COP Summative Statement

For this module I intended to produce a body of practical work that explored the theme of alternate universes, Though my project changed multiple times over the course of the module this key theme kept all the work together and working as a whole. I think whats really come through within the work is the idea of having an image that through user interaction will become an alternate version of the same image therefor exposing the viewer to an "alternate world", I'm really happy with how my outcomes portray this idea especially the hydrochloric wall paintings that give the project a great real world application that I think the animation was lacking.

The idea of focussing on alternate universes came from the final section of my essay on "The illusion of choice" which contains a section on the use of alternate universes within Bioshock Infinite, They use them to show the same place but in a slightly different way and that's what I've tried to do within the statue illustrations for my animation. The destruction of the statues also represents the degradation of the societies within Rapture and Columbia, especially within Columbia upon first viewing it seems like an idyllic place but as you start to explore Columbia you start to see the cracks within the society which are represented by the cracks in the statues which started out as these idyllic things that were gradually worn down, like how the societies within Bioshock that started out as places based on high ideals and well intentions but were gradually worn away.

COP Final Outcomes

COP Visual Journal

COP Final Dissertation

This is my final dissertation I'm really happy with how it turned out even though I regret the subject I picked I think this has been much more succesful than the previous two essays I've done and I think that comes from being much more organised and doing much more research than i've done previously. I still had trouble with my citations and referencing but I think it turned out fine in the end, I also struggled with academic sources for things such as Jingoism and Manifest Destiny but I'm really happy with how the first section on Objectivism came out I think it's my most succesful piece of academic writing.

COP Final Boards

These are the boards I produced for my proposed outcomes. The other day I had the idea for the wall paintings that appear when the paint gets wet, I'm really disappointed that I only thought of it this week as I think this could have been a really great area to focus on with my practical work and would have really pushed my practice forward. The whole point of the practical work is to have an initial image but when it's interacted with it reveals alternate versions of the image and I think the wall paintings would have been perfect fro this luckily I thought of it in enough time to mock it up and propose it.

COP Final Animation

For my final animation after peer advice in the final crit I decided to keep the animation as one long 90 second animation, I also added music as I felt this would work now the animation is longer. I chose to use Aphex Twin's 4 as I felt this matched the glitchy animation with the shuffling drums and high tempo. Conceptually I'm really happy with how the animations turned out and I think they fulfill what I initially set out to accomplish, Each version of the statue represents an alternate world and the glitching is the changing between the world the viewer is seeing.

Unfortunately I'm no where near as happy with how the animation has turned out technically, I'm really happy with the drawing individually but as soon as I tried importing them to After Effects I began getting endless problems with white parts showing up around the edges of the statues even though I deleted the white areas in photoshop before importing the assets but I think this comes down to my inability to use after effects. I am happy with how the glitching effect turned out though and I think it's one of the strongest parts of the project. After spending the last couple of days trying to fix these animations I've had to concede defeat and accept that at this point this is the most polished I can get them, If I had more time I would have looked to collaborate with an animator to help me with smoothing out some of the rough edges.

COP Evaluation

I feel like at the end of this module I really needed to write an evaluation for this module as there is a lot of stuff that I've not spoken about on my blog so far, towards the end of this module I've realised that I made a mistake writing my dissertation on Bioshock I feel that I should have picked something more closely related to my practice and then the practical side would have been linked in a much stronger way and the dissertation would have been much more relevant. When I picked Bioshock I thought it would be a good idea but I think I was short sighted and just wanted to write it on something I enjoyed.

I've made quite a few mistakes over the course of this module, I feel that I should have been much more focused on the practical side as it kind of came second to the dissertation and due to this I really struggled with producing practical work for this module. I'm glad that this is over now and I'm not going to have to write another essay for a while though next time I do I feel like I'll go in with a much better idea of what I need to do than I did this year. The mistakes didn't just apply to the practical side though I also struggled with the citations within the text of my dissertation and had to go back in and add page numbers to the book quotes. There is a lot that I think has been succesful in this module but I've already written about that on my blog and don't feel that I need to elaborate on it in this post.

Also at this point I have also decided not to include any prints as part of my final outcomes as I didn't feel they worked conceptually as part of my project, Whilst they would work as nice prints there's no point producing  them as I don't feel they would portray alternate universes in the same way that the animation, hydrochloric paintings and ar posters would.

