The underwater setting comes directly from the book Atlas Shrugged. During the course of the book, we hear urban legends about a genius named John Galt who didn’t want his gifts exploited by collectivists. We hear several iterations of a story about John Galt starting his own hidden objectivist society, the first of which was John building an underwater city. Hence, the setting for the game.
Actually, Galt's Gulch is on a island. The underwater world came from a need to do something other than a Space station while being just as claustrophobic. If you play the Remastered version, there is a Commentary where Ken said so himself.
@@okcoolshades2203 there's developer diaries you can find on each level of bioshock remastered where Ken and the devs talk about the game and why they made certain choices, it's very interesting
Aesir you’re underrated my friend. Keep up the quality work. There is a market for long form analysis on games, and I’m sure you’ll tap into it quite soon.
I believe Bioshock's message is "A man with too much of an ideology will become blind by it, but a man with no ideal/ideology will find nothing to fill his empty self." Or at least something akin to that. A man who cannot master his own ideology will not master himself, and if you can't master yourself? You will accomplish nothing in the long run
Ideology is complete madness? Idea + Logical + reality all sound fine on their own, Making your ideas into logical possible reality. Ideology is about THE ideal witch is an illogical task which has no basses in reality. Other wise we call it something like a fact. 🥸
Ideology is complete madness? Idea + Logical + reality all sound fine on their own, Making your ideas into logical possible reality. Ideology is about THE ideal witch is an illogical task which has no basses in reality. Other wise we call it something like a fact. 🥸
Anarcho-Capitalism: Hey I can't make borders, but I will make a wall shaped house around your property and my armed workers will reside there to make sure it is defended and not trespassed on.
Though I completely understand your want to avoid political discussion (since they oh so often end in toxic yelling matches, rather than serious intellectual discussion), I think it also might be a bit misguided to dismiss it entirely. After all, all their games attempt to discuss, and critique philosophical and political views, and critique what they see as extremes. Rapture, Andrew, and Shodan. A critique of cold individualism, unfettered innovation and greed. The Family, Sofia Lamb, and The Many. A critique of collectivism, and unfettered self sacrifice, and the concept of "the greater good". These discussions have merit. This is not me saying you're an asshole mind you, I mostly just seek to explain how honest discussion, even about an often toxic topic, can be done right. They are doing exactly that themselves in every game they got.
Fair enough. And honestly I expected that was your reasoning. Really, who can blame you for not wanting a place of fun bogged down with hate filled rants about the state of US politics? Though I take it you're not so much against discussing the game's framework, and a critique of that from an ideological worldview? For example, I think they are far too into centrist ideals. Almost fanatically devoted to seeing everyone else as the insane or invalid, for being on any side of a fence politically. Rather than try to understand them, they frame them as insane or misguided. Just another "they". Just with various slogans, and colored flags.
@@jalioswilinghart I think you are right, but also wrong at the same time. Thing is: EVERYTHING can be turned into a political discussion, if you stretch your mind hard enough. Does the Shodan/Many dichotomy really serve as a metaphor for individualism/collectivism or is it just the post-modernist reductionism that boils every single topic down to just that? I think Bioshock only explicitly turned to political discussion in Infinite and was worse off for it. That was only one of its many issues, of course.
i love how they moved away from the boring steampunk theme of other games and made it into a spooky underwater dystopian society with circus city playground aesthetics (in an indirectly implied anarcho-capitalist setting i.e the architecture, music, advertisements, automation gone wrong vibe), like what the hell? thats so outlandish and wild. such a breakthrough in videogame culture i think in terms of storytelling a manic world. (im basically just ruminating on stuff you've already said just ignore me) also i remember playing the game and laughing so hard when i heard the pompous operatic 1920's music. the juxtaposition between the musics 'laissez-faire is the way forward' inspired aspirational message and the futuristic decimated setting was very ironic indeed. the fact that it was playing in the background of a completely desolated hotel room full of crazy cyborg humanoids who have completely destroyed themselves because of free-market 'do what you want with no consequences' system really highlighted to me what happens when you strive for a utopia but end up achieving a dystopia. *video games designed with political or philosophical considerations are always 10x more interesting. some gamers just want to zone out and play a fun game without thinking about it too deeply and thats ok, but personally that shit is dopey, like youre missing a big opportunity to maybe learn or think about something.
Damn, I can't believe you barely have 6.2k subs. I saw your video on "I have no mouth and I must scream" and I instantly fell in love with your content. Everything, from the way you presented it all the way down to your voice intrigues me. I've seen a ton of your videos and you can make an hour (or 4 hour video) pass like a breeze. I don't think I've ever seen another youtuber in the same level as you, such amazing and consistently good content. Keep it up man, I'll always be anxious for more!
For me, BioShock is about Friedrich Nietzsche quote: "One fighting the monsters should beware of becoming a monster himself. And if you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss will stare back right into you". Ryan is this One and Frank Fountain is this Monster.
I feel like an ass every time I see your channel in my feed. I ask myself "who is this, why am I subscribed", but then I click on your profile and remember. I feel like an ass because you make quality videos and I shouldn't have to remind myself of that quality. Keep up the good work, and happy holidays!
