BioShock Infinite creator hearing criticism from opposite political sides
BioShock Infinite creator Ken Levine talks about the complexities of the politics in the game, and why he's hearing criticism from different sides of the political spectrum.
After the first BioShock and now with BioShock Infinite, it's clear that creator Ken Levine is interested in exploring political themes. By setting itself at the turn of the century, Infinite is primed to tackle issues of race, immigration, and the idea of American exceptionalism. As the old saying goes, everyone is a critic, so Levine says the game has gotten criticism from people from all over the political spectrum.
"When I started working on this game, relatives of mine were very offended, because they thought it was an attack on the Tea Party. Specifically an attack on the Tea Party, which they were very active in," Levine told PC Gamer. "Then, when we sort of exposed the Vox Populi people, I saw a lot more left-leaning websites being like, 'This is trying to tear down the labor movement!' I remember that I saw postings, unfortunately, on a white supremacist website, Stormfront, where people literally said, 'The Jew Ken Levine is making a white-person-killing simulator.'"
Levine says that the thematic elements are difficult to talk about, because they "may not be going where you think they’re going." He compared the reaction to the first BioShock, which had those on the right and left disagreeing about his thoughts on objectivism. "I think these games are a bit of a Rorschach for people. It's usually a negative Rorshach. It pisses them off, you know? These games are, to some degree... If they're about anything they're about not buying into a single point of view. About having a lack of confidence in anything. They're not ever an attack on a single idea. It's a bit of a plague on all your houses."
He notes that whatever we see in BioShock Infinite, it has to be viewed in context through the lens of history. "Abraham Lincoln, if you read his writings now, you would ascribe him? Even though he’s the most important abolitionist of all time, and a great man, he was a man of his time," he said. "He viewed African-Americans as a lesser race. He just thought they should be free. Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. George Washington owned slaves. People were men of their times, and this is a game that's set in a time where, if you don’t have those elements in the game, it's just dishonest, you know?"
BioShock Infinite is coming March 26, after the latest (and hopefully, last) delay.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, BioShock Infinite creator hearing criticism from opposite political sides.
BioShock Infinite creator Ken Levine talks about the complexities of the politics in the game, and why he's hearing criticism from different sides of the political spectrum.-
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Quoted For Truth.....though I didn't quote anything.
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The Troll's Creed
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I second that.
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Indeed. This game seems to tackle the horde-like mentality of many in the tea-party and labor movements. I wouldn't trust either of those groups to stay calm and collected when we hit the next great depression.
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I think when you get people from both extremes angry, you might have something interesting on your hands.
I'm a bit of a history lover so I'll be curious as to the portrayals are and what people take away from them. Two people who have different philosophies and principles can see the same thing and form two different conclusions. The key is to understanding the perspective of the other person and acknowledging that your own perception of events is never going to be completely objective. -
I play games for fun, not to hear a political message. Contrary to the other comments, I'd say that if you're pissing off players you're doing something very wrong.
I played a few hours of the original Bioshock, and there seemed to be some sort of political message there, but it was so poorly formed I couldn't tell exactly what it was. The fact that they were making a statement at all was enough to put me off the game and I stopped playing.
How about we cut the crap and focus on the gameplay?-
I think there's a difference between a political message or statement, and pissing off "political sides"
also: too early to tell anything about anything about this game. I wish people would cool their jets. Though I guess it wouldn't be a videogame forum if people don't get hyped/anti-hyped about something. -
Why not both? Or either extreme? Not every game needs to be frat boy wish fulfilment kill-fests.
People make statements with books, films and music. Why not games?
Do you like Rage Against The Machine? District 9? Etc etc. -
Speak for yourself, there's room for both.
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really? the story is an important aspect of the game. If you just want stripped down FPS gameplay with no depth, there are plenty of other games to play. Some "games" have as much in common with a good book as they do with quake.
And maybe you couldnt pull out the political message from bioshock because thats not really what it was about. Maybe they were just trying to get you to think.-
yah this is thinking man's shooter, not dumb shooter.
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post+username?
There's absolutely no reason that games cannot or should not attempt to express ideas and themes, either as part of a narrative or through the actual gameplay itself. -
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If you'd kept playing to the end you'd be a better position to say whether the politics added to or subtracted from the experience. One of the best parts of the game (in many people's eyes, not just my own) would have been impossible to achieve without the political back story.
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All games have a political message when you break them down.
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Yeah. PAC-MAN is full of political messages. It is crazy. Make you really think about what is going on in the World today.
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I agree.
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It's so obvious Bloodseeker is an Al Qaeda sleeper agent.
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may all games be pong! i'd say pac-man or spacewar but those have overt stories and messages.
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The ball represents the world and the paddles represent the left and right of the political spectrum.
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Didn't Giantbomb already demonstrate that PacMan (or Ms. Pac Man) was actually about Communism?
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Are you serious? You are practically beaten over the head with the political messages in Bioshock, and I don't think that's a bad thing. In fact, it was pretty integral to the overall game experience.
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Hahaha, you've got to be kidding.
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Doom had many political messages as well and John Romero had a secret subliminal message in there
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I play games TO hear a political message. Hah! My opinion cancels out yours. Now what?
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I'm really sick of hearing "fun" as a counter argument to any kind of depth. It's usually used in the "realism vs fun" arguments, but it's just as absurd here. They aren't mutuality exclusives and it's obnoxious and presumptuous to act like your simple tastes are the only thing that constitute "fun".
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Thinking is hard
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Speak for yourself, I prefer my stories with a grain of edge to them thank you very much
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To each his own. I don't agree with you, but then I've met people who think everything is worthless unless it beats you over the head with some sort of activism, and I certainly don't agree with that take either.
If you really can't stand any sort of message in your games I suggest you simply avoid those games, instead of saying they shouldn't exist. -
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Ok, go back to BLOPS2.
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It's a great thing that Levine and Co. are willing and able to tackle substantive themes. I am so excited for this game, just to see how these ideas play out.
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...Libertarians?
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Yeah, I get what he's saying. I like it. Not sure about his Abe Lincoln comment though - did he really think blacks were sub-human? I doubt it. Compassion for slaves was not unheard of - as long as there has been slavery (and beyond, of course) there have been those that disagree with it.
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