Why We Remember Bioshock's Fort Frolic
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
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The level "Fort Frolic" is often cited as one of the best parts of the original Bioshock - if not the entire Bioshock series. In this episode I return to the domain of Sander Cohen with a critical eye, to figure out what made this part of the game so interesting and beloved.
Games shown in this episode (in order of appearance):
BioShock (Irrational Games, 2007)
Thief: Deadly Shadows (Ion Storm, 2004)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal, 2016)
Music used in this episode:
BioShock soundtrack
Credits
Alphr: "In conversation with BioShock and The Magic Circle developer Jordan Thomas"
www.alphr.com/l...
Contribute translated subtitles - amara.org/v/C3...
10 years after BioShock and I only now became aware of the plaster splicers.
Same, that part was new to me. I was 14 when I got the game and probably would have shit myself if I had found them.
I was around 14-15 when I get the game. Trust me those bastards are scary has hell. And I say ARE and not were Cuz every time I replay bioshock I save that gun upgrade as my last task to do in fort frolic so I can literally just run out of there as fast as I can. I'm 25 and still do that. I made a mistake of getting the gun upgrade relatively early my first time and goddam did I regret that.
Honestly, I knew those Plaster Splicers were gonna come at me during my first playthrough, however, I thought they only came at ya on Harder Difficulties. I had mines on Normal. I know I know, it's kinda noobish to put it on Normal. I realize now that they only attack you if you go to that PtTP Station at Sinclair Spirits.
Brian Colfxire holy shit... already 10 years. I'm getting old. I was 12 years old when I got it...
Derek65645 Normal difficulty is not "noobish". Normal is how most games are meant to be played, and honestly, play whatever suits you mate. Nobody became rich and famous by beating a game on the hardest difficulty.
Fort Frolic was SUCH a good level that even though I didn't remember ANYTHING about the names of the levels in Bioshock the first thing I thought of when trying to figure out which level it was was that "it's probably the level with the crazy artist dude in it, that one was good".
Actually I though that it was arcadia forest, that game is full of levels with unic identity, unlike the others in that all levels seem the same.
This game overall is just so ridiciliuosly memorable due to the great world-building and immersiveness. The art style is so consistent across every level that you feel immersed
@@geckoo9190 I love that place too. Also I much prefer the Medical Pavilion for the sheer amount of Well made jump-scares
They actually intended for you to sync your attacks to the music during the dancing section? Wow, I remember doing exactly that the first time I played the game. Hell, I was jumping and twirling in sync with it as well. It was amazing. Like a butterfly swinging around a bloody wrench.
YES! i did the very same thing!
I was interrupted by a big daddy. good thing i had spec.ed wrench!
Yea I didn't feel like a butterfly, I felt like I had butter on my shoes though
I didn't even know you were supposed to dance...all I did was dodge and attack... wish I watched this video earlier.😑
Ok, Bon Clay.
Plastered splicers are STILL the scariest enemies in the game to me.
It's been years since I played the game and I'll never forget that room where they just appear behind you.
There was a similar thing in Bioshock 2 that scared the hell out of me. I think that one involved a Gene Tonic that teleports around throughout the game, and when you finally catch up to it you turn around to see a group of Splicers staring at you.
Sort of like the weeping angels from doctor who. Maybe it's the idea of a statue chasing you trying to kill you.
Yea I never allowed them to get me, shoot first, see if they die, later.
Frostbite Gaming I didn't know there were plastic splicers in the game now I gotta replay bioshock to shocked once again.
It’s weird to think that anyone who ever started playing Bioshock but never finished it, in a way, still “beat” Andrew Ryan. They made a choice to not play
A Man choses, A Slave Obeys
-Andrew Ryan,1960 Rapture
The people who finished Bioshock were the ones Andrew Ryan technically did beat.... They were slaves to the game's objectives. Mind fuckery gold.
you're reaching
I'm reminded of a Rush song that itself was paraphrasing Ayn Rand that said "You can choose not to decide, but you still have made a choice".
I hate geese
SPOILER: If you kill him and then take a photo of his body you get an achievement. Poetic.
Wasn't it called Irony?
I don't think it was like rain on your wedding day.
That remaster was like a free ride when I already paid (on pc anyway).
If you kill him in Fort Frolic, you'll be able to open the locked chest there. But later in the game you won't be able to get into his apartment. Just FYI.