Wow... I'm really sad that I don't seem to be getting notifications from this channel anymore. I'll just have to check in regularly. I always thoroughly enjoy these videos, and go away feeling smarter and more satisfied with games I already knew were great (assuming I've played them already). As ever, this video had some great insights. It's a common criticism by the youtube longform essay crowd that Bioshock is about Objectivism, but doesn't have any mechanics to meaningfully comment on Objectivism. The fact that you can look past the trappings of the game's setting to realize the game _isn't_ actually _about_ Objectivism really cements my respect. I never realized it before, but it's so obvious in hindsight: every -Shock game is about the duality of extremes, not necessarily the ideologies themselves. It's why I agree, I think Bioshock's endgame was necessary and integral. We needed to explore Frank Fontaine's character as much as we needed to explore Ryan's, and stories like that of Diane McClintock cemented that they _both_ ruin lives. The fact that I haven't played the game in at least four years and could pull that name from memory without looking it up is probably testament to how effective it was for me. I'm curious: I understand you're taking a break, but when you come back to it, will you be exploring Bioshock 2? Most people consider it to be the redheaded stepchild of the series, I think it explores the theme of parenthood in an interesting way. As excited as I am to see your examination of my beloved Bioshock Infinite, I hope you won't skip 2.
+Angmor Dagnithil I absolutely will get around to Bioshock 2 and infinite. Unfortunately, my current video will seemingly take an extra month or 2 to finish so I can't give a firm date on when I'll make Bioshock videos again.
Love this intricate and curious analysis! So much detail about the essence of the game and process! Far better than the basic 1 hour talking over a walkthrough bioshock retrospective from other UA-camrs that was recommended.. Bravo your channel is underrated
I don't have a problem watching this video before playing the whole thing because the only Shock series game that the internet didn't completely spoil to me was BioShock 2.
Same here. Having just finished Bioshock 1, I can't say there was much this video hasn't touched upon. That "moral choice" with the Little Sisters, though, was pretty ridiculous. How was that even a choice? Saving a Little Sister is as much of a choice as killing a Splicer is. Only supreme edgelords would ever not save them.
Utterly loved this video. And was reminded hard-way how badly I take that final moment of the Good Ending. Seeing their hands grasping Jack's, bearing different adornments... he gave them what they were utterly denied. A life, unique and truly their own. And they were there for him, in return, all the way to the end. There's a power to that moment that always hits me and makes me want to cry.
Love your analyses so much! I'm still in the middle of watching but I got so excited I needed to comment now so express how much I love your content! Will comment again when I've finished
9:15 PAVILON XD pa-vil-ion Love the videos btw! Just discovered your channel. The KotOR video reminded me that my mom had never played it, so I recommended it to her for her ipad!
After watching your analysis on silent hill and then this series, you done Justice to two of my favorite video game series and you have a new sub my friend. keep up the good work.
Aesir, I think I had an oh shit moment when you said all the characters are Jewish, and they were oppressed and so became the oppressor. That blew my mind and now I want to play the game again with that perspective which I think will create a whole new perspective. This is a great video man.
This video actually addressed some of my criticisms of this game. I knew the game was influenced by early 1900s robber barons and objectivism, but found the critique of individualism/objectivism a bit one dimensional and ham fisted. It makes more sense that the developers were portraying the dangers of the extreme of any ideology - it works better thematically that way.
AesirAesthetics, great video, after making System Shock and Bioshock videos, you absolutely set youself up to make a Prey video. I mean the world would be a lesser place if after all of this if you did not make an Analysis video of Prey.... (btw the spoiler alerts and advice is genius, seriously if I ever wanted anyone to play the game I would show them this work)
That's really high praise, thank you. As for Prey, I played for 1 or 2 hours, liked it enough but need to go back to it before I can form a real opinion and decide whether to spend a month studying it for a video. I've been told that it's got a great AHA moment and I'm a sucker for those.
Hey man, this was great! Really surprised I hadn't stumbled across you sometime sooner, this kind of content is right up my alley. Keep it up I'm gonna check out a few more
I try to make a video every month but in recent months my workschedule changed so a video every 2 to 3 months is the baseline these days. I expect my next video to be roughly 4-6 weeks away from completion.
Thank you for not using this hour to complain about "evil capitalism" (to understand the intent my comment you may have to read "evil capitalism" in a whiny, naive jim sterling voice)
This type of video runs the "risk" of making you a much more important type of content creator. While a large amount of youtube is currently very entertainment focused, what you're doing here reminds one of a historian's view of any given subject matter. I feel your videos have a much higher chance than most of being interesting and/or useful a long time from now, which to me make them infinitely more valuable as content. Sadly, true value rarely equates to popularity, especially in the current times, but I wanted to leave a comment acknowledging and congratulating you for the type of content you're creating here. I started watching this video, but stopped myself in the second spoiler alert. I've played Bioshock and loved it, but remember very little of it and your video made me want to go replay it. I will go in as blind as possible and have all the "Aaaah, that's right!!" moments. I moved to watch a few other of your analyses upon which I base most of my comment. Good for you, for making this type of content. And for us. And for youtube. And probably for posterity. Thank you! I really hope you find as much success as you strive for.
To me the implementation of Ink Spots"Best things in life are free" is the most genius thing since it praises all those things that Rapture is actually missing (Flowers, Sun, Moon, Stars) as the best things and pretty much contradicts Ryan's bs philosophy of having to earn everything yourself.
I think the moral choice would have worked better if there had been a larger difference between the reward you get for harvesting and rescuing. And perhaps if Adam had been a more necessary resource. Even in hard difficulty I never really found myself handicapped by rescuing every time.
This is one of many things that _Bioshock 2_ fixed. You could adopt the sister and get ADAM the hard way by letting her gather it, harvest right away and save yourself the trouble, or do both and get twice the ADAM and feel like a right bastard for betraying her. Or if the game is starting to feel too easy you can just pick her up, shove her in the hole right away, and say "Don't worry about it."
