Bioshock Common Sense Media

BioShock: Common Sense Media Review & Parental Guidance

Introduction:

Are you considering letting your teenager play BioShock? This immersive, atmospheric masterpiece is lauded for its gripping narrative and stunning visuals, but its mature themes of philosophical debate, violence, and unsettling imagery leave many parents questioning its suitability. This comprehensive guide dives deep into the Common Sense Media review of BioShock, analyzing its content and offering practical advice to help you determine if it's the right game for your child. We'll explore the game's unsettling aspects, highlight its positive elements, and provide a framework for informed parental decision-making. This isn't just a simple summary; it’s a critical analysis designed to equip you with the knowledge you need.

What makes BioShock a unique gaming experience and why parental guidance is crucial:

BioShock transcends typical first-person shooter gameplay. While action is present, the game’s true strength lies in its narrative complexity and thought-provoking themes. The underwater city of Rapture, though visually stunning, is a decaying testament to societal collapse, fueled by unchecked ambition and moral decay. This dark, unsettling atmosphere, combined with graphic violence and disturbing imagery, makes parental guidance crucial. This isn't about shielding children from all violence; it's about understanding the context of the violence and its impact on the narrative. Common Sense Media, a respected resource for parental guidance on media, offers a valuable perspective on these elements.

Common Sense Media's Assessment of BioShock:

Common Sense Media provides a detailed breakdown of BioShock's content, focusing on elements that might be concerning for parents. They highlight the game's intense violence, including graphic depictions of combat and the unsettling nature of some of the Splicers (the mutated inhabitants of Rapture). They also address the game's mature themes, such as moral ambiguity, philosophical questions about free will and societal control, and the exploration of the darker aspects of human nature. They generally rate the game as unsuitable for younger audiences due to the intensity of the violence and the complex, mature themes explored. It’s not just about the blood; it’s the philosophical undertones that require mature consideration.

Analyzing the Game's Mature Content:

Let's delve deeper into the specific aspects highlighted by Common Sense Media:

Violence: BioShock features frequent and intense combat. Players utilize a range of weapons, including firearms and genetically engineered Plasmids, to eliminate enemies. The violence is not gratuitous but serves to advance the narrative and create a sense of tension. However, the depictions can be graphic and disturbing, particularly for younger players.

Mature Themes: The philosophical and ethical questions at the heart of BioShock are what elevate it beyond a simple shooter. The player is constantly confronted with moral dilemmas, forced to make choices with significant consequences. These choices touch upon societal control, the nature of humanity, and the potential dangers of unchecked ambition. These complex themes require mature understanding and critical thinking.

Psychological Horror: Rapture itself is a character in the game. Its decaying beauty and the unsettling behavior of its inhabitants create a palpable sense of psychological horror. The game skillfully uses atmosphere and sound design to amplify this effect, making it potentially disturbing for younger and more sensitive players.

Language: While not overly profane, the language in BioShock reflects the game's gritty setting and characters. There are instances of strong language, though it is used sparingly and within the context of the story.

Positive Aspects & Educational Value:

Despite its mature content, BioShock offers some valuable educational elements:

Narrative Complexity: The game's intricate storyline encourages critical thinking and problem-solving. Players must piece together the history of Rapture and understand the motivations of its inhabitants.

Moral Ambiguity: The absence of clear-cut "good" and "evil" forces players to grapple with complex moral dilemmas. This can be a valuable learning experience, fostering critical thinking about ethics and morality.

Historical Context: The game's setting draws inspiration from the history of the Cold War and the rise of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. Exploring these historical and philosophical influences can enrich understanding.

Practical Guidance for Parents:

Age Appropriateness: Common Sense Media and most parental guidance sources recommend BioShock for ages 16+. This is a good starting point, but consider your child's maturity level and gaming experience.

Play Together: Playing the game alongside your child allows for discussion and clarification of the themes explored. This provides an opportunity for open dialogue about the game's mature content.

Discuss the Themes: After playing, engage in conversations about the game's moral dilemmas, philosophical implications, and its portrayal of violence. This helps contextualize the experience and fosters critical thinking.


Sample BioShock Common Sense Media Review Outline:

Name: A Parent's Guide to BioShock: Navigating the Depths of Rapture

Contents:

Introduction: Briefly introduce BioShock and its mature themes.
Common Sense Media's Rating and Analysis: Detail the Common Sense Media review, highlighting key concerns.
In-Depth Examination of Mature Content: Analyze violence, themes, psychological elements, and language.
Educational Value and Positive Aspects: Discuss the game's positive attributes and potential educational benefits.
Parental Guidance and Discussion Prompts: Offer practical advice for parents considering letting their children play.
Conclusion: Summarize key findings and reiterate parental involvement's importance.