COP Synthesis

For my essay I looked at the use of alternate worlds and the many worlds theory in relation to Bioshock Infinite, For the practical project I looked at these theories and was trying to work out the best way to show different versions of the same image with slight variations. I focused on statues as I felt they had a sense of grandiose that Bioshock has and on the surface these statues are immaculate but as you look deeper the cracks that start to appear which is what I've tried to portray in the animations which is that initially the perfect version of the statue is shown and then the glitching starts to happen and the ugly broken versions of the statue starts to appear, this can be seen as a representation of Bioshock Infinite and represents the idyllic turn of the century american aesthetic that then gives way to the Racist and Old World values of the society who live in Columbia.

Then withe the Augmented reality print it gives the project an even bigger focus on alternate universes as when you place your phone over the print it will be like the viewer is revealing an alternate universe by showing a different version of the statue to what is on the print.

COP Augmented Reality Print

For this I want to propose a print that would have a QR code in the corner that when viewed through a phone would show a glitching version of the statue on the print thereby showing the "Alternate Universe" of the other version of the statue. I need to work out the best way of portraying this on a set of boards, I don't think I'll be able to do this in a coherent manner for tomorrow.

COP Progress Review

At this point going into the final crit I feel that my projects is falling into place and though I still have bits to do it's all manageable. After the crit I will need to produce a set of boards that will propose the series of prints and the proposed augmented reality print.

COP Statue 3 Animation

This is the third animation and I'm fairly happy with how they turned out, I think a lot of the problems with this project come to my limitations with After Effects, I also think for the purposes of the crit tomorrow I'm going to make a version where the clips loop a couple of times just so they're easier to view.

COP Statue 3

These are the drawings for the third statue, I think these are the strongest drawings out of the 3, I think the only slight problem is the last drawing is too cleanly broken I think but it worked better than the alternatives and it works within way the statue is made.

COP Statue 2 Animation

I'm happy with how the animation turns out some of the changes are slightly jarring and might need a little more work, also I can't seem to remove the slight white outline around the statue for some reason this seems to happen whenever I import files into After Effects.

COP Statue 2

These are the six different drawings of the second statue, I'm happy with how they've turned out, I think the cracks on the face work really well although the left arm could probably do with a little bit more work.

Cop Statue 1 Animation 2

I added a textured background to the animation and I think it works really well, I'm going to look at how I can differentiate the texture in the other two animations though. I've also noticed that there are some bits that I haven't edited out properly yet so there are still some white bits that shouldn't be there around the outline of the figure.

COP Statue 1 Animation

This is the first version of my animation, I haven't included a background on this version but I'm going to in the next version. I think the animation works quite well though especially the glitching on the changes between each version of the statue this can easily be applied to the other two statues. I definitely need to loop the animations though as I feel the ten second one is far too short.

COP Statue 1 Versions

I'm really happy with how these have turned out so far these are the assets I've made for the animation and they can easily be adapted for prints, but at the moment I'm focussing on the animation as I feel this will be the most fully realised outcome.

COP Statue Second Version

These are the second version of the statues, I added cracks into the images to show the gradual wear of the statue. I'm going to gradually add more and more cracks and destruction to the statues until i have about 5 or 6 versions of each statue.

COP Statue Ink Drawings

These are the inked versions of my final drawings, I've decided to move away from the soldier statue as I don't think it really fits with the other three. I'm moving away from the idea of having prints at the moment as I'm much more interested in the animation side of this project as I feel it fulfills my initial brief much better.

COP Statue Roughs

These are the roughs I produced for my images I'm going to print multiple versions of each of these images so I can make variations whilst keeping all the key elements in the same places. I still want to keep the background box so the image jumps out of the panel to keep some continuity with the previous work I produced.

COP Practical Rethink

In the last couple of weeks from the advice I received from my tutor I have changed the practical side of my work. To do this I boiled down my project to the essential elements which are Alternate worlds, Glitchy animations and Multiple versions of the same image so what I've done is remove all the excessive elements where I tried to fit these images into a comic proposal and narrative work it just made the project far too complicated and I can always bring these elements into my narrative work if this project is successful.