John Thorgard how is that a spoiler?
Your comments on the relationship between Sander Cohen and Jack are really interesting, but I think we can go deeper: the relation between those two characters mirrors the relationship between the developer and the player.
A single-player action game is like a ballet in which you perform for your own entertainment. The author, the developers, provide you with the scenario and the tools to perform and dance according to a script, with some room for improvisation.
Interesting thought
Jugal nice write up will keep this in mind
Never thought about this, but since the whole game was a theoratical comment on videogames itself (and so was Infinite), it seems kinda obvious.
***** I guess thats the "room of improvisation".
It's actually the whole point of the game I think. Like Andrew Ryan said at the end of the game: "would you kindly" were the magic words so that Jack (the player) would do anything he wants, like a puppet. The story of the game is kind of a metaphor of the relation of power the developpers have on the players, making them do willingly what they want, like puppets, as we, as players, interestingly fully accept it. Don't quote me on that, it's not my theory.
I never even saw those plaster splicers goddamn it
spinningninja2 never just do the missions, wonder through map there’s a lot of things that you’ll probably find interesting.
i was too fucking scared to wander around. i used to play them when i was a kid and was horrified at every turn.
spinningninja2 yea I'm bummed out about that too
You're lucky, then.
I missed them too. Guess I didn't notice the gun upgrade station.
I honestly had no idea that Cohen wasn't a boss fight. The moment I saw him I opened fire, anticipating that he would do the same. I'm not sure what that says about the 'organic moral choice' of it.
He straps a guy with explosives to a piano, made human statues out of a family, orders you to kill for his sexual necrophilic desires and take photos of it... it shows commmon sense of you to shoot first and ask questions later.
@@icecold1805 I hesitated but was ready to drop him if he tried to get froggy. I let him live. Not sure why. But Cohen was freaking insane.
I let Cohen live during my first playthrough. The way I saw it, I’ve gone through this whole game slaughtering countless people. Being given the choice to prevent one death, I decided to let him live. Besides, part of me did almost feel sorry for him. It almost seems like Cohen represents the corruption and evil of Rapture itself. He was just an artist who wanted to be loved. And I have a feeling that he only became psychotic after he came to Rapture, seeing the city as an opportunity. Later in the game, when you see the dancers, I always took that as a reward for the player, if they let Cohen live. So yeah, that’s what I did. But I can completely understand why people kill him upon site. He’s pure evil at this point.
@@ianbeach23 Or you can kill him in his apartments? I alwaya do that cause I'm like "bitch crazy asf better dead than alive here"
......
He's also sort of difficult to kill.... If you're playing Survivor Mode that is.
I actually didn’t know you could kill him, like I was like dafaq when he popped up behind me with his grand entrance, and I was waiting for him to attack me, but he didn’t so I didn’t bother to, that was my first play through and I’m about to start a new one this time killing him
him: you don't have to kill sander
me: flashbacks to shooting him when he showed up
I literally looked up if you fight him because I didn’t want to waste all my ammo just before I fought Ryan
@@Th_Riddler_ And what a fight that was with Ryan, eh?
@@diamondheadify-v5i Hardest boss fight ever, how could the devs only arm you with a golf club that's just plain unfair
I remember that when I played the game and saw the dude playing the piano, I sat there and there was only one thought going through my head:
"I'm supposed to shoot him, right?"
It's funny, to me, that you don't actually *need* to shoot him, he'll blow up regardless, but holy shit is Sander's reaction to me shooting the guy funny. "Well, that was quicker than expected." It's amazing!
I wrenched him. Nearly died.
your thinking was right though: put him out of his misery, the poor sap 😁
I don't know why, but that guy blowing up on the piano always gets a chuckle out of me.
"YOU SICK FUCK" *boom*
I like to shoot the piano before he gets to say his last words
"Again, Fitzpatrick"
Odd 'n Strange Games same Lmao
dark, twisted humour
should have went with "would you kindly subscribe and support me on patreon?" at the end
I don't wanna force anyone!
no
Extra little tidbit about Sander Cohen; If you kill him and take a picture of his body, you get an achievement :D
Even better, the achievement is called "Irony."
LOOOL. FUCK I ONLY KILLED HIM XD
I didn't even know about the plaster splicers because I guess I missed that weapon upgrade. Probably wasn't even that hard to find, silly me. That's awesome though.