(Each point in the outline would be expanded upon in a full article, mirroring the content already discussed above.)


FAQs:

1. Is BioShock appropriate for a 14-year-old? Likely not, given its intense violence and mature themes. Consider your child's maturity level and gaming experience.
2. What are the most disturbing elements of BioShock? The graphic violence, unsettling visuals of the Splicers, and the overall atmosphere of decaying Rapture are often cited.
3. Does BioShock promote violence? The game depicts violence, but it’s used narratively to create tension and explore thematic ideas; it doesn't glorify or promote violence directly.
4. What are the key philosophical themes in BioShock? Objectivism, free will versus determinism, societal control, and the consequences of unchecked ambition are central themes.
5. How does BioShock compare to other mature-rated games? It's considered more philosophically complex than many, combining intense action with significant narrative depth.
6. Should parents play BioShock with their children? Yes, playing together allows for real-time discussion and guidance through potentially difficult content.
7. Are there any ways to mitigate the impact of violent content? Parental supervision and post-game discussions about the game's context are vital.
8. What are the benefits of playing BioShock despite its mature content? It can spark critical thinking about ethics, morality, and complex societal issues.
9. Where can I find more parental reviews of BioShock? Besides Common Sense Media, check online gaming forums and parenting websites for additional perspectives.


Related Articles:

1. BioShock Infinite: A Common Sense Media Perspective: A similar analysis of the sequel, focusing on its differences and similarities to the original.
2. BioShock's Philosophical Underpinnings: An In-Depth Look: Explores the game's philosophical influences and their impact on the narrative.
3. The Impact of Violence in Video Games: A Parental Guide: A broader discussion on video game violence and its effects on children.
4. Ayn Rand and Objectivism in BioShock: Examines the game's connection to Ayn Rand's philosophy and its influence on Rapture's society.
5. Parental Controls for Video Games: A Comprehensive Guide: Provides advice on setting and using parental controls on gaming consoles and PCs.
6. Talking to Your Kids About Violence in Media: Tips and strategies for initiating conversations with children about violence in games and other media.
7. The Psychology of BioShock: Fear, Isolation, and Moral Decay: An exploration of the game's psychological aspects and their impact on the player experience.
8. Top 10 Mature-Rated Games with Compelling Narratives: A list of games similar to BioShock in terms of narrative complexity and mature themes.
9. Choosing Age-Appropriate Video Games: A Parent's Checklist: A practical guide for parents to help them choose games suitable for their children's age and maturity level.


