Description

Book Synopsis
Considered a sign of the coming of age' of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Bookpresents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite.

  • Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS)
  • Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling
  • Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture
  • Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine's depiction of Ayn Rand's philosophy, as well as th

    Table of Contents

    Hacking into This Book (Introduction) vii
    Luke Cuddy

    Part I Level 1 Research Bonus: Increased Wisdom Capacity 1

    1 BioShock’s Meta‐Narrative: What BioShock Teaches the Gamer about Gaming 3
    Collin Pointon

    2 The Value of Art in BioShock: Ayn Rand, Emotion, and Choice 15
    Jason Rose

    3 SHODAN vs. the Many: Or, Mind vs. the Body 27
    Robert M. Mentyka

    4 “The cage is somber”: A Feminist Understanding of Elizabeth 38
    Catlyn Origitano

    Part II Tears, Time, and Reality 49

    5 Rapture in a Physical World: Did Andrew Ryan Choose the Impossible? 51
    James Cook

    6 Would You Kindly Bring Us the Girl and Wipe Away the Debt: Free Will and Moral Responsibility in BioShock Infinite 58
    Oliver Laas

    7 BioShock as Plato’s Cave 69
    Roger Travis

    8 BioShock Infinite and Transworld Individuality: Identity across Space and Time 76
    Charles Joshua Horn

    9 Shockingly Limited: Escaping Columbia’s God of Necessity 86
    Scott Squires and James McBain

    Part III The “Union” and the Sodom Below 95

    10 “The bindings are there as a safeguard”: Sovereignty and Political Decisions in BioShock Infinite 97
    Rick Elmore

    11 Propaganda, Lies, and Bullshit in BioShock’s Rapture 107
    Rachel McKinnon

    12 The Vox Populi Group, Marx, and Equal Rights for All 114
    Tyler DeHaven and Chris Hendrickson

    Part IV The Circus of Values 127

    13 Infinite Lighthouses, Infinite Stories: BioShock and the Aesthetics of Video Game Storytelling 129
    László Kajtár

    14 Have You Ever Been to Rapture?: BioShock as an Introduction to Phenomenology 139
    Stefan Schevelier

    15 “Evolve today!”: Human Enhancement Technologies in the BioShock Universe 150
    Simon Ledder

    16 Vending Machine Values: Buying Beauty and Morality in BioShock 161
    Michael J. Muniz

    Notes on Contributors 168

    Index 173

BioShock and Philosophy

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    A Paperback / softback by Luke Cuddy, William Irwin

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      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: 12/06/2015
      ISBN13: 9781118915868, 978-1118915868
      ISBN10: 1118915860
      Also in:
      Computing Computer games: strategy guides Politics, Philosophy & Society Philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Considered a sign of the coming of age' of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Bookpresents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite.

      • Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS)
      • Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling
      • Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture
      • Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine's depiction of Ayn Rand's philosophy, as well as th

        Table of Contents

        Hacking into This Book (Introduction) vii
        Luke Cuddy

        Part I Level 1 Research Bonus: Increased Wisdom Capacity 1

        1 BioShock’s Meta‐Narrative: What BioShock Teaches the Gamer about Gaming 3
        Collin Pointon

        2 The Value of Art in BioShock: Ayn Rand, Emotion, and Choice 15
        Jason Rose

        3 SHODAN vs. the Many: Or, Mind vs. the Body 27
        Robert M. Mentyka

        4 “The cage is somber”: A Feminist Understanding of Elizabeth 38
        Catlyn Origitano

        Part II Tears, Time, and Reality 49

        5 Rapture in a Physical World: Did Andrew Ryan Choose the Impossible? 51
        James Cook

        6 Would You Kindly Bring Us the Girl and Wipe Away the Debt: Free Will and Moral Responsibility in BioShock Infinite 58
        Oliver Laas

        7 BioShock as Plato’s Cave 69
        Roger Travis

        8 BioShock Infinite and Transworld Individuality: Identity across Space and Time 76
        Charles Joshua Horn

        9 Shockingly Limited: Escaping Columbia’s God of Necessity 86
        Scott Squires and James McBain

        Part III The “Union” and the Sodom Below 95

        10 “The bindings are there as a safeguard”: Sovereignty and Political Decisions in BioShock Infinite 97
        Rick Elmore

        11 Propaganda, Lies, and Bullshit in BioShock’s Rapture 107
        Rachel McKinnon

        12 The Vox Populi Group, Marx, and Equal Rights for All 114
        Tyler DeHaven and Chris Hendrickson

        Part IV The Circus of Values 127

        13 Infinite Lighthouses, Infinite Stories: BioShock and the Aesthetics of Video Game Storytelling 129
        László Kajtár

        14 Have You Ever Been to Rapture?: BioShock as an Introduction to Phenomenology 139
        Stefan Schevelier

        15 “Evolve today!”: Human Enhancement Technologies in the BioShock Universe 150
        Simon Ledder

        16 Vending Machine Values: Buying Beauty and Morality in BioShock 161
        Michael J. Muniz

        Notes on Contributors 168

        Index 173

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