BioShock, Witcher and disbelief

[Jokzore]

I've decided to play through the BioShock series recently and it made me wonder, why do I like it so much? I'm not much of an FPS fan and even if I were BioShock isn't much of an FPS. Unsatisfying, easy and sometimes down right poor gameplay is the first thing the series critics bring up, so clearly that's not why I'm drawn to it. The first reason that sprung to mind was ''well, its a good story'' , but that cant be the reason because I like the series as a whole yet I despise time travel and alternate dimensions bullshit, its complicated, its a chore to follow and trying to understand it is usually not worth the effort since it just reveals plot holes and brings up more questions than it answers. This train of thought eventually lead me to the classic answer '' characters, ambience and the world'' and if I were in the youtube comments or on twitter, merely saying that these things are ''good'' would satisfy most people and earn me infinite likes and blowjobs, but that doesn't actually say anything ... does it? What makes them good and why do they stand out from everything else?

The answer I finally settled on was: ''It's believable''. Bioshock is a sci-fi/steampunk action-adventure video game with elements of horror sprinkled on top and as such it has a fair share of bullshit and plotholes any nitpicker could easily point out. However, overall the world Irrational crafted and the people they populated it with, their personalities, ambitions, interactions and history all felt *believable*. Exploring Rapture I felt like this is something that could actually happen, this is the way I'd expect people to (re)act to certain things. I can picture a scenario like Rapture happening irl.

This is something Bioshock shares with The Witcher series, Temeria felt authentic. Would you trust a kooky-demon-conjuring-nerd, his garden of man eating plants and his spectral hound to be your neighbor? The man is a walking WMD! There's a reason we used to burn witches. There's a reason real people tried to hunt and kill vampires, not fuck them. Also, finally someone decided to punch those pompous treehugging bastards off their high horse!

Just to hammer the point lets do a comparison of some worlds i find believable vs the norm:

Andrew Ryan(BioShock) a visionary and genius. He was forced to destroy or pervert everything he dreamed of, everything he believed in and everything he built. Driven by desperation and madness he transforms into the very thing he fought so hard against. Now compare his story of ambition and pride, his eventual downfall and tragic end with The Harbinger(Mass Effect) or Ronan(Guardians of the Galaxy). They're evil for evil sake, villains for villain sake, they just woke up one morning and decided they want to see the world burn.

Witcher/VTMB vampires - otherworldly monstrosities , driven by an insatiable lust for blood and power, constantly scheming and plotting. They wary in intensity and ''evilness'' but at the end of the day they are all scary monsters and none of their plans end well for mortals(the way things should be!). Now lets compare that to Twilight vampires, overgrown pixies driven by an insatiable lust for a girl with the physique and personality of a street lamp, except not as bright.

Protagonists, i think a picture sums it up perfectly

Spoiler

Amanda Ripley-Alien Isolation (2014)

VS​

Sara Ryder-Mass Effect:Andromeda(2017)

TL;DR sci-fi/epic-fantasy movies and games just don't feel believable and suspension of disbelief can only carry me so far.

 

[Excidium II]

ok

 

[Jick Magger]

I work a pretty basic job at the front desk in a student center in a local university. It's pretty basic one-on-one help stuff, plus a bit of admissions stuff where I file paperwork handed in for course applications. Have to deal with assholes occasionally, but that's just part of the job.

Last week was a real weird one, though. I'd just got done helping a new student sort out his student loan, when I heard a man yelling at our receptionist at the main desk. We get people like this sometimes, people want to believe something's our fault when they've done something retarded, but when I turned around I realized that it was actually former rapper and film star Will Smith. He was demanding that our receptionist get him a flat white with two sugars. The receptionist was really polite about it, calmly telling Mr. Smith that we don't serve coffee at the help centre, and Smith exploded, screaming that he was told there was a Starbuck at this exact location by google maps, and that he walked three whole miles to get here, and accused her of lying to keep all the coffee to herself. Eventually he started making a scene, so we actually had to call campus security to escort him out.

When he saw the security walking up to him he seemed to calm down for a moment and started putting his arms up so the security could escort him out by hand, but the moment they reached for him he tried to bolt down the hallway, where he immediatelly collided with a trash-bin and crumpled to the floor in a heap. He grabbed for his right knee and started screaming in agony, promising how he was gonna 'sue the Starbucks corporation' for this, before getting back up and hopping out of the building on his left leg.

 

[iZerw]

I'll just say: read more books: you compare BiShock with Twilight and Guardians of the galaxy...
And you can't physically play Bioshock after SS1/2 and Deus Ex or Unreal.

 

[Shackleton]

I also think a picture sums it up perfectly

Spoiler

 

[thesoup]

Didn't read but OP is a faggot.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

TL;DR

Most games are shit, but Witcher and Bioshock are okay.

 

[thesoup]

I'll allow Witcher, but Bioshock is a massive turd not worth pirating.

 

[Lazing Dirk]

Did someone say Bioshock?



People shooting fire and lightning from their hands is fine, but spaceships? That's going too far!

 

[Background Character]

You know, I only liked the first game of both of those franchises maybe I'm should make a thread about it too.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I've decided to play through the BioShock series recently and it made me wonder, why do I like it so much?

because you have shit taste

 

[Wayward Son]

Thanks Jick Magger for that laugh.