Me too , i've never encountered them
Iirc it's in the basement of Fort Frolic
Yeah, I never found out about them on my first play through. I guess I thought the door to Sinclair’s was locked or something.
I never saw them either
It’s actually quite easy to miss. There’s a small switch you have to press in Sinclair Spirits (the place where “How much is that doggy in the window” is playing on the speakers) and it doesn’t really jump out at you.
I didn't appreciate it entirely when I played it. Thanks, man. This is, again, a great piece of video.
I haven't played Bioshock since 2007, but watching this reminds me just how absolutely phenomenal its art direction was.
Plaster splices? What the.... Ive been through the game 3 times and I gave NEVER seen those oO
You gotta activate a well-hidden Gun Upgrade kiosk.
Kytota If by "well-hidden," you mean, "easily findable," then yes, it's well-hidden.
The only way to activate them is if you go into Sinclair's liquor store which is in the very back of the map on either the first or second floor of Posiden Plaza and then open the trap door to upgrade your weapon.
Gotta explore harder, lol
I've played it about 20 times and see them every time
One of thee best videos I’ve seen on UA-cam, still holds up to this day, cheers.
Getting the “Irony” achievement for taking a photo of Cohen’s corpse is my favorite Bioshock moment. The devs didn’t force me to take his picture, it wasn’t even an optional mission or something.
Taking his picture is the natural conclusion to his twisted story, and the achievement gives the player a pat on the back for fulfilling that story.
Another well-crafted, informative, and thoughtful video Mr. Brown. Thanks so much for your contributions - you are an inspiration to me and many others!
What!!? You didn't have to kill Cohen??
I feel terrible.
I accidently "interrupted" the dancers' rhythm in Cohen's apartment because I wanted to play some nice notes on the piano for them, and then I had to fight him and actually was sorry for doing so :(
@@dgrunklesamiii4615 wow, Karma's a bitch.
me too. i just blatantly murdered him.
I love everything about this channel mark!
Thanks!
Mark Brown your welcome keep the content coming! 👍
agreed! One of my favourite channels at the moment! :)
Hector Rodriguez is one of my professors at my university.
Please don't murder him with bees.
If you do decide to murder him with bees, please feel free to take a picture of his corpse to present to the world.
What happens if you kill him with bees in the game?
Ironically enough, even though I played through Bioshock in its entirety about six years ago, I can't remember a single thing about Sander Cohen or his level. Literally nothing; not a single clip from that part of the game used in this video was even remotely familiar to me. I don't even recognize the name Sander Cohen.
I think I need to play Bioshock again.
Sander Cohen is also prominent in Bioshock infinite, burial at sea. Out of all the twisted characters in the Bioshock series, he is one of my favorites
The dance part was probably my favorite in the game.
It's cool how you put it with the 'snuff film' thing. Reminds me of Manhunt, when Starkweather's pulling the strings, puppeteering and choreographing your moves through sections of the game. And speaking of pulling the strings. Only now I really noticed that Sander Cohen must be one of the few people in Rapture who don't manipulate you by using the iconic term "Would you kindly...".
Amazing game, and wicked video butt. "Fly away little moth! fly! fly! 😜
In all honesty, all of this was lost on me. My main memory of Cohen's area was being pissed off at all the backtracking I had to do in it.
Same
Exactly my thoughts. He is good in concept but it felt like filler. Like an episode of a TV series that sits in between two major plot heavy stories that go together.
For whatever reason everyone stops what they are doing to focus on villain of the week who is not mentioned going forward. In fact if you were to watch the two episodes it separates back-to-back you would miss nothing, it is as if the episode never existed. It only served to pad the length of the season.
Sander Cohen is an interesting set piece, a cool level. But it feels like they didn't know where to put him so they just put him in a side-room to waste your time before you can progress to more important matters. There are instances where this is done to a positive effect, in that it doesn't feel like a waste of time at all.
The Witcher 1 comes to mind and the events of Chapter IV. Right as things begin to come to a head it transports you away from the action and questions you were dying to ask are left unanswered. At first I felt put off but I knew if I pushed on I would find those answers. In this process I began to appreciate the deliberate pacing and tonal effect Chapter IV had on the game.