What I now intend to produce is a set of 4 image that will then each have multiple versions of the same image each one will gradually get more and more destroyed this will highlight another key theme from the Bioshock franchise of looking deeper and showing the destruction and corruption hidden underneath the surface in Infinite but it's much more evident within Bioshock where the destruction is much more overt. Each image will have 3 to 4 variants of each, that will show a gradual degradation in the condition of the statues, These will then be printed and made into a set of prints that will more than likely be digital but if there's time I will try to screen print them but this may result in me screen printing one set and then proposing the rest.

The second outcome I intend to produce is a set of 4 animations one for each image, the animations will work in the same way as the animations I have worked on for this module so far I'll have the main image of the statue and then it will flicker between it's different versions, The top layer will glitch and then reveal the layer underneath with the glitching becoming more and more severe revealing the ruined statues underneath.

The final outcome will more than likely be a proposed one as technically at this point it's probably beyond me, I intend to propose a portrait billboard that would be on display near the original statues. The billboards will have a qr code in the corner that when scanned the viewer will be able to move the camera on their phone across the image revealing the hidden layers underneath that show the ruined statues.

COP Synthesis

One of the chapters of my essay focuses on the many worlds theory and the multiverse, this is the theory that every choice makes a parallel universe. I decided to base my practical work around this as I felt it gave me a lot of freedom to create work from, I've decided to incorporate the alternate universes by having the panels I make be animated and glitch to show alternate universes. The illusion of choice will also play a big part in the proposed comic as well but that is almost impossible to portray within a set of images.

COP Crit Boards

COP Proposal Form

COP True Detective Contextual Research

For this project I've been really inspired by the aesthetic and cinematography of the HBO show True detective, it could be a good idea to incorporate the animated elements within the shadow of another character like they have in the title sequence for the show. This could be a good way to communicate the alternate versions of the characters, as they start to bleed through into the main images. I found this really good article from the creative director who explains the process of creating the titles, it also shows their boards which are really helpful as it explains their design process in full.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/true-detective/

COP Progress

A this point in the module I've got a big problem with the practical work as since I've moved away from the idea of producing a narrative I feel that my work has become slightly aimless and I'm not really sure where I'm going with it. There are a couple of options of where I can go with the practical work the first is to have a loose collection of images tied to a theme that ties the pieces together, another is to have a character that brings all the pieces together. The third option is to propose a narrative so that I can focus on producing a few select panels that will show what I'm going for and allow me to create some really well crafted pieces, I think this is my favourite idea but I'm not sure if it's the most appropriate so I need to clarify what I'm doing exactly in my tutorial tomorrow so I can produce more work for the crit on Thursday.

COP Coloured Panel

This was my first attempt at colouring my initial panel, I'm kind of happy with how it turned out but I feel I should have planned the moving element further in advance. When I tried taking this into after effects it's not really worked as I had planned. I tried introducing weather as well and it didn't work I need to do more research as to how I'm going to make these panels but this panel really shows what I'm going for composition wise with the breaking of the panel the only problem was I didn't make the assets properly which became a problem when I tried to animate the panels.

COP Marc Aspinall Contextual Research

Marc Aspinall's work has been a big influence on the way I've thought about the composition of my work, I love the way that the images break out of the blocks of colour in the background it adds a lot of depth to the images. The Bonjour Voiture piece is one of my favourite illustrations ever and the layout of the characters and the landmarks was really influential on how I layered my panels.

COP Panel Rough

This is my first rough for the panels I'm creating, this one is going to be used as a tester to make sure I get the process right. For this panel I'm going to make the figure in the foreground move and the weather will be snowy which will then flicker in to bright blue skies. I want to keep the animation simple to begin with and then when I move on to more complex panels I try to push the animation more.

COP Shutterstock Brief

Ok I think it was a bit premature to try and fit this brief in with the Shutter stock one so I've decided to ignore the last couple of blog posts. I need to decided how I'm going to link the panels I make together this is a question I need to ask in my tutorial tomorrow of wether just the character in the foreground and the glitchy alternate universes will be enough to link the pieces together.

COP Archetypes Research

I've decided to do more research into the seven story archetypes that the brief asks you to create work for.

Overcoming the Monster
This plot focuses on the hero setting out to defeat an antagonistic force which threatens the protagonist or there home.

Rags to Riches
The poor protagonist acquires great wealth or power and then looses it all, but then gaining it again after growing as a person.

The Quest
The hero sets out to acquire an important item or reach a place, they face many obstacles and temptations along the way.