  bioshock common sense media: Blue Estate Viktor Kalvachev, Kosta Yanev, Andrew Osborne, 2014-09-30 Originally published in single magazine form as Blue Estate #1-12
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  bioshock common sense media: Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games , 2015-09-25 Emotions, Technology, and Digital Games explores the need for people to experience enjoyment, excitement, anxiety, anger, frustration, and many other emotions. The book provides essential information on why it is necessary to have a greater understanding of the power these emotions have on players, and how they affect players during, and after, a game. This book takes this understanding and shows how it can be used in practical ways, including the design of video games for teaching and learning, creating tools to measure social and emotional development of children, determining how empathy-related thought processes affect ethical decision-making, and examining how the fictional world of game play can influence and shape real-life experiences. - Details how games affect emotions—both during and after play - Describes how we can manage a player's affective reactions - Applies the emotional affect to making games more immersive - Examines game-based learning and education - Identifies which components of online games support socio-emotional development - Discusses the impact of game-based emotions beyond the context of games
  bioshock common sense media: Half-life 2 Valve (Firm), David Hodgson, 2004 *Unprecedented access behindHalf-LifeandHalf-Life 2 *A forward by Valve founder Gabe Newell *Hundreds of art, design, preproduction, and other art pieces crammed into the book *Over a dozen key members of Valve's staff interviewed *Officially approved by Valve *Behind City 17 and other locations *The development of the Source engine *A rogue's gallery of beasts, characters, and monstrosities *Key weapons development revelations *A tour of many of the game's locations, from inception to completion *Filled with art, screens, and anecdotes from the Valve team
  bioshock common sense media: Extra Lives Tom Bissell, 2011-06-14 In Extra Lives, acclaimed writer and life-long video game enthusiast Tom Bissell takes the reader on an insightful and entertaining tour of the art and meaning of video games. In just a few decades, video games have grown increasingly complex and sophisticated, and the companies that produce them are now among the most profitable in the entertainment industry. Yet few outside this world have thought deeply about how these games work, why they are so appealing, and what they are capable of artistically. Blending memoir, criticism, and first-rate reportage, Extra Lives is a milestone work about what might be the dominant popular art form of our time.
  bioshock common sense media: Ready Player Two Ernest Cline, 2020-11-24 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling sequel to the beloved worldwide bestseller Ready Player One, the near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST • “The game is on again. . . . A great mix of exciting fantasy and threatening fact.”—The Wall Street Journal AN UNEXPECTED QUEST. TWO WORLDS AT STAKE. ARE YOU READY? Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance. Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.
  bioshock common sense media: BioShock and Philosophy Luke Cuddy, 2015-04-27 Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine’s depiction of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes
  bioshock common sense media: Dark Flight Lin Anderson, 2020-05-14 Stephen, a six-year-old boy, has vanished, his mother and grandmother horrifically murdered. At the scene forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod finds a chilling African talisman, made from the bones of a child. Can she decipher its meaning and track Stephen down before he becomes the next link in the killers' chain?
  bioshock common sense media: How to Play Video Games Matthew Thomas Payne, Nina B. Huntemann, 2019-03-26 Forty original contributions on games and gaming culture What does Pokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? How does BioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building? From arcades to Atari, and phone apps to virtual reality headsets, video games have been at the epicenter of our ever-evolving technological reality. Unlike other media technologies, video games demand engagement like no other, which begs the question—what is the role that video games play in our lives, from our homes, to our phones, and on global culture writ large? How to Play Video Games brings together forty original essays from today’s leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts. Read about avatars in Grand Theft Auto V, or music in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. See how Age of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and how Borderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.
  bioshock common sense media: Gears of War: Bloodlines Jason M. Hough, 2020-04-21 The new novel set within the action of the Xbox Game Studios video game Gears 5, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Hough. THE OFFICIAL TIE-IN TO THE EXCITING VIDEO GAMES GEARS 5 AND GEARS TACTICS In the aftermath of Settlement 2's destruction, Kait Diaz reels from the near loss of a close friend amid utter defeat at the hands of the Swarm. To move forward, she must choose either to walk the Outsider path of her mother, or rise to her beckoning duty as a Gear, as her father did. As Kait grapples with her circumstance, an unexpected ally illuminates secrets from the past that offer a new perspective. Over four decades before, the two superpowers of Sera - the Coalition of Ordered Governments, and the Union of Independent Republics - wage a bitter, worldwide conflict known as the Pendulum Wars. For nearly a century, the two have fought to wrest control over Sera's most precious energy resource: Imulsion. On the 79th year of the Pendulum Wars, Gabriel Diaz is a decorated Lieutenant Colonel serving the Coalition, assigned to Vectes Naval Base - a fortress that's seen little action despite its close proximity to UIR territory. The island's relative quiet is disturbed when a COG special forces team known as Ghost Squad arrive with a mysterious mission to the nearby island of Knifespire: an unforgiving rock of seemingly no strategic value. When the Ghosts send out a distress call, it's up to Gabe to evacuate them - and what he discovers on Knifespire could change the very course of the Pendulum Wars. There, the Battle of Gatka Ridge will define Gabe's legacy, and shape the future of his daughter, Kait Diaz.