There can be value and quality to an episode like this and there is, it just comes at a time where it feels as though you have been cheated out of your progress as this is just before you meet Andrew Ryan. This story was worth telling, the quality is evident as laid out here.
But the relationship this story has with the player depends entirely on their disposition and their relationship with the game as a whole up to this point. You are either going with the flow and down for anything or are presented with a lengthy fetch quest that feels like a chore because of where it falls in the narrative structure.
People play games for different reasons. If you are all about the gameplay then the action of Fort Frolic is a playground. If you are still a fan of the gameplay but you are conscious of pacing and the overarching story, this can be seen as a slog and merely a diversion which diminishes your enjoyment of the level.
I feel like the placement of the level should have been earlier at a point where Atlas and Ryan were being overbearing and hostile. Pulling you towards objectives that might not have made sense for your character or you as the player. Then suddenly you are taken away from this tug of war and given a mission that creates introspection about your actions and allows for a reprieve from the role you have been forced into due to your reliance on others to survive.
You are given a task but not one that is rooted in conspiracy and devious intent. As you begin to play you see this is nothing more than a game, a show you are taking part in. Your relationship with Cohen is what makes his tasks feel different, there is no threat of the world ending, no opposing forces enacting their will upon you. He isn't trying to shift the political status quo and he is given more character than someone like J.S. Steinman who is just an obstacle. This section is a story isolated from the rest of the game but ties into it thematically. It acts just like a filler episode, but when you choose to use this format you have to be conscious of its placement in the story.
Don't forget the part where Cohen first sends spider splicers after you and their A.I.'s pathfinding can result in one clipping through part of the ceiling, leaving it unkillable, thus preventing you from entering Fort Frolic. The only fix? Hope you have a save from before you went to Fort Frolic, as leaving and returning does nothing...and even if you have a save prior to your first trip to Fort Frolic, the bug can still occur, with no real rhyme or reason. This STILL exists in the Bioshock Collection, as well.
Sometimes, when shoveling thru UA-cam comments, the shovel says "clank!" and you instantly think "did I hit the treasure chest here?!". This time my friend I feel like I hit the chest alright. Thank you for a very inspiring analysis, especially on the matter of placement of story/gameplay beats in the whole concept. :)
I think the main problem, ignoring anything wrt to the content itself, is where it is placed in the game. The narrative is headed straight to finally getting to the big man himself, and then your pulled off track. I was fine with this as sometimes when I enjoy a game, I don't want it to end, so something delaying the conclusion that is in itself good makes me happy. However, I can see why many other players might not like having a pit stop shoved into the game right before Ryan. I feel the level should have come sooner in the game - perhaps more towards the middle or early-middle, so it could have felt better for more people to be doing something that seems secondary to the main plot.
A genuinely eloquent description of what Cohen is, desires, and the essence of the level itself.
Your words resonate with depth and insight, painting a vivid tapestry of Cohen's character and aspirations. Thanks
I think he it felt so memorable because it wasn't a contrived road block to advance levels and gameplay hours, it was a random psychotic encounter, ON TOP of everything that was already going on. He came in and controlled every person fighting for that very thing. He was in essence, trolling.
Man Fort Frolic gave me anxiety. As someone who has to look in every single corner for anything hidden before moving on, I was overwhelmed with all the areas.
The climax of the final splicer battle set to classical music is still one of my favorite gaming moments. I remember chuckling to myself on my first playthrough of that part. So absurd and darkly humorous. Another thing I like about this level is the dramatic use of the song "Dancer's on a String." It was one of Bioshock's most memorable and haunting melodies, and it fit this level perfectly.
Once again, a great video. Thank you, Mark!
are you a codexer?
?
I did not even know plaster splicers were a thing! I didn't even know there was an upgrade station in Fort Frolic. The only jumpscare I thought was in Bioshock was the dental office where the mist obscures your vision and when you turn around there's a splicer in your face.
100k subscribers, congrats! Glad to see this amazing channel is slowly getting more attention.
Thanks! Really pleased to hit that goal.
This channel is like Extra credits and Lessons from the Screenplay had a beautiful baby
One of the greatest things about the age of UA-cam is the advent of video essays like this about any and everything I seem to be into...
the original bioshock is still one of my favourite fps games . way better than infinite
Better gameplay-wise, but not a better story. Infinite and Burial at Sea was a masterpiece
Never liked the original Bioshock. I found the gameplay boring and frustrating at times, and the story had this SpecOps thing where they want to make me feel bad for some things when they didn't give me a choice to avoid them.
Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite had more entertaining gameplay and actually made me care about the story. Specially Infinite managed to make me really care for what could happen to Elizabeth.
All of this is my opinion, of course.
The Lizard Wizard We don't talk about Bioshock 2...
Evan we do now, specially since now we have a remaster of it
So yeh....
I know it's popular to claim Infinite had better gameplay, but I fail to see how, and usually no one explains why they think that. Bullet spongy enemies that just run straight at you, a Halo-style gun system that is for some reason mixed with an upgrade path that feels counter to it, and redundant and infective plasmids(I mean vigors), player customization is heavily reduced, etc. I feel that BI actually has the worst combat (it felt like a slog to me, and I would frequently try to rush it get to something more interesting), and that B2's improvements give it the overall superior gunplay. That said, I never had a problem with the first game's systems, or the choice of gun vs plasmid-power.
BI should have either removed the gun upgrades (easier to balance, easier to make sure the player doesn't end up with subpar weapons for some particular encounter where the ones upgrade nicely are not around), or should have allowed you to carry a lot of weapons as in the first one. Restricting to 2 guns works in Halo because the guns are always the same (one needler is the same as any other, for example), and so the choice is a strategic one of which two to carry from the ones currently provided (and enemies can be balanced around a set group of weapons).
Eh, whatever - opinions and buttholes and all that.
One could create an entire miniseries of videos about how Bioshock 1 is in so many placed ingenious, and in other areas be so easily, and massively improved.
Sander Cohen is easily one of my favorite characters of all time.
It's cool to see Arin Hanson's name on the supporter list. I did ask my self if he watched your content after hearing him speak about level design on an episode of mario maker.
WOW. I never got the gun upgrade station so I was extremely confused by the plastic splicers. The fact that a game would let you just miss something as spooky as this which is sure to leave an impression on the player just speaks volumes.
"The Wild Bunny by Sander Cohen: I want to take the ears off, but I can't. I hop, and when I hop, I never get off the ground. It's my curse, my eternal curse! I want to take the ears off but I can't! It's my curse! It's my fucking curse! I want to take the ears off! Please! Take them off! Please!"
Plaster splicers are similar to the Weeping Angels in that they come up to you when you aren’t looking and then freeze (temporarily)
Fantastic, really makes me want to go back and play Bioshock.
Sander Cohen was easily my favorite character in the entire series. I've always been partial to the soft and quiet, but really really insane and twisted on the inside sort of villains.
I find it interesting that you decided not to spoil the single best moment that made me remember that level for the rest of my life: Irony.
spoil how?
There is a certain achievement called irony that you get by doing something that is completely unnecessary at the end of this level. The developers recognizing the players actions with that achievement is one of my best gaming memories. But Mark didn't even mention it in passing, I guess so he wouldn't spoil it.
oh i must have missed that in my playthrough o_O
Dash Jubei irony is an achievement you get if you take a picture of sander cohen after killing him
The music in Fort Frolic was so amazing, the whole way through. One of my favorite levels in any video game ever.
I really love your show Mark! I think it's become my favorite youtube channel. Really looking forward to the rest of Boss Keys. I'll be giving to your patreon the moment I'm not incredibly poor. I'd love to see your analysis of the 3D Metroid series (Prime 1-3, Other M, Federation Force), but I know how much work goes into your videos so I feel bad making a request. Keep up the awesome work Mark.
I'd like to do a Metroid-style Boss Keys in the future!
I remember Fort Frolic offering a larger play space than other maps, just a better arena design with more nooks, crannies, a shopping atrium to explore, items in plain sight you have to figure out how to obtain using your plasmids and existing tools. (Add weapon and plasmid puzzles!)
I think Bioshock should have been a larger condensed open world game with much larger interconnected levels with multiple loading screen access points like Apollo Square connecting to Olympus Heights, except maybe they connected to several other maps, like a System Shock meets Deus Ex in an underwater art-deco city with those iconic 1940s era diving suit enemies with big scary drills.
Big Daddies are just one of my favorite video game enemy types, they're non-hostile and act in self-defense, and they're literally a meme, Don't Talk To Me Or My Little Sister Ever Again.
