Terrifying Video Games: BioShock

To begin with, I start with something that has always been an interesting topic of conversation among myself and my peers: Horror.

Or Horror Video Games so to speak.

The reason this has always been so interesting is due to the fact that everyone's perception of horror is different from one another. That said, I begin with a game that is truly terrifying to me.

BioShock is, as described by the official website: a "Genetically-Enhanced, First-Person Shooter" but with elements of Survival Horror added. A lot of people would argue (including a majority of my friends) that the Survival Horror element wasn't very prominent, therefore the game itself isn't considered scary. However, in my opinion, BioShock should be considered as one of the scariest games ever.

I'm not kidding- it gave me nightmares for months.

I couldn't sleep because I thought a doctor splicer was standing over my bed, ready to mutilate me.

But maybe its just me... your mileage may vary on this one.

I decided today to try to overcome this fear and begin playing BioShock in broad daylight with my boyfriend. I figured I should try and do what my friends did- brutally kill any splicers I see so they become mooks to me. They can be killed easily and I can easily do it with just a wrench. They cannot harm me. I AM A RUTHLESS KILLIN' MACHIIINEEE.

It didn't work.

Though I tried, and managed to kill a few splicers- I could barely play about 30 minutes of it. My boyfriend was proud of me for trying, but I still felt it was necessary to explain further why it was so scary to me... but more to try and figure out why.

For a start, the setting of BioShock is a terrifying one. Trapped in a secret underwater city and continually hunted by mutilated and deranged beings... the atmosphere is intense and this tension stays with me throughout the game (whether I'm playing or someone else is) and the emergent gameplay keeps you on your toes. Most of the scares are scripted, but there's always a surprise waiting for you depending on how you play the game.

Its also the claustrophobia. You're at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, Rapture is a pretty big city, but its still unfamiliar ground. Like Dead Space, most of the fear can stem from being confined, but on Earth, we know the safest places to escape to. During a zombie apocalypse, I'd know how to escape from my house and where to hide. I find myself crazy prepared just in case anything does go wrong, and I feel assured because of it.

Even the upcoming BioShock Infinite doesn't look as frightening as its predecessors, the airborne city doesn't look half as creepy as Rapture. The wide open spaces, the brightness and the "floating dreamily among the clouds" feeling the setting embodies is almost liberating, and stands as a stark contrast to Rapture, and almost fully removes that fear which I found so compelling in the first two games.

And then there's the use of sound. I've listened to a few of the splicer dialogues... its disturbing as all hell. Here are a few:

Toasty

Rosebud

Pigskin

Waders (creepy "Jesus Loves Me" rendition.)

While this is immensely disturbing, this also serves as an impressive plot device, with there being a minimal amount of cutscenes within this game but with such a in-depth, extensive plot to tell the player. You pick up many audio tapes as you explore Rapture, with some being informative to the player and some just downright disturbing (one such incident as to why you find two corpses embraced with a bottle of pills next to their bed...)

BioShock has been awarded for several "Game of the Year" awards, and I can't say I disagree. The amount of thought and effort that went into this game deserves recognition and respect, and although the game's survival horror element wasn't the main intention, it succeeded in frightening most people, as well as being a visually dynamic art form and an enjoyable video game experience, albeit a very scary one for me.

"Welcoooome to the Circuuus of VAAALUUUUEEE!!"