  bioshock common sense media: BREACH OF PEACE Daniel B. Greene, 2021-03-30 When an imperial family is found butchered, Officers of God are called to investigate. Evidence points to a rebel group trying to stab fear into the very heart of the empire. Inspector Khlid begins a harrowing hunt for those responsible, but when a larger conspiracy comes to light, she struggles to trust even the officers around her.
  bioshock common sense media: The Light at the Bottom of the World London Shah, 2019-10-04 From debut author London Shah, comes a thrilling futuristic Sci-Fi mystery perfect for fans of Illuminae and These Broken Stars.In the last days of the twenty-first century, sea creatures swim through the ruins of London. Trapped in the abyss, humankind wavers between hope and fear of what lurks in the depths around them, and hope that they might one day find a way back to the surface. When sixteen-year-old submersible racer Leyla McQueen is chosen to participate in the city's prestigious annual marathon, she sees an opportunity to save her father, who has been arrested on false charges. The Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. But the race takes an unexpected turn, forcing Leyla to make an impossible choice. Now she must brave unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a guarded, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If Leyla fails to discover the truths at the heart of her world, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-or worse. And her father will be lost to her forever.
  bioshock common sense media: Transmedia Marketing Anne Zeiser, 2015-06-19 Transmedia Marketing: From Film and TV to Games and Digital Media skillfully guides media makers and media marketers through the rapidly changing world of entertainment and media marketing. Its groundbreaking transmedia approach integrates storytelling and marketing content creation across multiple media platforms – harnessing the power of audience to shape and promote your story. Through success stories, full color examples of effective marketing techniques in action, and insight from top entertainment professionals, Transmedia Marketing covers the fundamentals of a sound 21st century marketing and content plan. You’ll master the strategy behind conducting research, identifying target audiences, setting goals, and branding your project. And, you’ll learn first-hand how to execute your plan’s publicity, events, advertising, trailers, digital and interactive content, and social media. Transmedia Marketing enlivens these concepts with: Hundreds of vibrant examples from across media platforms – The Hunger Games, Prometheus, The Dark Knight, Bachelorette, The Lord of the Rings, Despicable Me 2, Food, Inc., Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Top Chef, Pokémon, BioShock Infinite, Minecraft, Outlast, Titanfall, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Halo 4, Lonelygirl15, Annoying Orange Real-world advice from 45 leading industry writers, directors, producers, composers, distributors, marketers, publicists, critics, journalists, attorneys, and executives from markets, festivals, awards, and guilds Powerful in-depth case studies showcasing successful approaches – A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Mad Men, Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues Extensive Web content at www.transmediamarketing.com featuring a primer on transmedia platforms – film, broadcast, print, games, digital media, and experiential media; expanded case studies; sample marketing plans and materials; and exclusive interviews With Transmedia Marketing, you’ll be fully versed in the art of marketing film, TV, games, and digital media and primed to write and achieve the winning plan for your next media project.
  bioshock common sense media: Beyond the Sea Felan Parker, Jessica Aldred, 2018-11-09 The Bioshock series looms large in the industry and culture of video games for its ambitious incorporation of high-minded philosophical questions and retro-futuristic aesthetics into the ultraviolent first-person shooter genre. Beyond the Sea marks ten years since the release of the original game with an interdisciplinary collection of essays on Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite. Simultaneously lauded as landmarks in the artistic growth of the medium and criticized for their compromised vision and politics, the Bioshock games have been the subject of significant scholarly and critical discussion. Moving past well-trodden debates, Beyond the Sea broadens the conversation by putting video games in dialogue with a diverse range of other disciplines and cultural forms, from parenting psychology to post-humanism, from Thomas Pynchon to German expressionist cinema. Offering bold new perspectives on a canonical series, Beyond the Sea is a timely contribution to our understanding of the aesthetics, the industry, and the culture of video games. Contributors include Daniel Ante-Contreras (Miracosta), Luke Arnott (Western Ontario), Betsy Brey (Waterloo), Patrick Brown (Iowa), Michael Fuchs (Graz), Jamie Henthorn (Catawba), Brendan Keogh (Queensland), Cameron Kunzelman (Georgia), Cody Mejeur (Michigan State), Matthew Thomas Payne (Notre Dame), Gareth Schott (Waikato), Karen Schrier (Marist), Sarah Stang (York/Ryerson), Sarah Thorne (Carleton), John Vanderhoef (California State, Dominguez Hills), Matthew Wysocki (Flagler), Jordan R. Youngblood (Eastern Connecticut State), and Sarah Zaidan (Emerson).
  bioshock common sense media: Broken Angels Richard K. Morgan, 2004-03-02 Welcome back to the brash, brutal new world of the twenty-fifth century: where global politics isn’t just for planet Earth anymore; and where death is just a break in the action, thanks to the techno-miracle that can preserve human consciousness and download it into one new body after another. Cynical, quick-on-the-trigger Takeshi Kovacs, the ex-U.N. envoy turned private eye, has changed careers, and bodies, once more . . . trading sleuthing for soldiering as a warrior-for-hire, and helping a far-flung planet’s government put down a bloody revolution. But when it comes to taking sides, the only one Kovacs is ever really on is his own. So when a rogue pilot and a sleazy corporate fat cat offer him a lucrative role in a treacherous treasure hunt, he’s only too happy to go AWOL with a band of resurrected soldiers of fortune. All that stands between them and the ancient alien spacecraft they mean to salvage are a massacred city bathed in deadly radiation, unleashed nanotechnolgy with a million ways to kill, and whatever surprises the highly advanced Martian race may have in store. But armed with his genetically engineered instincts, and his trusty twin Kalashnikovs, Takeshi is ready to take on anything—and let the devil take whoever’s left behind.
