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SPOILER Bioshock Infinite SPOILER discussion

Dr Dogg

Member
Postman turned up early today and dropped off this.
vFUgug4.jpg
Just had a brief flick through and there are a few characters and locations not in the final game. I'll report back after a through read if there are any clues to the overall story.
 
I really would have liked more of the Songbird in the game. Such an interesting design

As a Big Daddy equivalent, it wasn't particularly upset being without Elizabeth for half the game.
 
From my second playthrough:



I only noticed how much sense the ad made, after I understood the full story.



And I totally missed this scene where a woman describes an "anarchist" to the police. Which portrays it as Andrew Ryan, founder of Rapture.
 

goblin

Member
I wasn't able to find any voxophone transcriptions online, so I went ahead and did it myself. There's quite a bit of backstory tucked away in the voxophone recordings - and some of them are incredibly easy to miss - so hopefully this helps people don't have the time or interest to hunt them all down. Ran it through a quick double-check, but there might still be some mistakes. It's sorted alphabetically and then subsorted chronologically.

http://pastebin.com/sdirJX12
 

Eusis

Member
My main question was how there could've been a timeline where Comstock even existed if Booker DeWitt died in the revolution, or how likely it was to happen if they reached the point they did at the end anyway.

Then I realized it was a split timeline, not a stable timeloop, and the elderly appearance had other possible explanations. Whoops!

Otherwise though the timeline seems kind of tight for both DeWitt and Comstock, as it seems he gets his city launched in just THREE YEARS after being baptized and gets with Lady Comstock and kills her fairly quickly too. I guess there must've been a decent amount of prep work beforehand, and losing his mind may explain why he was so easy to forgive Lady Comstock of her sins only to go nuts and kill her to protect the secret of Elizabeth.
 

DatDude

Banned
Otherwise though the timeline seems kind of tight for both DeWitt and Comstock, as it seems he gets his city launched in just THREE YEARS after being baptized and gets with Lady Comstock and kills her fairly quickly too. I guess there must've been a decent amount of prep work beforehand, and losing his mind may explain why he was so easy to forgive Lady Comstock of her sins only to go nuts and kill her to protect the secret of Elizabeth.

When you have the power to open tears to other universes and basically steal tech and concepts from Rapture than 3 years is more than enough time to get things running.
 

saunderez

Member
I wasn't able to find any voxophone transcriptions online, so I went ahead and did it myself. There's quite a bit of backstory tucked away in the voxophone recordings - and some of them are incredibly easy to miss - so hopefully this helps people don't have the time or interest to hunt them all down. Ran it through a quick double-check, but there might still be some mistakes. It's sorted alphabetically and then subsorted chronologically.

http://pastebin.com/sdirJX12
You my friend are a champion. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.
 

Eusis

Member
When you have the power to open tears to other universes and basically steal tech and concepts from Rapture than 3 years is more than enough time to get things running.
And we have no idea how long the scientist(s) were working on this beforehand anyway. Comstock may've just been the first guy all for it, and his crazy religious/nationalistic views just some garbage they put up with in order to pursue their mad science.
 
Ignoring the voxaphones actually make you miss out on some necessary story parts like these for example;

''One man goes into the waters of baptism. A different man comes out, born again. But who is that man who was submerged? Perhaps that swimmer is both sinner and saint, until he is revealed unto the eyes of man.''

''When a soul is born again, what happens to the one left behind in the baptismal water? Is he simply ... gone? Or does he exist in some other world, alive, with sin intact?''
 

antonz

Member
And we have no idea how long the scientist(s) were working on this beforehand anyway. Comstock may've just been the first guy all for it, and his crazy religious/nationalistic views just some garbage they put up with in order to pursue their mad science.

Pretty much. Lutece was working on all this stuff and managed to contact her "brother" which became her passion to bring him to her. So along comes rich Comstock who is willing to fund the whole thing to realize his vision.

Female Lutece doesn't give a shit about anything but getting her "brother" so she is willing to do anything.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Ah, I see.

Any theories on why Booker wakes up post credits after his death though?

