StaceyPowers

Fink and Fontaine seemed most closely paralleled to me. Nobody quite seemed a fit with Daisy to me. Tenenbaum and Leuteces to me seemed parallel.

I actually felt like this is the farthest-fetched theory I came up with, but still viable. I’m surprised you think it is the most likely possibility. But I suppose just as there is the latent potential for Comstock in Booker, there is the latent potential for Booker in Comstock.

Hah, ignore my questions on the other thread about whether you finished. Obviously you did :) I'm glad you loved the game. I feel it's a masterpiece on so many levels I don't even know where to begin. I felt like the ending of Infinite was so victorious--like by cutting off that unwanted set of branches from the multiversal tree through sheer will, Booker became a FACT, a constant, without the Comstock variable. I actually believe in a multiverse and am sort of obsessed with trying to be a constant and to value the likely constants in my life across time and space--so I guess you could say for me the game was almost like a religious experience. Burial at Sea kind of bothered me because I felt like it erased the messages of hope and redemption of Infinite somewhat--Elizabeth seems doomed to repeat the mistakes of her lineage, even though they erased that lineage, etc. And ironically, I think that version of Comstock she murdered was actually on a redemption path toward becoming more like Booker. But I really like what you said here--that in a way, doing so was what erased her and created balance--indeed, her existence did seem to be an anomaly, and it kind of makes sense she'd wipe herself out in that fashion. Still, it would have been nice if our heroes hadn't been consumed by all that self-loathing in the end. For all their flaws, they were remarkable people. Comstock was a monster on an incredible scale--so the fact that Booker managed to beat him means that the good in him towered even higher than his demons, and the same was true for Elizabeth in Infinite. I guess I just wished she'd been able to see that in Burial at Sea. Still, her act in saving Sally did a wonderful job tying full circle to the thematic elements of the first two games and the protection of the innocents as what makes a life worth living--and what makes it worth sacrificing if necessary.

One of the biggest giveaways that he wasn’t working on BioShock 2 is the vending machines. There’s no “Welcome to the CIRCUS of VALUES!” I was amused to find out that is actually Ken Levine’s voice. So, since he wasn’t there in the second game, no vending machine voice. His voice is back for some of the vending machines in Infinite (i.e. “I appreciate a woman who appreciates QUALITY!”) Anyway, did you finish Infinite? What did you think? And are you playing Burial at Sea? I adored Infinite and could probably write a novel about why, and I loved the ending, as bittersweet and ambiguous as it was. Burial at Sea I have mixed feelings about. It’s definitely worth playing, but I have issues with it.

Have you played through the remasters yet? How are they compared to the originals? I’ve been wanting to hear some feedback, though I can’t imagine they aren’t worth it since they go on sale so often. $20 for the lot with even minor improvements seems like it’d probably be worthwhile to me.

Kind of funny you mention that you would have liked to see the multiverse brought into the Rapture games, but you’re not a big fan of Infinite if I recall. How would you have liked to see the concept used in BioShock 1 or 2? Actually, wasn’t there some kind of cult involved in the area where the trees are grown in Rapture? But I can’t recall what that was all about. I did consider Lamb’s entire organization to be a cult in BioShock 2. The handling of religious fervour’s potential for destruction somehow seemed more artfully handled to me in Infinite though. I think it was that Infinite did a better job capturing the “appeal” of the rotten ideology and showing me how it tempted its followers (I think a lot of gamers could see the seductive allure of Columbia’s outward beauty). I never figured out what the hell anyone saw in Lamb’s bs.

Nope. All I have to do is not listen to bands I don't enjoy. Rogue One. Depends what is out once I get my PS5, but I would assume it would be TLOU 2.

Fallout. Which would be just fine, cause only there does radiation fix broken bones.

This might make me weird, but I literally have never downloaded a single theme for my console. I don’t really think much about the menu screens—I just want to get to whatever I am playing or watching. Do you download console themes? Which are your favorites?