I think there would be no (or less) criticism of the little sisters choice if rescuing them wouldn't provide with the added bonuses. You harvest, you get all, you rescue them, you get half. And that being all. Also, I like the post Ryan part of the game and the final battle. P.S: where are those mutant splicers at the start from? I don't remember any of that in the games, which this video made replay before watching :P Edit: I don't know why YT adds blank spaces to all my comments.
I disagree with a lot of what you say in your videos, but I'm fascinated by how different your viewpoints are from mine. Keep up the content man. It's really good.
I'm not going to lie after playing through all three Bioshock games including their DLCs I feel like Bioshock 1 and 2 symbolizes hell and explores the sympathy of being in hell and BioShock infinite symbolizes heaven exploring that heaven is not really all sunshine and rainbows like it's being portrayed as but that's the vibe I'm getting
Definitely got that Hell vibe from Bioshock 1. Especially with the way that if you die, you see yourself being pulled and whipped around back to the nearest Vita Chamber, only to resurrect and go back out into this hell again and again.
This was a great exploration of the themes and use of characters as horror! I had never considered the way in which Ryan and Fontains ideologies (or lack there of) really differed. I still disagree with the way the little sisters are dealt with, but largely because I agree with what you believe there purpose was mechanically. I believe, like you said, that the little sisters are important as they put you in the desperate headspace of Rapture's people, the choice they need to make between ethics and their own safety/needs. However I think saving the little sisters is too forgiving, as you are still given sufficient adam through what you initially gain and the baskets they provide that you can still very comfortably make it through the game mainly using your genetic modifications (at least on lower difficulties since it's what I assume most people play on). I think in order to really force the player into feeling desperate like you describe, the benefits of saving the little sisters should have been more limited, or perhaps not been available at all. Maybe instead of saving little sisters and still getting adam, saving a little sister would force the player to find adam in different ways, such as going into more dangerous areas or searching more closely for adam that is well hidden. That would also encourage that player interaction that you pointed out is very important in the bioshock games. But I'm no gaming expert, so it was just an idea. Love your video though! Can't wait to so more in the future.
I do plan on covering Bioshock 2 and Infinite someday (maybe even Minerva's Den). Put it off for a bit and now it's been a real long time O_o. I know it's not the same but I recorded a podcast with some friends about Bioshock 2 a few months ago if you're interested thetwingeeks.com/2022/06/07/daydreamcast-ep-37-bioshock-2-2010/
So basically, Bioshock wants Ryan and objectivists to go more... moderate. Ryan needed to stop rejecting regulations and social welfare if he wished to stop Fontaine from creating the drug Adam and riling up the poor
Well I WAS going to play Bioshock before watching this video, but the copy I bought years ago wont install, the DRM authentication servers for it are now dead, so every physical disk is rendered a useless hunk of plastic, and I dont feel like rebuying the game or going though the trouble of pirating it. Makes me wonder what other classic games will become bricks in the future because of DRM servers going offline.
As a player who played most games since 1996, Bioshock 1's only glory was its visuals, it had unremarkable gameplay and cookie cutter story IMHO, also it felt like a PG-11 rated game to me, and was devoid of humour. I really didn't get the big deal about it, maybe as it was so linear, coming out after great games like Deus Ex: 1 and Vampire TMB.
Agreed. System Shock 2 had much better gameplay all round. It had a similar rebirth system to Bioshock, but it had a tangible cost associated with it, so you you had to be careful of using it, and couldn’t just spam them to beat enemies.
Its more accessible though. I guess since System 1 and 2 kinda flopped it was a good compromise. I grew to like both. Bioshock has more depth in story and world, System in gameplay and variety. Though Infinite took it too far with Accessibility imo.
I think _Fallout 3_ was proof that a proper RPG can achieve mainstream success. And looking at the trend (which this game probably inspired) of integrating RPG-style character progression systems into otherwise straightforward action games, nearly all of them make your progression permanent. So I have no clue why Levine decided to double down on the dumbing down by making _Infinite_ a two-weapon shooter with regenerating shields and no tonics at all. Maybe he was just tired of making RPGs altogether and just wanted to tell a story. His next game will probably be a walking simulator.
I understand not wanting the comments section to become too acrimonious. But discouraging observations on the political philosophy undergirding Rapture seems restrictive and, forgive me, a bit short-sighted. Debate can arise from comments on any aspect of any topic. We could debate the quality of the dialog, or the pacing of combat scenes, or a thousand other things. Why discourage parts of your audience from discussing what is on their minds?
Saying this game isn't a critique of Capitalism and Objectivism but a generic "ideological extreme" is incredibly disingenuous especially when you confuse Lenin and Stalin. I love love LOVE your shadow of the Colossus, Bloodborne and Sekiro videos and hope you have moved off this weird centrist "both sides" shit because comparing a proletariat uprising to the HOLOCAUST is not good form (again, the Lenin/Stalin mix up is throwing me off. Stalin bad and all that is true but you didn't say Stalin.)
the dude is quite neutral about this whole objectivism thing, he just want the objectivists to go a bit more... moderate with their politics. Search "Ken Levine on objectivism" to find out more
The game is about the logical conclusion of objectivism, though. You're wrong to want to divorce the game from that. It's basically a generation after the fucks in Atlas Shrugged leave society. It is inherently political. To disregard that is willfully missing the point.
No it's not. Ken Levine explicitely stated at the time that the point wasn't objectivism but idealogue. It didn't matter what the philosophy was, it's about what happens when ones perception of reality is hijacked by an idea.