Srsly, keep up the good work with these GMTK vids. Your retrospectives are on fleek. 👍👌
is that a good thing
Mark Brown I did say good work didn't I? lol ;) But seriously, you made a subscriber/patreon patron outta me.
:D Thank you!
The dance at the end of Fort Frolic was the distillation of the beauty and absurdity of the location, the narrative, even of video games themselves. It was the most sublime, transcendent, seamlessly engaging, non-gamey moment I have ever had the joy of experiencing in a game, ever. Just remarkable, and I appreciate your analysis. Thank you for giving me words to express why this moment was what it was.
This is an all-around wonderfully thought out video and, not only makes me want to play Bioshock, but makes me think about my favorite parts of games, not just the game as a whole. Subscribed.
Violence and classical music are a match made in heaven. I wish more games developers understood this...
I don’t know if it was a conscious decision by the devs or not but getting that Crossbow in Fort Frolic made progressing through the whole area so much more fun than it would have been without it. Shooting the Spider Splicers off the ceiling with it was incredibly satisfying.
BioShock is unique as a shooter, letting you make the choices and bear the consequences. A timeless classic.
Your editing with Cohen's voice and the blackouts AMAZE ME
Loved the transition: Welcome ...
Haha, thanks - I had to re-record it because I forgot what he said and recorded a lead-in that didn't work. WHOOPS
it was worth it. but yeah, again great video. that whole peace about the dance actually blew my mind because it seems so obvious when you show it in your video but ive never seen it that way. i should go back and play it again.
* Fort Frolic lacks the Leadhead Splicers you meet everywhere else in the game. It's sandwiched between the chapters of Arcadia and Hephaestus, and it's the latter that has the Leadhead Splicers upgrade from pistols to tommy guns. With Fort Frolic, there's a general shortage of supplies, meaning that you'll have to use the U-Invents to craft more ammo and ration your health kits and EVE hypos, because breaking those glass displays holding items triggers an alarm.
* The first gift Sander Cohen gives you is the Crossbow. This is an effective, powerful weapon that deals lots of damage but has a slow fire rate. It also has trap bolts which can be crafted at the U-Invent (and you will have a LOT of materials to make them). Fort Frolic is the first stage that has the Elite Bouncer Big Daddies, their precursors appearing only in the Medical Pavilion. They're the perfect targets for trap warfare, as are the likes of Finnegan and Rodriguez. Abusing Trap Bolts makes these boss fights a cinch, and are pivotal for eliminating other Big Daddies.
* If you are rescuing Little Sisters, Tenenbaum will give you a reward as she does in other stages of the game. Sander Cohen blocked out Atlas and Ryan, but he was kind enough to give Tenenbaum some leeway. It's a nice bit of emotional sweetness to a dark, foreboding stage.
* You can actually fight Sander Cohen twice in a single playthrough. After killing him in Olympus Heights and looting his corpse (and his room for that Power to the People station), you can return to Fort Frolic once you get to the bathysphere in Apollo Square. Desecrate the statues on the stage where you planted the photographs and Sander Cohen will appear and fight you.
7:57 The realization.
Fort Frolic finally gave me the clean ‘50s aesthetic I’d been waiting for since the start of the game, I enjoyed just looking at it.
7:05 the shock plasmid going with the song is perfect
in a meta narrative twist, taking a photo of his corpse completes his sadistic artwork, in a way that even he could not see coming.
make a video about Splinter cell Chaos Theory
Wologan B. The level design , graphics and AI which I would say has even more depth than all the Bioshock games.
Chaos Theory was ahead of its time in terms of AI as a stealth game and it has pretty great level design with lots of ways to manipulate AI and complete your objectives.
Fort Frolic was always a personal highlight in my many runs throughout Rapture. I really liked the idea that the game didn't quiet forced me to do things a specific way, but instead allowed me to do things at my own pace and the removal of the questmarker was also a nice touch. I also liked the fact that Cohen just blocks communication with the other etwo guys completly allowing me as the player to focus on my own interests. I actually appreciated the quietness that I had throughout that level as well. No Atlas or Ryan telling me things. Just me , myself and I.