  bioshock common sense media: Simulation Gaming Through Times and Disciplines Marcin Wardaszko, Sebastiaan Meijer, Heide Lukosch, Hidehiko Kanegae, Willy Christian Kriz, Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezińska, 2021-03-26 This book constitutes revised selected papers from the 50th International Simulation and Gaming Association Conference, ISAGA 2019, which took place in Warsaw, Poland, during August 26–30, 2019.The 38 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 72 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: simulation gaming in the science space; simulation gaming design and implementation; simulation games for current challenges; simulation games and gamification; and board perspective on simulation gaming.
  bioshock common sense media: Narrative Mechanics Beat Suter, René Bauer, Mela Kocher, 2021-05-31 What do stories in games have in common with political narratives? This book identifies narrative strategies as mechanisms for meaning and manipulation in games and real life. It shows that the narrative mechanics so clearly identifiable in games are increasingly used (and abused) in politics and social life. They have »many faces«, displays and interfaces. They occur as texts, recipes, stories, dramas in three acts, movies, videos, tweets, journeys of heroes, but also as rewarding stories in games and as narratives in society - such as a career from rags to riches, the concept of modernity or market economy. Below their surface, however, narrative mechanics are a particular type of motivational design - of game mechanics.
  bioshock common sense media: Sightwitch Susan Dennard, 2018-02-13 From New York Times bestseling author Susan Dennard, return to the world fo the Witchlands in Sightwitch, an illustrated companion told through Ryber's journal entries & sketches. From the Twelve Paladins to the Rook Kings, from Eridysi to a broken sword and looking glass, learn how the secrets of the past set the entire series in motion. Sisters with the gift of Sight—Sightwitches, who can see into the future—are of a rare and ancient order. Raised in a secluded convent, they await the invitation of their goddess to enter the depths of the mountain and receive the sacred gift of foretelling. But for young Ryber Fortiza, that call never comes. As the only sister without Sight, Ryber has devoted herself to the goddess. Surely, if she just works hard enough, she will finally be gifted like everyone else. Until one day, all Sisters who possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain—and never return. Now Ryber, still Sight-less, is the only one left. Can she, who has spent her life feeling like th weakest, be the one to save her Sisters and the ancient power they protect? On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together they trek ever deeper, the mountain tunnels filled with mysteries and horrors. And what they find at the end will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
  bioshock common sense media: Level Up Your Life Steve Kamb, 2016-01-12 In 5 years, Steve Kamb has transformed himself from wanna-be daydreamer into a real-life superhero and actually turned his life into a gigantic video game: flying stunt planes in New Zealand, gambling in a tuxedo at the Casino de Monte-Carlo, and even finding Nemo on the Great Barrier Reef. To help him accomplish all of these goals, he built a system that allowed him to complete quests, take on boss battles, earn experience points, and literally level up his life. If you have always dreamed of adventure and growth but can’t seem to leave your hobbit-hole, Level Up Your Life is for you. Kamb will teach you exactly how to use your favorite video games, books, and movies as inspiration for adventure rather than an escape from the grind of everyday life. Hundreds of thousands of everyday Joes and Jills have joined Steve’s Rebellion through his popular website, NerdFitness.com, and leveled up their lives—losing weight, getting stronger, and living better. In Level Up Your Life, you’ll meet more than a dozen of these members of The Rebellion: men and women, young and old, single and married, from all walks of life who have created superhero versions of themselves to live adventurously and happily. Within this guide, you’ll follow in their footsteps and learn exactly how to: • Create your own “Alter Ego” with real-life super powers • Build your own Epic Quest List, broken into categories and difficulty levels • Hack your productivity habits to start making progress • Train your body for any adventure • Build in rewards and accountability that will actually motivate you to succeed • Travel the world freely (and cheaply) • Recruit the right allies to your side and find powerful mentors for guidance Adventure is out there, and the world needs more heroes. Will you heed the call?
  bioshock common sense media: Triadic Game Design Casper Harteveld, 2011-02-26 Many designers, policy makers, teachers, and other practitioners are beginning to understand the usefulness of using digital games beyond entertainment. Games have been developed for teaching, recruiting and to collect data to improve search engines. This book examines the fundamentals of designing any game with a serious purpose and provides a way of thinking on how to design one successfully. The reader will be introduced to a design philosophy called “Triadic Game Design.”; a theory that all games involve three worlds: the worlds of Reality, Meaning, and Play. Each world is affiliated with aspects. A balance needs to be found within and between the three worlds. Such a balance is difficult to achieve, during the design many tensions will arise, forcing designers to make trade-offs. To deal with these tensions and to ensure that the right decisions are made to create a harmonic game, a frame of reference is needed. This is what Triadic Game Design offers.
