In BioShock Infinite players are presented with a world, or rather a floating city, in conflict. Both ideological and physical. The conflict is between the dominant right-wing nationalists, the Founders, and a coalition of populist groups who feel disenfranchised, the Vox Populi. On the surface it's not completely dissimilar to what's happening in the US with the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. Ken Levine spoke with The Washington Post to discuss how real life is reflected in video games.
When we started the game, we had this idea for these movements, and we were looking back at history. Our games are heightened versions of history... In this world, we came up with the idea of looking at what was happening at the time of the game [the 1890's], with the jingoism movement and the nationalist movement versus the internationalist movement. This was before the tea party, before Occupy Wall Street.
I think that because the original BioShock took place after the conflict in Rapture and the game was dealing with more abstract ideas like moral absolutism as well as an ideology that has fallen out of favor, Objectivism, it was more distant and less personal. But BioShock Infinite takes place in the middle of a conflict. One between two recognizable groups that hold a mirror to many groups throughout history. So it's easier to draw comparisons. Of course, the side effect of that is that there are plenty of people in those groups who take it personally.
The games tend to be a Rorschach [test] for people, and I've heard both sides of the reaction [to the demo]. I had the displeasure of going to a while supremacist site that made a point of saying this game by "the Jew" Ken Levine was about killing white people. But then I went to this leftist site that said this is about discrediting leftists movements.
Personally, I'm looking forward to people criticizing and debating the perceived message of BioShock Infinite when it comes out. It will give me an excuse to be a boring git and talk about politics after I've just fought a giant metal bird and opened a portal to another time. Best of both worlds. The full interview is here. Don't worry, it's not all politics and history, videogames do get mentioned.
The tea party, Occupy Wall Street and 'BioShock Infinite...' [The Washington Post]
Contest:
6:00 PM on 10.28.2011 | 
But infinite looks awesome really hope it turns out good for someone like me.
By sticking these themes in America of the period, replete with cartoony, modern middle-brow lefty sounding digs at religion and anti-immigrant sentiment, it just seems kind of a cheezy, hipster cop-out.
The original Bioshock was more philosophic than political, and I thought it hit many right notes. This version seems to be getting a bit 'Rolling Stone' politics in it's play. I don't really get the simplistic right-wing=bad, left-wing=good vibe it's going after either, as 'Progressives' of the early 20th century espoused some pretty nasty anti-immigrant, anti-under-class stuff.
I'm looking forward to the game, and I don't really care if a work leans, politically, one way or the other. I'm more concerned if a work is thought out and shows some complexity. Bioshock 2 may turn out aces, but right now Ken Levine is giving off an Oliver Stone kind of vibe. Cherry-picking an odd historical moment or two and wrapping things around the point he wants to make.
The only difference, as far as I'm able to tell, is that I have to pay for roads regardless of whether I use them or not. You don't have to buy a cell phone.
People aren't protesting the mere existence of corporations. They're protesting the fact that our government has been taken over by the corporations and big money. And they have rewritten the laws to their advantage or promoted deregulation to the point that the middle class is disappearing before our very eyes.
Except thats a load of bull. The corporation haven't taken over and promoted deregulation. In fact its the exact opposite. The government controls more of the economy than ever before, and people wander why the economy is taking so long to recover. If you think the recession happened because of lax government regulation I have some bad news for you.
When the Feds hit a bees nest, the bees swarm Washinton. What's the answer the protestors seem to want? Hit it with a bigger stick. That will turn out just fine, I'm sure.
If OWS was 100 years ago, the Army and the National Guard would have been called in by now to wipe them out with live ammunition. And I state that from historical precedent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike
These were really, really dark, turbulent, and violent times, with for-hire mercenaries being hired, such as the Pinkerton Detective Agency, to beat and stomp union members and people going on strike.
Very glad to see such a forgotten period of our history being put in the limelight. Mostly because it's just so interesting, and makes for a good back drop for discussion.
It was a time of great Panics, great Depressions, great inequality, great oppression, great abuse, great disparity, and great fear. The U.S. escaped a fate most of Europe did, which saw these conflicts escalate and develop into totalitarianism and genocide in countries like Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Russia.
However, we did come close.
Very excited for this game now.
This game, by far, is one of the more intellectually stimulating games I've seen for a while. Very excited to explore Columbia and see what kind of world Mr. Levine and crew have created.
You have no idea how happy it makes me to see a post like yours on a game site. :D
That just summed up my criticisms of the BioShock series perfectly. The gameplay is so contradictory to the story and themes of the game that I just can't take it seriously. I really think BioShock would benefit greatly if it wasn't built as a shooter.
How is violence not appropriate for settings like these?
They might not have been splicing genes but even conflicts like the civil and revolutionary wars (in pretty much every country) were bloody and fought with *gasp* guns! All while set to a political interest or disinterest as it were.
Do people even read history books anymore? I mean, I'm not a professor or anything but at least I'm not being all "hurt durr, shooting stuff and burning things makes no sense when you're trying to be clever."
Context is important people.
And ignore bioshock 2, that wasn't handled by Levine.
Nobody is asking you to play a fucking bongo solo or agree with their ideals, its called fucking EMPATHY, which our society has all but made an outright joke of... and without it you're a pathetic excuse for a human being.
Loved Bioshock 2
I FUCKING WANT BIOSHOCK INFINITE.
@Elsa
Comment of the week.
By the way, people, "Manifest Destiny" was a real thing; an ugly, real thing.
Check this out for a rundown of who owns the mass media
http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main
Im not an moron. Take a look at the majority of gaurdian articles, fox news videos, etc etc. Good points are always overshadows by negative points, they are happy to fill out a full page spread about a guy taking a shit on a car and giving the public a negative view. Happy stories dont mean a thing, and any reporter will seek out a story they belive to be 'juicy' to get themselves a name, and this is why scandal and 'bad' activities are highlighted and promoted more than positive activites. Support it? Obama said 'i feel there pain'. Thats not supporting. Thats acknowledging. The police brutality has been shown yes, but what has happened to them? Clear proof of inocent protesters being punched or thrown about, yet the officers have fuck all done to them. You can have a conversation without attempting to insult me douchebag.
also monster trucks and american flags. getchusum