We’ve talked about games that we didn’t think we would like that we ended up getting into. I am pretty sure we also have probably talked about what criteria we use to pick a game to play, i.e. what we think will make us like a game. But what makes you suspect that you won’t enjoy a particular game when you watch a trailer, read a description, or read a review? In my case, I think what makes me shy away from a game are mentions of puzzles and/or a lack of discussion regarding story or characters (making me think that neither are relevant). Unless it is an open world game, in which case I don’t think I’ve ever suspected I wouldn’t enjoy one. I used to suspect I would dislike all third person perspective games, but I’ve since gotten used to them, so that is no longer a deterrent. What deters you from becoming interested in a game—sometimes perhaps to your own detriment?

Do you watch speedrun videos? And do you participate in speedruns yourself? If so, what is the appeal? I do think I see why speedruns are entertaining, just from a “check out what I managed to do” standpoint. In general though, I’ve never really got into it, and I actually get really annoyed if there is a section of a video game which is essentially designed as a speedrun, where you have to get through an area within X minutes or start over.

I just learned that Microsoft and Sony aren’t going to GDC 2020 because of fears of coronavirus (they are doing digital panels instead). It’s hard for me to imagine that the disruptions from the virus aren’t going to impact manufacturing for the next gen consoles. So far as I know, neither company has said it expects a delay in the release schedule, but I don’t know if that is realistic or not. What do you think? Do you think we will still get the PS5 and Xbox Series X during the holiday 2020 release window, or do you think either or both might be delayed?

So, I was doing Cass’ quest, and I picked the lawful approach where we turned in the evidence to the NCR rather than going and killing everyone. But then we got attacked in the street at random on the way home, and we ended up having to kill everyone anyway. My rep with the NCR dropped to “sneering punk,” and then some NCR assassin showed up and told me I had 3 in-game days to fix it or they’d send people to kill me. Does anyone know a way to actually raise rep from that level within 3 in-game days? I headed to Camp Forlorn Hope and did a bunch of quests, but even with that and taking Nelson, no improvement. I returned to Vegas and tried helping out the NCR and the Kings, no NCR fame. With all that traveling, time is up, so I’ve donned NCR armor and hope that will keep them off my back. But now I am wondering if it is even possible to fix the rep within the given timeframe? If so, what is the most efficient way to do it?

Thank you. “Strong grasp on reality.” That is exactly the matter in question here. If a video game really did “influence” a given person to commit a violent act, what that draws into question is the person’s psychology. That person must have a difficult time identifying the difference between the fantasy world in the game (where there are no real consequences) and the real world (where there are real consequences). Such a person is likely either 1-young and developing, and just needs more time and parental guidance, or 2-is an adult and requires psychological help from a professional so that they can learn the difference between fantasy and reality. It is this psychosis in their brain that ultimately produced their actions. Video games do not feature actual violence. They feature simulated violence. No harm is done on any entity. When you riddle your pixelated opponent with bullets, nobody hurts. Nobody bleeds. Nobody dies. Nobody’s will is violated. There is literally no commonality there with an actual act of violence which entails pain, harm, loss of function, death, etc. for an actual person. An actual violent video game would be one where if you push a button, a real living being on the other end would experience some kind of suffering. This thankfully is not something that exists. For a lot of us, gaming provides a safe psychological outlet where we can broaden our range of experiences without any actual loss of control. It’s also worth pointing out that there are violent video games that teach lessons in morality. I would say that the BioShock series or The Last of Us are prime examples. Both series send messages of hope, kindness, love, and protection of the innocents.

Excellent analysis, and you’ve expressed your thoughts really clearly. I completely agree with you that the entire philosophy behind Rapture was flawed from the off. The irony to me is that Fontaine did exactly what Andrew Ryan encouraged everyone in Rapture to do with its runaway cut-throat capitalist ideology. And Rapture ended the way that it would inevitably end. Ryan was surprisingly naïve in his belief that the system he put in place was sustainable. I hear a lot of people say this, though I liked it. It didn’t have any “twists” in it and lacked the cleverness of both BioShock 1 and Infinite, but I thought it still told a solid story, albeit one which was more interesting personally than politically. Although I did like that it took on collectivism and its dangers when taken to extremes. What do you feel would have made for some improvements in the plot? One thing that did irritate me was that I really wished Eleanor had killed her mother in my playthrough, but alas, the only way I can make this happen is apparently to make decisions earlier in the game that feel lousy to me.