Voyage and Return
The hero goes to a strange land on a journey facing trials and tribulations but return with nothing but experience.

Comedy
Light and humorous characters on an adventure where they triumph over adverse circumstances resulting in a happy ending.

Tragedy
The protagonist of the story is the villain whose death at the end of the story results in a happy ending.

Rebirth
Over the course of the story the hero is forced to change their ways making them a better person in the process.

The challenge now comes from trying to apply these ideas to modern society and portraying them from a single image.

COP Practical Proposal Form

Overarching Theme
The overarching theme of my brief for COP is Alternate Worlds.

Specific Subject
I'm looking at how you can portray a narrative within a single image, Looking at the seven narrative archetypes in relation to the narrative.

Research Question
A critical analysis of the Bioshock Franchise.

Product
I want to produce 7 panels that tell a narrative in a single image, each panel will be based on one narrative archetype. The panels will be designed to be displayed on an ipad screen and will have moving elements that reveal alternate worlds.

Proposed Outcomes

Media Processes
The images will be first drawn by hand using brush pens and fineliners and then will be scanned in and digitally edited in photoshop before being taken into aftereffects where the elements will be put together into the final moving animations.

Questions
Is 7 panels too ambitious or is it ambitious enough?

Are the 7 story Archetypes a good direction to go in?

COP Shutterstock DandAD

I found this DandAD brief that has really informed the way I've started to look at my COP practical work, Last week I decided to move away from working on a narrative project which kind of gave me a sense of relief as it was quickly becoming too big of a project and now I have time to focus on a set amount of panels that I can really craft. The only problem was that after I dropped the narrative element I think my project lost a bit of direction so Ive decided to take advantage of this brief and use it to shape my work but I'm not going to force my work to fit their brief I'm going to adapt theres to fit my brief.

Their brief is to take the seven plot archetypes... Comedy, Rebirth, Rags to Riches, Tragedy, The Quest, Overcoming the Monster, Voyage and Return. The challenge is to apply these archetypes to the modern world creating an image that represents them.

I feel that these archetypes and the challenge of applying them to the modern world can really begin to bring my project together. I still want to keep my original idea of having comic panels that are broken in interesting ways with small hints of animation that reveal an alternate world.

COP Practical Changes

Last week I had my tutorial with Fred where we spoke about my practical work he recommended moving away from working on a narrative and to focus entirely on the idea of taking the comic book panel format and looking at how I can break it and introduce moving elements in a digital environment which I think is a good plan and takes away a lot of the pressure of trying to force a narrative into the work.

I'm still going to keep the alternate universe parts of the work as this was the focus but it'll be less of a narrative device. I'm going to have a main image and I'm going to add stutters and jumps to the images that reveal an alternate universe like the tears in Bioshock Infinite do. Also at the moment I'm in Edinburgh and I've been really inspired by the city to include some of the photos and imagery I've taken into my work this could be something that ties all the panels I do together.

COP Initial motion Comic Development

These are my initial sketches for my motion comic idea, I quickly began to realise that this idea was far too ambitious and it was becoming much more about the narrative than it was the key themes of my project. I still like the idea though and would like to come back to it at some point as I think the motion comic idea is a very strong one.

COP Moving Panel

This was my first attempt at making a moving panel for my comic, This is more a proof of concept as I've reused a panel from my comic from OUIL 603 but modified it to fit this project. This image is based around the chaotic pattern that the hooded man will leave as he teleports to a separate universe whereas the main character will have a much smoother transition. Next time I'll separate the layers between the background and the main character and edit them separately to make the panels look much smoother.

COP Practical Work

I've decided for my practical work I'm going to produce a "motion comic", The aim of the comic is going to be about the art and the concept rather than the a deep narrative. I want to explore how I can develop the format with the digital comics, I'm going to have to do more research into after effects and how I can incorporate it.

The narrative is about the main character being chased by a hooded man who at the end is revealed to be a future version of the main character. When the main character is being chased he'll go through multiple alternate universes which will change his costume but there will be elements that remain the same.

COP Multiverse Theory

For my practical work I've decided to outline the Multiverse Theory as I understand it, This is a starting point and I'm going to see where it evolves from there. As I understand it the multiverse theory is as follows...

There are an infinite number of universes that are all linked, each decision made creates an alternative universe. The Universe we live in is part of this multiverse but we are only one universe out of potentially billions.

