![]() You enter by way of a church lit only by candles, and slosh through ankle-deep water that has filled the building. The entrance of the city is full of visual reminders. "You can certainly see at the start of the game, the narrative parallels with the lighthouse and travelling to Columbia," he says. And according to Holmes, the parallels between the first Bioshock and its successor - which hint at a deeper connection between both games that has yet to be fully detailed - are entirely intentional. However, there are thematic parallels as well. Telescopes, too, are scattered around, which show important landmarks in the area. Kinetoscopes can be found throughout Columbia and, when peered into, plays silent propaganda films that offer a deeper look at the making of the city. Elsewhere there are Kinetoscopes, basically the video equivalent of Voxophones. ![]() The narrative parallels of Columbia and Raptureīut despite the transformation of the well-known choice mechanic, Bioshock Infinite is layered with reminders of the series it is spiritual successor to from the moment you step foot onto Columbia, the floating city of Infinite.Īs shown throughout the demo, some of these are classically BioShock (and classically SystemShock too, if we go further back into Irrational's history.) Hidden throughout the game are audio files - called Voxophones - which offer background information about Columbia and its founders, as spoken by the creator of Columbia Zachary Comstock, his wife and others. "There are certain moments when you'll see it, but it's no longer really a strict gameplay mechanic that's going to crop up over and over again." While Bioshock instilled aspects of a Randian morality system into its gameplay, this time Holmes wants players to "think about the world they're in and not necessarily make a singular choice." In comparison to the original game, "the choice mechanic is not something that becomes commonplace in ," says Holmes. But I think we never wanted there to be a feeling of ‘oh this is the part where we have to choose the thing so I can get the good stuff.' "I think the goal this time around was to not ever let that happen, which is not to say that people won't become numb to actions in the game - because maybe this is a problem with games in general, that we haven't quite figured out how to crack. The result is a system that doesn't require Little Sisters to help the player gain their powers. According to Irrational Games producer Mike Syrnyk, while she doesn't literally pick these resources up along the way, a system is built into the game governing how often she is able to throw the player these necessary items. Vigor is powered by Salts, a resource that is found in-game and can be carried by Booker's companion Elizabeth who will throw you health packs, ammo and salts when you are running low, and will similarly warn Booker if there is a threat nearby. Unlike the Plasmids of Bioshock, Infinite introduces Vigor - abilities that are bought using Silver Eagles, the game's currency, and ingested by Booker. The focus on ethics and morality becomes part of the narrative more than a function of the gameplay or a way of regularly gaining items. Upon entering the city, protagonist Booker DeWitt wins a raffle, giving him the opportunity to throw a baseball at an interracial couple. In a recent demo of the game, Polygon was shown how this system has evolved. "You're not thinking about it on a philosophical or moral level at that time because it just becomes ‘I want the more special juice to make me do the thing.' It numbs people over time." "Looking back at Bioshock 1's choice system, it's something that's really powerful the first time, not really powerful the second time and by the 10 th time you're not really trying to decide whether to harvest or save the little sisters," said Holmes. 'You're not thinking about it on a philosophical or moral level at that time because it just becomes ‘I want the more special juice to make me do the thing.'' In order to maintain the sense of significance behind player choices this time around, it will no longer be used as a strict gameplay mechanic, he said. According to Holmes, by incorporating the choice mechanic into the game as a way of acquiring items, players became numb to the philosophical consequences. In Bioshock, players were regularly faced with the decision to harvest or save Little Sisters - a decision that offered the player rewards in-game in the shape of Adam which could be used to buy abilities. Bioshock Infinite developer Irrational Games aims to ameliorate on the original title's black-and-white morality system which the designers believe failed to have enough impact on players, writer Drew Holmes told Polygon.
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