Contextual Studies Research - BA3

Ken Levine (Creative Director of Bioshock/Infinite) talks about the political inspirations for Bioshock, characterisation of Andrew Ryan (main antagonist) and storytelling in games in general. Brilliant quote: “Cutscenes are a coward's way out.” Levine talks about the trope of the ‘unreliable narrator’. When applied to games it means subverting environment design to account for player character’s subjectivity. A very obvious example if this is given towards the end of Bioshock II, where we see the game world through the eyes of a little sister. Although gameplay-light, this is my favourite and most memorable part of the game.

http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/Andrew_Ryan

 

I argue that Andrew Ryan is a direct reference to Aryn Rand – similar names, background (both born in Russia during socialist revolution and emigrated the US). There are other references throughout Bioshock to Atlast Shrugged, Rand’s infamous book: Ryan burns down a forest he owns when forced to nationalise it, in a similar way to the character Ellis Wyatt burning an oil field in Atlas Shrugged. The ‘captains of industry’ that Rand portrays as being pivotal to the continuation of society strike and retreat to a hidden Atlantis-like city, an idea that Bioshock takes to its natural conclusion.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/criticalintel/10133-Corvo-Is-Not-An-Honorable-Man

Robert Rath of the Escapist looks at Dishonored through the lens of C18/C19 English honour culture. His observations lend context to the actions of the characters in the game, suggesting research into traditional conservative idealogy was done while making the game.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/48728/ken-levine-on-bioshock-the

The juxtaposition of the two religions in Dishonored takes multiple inspirations from existing sources, and helps to make a believably functions society come alive. The Abbey of the Everyman is intertwined with the governance and law enforcement of the Empire. The very naming of the religion alludes the historical role of religion as a means of controlling the working class. However, while the Abbey is the official religious institution of the Empire the majority of the population (particularly the working classes) worship the Outsider, a trickster god that appears to the player character and grants him his magical abilities. This relationship of an official religion imposed by the ruling class versus an official but more broadly believed one, with religious persecution reminds me of the relationship between Catholicism and Protestantism during the Reformation.

The Outsider, however is an unconventional deity in the Judeo-Christian sense, but seems much more familiar through the lens of Scandinavian mythology. He does not seem to crave worship, and is not portrayed as omni-benevolent. One collectible source within the game (a book called ‘Spirit of the Deep) alludes to the idea that the Outsider is one of the whales (or leviathans) and appears in human form to converse with other humans.

http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/Spirit_of_the_Deep

In striking opposition to the Abbey, worshippers of the Outsider do not have an organised structure, or community. This may be simply down to the threat of persecution by the Abbey.- the Abbey was formed after a mass killing of Outsider worshipers (the ‘Litany on the White Cliff’).Especially odd is that the Abbey does not have a designated deity. The core scripture (‘the Seven Sacrements’) dencourages self-discipline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY6bpf3Oy30

The actor who played Vaas in Far Cry 3 (Michael Mando) talking about the motion-capture performance process

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTL9kzcUuvA

Another interview, Mado talks about how his performance influenced the design of the story and how the character of Vaas was created for him.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9276-Context-Challenge-and-Gratification

Ben ‘Yatzhee’ Croshaw talks about his theory of a 3 ingredient recipe for game-design: context, challenge and gratification.