I honestly hated Bioshock 1 to the point that it makes me skeptical about playing System Shock. It feels like the game hates that I have freewill and see it as an obstacle to overcome.
Then you should really give System Shock 2 a try. It allows incredible freedom. It doesn't feature a moral choice system and cutscenes that take away control from you at every turn.
I wrote this on your Reddit post: Ok so I've gotten through half of it (20 mins exactly) and there's a big (or small problem depending on how you look at it). The production value & narration is good, but the subject matter is ALL wrong. You call this an "analysis" video when it's nothing of the sort. You need to call this a "retrospective." You're talking about how this game did new things & comparing to earlier game designs/other games. You're not actually analyzing the game -- if anything you're just summarizing things on a surface level. "The game blah blah environmental storytelling..." that's nothing new. We knew that. If you talked about something unusual people wouldn't have noticed very easily or how the games design made the player make certain decisions others don't then that's analyzing...but this is more of a retrospective video. I would say documentary but not there either because nothing's specifically documented, no interviews, etc. It's not that the video is bad, it's that you went COMPLETELY off topic. It's like teacher asking for a book report on how bioshock changed gaming within the game, but you wrote instead about the history of the franchise & bullet pointed general things the game did. At the very least change the title on UA-cam, it's incorrect -- if you want a good example of analyzing a game goto egoraptors analysis on megaman x
The purpose of this video was threefold. 1. explore how the shock series evolved over time (this video pick sup where my SS1 and SS2 videos left off.) 2. explore the game on it's own right and see it's successes and failings in achieving the stated goals of the developers. 3. exploring the game for what it has to offer game design. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have cut this line from the video....
AesirAesthetics yeah I understand & you didn't really answer or address my comment. Looking at games over time is a retrospective. & "exploring the games design..." you're not exploring so much as recapping what people could read on the back of the box honestly. that but majority of this video isn't an analysis. You're stating things that are fairly objective or fact. Analysis are things & especially opinion which is THEN supported by fact, making it a logical truth on your end. I still stand by what I said
Reading the goals of Aesir for this video, it seems evident that he is aiming for a retrospective primarily, but this certainly still qualifies as an analysis. An analysis, as defined by google, is a detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. I think this video certainly fits that bill. There's no reason this video can't be considered a retrospective and an analysis. In fact, is a retrospective not an analysis of a game's place in history and how the game's design choices affected that place with the benefit of hindsight? It doesn't drill down into the minutia you are clearly looking for, because that would either be an hours long video or Aesir would be forced to strongly focus on one aspect only. Both of these are great and you can see the former in Joseph Anderson's excellent Fallout 4 video or the latter in any of Novacanoo's videos, which have a very strong focus on mechanics. However, that doesn't fit the format of Aesir's established format. In particular, I think saying the observations are surface level is harsh. Not much of it is new, because Bioshock has been covered so much by many people and In order to justify his more specific points he needs to retread some more obvious stuff to build his arguments off of, especially for people less familiar with the game. I certainly enjoyed the thematic analysis and gleaned some new insights on the game.
The underwater setting comes directly from the book Atlas Shrugged. During the course of the book, we hear urban legends about a genius named John Galt who didn’t want his gifts exploited by collectivists. We hear several iterations of a story about John Galt starting his own hidden objectivist society, the first of which was John building an underwater city. Hence, the setting for the game.
It's a good book. The Anthem is another one of her books that's short you should check out.
Actually, Galt's Gulch is on a island. The underwater world came from a need to do something other than a Space station while being just as claustrophobic. If you play the Remastered version, there is a Commentary where Ken said so himself.
@@dragonmaster613 remastered Verdejo of what
@@okcoolshades2203 the Bioshock collection.
@@okcoolshades2203 there's developer diaries you can find on each level of bioshock remastered where Ken and the devs talk about the game and why they made certain choices, it's very interesting
Aesir you’re underrated my friend. Keep up the quality work. There is a market for long form analysis on games, and I’m sure you’ll tap into it quite soon.
That's nice to hear :)
Agreed.
3 years later and still
I've watched a bunch of BioShock analyses and this is easily one of the best. Great stuff.
thank you :)
How the hell did I never realize Bioshock was related to system shock? Great video my man.
I believe Bioshock's message is "A man with too much of an ideology will become blind by it, but a man with no ideal/ideology will find nothing to fill his empty self." Or at least something akin to that. A man who cannot master his own ideology will not master himself, and if you can't master yourself? You will accomplish nothing in the long run
Metaphysics
Ideology is complete madness?
Idea + Logical + reality all sound fine on their own, Making your ideas into logical possible reality.
Ideology is about THE ideal witch is an illogical task which has no basses in reality.
Other wise we call it something like a fact. 🥸
Ideology is complete madness?
Idea + Logical + reality all sound fine on their own, Making your ideas into logical possible reality.
Ideology is about THE ideal witch is an illogical task which has no basses in reality.
Other wise we call it something like a fact. 🥸
Anarcho-Capitalism: Hey I can't make borders, but I will make a wall shaped house around your property and my armed workers will reside there to make sure it is defended and not trespassed on.
14:45
No step on snek.
Like actual anarchists, but evil.
Though I completely understand your want to avoid political discussion (since they oh so often end in toxic yelling matches, rather than serious intellectual discussion), I think it also might be a bit misguided to dismiss it entirely. After all, all their games attempt to discuss, and critique philosophical and political views, and critique what they see as extremes.
Rapture, Andrew, and Shodan. A critique of cold individualism, unfettered innovation and greed.
The Family, Sofia Lamb, and The Many. A critique of collectivism, and unfettered self sacrifice, and the concept of "the greater good".