  bioshock common sense media: Masters of Doom David Kushner, 2004-05-11 Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerful and compassionate account of what it’s like to be young, driven, and wildly creative. “To my taste, the greatest American myth of cosmogenesis features the maladjusted, antisocial, genius teenage boy who, in the insular laboratory of his own bedroom, invents the universe from scratch. Masters of Doom is a particularly inspired rendition. Dave Kushner chronicles the saga of video game virtuosi Carmack and Romero with terrific brio. This is a page-turning, mythopoeic cyber-soap opera about two glamorous geek geniuses—and it should be read while scarfing down pepperoni pizza and swilling Diet Coke, with Queens of the Stone Age cranked up all the way.”—Mark Leyner, author of I Smell Esther Williams
  bioshock common sense media: Playing Dystopia Gerald Farca, 2018-11-30 Video games permeate our everyday existence. They immerse players in fascinating gameworlds and exciting experiences, often inviting them in various ways to reflect on the enacted events. Gerald Farca explores the genre of dystopian video games and the player's aesthetic response to their nightmarish gameworlds. Players, he argues, will gradually come to see similarities between the virtual dystopia and their own ›offline‹ environment, thus learning to stay wary of social and political developments. In his analysis, Farca draws from a variety of research fields, such as literary theory and game studies, combining them into a coherent theory of aesthetic response to dystopian games.
  bioshock common sense media: BioShock: Rapture John Shirley, 2011-07-19 The prequel story to the award-winning and bestselling video game franchise. How the majesty of Rapture, the shining city below the sea, became an instant dystopia It's the end of World War II. FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing...and many are desperate to take that freedom back. Among them is a great dreamer, an immigrant who pulled himself from the depths of poverty to become one of the wealthiest and admired men in the world. That man is Andrew Ryan, and he believed that great men and women deserve better. And so he set out to create the impossible, a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science—where what you give is what you get. He created Rapture—the shining city below the sea. But as we all know, this utopia suffered a great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be...and how it all ended. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
  bioshock common sense media: Game Research Methods: An Overview Patri Lankoski, Staffan Björk, et al., 2015 Games are increasingly becoming the focus for research due to their cultural and economic impact on modern society. However, there are many different types of approaches and methods than can be applied to understanding games or those that play games. This book provides an introduction to various game research methods that are useful to students in all levels of higher education covering both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. In addition, approaches using game development for research is described. Each method is described in its own chapter by a researcher with practical experience of applying the method to topic of games. Through this, the book provides an overview of research methods that enable us to better our understanding on games.--Provided by publisher.
  bioshock common sense media: The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi, 2012-08-07 Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko... Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe. What happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution?
  bioshock common sense media: Rasputin's Bastards David Nickle, 2020-11-24 “Part BioShock, part X-Files, part Sopranos—and 100%, uncut Nickle . . . a glorious, chaotic delight” from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Volk (Peter Watts, author of Blindsight). Post–Cold War, a group of Russians bred from childhood to be psychic spies are called from around the globe to achieve their true purpose: world domination. But some of them have flourished in the lives they have carved out for themselves—often in nefarious ways—and they will not give up their freedom without a fight, even as a new generation of telepathic children, the beautiful dreamers, are coming into power . . . In Rasputin’s Bastards, David Nickle—the acclaimed author of Eutopia, Monstrous Affections, and Volk—offers readers “an enormous tale, bewilderingly complex, but with lots of twists and turns that reward close attention. It is grotesque, violent, and exciting, with a supernatural tinge that is his hallmark” (Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing). “This novel is supernatural eeriness at its best, with intriguing characters, no clear heroes, and a dark passion at its heart. Horror aficionados and fans of Stephen King’s larger novels should appreciate this macabre look at the aftermath of the Cold War.” —Library Journal “Stiffly compelling. Once you’re done, there’s no question: the hours spent enfolded in Nickle’s imagination are well spent. You won’t ever feel the desire to ask for them back.” —January Magazine “A journey from the depths of the sea, the heart of Mother Russia, to the darkest corners of the soul.” —K. E. Bergdoll, The Crow’s Caw
  bioshock common sense media: Alan Wake Rick Burroughs, 2010-05-25 Welcome to Bright Falls-a seemingly idyllic small town in the Pacific Northwest. The perfect place for Alan Wake, a bestselling crime novelist, and his wife, Alice, to relax for a few weeks. Maybe a second honeymoon and the fresh air will cure Wake of his writer's block. But when Alice goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Wake's desperate search for her leads him into a hell only he could imagine. In the depths of nearby Cauldron Lake, a dark and malevolent presence has awakened from a long slumber. It's reaching out now, turning the townsfolk into mindless killers. Sheathed in shadows, vulnerable only to light, they are Taken. Wake's journey will lead him to the very edge of madness, and deep within the dark woods, he will come face-to-face with a story he has no recollection of ever writing. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
