

[Editor's note: Did I just promote Atlas? Ironically enough, BioShock's twist was ruined to me because of Atlas. Thanks, dick. -- CTZ]
There is more than one way to destroy. You can obliterate, crush, and maul in a game, but there is only one true way to destroy a game itself. Spoilers.
Yes, spoilers. This can destroy in such a potent way that is not comparable to others. Games can come crashing down from the highest peaks of joy and bliss with just a few words. No other destruction comes close.
People who spoil games are dicks. It is so much worse than spoiling a movie. Imagine spending days upon days of your life devoted to one single game only for someone to ruin it moments before you see what you have been working so hard to earn. Spoilers are the bane of any story-driven media, whether it be books, movies, or videogames.
Who is Atlas?
BioShock is a game driven by it's amazing twists and turns, and while it definitely cools down by the finale, a certain twist in particular is so amazing that it immediately earns the entire game a playthrough by gamers of any creed. To ruin this twist is to ruin the entirety of the game. This twist is not the question above, but it is amazing none-the-less and inspired me in ways a book or movie never could. I even attempted to read the book "Atlas Shrugged", a thousand page drudge of unrealistic ideals that were greatly borrowed by the game. Hell, I am Atlas solely because the game had a level of awesomeness that I had never seen before. The story made the game, and spoilers break it.
The revelations in the Star War films are enough to give a wanna-be Jedi a wet dream. Once this spoiler hit the fan, there was no going back. Few spoilers are more prevalent in our society. I have to admit, I came to the whole Star Wars scene a decade too late. It wasn't my fault, but by the time I saw the movies, I knew the spoilers and a part of me wanted to scream. For anyone who actually cared about Star Wars to know about the major twists and turns before they had watched the films is devastating. The wind was blown out of this one before I even had a chance to enjoy it.
Spoilers ruined pivotal scenes -- I knew what was going to happen. For me, the movie lacked the impact it gave to so many others, surprised at the sudden turn of events. Spoilers permeate every facet of our media, nothing is safe.
Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker. Worst spoiler ever imagined for young Jedi.
Once you know the spoiler, it will stay with you forever. You will never forget it, and even if you think you do, then wait till you fire up an old game for the second time. It will come back to you. You will remember everything. Everything. As fun as the core gameplay is, you will never be able to finish that game for the first time again. The first time you experience a fantastic game the memory will stay with you forever, and it can never be lived through again. The tension, the suspense, driving you forward to play the game for just one more minute -- all gone once everything has been revealed.
BioShock was an amazing game in it's own right, but who has beaten it twice? All the wonder, the awe, and the sheer joy of the well-paced plot being revealed to you piece by piece will be but a distant memory the second time through a game. Spoilers tear out the beating heart of a game and once it is gone it will never come back. Ever.
To destroy a game, to truly annihilate the best it can offer, is to reveal prematurely its heart and soul. Spoilers are the bane of many games existence and so I ask you; I beg you, would you kindly keep our games free of spoilers, for our sakes, and for yours.
banana goat bubble gum shoes!
Just like my love life...
It had to be done
-Side note: I've had atlas shrugged sitting on my computer for a year now...I'll read it someday...
Never read the book. It ruined me. I have rarely completed a book since. It just broke something inside of me. Nowadays I read plot summaries on Wikipedia for books and movies, can't stand watching or reading the entire thing unless it is really good.
It is so hard to stop yourself from ruining a good game, huh? Especially if said game is long. I ended up spoiling FFX for myself because I couldn't stand not knowing and the game itself was a chore. Luckily I have been able to restrain myself in most cases.
Videogames rarely get ruined for me because I'm so careful around the internets and friends when playing a game I'm heavily into... but several movies have been spoiled for me and it pisses me off.
My friend has been nagging me to read the book, so much so, that she is planning on burning and sending me the book on tape to me in the mail!
Also, I should have mentioned, that myself not being able to afford my own games I mooch off friends. Of course, in that situation, they're usally in the same room as you, either being "Go here, do that" or, their body language (maybe I should invest in blinders) tells you something is up, potentially runining the suprise.
Good article by the way.
BioShock almost requires you to play it through twice. After the amazing twist to the story, you have to go back and pick up on all of the subtle hints given to you throughout the game.
A time to destroy? A time to destroy an awful promoted article...
All media has a spoiler, it's called the ending.
I had wondered who hadn't.
I actually have beaten it three times. Once to save all the little sisters, one harvesting, and once on hard.
atlas is who?
jesus comes back?
In dead seriousness my ex-sister-in-law ruined ff9for me
Bioshock had a good ending?
And great article Atlas. In my speech class we had to talk about a pet peeve of ours, and I chose spoilers, because you're right about everything...the cake is a lie.
People who spoil things enjoy most the insane, fanatical, nerdy reactions of their victims!
screamed... SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!! HE IS THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE!!!
EPIC WIN!!!
it was harder to spoil the ending for Deathly Hallows... I still tried... meh...
Fuck you, Reaprar.
lol
That's fucking hilarious, but I would have killed you. Like Jim said, Harry Potter made it fun to spoil things.
Atlas is Fontaine.
Yes, I stole this from podtoid, STFU
That reflects my results perfectly. It's taken forever for me to get back to being able to watch a movie without Wikipedia usage.
I fucking hate spoilers.
Thanks meng.
:D
I had Half Life 2 Episode 2 spoiled for me by some douchebags once