After doing slightly more research this is a "level 3" parallel universe, This is the sci-fi way of looking at parallel universes and I think is the most appropriate and exciting way of looking at them for this project it's also the most in line with the way they are used in the Bioshock games.

I think the best course of action from here is to start brain storming interesting alternate universes and ideas for the applications of the work. I still really want to work with narrative within the project so I could begin with developing a main character and then build the story around them. I think the main thing is to start drawing and making work.

COP Practical Work

I initially decided to focus on the post humanism theme of my essay to create work for my dissertation, I've very quickly become bored of this though and I want to focus on something else. I realised the way I was looking at post humanism is completely different to the way I was looking at it in my essay so it was only very thinly linked.

I want to focus on the theory of the Multiverse, I think this could be really interesting and has a huge scope for the practical project. As suggested in my last tutorial I'm going to look at some way of making the project have an interactive element to it.

COP Revised Essay Plan for Tutorial

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Objectivism and Libertarianism in Rapture

• Outline the 4 tenets of objectivism Reality, Reason, Self interest and Laissez-faire Capitalism, examine how each of these tenets are displayed in Rapture and explain Ayn Rands reasoning behind each tenet.
• Explain what Libertarianism is look at the difference between Libertarianism and Objectivism, look at Rand's views on Libertarianism and why she dismissed it.

Chapter 2 - The differences Ayn Rand's John Galt and Ken Levine's Andrew Ryan

• Look at the differences between the character's of Andrew Ryan and John Galt, I'll look at how John Galt is portrayed as this perfect human specimen and an idealised version of Ayn Rand's believes where as Andrew Ryan is portrayed as human and fallible. This will lead into a section on wether Rapture should be taken as a criticism of Objectivism.
• This chapter will look at the influence of the creators on the characters as with John Galt Ayn Rand is trying to portray her ideals as being perfect and that's done through creating the perfect character, where as Ken Levine is able to look at Objectivism through a critical lens and this is reflected through Andrew Ryan.
• I also want to look at the "cult" of Ayn Rand, this will entail looking at the way people started to follow her believes and how she is now seen as some kind of hallowed figure for her theories.
• The final part of this chapter will focus on wether Rapture is a criticism of Objectivism or not, in my opinion it isn't and Ken Levine has said it isn't but i want to look at the different ways that people have read the game. 

Chapter 3 - Religion, Racism and Nationalism in Bioshock Infinite

• The first part of this chapter will look at the character of Comstock and how he like Andrew Ryan has developed a fanatical cult around himself. I think it will be really interesting to look at the characters and how although they both are at complete separate ends of the spectrum they meet in the middle again and are very similar characters.
• I want to look at how the game reflects the society of 1912, this will be interesting because I can tie in all 3 of the key themes from bioshock infinite this section will specifically focus on the racism present in the games.
• I want to look at the reactions to the religious extremism in the game, with an example being the member of the development team who almost quit the studio over the portrayal of Comstock.
• I'll also look at the aura around the american nationalism in the game and how it represents the american dream, Theres a really interesting quote from Levine about the game being "a politicians memory of golden age america"
• Finally for this chapter I will look at Marxist social conflict theory in relation to the Vox Populi, the conflict theory states that any revolution will eventually become bloody and they will become the thing they were fighting against.

Chapter 4 - The Illusion of Choice within the Bioshock franchise

• This will look at the ending of the original Bioshock where the game is twisted on it's head when you get to the reveal of "Would you Kindly?" which makes you question everything you've done in the game. I'll look at other examples of games that have done this such as Spec OPs The Line and Shadow of the Colossus.
• I'll look at the forced baptism at the start of Bioshock Infinite and the reactions to that, there's examples of people getting refunds because they refused to play the game over the scene.
• I'll then look at the Multiverse theory which states that we'e one of billions of universes with slight differences and I'll then look at how this is used throughout Bioshock Infinite and what effect it has on choices in the game. This part will have a focus on the Lutece twins from Bioshock infinite as well.

Chapter 5 -Post Humanism within the Bioshock franchise

• I'll begin by looking at what Post Humanism is and then I'll look at the way Vigors and Plasmids are portrayed though out the games this will tie back into the multiverse part of the last chapter.
• I'll look at how Adam caused the fall of Rapture and how it essentially drove everyone crazy. Then I'll look at Big Daddies and Little Sisters and how they are portrayed in the game.
• I'll also look at the portrayal of Post Humanism in the Dues Ex franchise and the social issues that also come with post humanism.
• This is the section I've done the least research for so far.