These discussions have merit. This is not me saying you're an asshole mind you, I mostly just seek to explain how honest discussion, even about an often toxic topic, can be done right. They are doing exactly that themselves in every game they got.
+jalioswilinghart true, I just don't want Trump/Hillary/Bernie arguments in my notification feed.
Fair enough. And honestly I expected that was your reasoning. Really, who can blame you for not wanting a place of fun bogged down with hate filled rants about the state of US politics?
Though I take it you're not so much against discussing the game's framework, and a critique of that from an ideological worldview?
For example, I think they are far too into centrist ideals. Almost fanatically devoted to seeing everyone else as the insane or invalid, for being on any side of a fence politically. Rather than try to understand them, they frame them as insane or misguided. Just another "they". Just with various slogans, and colored flags.
@@jalioswilinghart I think you are right, but also wrong at the same time. Thing is: EVERYTHING can be turned into a political discussion, if you stretch your mind hard enough. Does the Shodan/Many dichotomy really serve as a metaphor for individualism/collectivism or is it just the post-modernist reductionism that boils every single topic down to just that?
I think Bioshock only explicitly turned to political discussion in Infinite and was worse off for it.
That was only one of its many issues, of course.
@@Wolf_Larsen You only think Bioshock Infinite was political?
@@jalioswilinghart well, Infinite was the most blatant about it. (Wearing it on the sleeve)
i love how they moved away from the boring steampunk theme of other games and made it into a spooky underwater dystopian society with circus city playground aesthetics (in an indirectly implied anarcho-capitalist setting i.e the architecture, music, advertisements, automation gone wrong vibe), like what the hell? thats so outlandish and wild. such a breakthrough in videogame culture i think in terms of storytelling a manic world.
(im basically just ruminating on stuff you've already said just ignore me)
also i remember playing the game and laughing so hard when i heard the pompous operatic 1920's music. the juxtaposition between the musics 'laissez-faire is the way forward' inspired aspirational message and the futuristic decimated setting was very ironic indeed. the fact that it was playing in the background of a completely desolated hotel room full of crazy cyborg humanoids who have completely destroyed themselves because of free-market 'do what you want with no consequences' system really highlighted to me what happens when you strive for a utopia but end up achieving a dystopia.
*video games designed with political or philosophical considerations are always 10x more interesting. some gamers just want to zone out and play a fun game without thinking about it too deeply and thats ok, but personally that shit is dopey, like youre missing a big opportunity to maybe learn or think about something.
Bioshock: Utopia is impossible and here's why.
Damn, I can't believe you barely have 6.2k subs. I saw your video on "I have no mouth and I must scream" and I instantly fell in love with your content. Everything, from the way you presented it all the way down to your voice intrigues me. I've seen a ton of your videos and you can make an hour (or 4 hour video) pass like a breeze. I don't think I've ever seen another youtuber in the same level as you, such amazing and consistently good content. Keep it up man, I'll always be anxious for more!
For me, BioShock is about Friedrich Nietzsche quote: "One fighting the monsters should beware of becoming a monster himself. And if you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss will stare back right into you". Ryan is this One and Frank Fountain is this Monster.
I feel like an ass every time I see your channel in my feed. I ask myself "who is this, why am I subscribed", but then I click on your profile and remember. I feel like an ass because you make quality videos and I shouldn't have to remind myself of that quality. Keep up the good work, and happy holidays!
Outstanding! Very intriguing and not a dull moment! Can't wait for the next one! Excellent analysis of another classic!
I literally just discovered these videos today and I am in absolute love with the content and thorough analysis of these significant and great games!
Well said. To this day Bioshock's got some of the greatests aesthetics and environments in gaming.
Heck yeah, I come back to this one often.
Algorithm tax ✌️😘 👍
Wow... I'm really sad that I don't seem to be getting notifications from this channel anymore. I'll just have to check in regularly. I always thoroughly enjoy these videos, and go away feeling smarter and more satisfied with games I already knew were great (assuming I've played them already).
As ever, this video had some great insights. It's a common criticism by the youtube longform essay crowd that Bioshock is about Objectivism, but doesn't have any mechanics to meaningfully comment on Objectivism. The fact that you can look past the trappings of the game's setting to realize the game _isn't_ actually _about_ Objectivism really cements my respect.
I never realized it before, but it's so obvious in hindsight: every -Shock game is about the duality of extremes, not necessarily the ideologies themselves. It's why I agree, I think Bioshock's endgame was necessary and integral. We needed to explore Frank Fontaine's character as much as we needed to explore Ryan's, and stories like that of Diane McClintock cemented that they _both_ ruin lives. The fact that I haven't played the game in at least four years and could pull that name from memory without looking it up is probably testament to how effective it was for me.
I'm curious: I understand you're taking a break, but when you come back to it, will you be exploring Bioshock 2? Most people consider it to be the redheaded stepchild of the series, I think it explores the theme of parenthood in an interesting way. As excited as I am to see your examination of my beloved Bioshock Infinite, I hope you won't skip 2.
+Angmor Dagnithil I absolutely will get around to Bioshock 2 and infinite.
Unfortunately, my current video will seemingly take an extra month or 2 to finish so I can't give a firm date on when I'll make Bioshock videos again.
Love this intricate and curious analysis! So much detail about the essence of the game and process! Far better than the basic 1 hour talking over a walkthrough bioshock retrospective from other UA-camrs that was recommended.. Bravo your channel is underrated
I'm happy to read this :D
Can't wait for more good job man
+Daynick101 thanks
big up to this comprehensive piece of material!! well done sir!