  bioshock common sense media: The Language of Gaming Astrid Ensslin, 2017-09-16 This innovative text examines videogames and gaming from the point of view of discourse analysis. In particular, it studies two major aspects of videogame-related communication: the ways in which videogames and their makers convey meanings to their audiences, and the ways in which gamers, industry professionals, journalists and other stakeholders talk about games. In doing so, the book offers systematic analyses of games as artefacts and activities, and the discourses surrounding them. Focal areas explored in this book include: - Aspects of videogame textuality and how games relate to other texts - the formation of lexical terms and use of metaphor in the language of gaming - Gamer slang and 'buddylects' - The construction of game worlds and their rules, of gamer identities and communities - Dominant discourse patterns among gamers and how they relate to the nature of gaming - The multimodal language of games and gaming - The ways in which ideologies of race, gender, media effects and language are constructed Informed by the very latest scholarship and illustrated with topical examples throughout, The Language of Gaming is ideal for students of applied linguistics, videogame studies and media studies who are seeking a wide-ranging introduction to the field.
  bioshock common sense media: Blood, Sweat, and Pixels Jason Schreier, 2017-09-05 NATIONAL BESTSELLER “The stories in this book make for a fascinating and remarkably complete pantheon of just about every common despair and every joy related to game development.” — Rami Ismail, cofounder of Vlambeer and developer of Nuclear Throne Developing video games—hero's journey or fool's errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean—it's nothing short of miraculous. Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—even as it nearly ripped their studio apart. Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell—and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.
  bioshock common sense media: The Cambridge Companion to Nineteen Eighty-Four Nathan Waddell, 2020-10 The Cambridge Companion to Nineteen Eighty-Four is aimed at undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics. Situating the novel in multiple frameworks, including contextual considerations and literary histories, the book asks new questions about the novel's significance in an age in which authoritarianism finds itself freshly empowered.
  bioshock common sense media: Storyplaying Sebastian Domsch, 2013-08-28 Incontestably, Future Narratives are most conspicuous in video games: they combine narrative with the major element of all games: agency. The persons who perceive these narratives are not simply readers or spectators but active agents with a range of choices at their disposal that will influence the very narrative they are experiencing: they are players. The narratives thus created are realizations of the multiple possibilities contained in the present of any given gameplay situation. Surveying the latest trends in the field, the volume discusses the complex relationship of narrative and gameplay.
  bioshock common sense media: Second Quest David Hellman, Tevis Thompson, 2014-11-12 Second Quest is a stand-alone graphic novella inspired by Zelda. It's an original story about a young woman from a small town in the sky who begins to suspect that the legends about her home aren't true.
  bioshock common sense media: Videogames and the Gothic Ewan Kirkland, 2021-10-01 This book explores the many ways Gothic literature and media have informed videogame design. Through a series of detailed case studies, Videogames and the Gothic illustrates the extent to which particular tropes of Gothic culture –neo-medieval aesthetics, secret-filled labyrinthine spaces, the sense of a dark past impacting upon the present – have been appropriated by and transformed within digital games. Moving beyond the study of the generic influences of horror on digital gaming, Ewan Kirkland focuses in on the Gothic, a less visceral mode tending towards the unsettling, the uncertain and the uncanny. He explores the extent to which imagery, storylines and narrative preoccupations taken from Gothic fiction facilitate the affordances and limitations of the videogame medium. A core contention of this book is that videogames have developed as an inherently Gothic form of popular entertainment. Arguing for close proximity between Gothic culture and the videogame medium itself, this book will be a key contribution to both Gothic and digital game scholarship; as such, it will have resonance with scholars and students in both areas, as well as those interested in Gothic novels, media and popular culture, digital games and interactive fiction.
  bioshock common sense media: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin, 2024-06-25 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before. Delightful and absorbing. —The New York Times • Utterly brilliant. —John Green One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, Oprah Daily From the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts. Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
  bioshock common sense media: Violent Games Gareth Schott, 2016-07-28 It was over a decade ago that experimental psychologists and media-effects researchers declared the debate on the effects of violent video gaming as “essentially over,” referring to the way violence in videogames increases aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors in players. Despite the decisive tone of this statement, neither the presence nor popularity of digital games has since diminished, with games continuing to attract new generations of players to experience its technological advancements in the narration of violence and its techniques of depiction. Drawing on new insights achieved from research located at an intersection between humanities, social and computer sciences, Gareth Schott's addition to the Approaches in Digital Game Studies series interrogates the nature and meaning of the “violence” encountered and experienced by game players. In focusing on the various ways violence is mediated by both the rule system and the semiotic layer of games, the aim is to draw out the distinctiveness of games' exploitation of violence or violent themes. An important if not canonical text in the debates about video games and violence, Violent Games constitutes an essential book for those wishing to make sense of the experience offered by games as technological, aesthetic, and communicational phenomena in the context of issues of media regulation and the classification of game content “as” violence.