Non-baptised booker who has Anna is still a variable, because only Booker who accepts baptism drowns. Theoretically, alcoholic, gambling Booker with a daughter named Anna is still an accepted variable and possible universe. But that Booker will never meet Comstock, and never lose Anna to him.
 
I sometimes wonder which is the better thing for Anna/Elizabeth.

Growing up with a drunk father with a ton of debt or growing up becoming the most powerful human being in the universe and holding supremacy over the entire world.
 

saunderez

Member
Ah, I see.

Any theories on why Booker wakes up post credits after his death though?
It's an existential paradox. Booker died before Elizabeth was born which means she couldn't have been rescued from Columbia which means Booker couldn't have stopped Comstock which means Elizabeth couldn't have sent Booker back to the baptism. Some sci-fi I've read suggests nature abhors a paradox so in this case it seems the universe might have "corrected" the paradox.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Non-baptised booker who has Anna is still a variable, because only Booker who accepts baptism drowns. Theoretically, alcoholic, gambling Booker with a daughter named Anna is still an accepted variable and possible universe. But that Booker will never meet Comstock, and never lose Anna to him.

Ah, I figured it killed of all Bookers but that still makes sense. Thanks :)

I'm going to stop thinking about this for now else I find something else to dissect and wrap my head around :lol
 

DatDude

Banned
I sometimes wonder which is the better thing for Anna/Elizabeth.

Growing up with a drunk father with a ton of debt or growing up becoming the most powerful human being in the universe and holding supremacy over the entire world.

Playing into the theme of choices and how they are irrelevant..this would become irrelevant as well since the choice of which fate would you prefer would still bring her to the same conclusion.
 

Dr Dogg

Member
It's an existential paradox. Booker died before Elizabeth was born which means she couldn't have been rescued from Columbia which means Booker couldn't have stopped Comstock which means Elizabeth couldn't have sent Booker back to the baptism. Some sci-fi I've read suggests nature abhors a paradox so in this case it seems the universe might have "corrected" the paradox.

Pretty much how I see it. The Grandfather paradox has long been synonymous with Science Fiction. Every time Booker dies when you are not with Elizabeth what do you see? Yep the same door and as you exit it you're back in the game.
 
N

Noray

Unconfirmed Member
And we have no idea how long the scientist(s) were working on this beforehand anyway. Comstock may've just been the first guy all for it, and his crazy religious/nationalistic views just some garbage they put up with in order to pursue their mad science.

Looking over the logs posted above, the Lutece field was already working in 1890. They used Comstock's money to expand the technology to create the devices that allows for the creation of tears, and thus Comstock's prophecies.
 
N

Noray

Unconfirmed Member
Some sci-fi I've read suggests nature abhors a paradox so in this case it seems the universe might have "corrected" the paradox.

You mean Soul Reaver? ;)

Yeah anyone who loves this story and wants more of this kind of stuff, I highly recommend checking out the Soul Reaver series. SR 1 and 2 and then Defiance.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Whenever you die with Eliabeth and she injects you with something, what is that? Just macguffin healing gel? Is that of any significance?

You mean Soul Reaver? ;)

Yeah anyone who loves this story and wants more of this kind of stuff, I highly recommend checking out the Soul Reaver series. SR 1 and 2 and then Defiance.

Yeah, I've been meaning to play that :)
 
I finished this last night, I thought it was pretty awesome but I am not sure how I feel about the ending yet. It seemed like there was one too many twists involved. The initial one where Booker takes old Elizabeths hand. I thought that was pretty good because it made me think that he has done that so many times, over and over only to fail due to the song bird. But then the thing with him actually being Comstock is just really confusing, although I nearly let out a man tear when it shows how Elizabeth lost the finger.
 

DatDude

Banned
I finished this last night, I thought it was pretty awesome but I am not sure how I feel about the ending yet. It seemed like there was one too many twists involved. The initial one where Booker takes old Elizabeths hand. I thought that was pretty good because it made me think that he has done that so many times, over and over only to fail due to the song bird. But then the thing with him actually being Comstock is just really confusing, although I nearly let out a man tear when it shows how Elizabeth lost the finger.