Glad you liked it
I don't have a problem watching this video before playing the whole thing because the only Shock series game that the internet didn't completely spoil to me was BioShock 2.
Same here. Having just finished Bioshock 1, I can't say there was much this video hasn't touched upon.
That "moral choice" with the Little Sisters, though, was pretty ridiculous. How was that even a choice? Saving a Little Sister is as much of a choice as killing a Splicer is. Only supreme edgelords would ever not save them.
Utterly loved this video. And was reminded hard-way how badly I take that final moment of the Good Ending. Seeing their hands grasping Jack's, bearing different adornments... he gave them what they were utterly denied. A life, unique and truly their own. And they were there for him, in return, all the way to the end. There's a power to that moment that always hits me and makes me want to cry.
it’s a 100% different tone than the rest of the game so i always found it strange :(
Love your analyses so much! I'm still in the middle of watching but I got so excited I needed to comment now so express how much I love your content! Will comment again when I've finished
Did you finish?
@@olenlotharjoo Legend say he's still watching.
9:15 PAVILON XD
pa-vil-ion
Love the videos btw! Just discovered your channel. The KotOR video reminded me that my mom had never played it, so I recommended it to her for her ipad!
After watching your analysis on silent hill and then this series, you done Justice to two of my favorite video game series and you have a new sub my friend. keep up the good work.
I really think this channel is unfairly underrated. My favorite video of yours is the review of Systemshock 2.
Thanks.
That used to be my favourite as well
Aesir, I think I had an oh shit moment when you said all the characters are Jewish, and they were oppressed and so became the oppressor. That blew my mind and now I want to play the game again with that perspective which I think will create a whole new perspective. This is a great video man.
your channel is a gem
This video actually addressed some of my criticisms of this game. I knew the game was influenced by early 1900s robber barons and objectivism, but found the critique of individualism/objectivism a bit one dimensional and ham fisted.
It makes more sense that the developers were portraying the dangers of the extreme of any ideology - it works better thematically that way.
The good ending just makes the whole experience that is Bioshock, so much more powerful.
AesirAesthetics, great video, after making System Shock and Bioshock videos, you absolutely set youself up to make a Prey video. I mean the world would be a lesser place if after all of this if you did not make an Analysis video of Prey.... (btw the spoiler alerts and advice is genius, seriously if I ever wanted anyone to play the game I would show them this work)
That's really high praise, thank you.
As for Prey, I played for 1 or 2 hours, liked it enough but need to go back to it before I can form a real opinion and decide whether to spend a month studying it for a video.
I've been told that it's got a great AHA moment and I'm a sucker for those.
Hey man, this was great! Really surprised I hadn't stumbled across you sometime sooner, this kind of content is right up my alley. Keep it up I'm gonna check out a few more
Glad you liked it.
I reccommend the Silent Hill 2 commentary if you have the time.
I'll make the time, another great game. Since I'm new, about how often do you out out new analysis'?
I try to make a video every month but in recent months my workschedule changed so a video every 2 to 3 months is the baseline these days.
I expect my next video to be roughly 4-6 weeks away from completion.
Awesome I'll be keeping a lookout, you got a new sub :)
Thank you for not using this hour to complain about "evil capitalism" (to understand the intent my comment you may have to read "evil capitalism" in a whiny, naive jim sterling voice)
This type of video runs the "risk" of making you a much more important type of content creator. While a large amount of youtube is currently very entertainment focused, what you're doing here reminds one of a historian's view of any given subject matter.
I feel your videos have a much higher chance than most of being interesting and/or useful a long time from now, which to me make them infinitely more valuable as content. Sadly, true value rarely equates to popularity, especially in the current times, but I wanted to leave a comment acknowledging and congratulating you for the type of content you're creating here.
I started watching this video, but stopped myself in the second spoiler alert. I've played Bioshock and loved it, but remember very little of it and your video made me want to go replay it. I will go in as blind as possible and have all the "Aaaah, that's right!!" moments. I moved to watch a few other of your analyses upon which I base most of my comment.
Good for you, for making this type of content. And for us. And for youtube. And probably for posterity.
Thank you! I really hope you find as much success as you strive for.
+Victor Dantas Your comment is the success I strive for.
Thanks so much :)
You know, when you said "They're all JEWS!" I got really worried for a second.
LOL! 😂
To me the implementation of Ink Spots"Best things in life are free" is the most genius thing since it praises all those things that Rapture is actually missing (Flowers, Sun, Moon, Stars) as the best things and pretty much contradicts Ryan's bs philosophy of having to earn everything yourself.
Would you kindly play the game first before watching this.
I think the moral choice would have worked better if there had been a larger difference between the reward you get for harvesting and rescuing. And perhaps if Adam had been a more necessary resource. Even in hard difficulty I never really found myself handicapped by rescuing every time.
This is one of many things that _Bioshock 2_ fixed. You could adopt the sister and get ADAM the hard way by letting her gather it, harvest right away and save yourself the trouble, or do both and get twice the ADAM and feel like a right bastard for betraying her. Or if the game is starting to feel too easy you can just pick her up, shove her in the hole right away, and say "Don't worry about it."
:)
AesirAesthetics any chance your going to include the recent prey in this series? It feels like a real successor to the system shock series
The Dishonoured series would be another place to stop off. That's your emergent/thinking man's game right there. :)
I can't *ever* bring myself to harvest a _single_ Lil Sister. It hurts when I lose one in the final mission.
I think there would be no (or less) criticism of the little sisters choice if rescuing them wouldn't provide with the added bonuses. You harvest, you get all, you rescue them, you get half. And that being all.