Conclusion

COP Essay Key Quotes Part 3

The Vox Populi, Rapture and Marxist social conflict theory

• "Voice of the People" - Latin Translation
• "Your homes are ours! Your lives are ours! Your wives are ours! It all belongs to the Vox!" - Bioshock Infinite
• "There's already a fight, DeWitt. Only question is, whose side are you on? Comstock is the god of the white man, the rich man, the pitiless man. But if you believe in common folk, then join the Vox. If you believe in the righteous folk, then join the Vox." - Bioshock Infinite
• "The one thing people need to learn is that fear is the antidote to fear. I don’t want to be a part of their world. I don’t want to be a part of their culture, their politics, their people. The sun is setting on their world, and soon enough, all they gon’ see… is the dark." - Bioshock Infinite
• "When you forced deep underground, well -- you see things from the bottom up. And down at the bottom of the city, I saw a fire burning. A fire's got heat aplenty, but it ain't got no mouth. Daisy...now, she got herself a mouth big enough for all the fires in Columbia." - Bioshock Infinite
• "You ever see a forest at the beginning of a fire? Before the first flame, you see them possums and squirrels, running through the trees. They know what’s coming. But the fat bears with their bellies full a’ honey, well -- you can’t hardly wake them up from their comfortable hibernation. We’re going to Emporia. And then, we gon’ see what it takes to rouse them from their slumber." - Bioshock Infinite
• "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. These people will liberate themselves." - Bioshock
• - I Need some quotes on Marxist social Conflict Theory

The Illusion of Choice within the Bioshock Franchise

• "Would you kindly?" - Bioshock
• "We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us" - Bioshock
• "A man chooses, a slave obeys." - Bioshock

COP Essay Key Quotes Part 2

Is Rapture a criticism of Objectivism?

• "I think the problem with any philosophy is that it's up to people to carry it out. It could have been Objectivism, it could have been anything. It's about what happens when ideals meet reality. If you had to sum up BioShock's story, that's what it is. When philosophers write books, when they write fictional works like Atlas Shrugged, they put paragons in the books to carry out their ideals. I always wanted to tell a story of, what if a guy wasn't a paragon? What if his intentions were really good, but at the end of the day he was human? I think that's where the problem is." - Ken Levine - http://www.shacknews.com/article/48728/ken-levine-on-bioshock-the
• "It's not an attack on Objectivism, it's a fair look at humanity. We screw things up. We're very, very fallible. You have this beautiful, beautiful city, and then what happens when reality meets the ideals? The visual look of the city is the ideals, and the water coming in is reality. It could have been Objectivism, it could have been anything." - Ken Levine -http://www.shacknews.com/article/48728/ken-levine-on-bioshock-the
• "I believe in no God, no invisible man in the sky. But there is something more powerful than each of us, a combination of our efforts, a Great Chain of industry that unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our own interest that the chain pulls society in the right direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket, or a pistol to your neck." - Andrew Ryan - Bioshock
• "Ryan nationalized Fontaine Futuristics -- he owns it now, lock, stock and barrel. For the good of the city, he says. He'll break it up in due time, he says. I've resigned from the Council and lodged me letter of protest, but that's just pissing in the wind. It'll be war, I say... unless somebody stops Ryan, and right fast." - Bill Mcdonagh - Bioshock
• "I never killed a man, let alone a mate. But this is what things come to. I don't know if killing Mr. Ryan will stop the war, but I know it won't stop while that man breathes. I love Mr. Ryan. But I love Rapture. If I have to kill one to save the other, so be it." - Bill Mcdonagh - Bioshock
• "To me, Andrew Ryan is a combination of several historical figures, like Howard Hughes and Ayn Rand together. Unlike a character in a Rand book he’s “a real person”. John Galt is a superman. He’s not a normal person. He doesn’t go to the bathroom. If you read the Fountainhead, the characters are these idealised supermen. They don’t have doubts, they don’t have fears – at least the hero characters – they don’t make mistakes. And that’s much like the Superheroes of the 40s. I think people are much more like the Superheroes of the 60s, Stan Lee’s Superheroes who have real problems and make mistakes. I think Rapture is a place where there’s a very powerful ideology put into play by actual people. And when people get into the mix, things get complicated." - Ken Levine - http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/08/20/exclusive-ken-levine-on-the-making-of-bioshock/

