for the short con when you can play 'em for the long one. Atlas is the longest con of all. Ryan wanted Frank Fontaine dead, I just gave him what he wanted. As Atlas, I got a new face, a clean record, and a fresh start. Now it's time to take back Rapture and -
Diane McClintock: ...Ryan did. I can't wait to tell Atlas. He'll be so pleased...
Frank Fontaine (Using Atlas' voice): Uhh, Miss McClintock... what are you doing here? Let me just... (Back to normal voice) turn this off...
Purpose to the player: Points out who was ultimately responsible for creating the situation (however, like the previous log, this had also been confirmed through other logs and interactions), illuminates the author's motives and methods for achieving his "goal", indicates relationship with another character.
Purpose to the character/author: um.... hmmm.... keeping a record of incredibly incriminating statements and information that would undermine the author's entire purpose of being if it were to fall into ANYONE's hands? Why the hell would you record something like this? Is there ANY reason?
This is the key difference I notice between the "writing" in SS2 and BS. In SS2 the logs exist primarily as a function of some intent the author had within their fictional world for the log, and secondarily as something the player encounters and garners information from. In BS the logs serve primarily as something for the player to encounter and derive information from, and the purpose for the logs' existence aside from that is often shady at best. Add on top of that the campy and melodramatic presentation of the logs in BS and it makes me cringe just thinking about it.
SubJeff on 17/1/2010 at 10:00
Seconded. I felt many of the BS logs were similarly unnecessary within the fiction of the world and were only there to give info. Shame because I wasn't as immersed as I could have been for the great 4 the wall breaker. Funny how I liked it even though some of it was very predictable.
Matthew on 19/1/2010 at 12:36
Egomaniacs have never kept diaries?
Thirith on 19/1/2010 at 12:50
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Seconded. I felt many of the BS logs were similarly unnecessary within the fiction of the world and were only there to give info. Shame because I wasn't as immersed as I could have been for the great 4 the wall breaker. Funny how I liked it even though some of it was very predictable.
There was something extremely theatrical about
Bioshock, in the sense that the way it was written and designed it made for a very stylised dramatic experience. That doesn't make it inherently worse or better, as far as I'm concerned, it just makes the experience a different one - which was surprising after the whole "spiritual successor" spiel. In
System Shock 2 I felt that I'd just happened across the bits and pieces of story - in
Bioshock it felt more like I was the intended audience of the entire narrative. (In that respect, I felt that the game was an interesting but not wholly successful experiment in videogame storytelling.)
Which is probably just a windbaggy way of saying exactly what SE and polytourist97 said.
Jashin on 19/1/2010 at 17:38
Still waiting for some new info.
Syndicate is coming back, XCOM is coming back, a new fallout is coming from the original fallout folks...and Irrational is working on something...ambitious.
At least one of them is bound to be good!
Digital Nightfall on 19/1/2010 at 20:25
And then there's Arkane, who also have a secret project...