The Crossbow is also a really fine touch to the whole level actually simply for what that gun can do. Placing tripwire traps for example and then let a big daddy charge through a dozen of them just to fly dead at me. It felt like Art! :D
Great video. Really made me think. Guess I'll have to re download the game again.
ohhh those plaster Splicers I did find them first time through ..between the "fake" noise of a Spider splicer and them just appering behind a close door ..i had to take a 5 min break to calm down i loved Fort Frolic still to this day its the perfect reminder when i play Bioshock that "i may have gotten stronger ...but i havent gotten braver" cause those jumpscares and the whole enviroment still chill me to the bone
Great video!
Some people have commented on how this section felt like a bit of filler in that the overarching narrative is on pause for its duration. It almost feels like this chapter could have been a vertical slice of the game - it's got some of the best elements that make up the Bioshock experience all within a self-contained chapter. It's interesting to think about the placement of such chapters in games - The Painted World in Dark Souls, The Taxidermist in Heavy Rain, etc.
I don't think I have a point - just thinking out loud. Cheers, Mark!
Most memorable part, but I completely forgot about this level.
lol
Just watched the latest episode (s1e3) of Westworld and remembered this. Thank you for making this video Mark.
Disappointed that you didn't mention BioShock: Infinite's "Hall of Heroes," which was basically that game's Fort Frolic...unless you're saving that for a video itself?
that was a good one
Why would anything from Infinite need to be mentioned in a video about the original Bioshock? Infinite is garbage anyway.
EvilTim1911 AGREED.
EvilTim1911 Nah
Daniel99 Wow, compelling argument. Here's my equally compelling retort: Yah.
To this day those plastered splicers are still probably one of the creepiest parts of the game. Posing as statues for some reason, completely silent unlike other splicers even when set on fire, the way they seem to "teleport" in and out when you aren't looking like you're in some kind of Michael Myers movie, and the weirdest part is how there’s zero explanation behind them. Nobody brings them up, they're never mentioned in audio diaries, it's like they never even existed.
Anyone else notice Arin Hanson (AKA Egoraptor, AKA the Grump of Game Grumps) on the top tier Patron list?
I love everything in your videos, and when you nail down your subtitles like in this one I can enjoy them to their full extend. Thank you, Mark!
I was 7 years old when Bioshock came out, and I remember watching my older brother play it. I didn't know what you were talking about at first until I heard that music, that damned music that made it all come back to me.
The effort you put in to describe and lay out what the game gave to us is astonishin. Thumbs up.
I completely forgot that Bioshock had named characters outside of Atlas, Ryan, Cohen and Tenenbaum.
Forgot about Steinman, Cohen, and Tenanbaum? And Fontaine? And Wilkins?
You said Tenanbaum and Cohen, but the other two still stand
Apart from background lore, Steinman was hardly written at all. He just seemed like a roadblock to me.
My favourite section in the game was Neptune’s Bounty but this section was very interesting.
I love bioshock and I'm so glad you made this video it gives fort frolic the credit it very much deserves and I'm happy to see other people appreciate the details and work that went into this awesome level of the game
This was bloody fantastic. Nice work mate
Never played Bioshock one, but I was laughing my ass of I saw the player putting on that murderous show. XD
Cohen's personality was like that even before he got spliced up, as indicated by burial at sea. It's pretty crazy.
Fort Frolic still stand as one my fav level in the games, my first time playing I was damn this guy is in my way and yet the more I traveled in the level the more I started to love it I don’t mind backtrack since you can kill all three in one go . It also play a huge role in the main story yet put it to the side until you reach there. Sander also play into because unlike other villain who try to lure into trap to kill he instead was more like a artist inviting you in to watch the show and you end up being part of the show. First I didn’t kill him until later cause he still crazy. Traveling though the level was great as I thought time square were all the plays are and what if something happen and one guy was traveling thought they to see where the entertainment was and that was fort frolic for me great video on this
I absolutely loved the "dance" section of this level, when the music started and the splicers where coming and coming I found it to be perfect. I just felt good and really happy, I don't know how else to describe it.
The Waltz of the Flowers segment is one of my most treasured memories in gaming. I love the juxtaposing of serene beauty and chatoic violence
yay more gmt! :D
This is one of my favourite videos on all of UA-cam. Brilliant stuff.