Religion, Racism and American Exceptionalism the key themes of Bioshock Infinite

• "The nation's ideology can be described in five words: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez faire. The revolutionary ideology which became the American Creed is liberalism in its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century meanings" Seymour Martin Lipset - Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/americanexceptionalism.htm\
• "American exceptionalism refers to the special character of the United States as a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideals and personal liberty." Ian Tyrrell - https://iantyrrell.wordpress.com/papers-and-comments/
• "There are many things that are in Columbia that were very prevalent at the time, whether it's charismatic religious movements, whether it's a sense of growing nationalism—which was very present at the time." - Ken Levine - http://www.pcgamer.com/bioshock-infinite-interview-ken-levine-racism-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 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?" - Ken Levine - http://www.pcgamer.com/bioshock-infinite-interview-ken-levine-racism-history/
• "Most people don't know how Catholics were viewed in this country, or how the Irish were viewed in this country. They were viewed as… I use this term obviously not from myself, but at the time they were viewed as subhuman by some people. When we had our first Catholic president in 1960, many people thought he was going to be an operative of the Pope. He had to publicly proclaim that he wasn't." - Ken Levine - http://www.pcgamer.com/bioshock-infinite-interview-ken-levine-racism-history/
• "How did people like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin and George Washington come along, where you had these people who had the foresight to build… Rich, wealthy men who had the foresight to build a system of power that's shared by design. And then a man like Washington. They offered him the kingship. Not only does he turn it down and become a president instead, he steps down out of power after his first term, setting the tone for the entire experiment. These are so assuring, then, that they almost are gods. But they were also men. Their feet were clay, you know? They were slaveholders. I'm sure they were what we would call at this point white supremacists, many of them. They did things that we would now view as abhorrent." - Ken Levine - http://www.pcgamer.com/bioshock-infinite-interview-ken-levine-racism-history/
• "I realised that the portion of religion that was missing from it was the notion of forgiveness and how that's very, very important certainly in Christianity," he said. "And not being a religious person, I didn't put in any character who was speaking to why Comstock would be meaningful to them. And forgiveness is the theme of the whole game in many ways, about redemption and forgiveness. I hadn't written her, so after that conversation I didn't change Comstock's character, I didn't make him less whatever. I just developed a character who already existed — she was there and she got killed but I didn't really have a voice for her — and I wrote this thread for her about what her relationship with the prophet was like and why it mattered." - Ken Levine - http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/1/4576374/ken-levine-discusses-the-meaning-in-bioshock-infinite
• "Brother, the only way to Columbia is through rebirth in the sweet waters of baptism. Will you be cleansed, brother?" - Bioshock Infinite
• "The idea of pledging your belief to the city's America-As-Religion ideology before you entered felt potentially powerful," - http://kotaku.com/some-dont-like-bioshocks-forced-baptism-enough-to-as-473178476

COP Essay Key Quotes Part 1

Objectivism and Libertarianism in Rapture.

• “Reason is man’s only faculty for perceiving reality, Reason is the only means by which man can achieve knowledge of reality.” - Ayn Rand - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjVhya-A2Y0
• “No gods or kings, only man” - Andrew Ryan - Bioshock
• “the actor must always be the beneficiary of his action and that man must act for his own rational self-interest. But his right to do so is derived from his nature as man and from the function of moral values in human life — and, therefore, is applicable only in the context of a rational, objectively demonstrated and validated code of moral principles which define and determine his actual self-interest. It is not a license “to do as he pleases” and it is not applicable to the altruists’ image of a “selfish” brute nor to any man motivated by irrational emotions, feelings, urges, wishes or whims.” - Ayn Rand - The Virtue of Selfishness
• “I’ve read nothing by Libertarians (when I read them, in the early years) that wasn’t my ideas badly mishandled that is, the teeth pulled out of them with no credit given. I didn’t know whether to be glad that no credit was given, or disgusted. I felt both. They are perhaps the worst political group today, because they can do the most harm to capitalism, by making it disreputable.” - Ayn Rand - Ayn Rand Answers The best of her Q&A
• " I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." - Andrew Ryan - Bioshock
• "Man—every man—is an end in himself, not a means to the ends of others; he must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself; he must work for his rational self-interest, with the achievement of his own happiness as the highest moral purpose of his life." - Ayn Rand - The Ayn Rand column

Ayn Rand, Andrew Ryan and John Galt.