Also, I like the post Ryan part of the game and the final battle.
P.S: where are those mutant splicers at the start from? I don't remember any of that in the games, which this video made replay before watching :P
Edit: I don't know why YT adds blank spaces to all my comments.
I never even knew Bioshock was related to System Shock.
What a great video this is. Subscribed.
Why the hell hasn't he done a video for Bioshock 2? The best Bioshock even without
counting Minerva's Den which seems right up his alley.
I've been busy :(
I disagree with a lot of what you say in your videos, but I'm fascinated by how different your viewpoints are from mine. Keep up the content man. It's really good.
I'm not going to lie after playing through all three Bioshock games including their DLCs I feel like Bioshock 1 and 2 symbolizes hell and explores the sympathy of being in hell and BioShock infinite symbolizes heaven exploring that heaven is not really all sunshine and rainbows like it's being portrayed as but that's the vibe I'm getting
Definitely got that Hell vibe from Bioshock 1.
Especially with the way that if you die, you see yourself being pulled and whipped around back to the nearest Vita Chamber, only to resurrect and go back out into this hell again and again.
This was a great exploration of the themes and use of characters as horror! I had never considered the way in which Ryan and Fontains ideologies (or lack there of) really differed. I still disagree with the way the little sisters are dealt with, but largely because I agree with what you believe there purpose was mechanically. I believe, like you said, that the little sisters are important as they put you in the desperate headspace of Rapture's people, the choice they need to make between ethics and their own safety/needs. However I think saving the little sisters is too forgiving, as you are still given sufficient adam through what you initially gain and the baskets they provide that you can still very comfortably make it through the game mainly using your genetic modifications (at least on lower difficulties since it's what I assume most people play on). I think in order to really force the player into feeling desperate like you describe, the benefits of saving the little sisters should have been more limited, or perhaps not been available at all. Maybe instead of saving little sisters and still getting adam, saving a little sister would force the player to find adam in different ways, such as going into more dangerous areas or searching more closely for adam that is well hidden. That would also encourage that player interaction that you pointed out is very important in the bioshock games. But I'm no gaming expert, so it was just an idea. Love your video though! Can't wait to so more in the future.
i think it being a critical success is more important than it being a financial success. both is fine tho.
Wait..... "research camera"???
3 playthroughs later and I didn't know lol
You should seriously have more followers! Hell! I just became one!
awesome!
Sorry to see the series appears to have stopped here.
I do plan on covering Bioshock 2 and Infinite someday (maybe even Minerva's Den).
Put it off for a bit and now it's been a real long time O_o.
I know it's not the same but I recorded a podcast with some friends about Bioshock 2 a few months ago if you're interested thetwingeeks.com/2022/06/07/daydreamcast-ep-37-bioshock-2-2010/
People from Twitter remind me of rapture
The game try to make Andrew Ryan a bad guy but he is based as fuck
I love all your videos
:)
Wanna include one thing. There is actually 3 endings to bioshock. Good, bad and melancholy (its still the bad ending just with a different tone.)
he shown all endings lol wasnt you paying attention???
@@theblacksheep1000 well he technically only showed 2 but did say there was 3
@@hamiltonmcgregory3179 he said theres 2 bad endings, but one is framed as sad. you're saying the exact same.
@@billyblarf5100 I mean he made an hour long video might as well throw in all the endings right?
So basically, Bioshock wants Ryan and objectivists to go more... moderate. Ryan needed to stop rejecting regulations and social welfare if he wished to stop Fontaine from creating the drug Adam and riling up the poor
no such thing as abandonware. System shock was still considered having a commercial status .
Would you kindly... :)
Will you ever make an analysis of one of the souls games.
+Papa Pastrami Maybe.
I think there are a lot of those videos already so I'll wait until I have an interesting way to frame it.
Well I WAS going to play Bioshock before watching this video, but the copy I bought years ago wont install, the DRM authentication servers for it are now dead, so every physical disk is rendered a useless hunk of plastic, and I dont feel like rebuying the game or going though the trouble of pirating it.
Makes me wonder what other classic games will become bricks in the future because of DRM servers going offline.
When the next video of this series?
Hopefully soon
@@AesirAesthetics
Have you ever considered to get on EFAP?
What is EFAP?
@@AesirAesthetics
Is a podcast here on UA-cam, very funny one indeed, in which they speak about gaming and movies
@@ara_ara- I'd probably go on if offered.
Spazbo4 is my brother.
Wolffy Riolu his uploads have helped me often, be sure to say thanks from me.
I don't think fallacy means what you think it means
People lining up in the comments to talk politics as soon as you ask them not to.
If you had waited three years you could have called this one retro
As a player who played most games since 1996, Bioshock 1's only glory was its visuals, it had unremarkable gameplay and cookie cutter story IMHO, also it felt like a PG-11 rated game to me, and was devoid of humour. I really didn't get the big deal about it, maybe as it was so linear, coming out after great games like Deus Ex: 1 and Vampire TMB.
Bioshock really lacks the RPG mechanics that made the system shock games fun, also the cyberpunk setting is much more engaging imo
Agreed. System Shock 2 had much better gameplay all round. It had a similar rebirth system to Bioshock, but it had a tangible cost associated with it, so you you had to be careful of using it, and couldn’t just spam them to beat enemies.
Its more accessible though. I guess since System 1 and 2 kinda flopped it was a good compromise. I grew to like both. Bioshock has more depth in story and world, System in gameplay and variety. Though Infinite took it too far with Accessibility imo.
