Comments on: One Hundred Twenty-Three and Counting https://unwinnable.com/2013/04/09/one-hundred-twenty-three-and-counting/ Stories about Culture Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:09:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: jillianscharr https://unwinnable.com/2013/04/09/one-hundred-twenty-three-and-counting/#comment-59644 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:09:04 +0000 https://unwinnable.com/?p=42158#comment-59644 Hi Marijn, I think you and Michael Abbott make a good point about the root mechanical aspect of BioShock Infinite. The pattern of run, shoot, run definitely gets repetitious, but it was fun to play, and this is coming from someone who doesn't usually like FPSs. And I also appreciated the juxtaposition of the violence in Booker's life with the extreme tenderness he feels toward Elizabeth.

I think the reality is that, like Abbot said in that article you linked to, BioShock Infinite is tethered to its mechanical nature as a shooter, and part of the reason why Irrational didn't really fight to get away from that is to sell games. I do think that's what it comes down to. It's related to that hoopla about BioShock Infinite's cover–people were irritated that the cover features a cliche "grizzled-white-male-with-gun-and-explosion" instead of one that featured Elizabeth or highlighted other unique aspects of the game, and Ken Levine basically said that cover was chosen to appeal to frat boys. There's an aspect of making games where you just need to move products, and I'd probably say that the game's shooter-obsessed mechanics as well as its cover fall under that umbrella. But for me, other aspects of the game so exceed the normal and are so successful at telling an amazing story on multiple levels that I still loved the game.
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/12/bioshock-in…
http://kotaku.com/5964876/yes-bioshock-infinites-…

]]> By: Marijn https://unwinnable.com/2013/04/09/one-hundred-twenty-three-and-counting/#comment-59052 Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:09:28 +0000 https://unwinnable.com/?p=42158#comment-59052 Oh, I saw just now that Michael Abbott has already written a great piece about this (money quote: "The game's story isn't really about shooting at all, but the player's lived story is, and that collision is impossible to overcome."): http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2013/….

]]> By: Marijn https://unwinnable.com/2013/04/09/one-hundred-twenty-three-and-counting/#comment-59051 Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:43:19 +0000 https://unwinnable.com/?p=42158#comment-59051 Well put. Certainly when the game uses the power of immersion inherent to interactivity to reinforce its themes and the impact of its narrative, Bioshock Infinite is at its unparallelled best.

However, I don't buy that the theme of "constants and variables" justifies the game's repetitive base gameplay. Even taken on the meta-level, as a comment on the reality of developing an AAA game, it feels like a cop-out; there's no reason the focus on shooting many dudes in the face HAS to be a constant, after all. Do you honestly feel that the 50th gunfight (or even the tenth) still served the game as a holistic work?

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