Bioshock

“I see angels Mr. Bubbles.” That phrase will forever ring in my mind as the focal point of one of the best pieces of art I have ever experienced. The video game Bioshock developed by 2K Games is by far of the highest quality, both visually and story-wise, that I have ever seen. Taking place in a secret underwater metropolis in the 1950’s, Rapture, the player is placed into an extremely eerie and vicious environment. The player is thrown into the occurrences and history of the city immediately, primarily finding out that the city had no real constraints on mechanical or biological evolution and seemed to be decades ahead of where the surface’s technology would have been. Specifically the invention of plasmids, or biological enhancements, that would allow a normal human to do incredible things like shoot lightning or fire out of their hands. The total immersion the game presents to the user for his control of those plasmids is truly incredible. You feel like you are actually setting fire to various objects, or people… and after a while you only realize, it was only a game.

I press anyone who is a fan of art deco style to just watch the game because they will find the architecture and interior design to be phenomenal examples of deco style. The developers specifically hired artists to design the world for them in order for it to be as authentic as possible, and it really shows with the final product. Even though the game is extremely violent and in essence belongs in the survival horror genre, its beauty and style blind the first impression of violence that would turn away an average person.