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The battle for Galt's Gulch: Bioshock as critique of Objectivism

2010; Intellect; Volume: 2; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1386/jgvw.2.3.209_1

1757-1928

Joseph Packer,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

This article argues that the first-person shooter Bioshock uses the video game medium to provide a powerful critique of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. The city of Rapture, collapsing into chaos and violence, provides a dystopian vision of what the game suggests are the inevitable results of the laissez faire politics of Rand. Bioshock not only tells a compelling story about the dangers of Objectivism, but also encodes anti-Objectivist messages into the very mechanics of the game. I examine the game's visual, narrative and procedural rhetoric, and the ways that it counters the fiction that has acted as the conduit to spread Objectivist thought.