I absolutely adore bioshock, probably my favorite game I’ve ever played, desperately trying to find games that give me the same feeling that bioshock has. Though I haven’t found much, I often replay this game over and over
Wyndham People said the game was creepy but I never really felt the atomsphere. I also feel the gameplay is meh. But the story is what carries the series for me.
Luis Perera I wouldn’t really say it’s creepy, maybe the ugly splicers could be creepy looking. I’m not that great with words so I’m not to sure how to explain it, but it certainly wasn’t creepy, maybe tense?
A good example of a game with mediocre gameplay but outstanding world design
say, what do you recommend for a shooter?
Bimawan Satrianto for pure gameplay somethimg like the Halo series or Doom
borderlands Is pretty good too
painkiller black edition, doom 2 (brutal doom mod), shadow warrior, Metro 2033, and spec ops: the line
Santiago Benegas
i potato pc only
When I saw the title I was interested since BioShock has been of my favourite games to play to date. I didn't really recall what 'Fort Frolic' was, but all that shot through my mind was the part with the crazy artist.
And well, here it is! Even before watching the video, everything about this level/part of the game felt so special to me. Apart from the ending and bits and pieces in between, this part is really the only one that stuck with me.
That's interesting, and none of it was conveyed to me. Pretty much all I remember was that was the point where I didn't understand how people considered the game "atmospheric" when there's so much shit breaking the atmosphere. "JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW! FOR THE FATHER TELLS ME SO!" *turrets and robots whirring* "WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF VALUE!" *Enemies everywhere and little sister saying something vaguely morbid*
Wow... NOT EXACTLY QUIET IS IT?! and that was BEFORE I had to kill everything just to get from point A to point which gave me an average of a corpse per 3 meters.
A bit dense, isn't it?
Bit of a necro post, but I completely agree. Any atmosphere whatsoever was almost completely drowned by those goddamn loud mouthed splicers singing loudly or yelling to themselves. It doesn't help that each type of splicer has the exact. same. lines. Which means over the course of the game you hear each line over a hundred times. Half-way through I was killing splicers no longer in self-defence, but just to silence them for the sake of some peace and solace.
I know other games have the same problem, but it baffles me how the developers of Bioshock, a heavily atmospheric game, could have missed this. Silent, boring enemies are better than characterized, but unrelentingly annoying ones.
Andrew Ryan banned The Bible and religion in Rapture, for his own twisted (and heavily inaccurate) version of Objectivism. Hence, why people singing a religious song is atmospheric, as they're singing a song that should be banned, and contraband Bibles are mentioned too.
I also found the Little Sisters and Big Daddies to be creepy, and that the atmosphere was only quiet in moments between fights with the broken denizens of Rapture.
The Circus of Value thing though... people hate that line due to hearing it so much.
Also, as a last major point, the sounds and voice lines are a part of the atmosphere to me, though if you want to just LOOK and explore, without a bunch of noise/gunfights... that was only possible once the enemies in the area caught a bad case of "Dead".
Nazareadain atmospheric isn't being quiet
@@EricFonsecaKai sometimes it is, but it doesn't always have to be. Bioshock is a perfect example of that.
I gotta say that you sir have the coolest voice and the best documentaries I've seen/heard
I thought it was weird and out of place.
How was it out of place?
My favourite moment in BioShock is when I smashed a display window to grab a health pack when the alarm goes off, shouting out theft is not tolerated.
I first bought Bioshock i think in 2008-09 and it was such a scary game to me then, but one thing i knew is that this was something special. I have been enthralled with any and everything related to this decrepit underwater city to this day.
>playing an fps with a controller
Really dude
Yeah
Your new is showing. "meme arrows" have been used since the dawn of the Internet as a way to quote.
Generally I'd agree but Bioshock doesn't really expect the same level of accuracy that other shooters require. No multiplayer and designed with consoles in mind.
>PC Elitism
>In the year of our lord 2016
and what exactly are you quoting?
Plaster splicers are like whepping angels. DON'T BLINK !
Incredible video! Your channel should have milions of views!!
Thank you very much for this immersive and smart analysis of this beautiful artistic section of Bioshock, one of my favorite games.
Great video! You said everything right about this level and Sander Cohen. Out of all Bioshock antagonists, he's probably my favourite.
Congratulations on 100k subscribers, Mark!
Bioshock is one of my favourite games of all time, and this was a stellar video!
A single tear ran down my face when I heard the bio shock song at the end of the video