I think _Fallout 3_ was proof that a proper RPG can achieve mainstream success. And looking at the trend (which this game probably inspired) of integrating RPG-style character progression systems into otherwise straightforward action games, nearly all of them make your progression permanent.
So I have no clue why Levine decided to double down on the dumbing down by making _Infinite_ a two-weapon shooter with regenerating shields and no tonics at all. Maybe he was just tired of making RPGs altogether and just wanted to tell a story. His next game will probably be a walking simulator.
I understand not wanting the comments section to become too acrimonious. But discouraging observations on the political philosophy undergirding Rapture seems restrictive and, forgive me, a bit short-sighted. Debate can arise from comments on any aspect of any topic. We could debate the quality of the dialog, or the pacing of combat scenes, or a thousand other things. Why discourage parts of your audience from discussing what is on their minds?
Because comment section politics is always horrible and I dont want it bloating my notifications.
AesirAesthetics,
Ah, now it DOES make sense! Thanks for setting me straight on that.
Pls no not the voice
The very best analysis of Bioshock 1. Your opening was not dumb though! The other two BS games are pseudocritical, feminist bullshit (objectively).
Hell yeah i love feminism
Saying this game isn't a critique of Capitalism and Objectivism but a generic "ideological extreme" is incredibly disingenuous especially when you confuse Lenin and Stalin.
I love love LOVE your shadow of the Colossus, Bloodborne and Sekiro videos and hope you have moved off this weird centrist "both sides" shit because comparing a proletariat uprising to the HOLOCAUST is not good form (again, the Lenin/Stalin mix up is throwing me off. Stalin bad and all that is true but you didn't say Stalin.)
I was quoting Ken Levine who made the game and analysing from his framework.
If you have an issue with it take it to him
@@AesirAesthetics Damn you actually replied. Fair enough. I will @ him on the tweeter. Hopefully he responds too.
He might, he was fairly active when I last checked
the dude is quite neutral about this whole objectivism thing, he just want the objectivists to go a bit more... moderate with their politics. Search "Ken Levine on objectivism" to find out more
The game is about the logical conclusion of objectivism, though. You're wrong to want to divorce the game from that. It's basically a generation after the fucks in Atlas Shrugged leave society. It is inherently political. To disregard that is willfully missing the point.
No it's not.
Ken Levine explicitely stated at the time that the point wasn't objectivism but idealogue.
It didn't matter what the philosophy was, it's about what happens when ones perception of reality is hijacked by an idea.
I honestly hated Bioshock 1 to the point that it makes me skeptical about playing System Shock. It feels like the game hates that I have freewill and see it as an obstacle to overcome.
Then you should really give System Shock 2 a try. It allows incredible freedom. It doesn't feature a moral choice system and cutscenes that take away control from you at every turn.
I wrote this on your Reddit post:
Ok so I've gotten through half of it (20 mins exactly) and there's a big (or small problem depending on how you look at it). The production value & narration is good, but the subject matter is ALL wrong. You call this an "analysis" video when it's nothing of the sort. You need to call this a "retrospective." You're talking about how this game did new things & comparing to earlier game designs/other games. You're not actually analyzing the game -- if anything you're just summarizing things on a surface level.
"The game blah blah environmental storytelling..." that's nothing new. We knew that. If you talked about something unusual people wouldn't have noticed very easily or how the games design made the player make certain decisions others don't then that's analyzing...but this is more of a retrospective video. I would say documentary but not there either because nothing's specifically documented, no interviews, etc.
It's not that the video is bad, it's that you went COMPLETELY off topic. It's like teacher asking for a book report on how bioshock changed gaming within the game, but you wrote instead about the history of the franchise & bullet pointed general things the game did.
At the very least change the title on UA-cam, it's incorrect -- if you want a good example of analyzing a game goto egoraptors analysis on megaman x
ua-cam.com/video/8FpigqfcvlM/v-deo.html THIS is an analysis
The purpose of this video was threefold.
1. explore how the shock series evolved over time (this video pick sup where my SS1 and SS2 videos left off.)
2. explore the game on it's own right and see it's successes and failings in achieving the stated goals of the developers.
3. exploring the game for what it has to offer game design.
In retrospect, I really shouldn't have cut this line from the video....
AesirAesthetics yeah I understand & you didn't really answer or address my comment. Looking at games over time is a retrospective. & "exploring the games design..." you're not exploring so much as recapping what people could read on the back of the box honestly.
that but majority of this video isn't an analysis. You're stating things that are fairly objective or fact. Analysis are things & especially opinion which is THEN supported by fact, making it a logical truth on your end.
I still stand by what I said
Reading the goals of Aesir for this video, it seems evident that he is aiming for a retrospective primarily, but this certainly still qualifies as an analysis. An analysis, as defined by google, is a detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. I think this video certainly fits that bill. There's no reason this video can't be considered a retrospective and an analysis. In fact, is a retrospective not an analysis of a game's place in history and how the game's design choices affected that place with the benefit of hindsight?
It doesn't drill down into the minutia you are clearly looking for, because that would either be an hours long video or Aesir would be forced to strongly focus on one aspect only. Both of these are great and you can see the former in Joseph Anderson's excellent Fallout 4 video or the latter in any of Novacanoo's videos, which have a very strong focus on mechanics. However, that doesn't fit the format of Aesir's established format.
In particular, I think saying the observations are surface level is harsh. Not much of it is new, because Bioshock has been covered so much by many people and In order to justify his more specific points he needs to retread some more obvious stuff to build his arguments off of, especially for people less familiar with the game. I certainly enjoyed the thematic analysis and gleaned some new insights on the game.