Objectivism and BioShock

I just finished BioShock for the XBOX 360, and, aside from being one of the most engrossing games I've ever played, I was surprised to find the game brimming with the philosophies of Ayn Rand. I don't know why I was surprised, there is plenty to read online about the game's connection with the radical 20th Century philosopher, but I never had a reason to look into it before I got my XBOX. Having read Atlas Shrugged and other books she's written, it's cool to see a game wrestle with these heady libertarian ideas and bring them to a bigger audience.

The game begins by submerging you in Rapture, an art deco city built beneath the sea. You are introduced to the world by Andrew Ryan (whose very name evokes that of Ayn Rand), the city's founder and individualist-numero-uno. It's an intriguing concept: take the objectivist-utopian city of "Galt's Gulch" and submerge it under water, then see what happens years down the road. You are thrown into this world and quickly find that it's in shambles thanks to a group of crazy people who destroyed everything--there's a lot more to the story of how Rapture fell, but part of the fun is uncovering the truth with the help of audio recordings you pick up throughout the game.

There are plenty of surface level comparisons between the game and Rand's books, like one of the characters being named Atlas, and Andrew Ryan constantly spouting lines about individualism, invention, and free enterprise. For the average gamer, it's just a cool story that's a little bit off the beaten path. It's not often in games where the main villain or nemesis is a libertarian engineer; usually, it's the opposite, the villain is a totalitarian socialist looking to take over everything. But for someone who have read Atlas Shrugged or The Foutainhead, BioShock takes on a whole new meaning. It's a game that's rooted in literature and philosophy, yet is extremely accessible to the masses. It's also fun to shoot things.

The game does think for itself, however, coming up with a great story about the dangers of genetic engineering. I admit it would be pretty boring to play a videogame version of "Atlas" (you might as well play "Railroad Tycoon" at that point). With a film adaptation and two sequels already in the works, it looks like Ayn Rand is lending herself to a great new videogame franchise.