Image via Virtuos, 2K Games
BioShock is one of the few games that can be considered as powerful as it was. For the genre and for dystopian worlds in general, BioShock understood how to formulate something bigger than itself. Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this month, BioShock is still beloved by many since its original 2007 release.
Irrational Games and 2K Marin released BioShock on PC and Xbox 360 way back on August 21, 2007. Its release was a turning point for the world of first-person-shooter games. 2007 was a turning point for the world of video games. The mainstream world would be changed forever. After all, it was the era of the beginning for many major franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty.
When looking at BioShock, it’s really easy to get caught up in its philosophy and its morals. But where BioShock remains memorable for to this day is its underwater hellscape of a world–Rapture.
It was originally meant to be a utopia with a hypercapitalist worldview, one that was intended to be a collective of free-minded people. But like all good things, it came to an end. Rapture quickly descended into chaos, becoming a city of no return coupled with violence and crime.
As an author, worlds are one of the most difficult things to execute. Not because they are particularly hard, but because your world truly defines the story to come. If you cannot create a scene for those interacting with your story to understand, then you have not properly designed your world.
BioShock looked at this concept and properly took it head-on. Its commentary on human greed and the collapse of civilization as a result of such greed was powerful, engaging, and impactful. And 15 years later, it still defines dystopia.
Dystopians are often designed following an apocalyptic event, but Rapture was a progressive series of events that led to a real dystopia that is eerily realistic. Dystopian games like The Last of Us try to deliver a story with the underlying message of holding out for hope. Things might just get better.
BioShock does not design this narrative for players. Sure, the protagonist, Jack, may go on to lead a happy life by the end due to player choices, but there is no hope for Rapture. The once underwater utopia was destroyed by its own self, and it was destroyed by its design. This, along with Dishonored’s rat-plagued Dunwall, make for some of the most engaging and powerful dystopian worlds forged by the hand of humankind.
In the pursuit of progress and of monetary gain, we often find ourselves lost as human beings. That is precisely the story of Rapture–a lost utopia descended into madness.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