Read this thread, and ask any questions you have regarding the ending.

Those feelings you have will no doubt turn positive in a relatively short amount of time.
 

saunderez

Member
Some are theorizing the syringe is to equate Elizabeth being a Little Sister in Rapture.
I still think trying to link characters to Rapture is a huge stretch. The only one I'm accepting of right now is Songbird because it's clear the technology was borrowed from Rapture by Fink. I don't buy Booker being Andrew Ryan/Jack at all.

Looked like they still used zeppelins... which are not exactly practical for combat.
Maybe the Zeppelin had kick ass energy shields. Who knows. I totally buy Columbia wiping NYC off the face of the earth though.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I still think trying to link characters to Rapture is a huge stretch. The only one I'm accepting of right now is Songbird because it's clear the technology was borrowed from Rapture by Fink. I don't buy Booker being Andrew Ryan/Jack at all.

It's more symbolic, less literal. Elizabeth and the syringe is a nice little callback to the Little Sisters, and the symbolic connection of the two. As is the blue dress.
 

DatDude

Banned
I still think trying to link characters to Rapture is a huge stretch. The only one I'm accepting of right now is Songbird because it's clear the technology was borrowed from Rapture by Fink. I don't buy Booker being Andrew Ryan/Jack at all.


Maybe the Zeppelin had kick ass energy shields. Who knows. I totally buy Columbia wiping NYC off the face of the earth though.

I think it's more of a thematic/symbolic thing, rather than a clear cut Andre Ryan is Booker, and Elizabeth is a little sister.

The game presents the theme of there always being a light house, a city, and a man.

I think it was more to say, these characters, symbolically, fit these roles than the characters in Rapture did.

edit: beaten^
 

saunderez

Member
You mean Soul Reaver? ;)

Yeah anyone who loves this story and wants more of this kind of stuff, I highly recommend checking out the Soul Reaver series. SR 1 and 2 and then Defiance.
Fringe also touches on the "nature abhors a paradox" thing near the end of its run. Worth watching if anyone here hasn't already seen it.
 

saunderez

Member
Tear into another universe before the impact reaches you.

The imagination of tears is obviously not having that much of an effect on you. lol
I'm going with giant personal shield. I mean they had it working on an individual 70 years prior, I'm sure they could make it work with an airship in that time.
 

Dr Dogg

Member
I still think trying to link characters to Rapture is a huge stretch. The only one I'm accepting of right now is Songbird because it's clear the technology was borrowed from Rapture by Fink. I don't buy Booker being Andrew Ryan/Jack at all.

God knows what the discussions were like then when BioShock came out as there are so many parallels to System Shock 2. Some that are pretty much straight up scene for scene and character types with exactly the same motivations. As others have said it's a symbolic reference but more over the thematic patterning in all of Levine's recent works.
 
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From reddit. I was in the majority every time. Constants and variables.

I did it the same. Now, I'm on my second playthrough and do all the opposites. Yet, there are only small changes. The couple doesn't appear again to thank me that I didn't throw the ball and Booker doesn't have a wounded hand.
 
N

Noray

Unconfirmed Member
There is a third choice for the raffle and the ticketmaster. You let time run out. Booker doesn't attempt to throw the ball and just tries to get the attention of the ticketmaster, respectively (and gets stabbed in the hand)
 

DatDude

Banned
I did it the same. Now, I'm on my second playthrough and do all the opposites. Yet, there are only small changes. The couple doesn't appear again to thank me that I didn't throw the ball and Booker doesn't have a wounded hand.

Well once again, the main theme of the game is that choices are irrelevant.

SO there's no surprise there that the outcomes didn't differ much.
 
N

Noray

Unconfirmed Member
Well once again, the main theme of the game is that choices are irrelevant.

SO there's no surprise there that the outcomes didn't differ much.

I wouldn't say that's the main theme at all. There's one choice that's key to the story: the baptism. It just isn't the player's choice.

I haven't put my finger on it yet, but redemption's a big one for me.
 
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