  bioshock common sense media: Narrative Instability Stefan Schubert, 2019-11-15 This book introduces the concept of 'narrative instability' in order to make visible a new trend in contemporary US popular culture, to analyze this trend's poetics, and to scrutinize its textual politics. It identifies those texts as narratively unstable that consciously frustrate and obfuscate the process of narrative understanding and comprehension, challenging their audiences to reconstruct what happened in a text's plot, who its characters are, which of its diegetic worlds are real, or how narrative information is communicated in the first place. Despite - or rather, exactly because of - their confusing and destabilizing tendencies, such texts have attained mainstream commercial popularity in recent years across a variety of media, most prominently in films, video games, and television series. Focusing on three clusters of instability that form around identities, realities, and textualities, the book argues that narratively unstable texts encourage their audiences to engage with the narrative constructedness of their universes, that narratively unstable texts encourage their audiences to engage with the narrative constructedness of their universes, that narrative instability embodies a new facet of popular culture, that it takes place and can only be understood transmedially, and that its textual politics particularly speak to white male, middle-class Americans.
  bioshock common sense media: SIMULATION & GAMING THROUGH TIMES AND ACROSS DISCIPLINES Marcin Wardaszko, 2019-08-30 The ISAGA 50th Anniversary Conference proceedings is a collection of 76 accepted submissions. The proposed papers and posters are very diversified and have backgrounds in many areas, yet they come together in the simulation and gaming. We had 12 tracks for papers, a poster submission track, workshops track, and thematic sessions proposals track. The 50th anniversary track will allow us to look back at our heritage. The core tracks with the biggest number of submissions are the simulation and gaming track and game science theory track. For the first time, we also had tracks for gaming technology, AR/VR, e-sport science and gaming cultures, we have received many interesting and quality submissions, which will add new perspective and diversity to our field. ISAGA wants to stay relevant and up-to-date with the current problems; thus the tracks for S&G for logistics and smart infrastructure, gaming for individual efficacy and performance and gaming for sustainable development goals. We have also received ten poster submissions with very interesting topics.
  bioshock common sense media: We the Living Ayn Rand, 2009-05-05 Ayn Rand's first published novel, a timeless story that explores the struggles of the individual against the state in Soviet Russia. First published in 1936, We the Living portrays the impact of the Russian Revolution on three human beings who demand the right to live their own lives and pursue their own happiness. It tells of a young woman’s passionate love, held like a fortress against the corrupting evil of a totalitarian state. We the Living is not a story of politics, but of the men and women who have to struggle for existence behind the Red banners and slogans. It is a picture of what those slogans do to human beings. What happens to the defiant ones? What happens to those who succumb? Against a vivid panorama of political revolution and personal revolt, Ayn Rand shows what the theory of socialism means in practice. Includes an Introduction and Afterword by Ayn Rand’s Philosophical Heir, Leonard Peikoff
  bioshock common sense media: Arcadia Tom Stoppard, 2013-04-04 In a large country house in Derbyshire in April 1809 sits Lady Thomasina Coverly, aged thirteen, and her tutor, Septimus Hodge. Through the window may be seen some of the '500 acres inclusive of lake' where Capability Brown's idealized landscape is about to give way to the 'picturesque' Gothic style: 'everything but vampires', as the garden historian Hannah Jarvis remarks to Bernard Nightingale when they stand in the same room 180 years later. Bernard has arrived to uncover the scandal which is said to have taken place when Lord Byron stayed at Sidley Park. Tom Stoppard's absorbing play takes us back and forth between the centuries and explores the nature of truth and time, the difference between the Classical and the Romantic temperament, and the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life - 'the attraction', as Hannah says, 'which Newton left out'.
  bioshock common sense media: Writing Interactive Music for Video Games Michael Sweet, 2014-09-19 “This book is a must read for newcomers and experienced composers wanting to learn more about the art of video game composition.” —Chuck Doud, Director of Music, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios All You Need to Know to Create Great Video Game Music Written by the developer of Berklee School of Music’s pioneering game scoring program, this guide covers everything professional composers and music students need to know about composing interactive music for video games, and contains exclusive tools for interactive scoring—tools that were previously available only at Berklee. Drawing on twenty years of professional experience in the game industry, Michael Sweet helps you master the unique language of music storytelling in games. Next, he walks you through the entire music composition process, from initial conceptualization and creative direction through implementation. Inside, you’ll find dozens of examples that illustrate adaptive compositional techniques, from small downloadable games to multimillion dollar console titles. In addition, this guide covers the business side of video game composition, sharing crucial advice about contracts, pricing, sales, and marketing. Coverage includes Overcoming the unique challenges of writing for games Composing music that can adapt in real time to player actions Developing thematic ideas Using audio middleware to create advanced interactive scores Working effectively with game development teams Understanding the life of a video game composer Managing contracts, rights, estimating, and negotiation Finding work The companion website contains software tools to help you master interactive music concepts explored in this book, with additional resources and links to learn more about scoring for games. See Appendix A for details.