Fast-forwarding to 2020 since @skyfire bumped this thread. Assuming the expected backwards compatibility with PS4 games on PS5, I can finally catch up on the current gen, lol. On my wish list are: RDR 2 The Outer Worlds The Last of Us 2 Innocence: A Plague Tale No Man’s Sky Fallout 4 BioShock: The Collection (because remasters)

The lighting in BioShock 1 was a lot dimmer, especially outside. Like you'd look out on the city, and it'd mostly be blackness ... and lights floating in the darkness. The illumination overall was brighter in BioShock 2, though the water was murkier. I think you're onto something. The city had more of an aura of mystery about it in the first game because of how it was lit.

Yeah, exactly. This whole situation was confusing and left me unsure how to react to it emotionally. Is this ending bittersweet, or is it just sad with respect to Delta? A contrast with the clear, straightforward ending of BioShock 1 (where I got the happy victorious ending when I played). Now I think about it though, it is yet another way in which the game paved a road of ambiguity for an ambiguous conclusion to Infinite as well (so many connections, despite Levine not working on BioShock 2). Though I felt like more thought and care was put into Infinite’s ambiguous ending, and that the end scene after the credits in that game was a bit of a reference to Schrödinger’s cat and whatnot. I am hoping that on my next playthrough of BioShock 2, there will be more clarity for me with the ending events. But … probably not =D

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I think there was something cooler about the lighting in the first game, but it's hard for me to explain why it was cooler. But Rapture still was awesome to explore more of, and I loved the story/characters. Also, it's almost odd Ken Levine didn't work on BioShock 2, given how strongly the themes seem to link to Infinite's.

Wait, I won last month? I completely missed that somehow =D Thank you to everyone, albeit belatedly! I nominate everyone already nominated along with @The Blackangel.

The really bad situation I was in was when it was the admins that needed to be reported. In an MMO, the admins played as “gods,” and we were involved in an “event” where we were at war with one of the gods and his followers. He was supposed to play by a certain set of rules so that we had a shot at winning, but he was cheating. We tried repeatedly to report him to the other admins, who ignored us. I found out years later he did eventually get fired for cheating, and felt both vindicated and annoyed that it didn’t happen earlier. In that same game, I had a friend who was being sexually harassed by a player she was pretty sure was the RL boyfriend of one of the admins. Not only did the admin refuse to do anything about it, but when another of my friends went to help her, the admin banned his character permanently. You can see some of the reason why I didn’t last there.

I actually heaved a breath of relief when I was not forced to endure a sex scene in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Oh, on this note, arguably the funniest clunky sex scene I’ve seen is in Origins when Morrigan gets it on with either the player or Loghain late in the game, and suddenly, out of nowhere, she is wearing a bra which she most definitely has not been wearing for the rest of the game. Like, what’d she do, walk up to Leliana and be like, “Need to borrow your bra? To be having sex, one Must be wearing a bra?”

Exactly, that sounds good to me. That is where I am at too. I mean, I won’t mind if there is an MMO, as long as there is not only an MMO. If for no other reason than “more cool maps to explore,” an MMO could be fun. In which case, I guess a straight up arena shooter would work for me. But there needs to be a single player game. People who play BioShock games come for the worlds, the stories, the characters, the political, philosophical and social commentary, and the ambiance. You can have ambiance anywhere, but you need a single player narrative to really create a top-shelf experience with the rest.

Great story, and exactly on topic with what I was talking about. And a refreshing point of view too. I actually originally was that newbie who was going and razing some low level town for XP in that same game. I didn’t even think about the bad RP logic. I was playing “evil,” but I hadn’t really thought that through in any meaningful fashion—it just looked like a cool guild to join and they were aligned that way. A high level player came along and proceeded to disable me while lecturing me about the evil of my ways for the next five minutes before actually killing me =D It was the most “real” thing that had happened to me in the game, so I ended up switching sides and joining his cause. I ended up spending a ridiculous amount of time defending that village over the next RL year. Good times.

I think there is a specific cognitive bias which causes people to be prone to liking that which is familiar--i.e. if a person hears a pop song on the radio enough times, they may lean toward liking it by default over time, even if they originally did not.