A man chooses, a slave obeys: agency, interactivity and freedom in video gaming

Abstract

This article explores the concept of interactivity through a close reading of the 2007 video game Bioshock (2K Boston & 2K Australia 2007). By analyzing the interconnections between the game's storyline and ludic mechanisms I argue that Bioshock's narrative twist can be read as a powerful deconstruction of the notion of player agency (cf. Ruch, this issue). I therefore offer an analysis of this game as a problematization of traditional understandings of choice. By highlighting the role of pedagogy in Bioshock I reveal the importance of processes of training in the medium of video gaming. I conclude by drawing upon a post-structuralist framework to suggest that the subjectivity of the video game player is constructed through the play experience.

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

“…Other academic writing on Bioshock has downplayed the game's critique of Objectivism, noting it briefly then moving on to write about specific elements of the gameplay (Schulzke 2009;Sicart 2009;Ruch 2010;Tulloch 2010). While these studies are illuminating in their own right, an in-depth study of Bioshock demands deep engagement with the game's primary message.…”

“…Even Bogost implicitly recognizes this when, in Persuasive Games (2007), his analysis of procedural rhetoric is deeply intertwined with narrative and visuals. Much of the extant academic criticism on Bioshock attempts to parse elements of procedural rhetoric from the broader anti-Objectivist narrative of the game (Schulzke 2009;Sicart 2009;Ruch 2010;Tulloch 2010). These readings all provide useful insights into Bioshock, but lose sight of the importance of Bioshock's anti-Objectivist narrative in their attempts to focus on game mechanics.…”

Bringing Art to Life: Examining Poetic Gameplay Devices in Interactive Life Stories

“…For instance, Wysocki and Schandler (2013) explore the moral dilemma and emotional disquiet a game can cause players by presenting difficult ethical choices (see also Tulloch, 2010). Heckner (2013) discusses how a “passive player” is constructed in a game, producing a sense of illusory freedom that conveys an existentially fatalistic mood.…”

Multimodality or Ludo-Narrative Dissonance

“…In this gameplay elements and narrative elements work together to create a greater overall experience. Surprisingly enough Bioshock with its use of game objectives (telling the player what to do in the game), combined with the narrative (in that the player is forced to do what characters say because of the phrase "Would you kindly") is a good example of multimodality at work within gameplay and narrative [33]. Although certainly Hocking's criticism that Bioshock's narrative doesn't follow on from its philosophical undertones is a right one, in, the query in the light of other ludonarrative elements seems slight compared to the positive examples that Bioshock has.…”