• "What is the greatest lie every created? What is the most vicious obscenity ever perpetrated on mankind? Slavery? The Holocaust? Dictatorship? No. It's the tool with which all that wickedness is built: altruism. Whenever anyone wants others to do their work, they call upon their altruism. Never mind your own needs, they say, think of the needs of... of whoever. The state. The poor. Of the army, of the king, of God! The list goes on and on. How many catastrophes were launched with the words "think of yourself"? It's the "king and country" crowd who light the torch of destruction. It is this great inversion, this ancient lie, which has chained humanity to an endless cycle of guilt and failure. My journey to Rapture was my second exodus. In 1919, I fled a country that had traded in despotism for insanity. The Marxist revolution simply traded one lie for another. Instead of one man, the tsar, owning the work of all the people, *all* the people owned the work of all of the people. So, I came to America: where a man could own his own work, where a man could benefit from the brilliance of his own mind, the strength of his own muscles, the *might* of his own will. I had thought I had left the parasites of Moscow behind me. I had thought I had left the Marxist altruists to their collective farms and their five-year plans. But as the German fools threw themselves on Hitler's sword "for the good of the Reich", the Americans drank deeper and deeper of the Bolshevik poison, spoon-fed to them by Roosevelt and his New Dealists. And so, I asked myself: in what country was there a place for men like me - men who refused to say "yes" to the parasites and the doubters, men who believed that work was sacred and property rights inviolate. And then one day, the happy answer came to me, my friends: there was *no* country for people like me! And *that* was the moment I decided... to build one." - Andrew Ryan - Bioshock
• "That particular sense of sacred rapture men say they experience in contemplating nature- I've never received it from nature, only from. Buildings, Skyscrapers. I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pest-hole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window - no, I don't feel how small I am - but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would like to throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body." - Dominique Francon - The Fountainhead
• "What is greatness? I will answer: it is the capacity to live by the three fundamental values of John Galt: reason, purpose, self-esteem." - Ayn Rand - Playboy March 1964
• "in 1917, the Russian peasants were demanding: "Land and Freedom!" But Lenin and Stalin is what they got. In 1933, the Germans were demanding: "Room to live!" But what they got was Hitler. In 1793, the French were shouting: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!" What they got was Napoleon. In 1776, the Americans were proclaiming "The Rights of Man"—and, led by political philosophers, they achieved it. No revolution, no matter how justified, and no movement, no matter how popular, has ever succeeded without a political philosophy to guide it, to set its direction and goal." - Ayn Rand - The Ayn Rand Column
• "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." - Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged
• "John Galt is Prometheus who changed his mind. After centuries of being torn by vultures in payment for having brought to men the fire of the gods, he broke his chains—and he withdrew his fire—until the day when men withdraw their vultures." - Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged
• "Who is John Galt?" - Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged
• "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" Karl Marx
• "Collectivism holds that the individual has no rights, that his life and work belong to the group . . . and that the group may sacrifice him at its own whim to its own interests. The only way to implement a doctrine of that kind is by means of brute force—and statism has always been the political corollary of collectivism." - Ayn Rand -The Virtue of Selfishness pg128
• "The advocates of collectivism are motivated not by a desire for men’s happiness, but by hatred for man . . . hatred of the good for being the good; . . . the focus of that hatred, the target of its passionate fury, is the man of ability." - Ayn Rand - Philosophy who needs it? pg102
• What is the difference between a man and a parasite? A man builds. A parasite asks 'Where is my share?' A man creates. A parasite says, 'What will the neighbors think?' A man invents. A parasite says, 'Watch out, or you might tread on the toes of God... ' - Andrew Ryan - Bioshock

COP Practical Ideas

Under the advice of Fred I've decided to rethink my practical work, I was told to look at the overarching themes of the dissertation rather than focussing on the subject which is Bioshock, I've decided to make a list of possible ideas like I did for the theoretical side of the project and that worked really well for me.

- The Illusion of choice within narrative, this could be really interesting where I make a poster where there are multiple stories that all begin in the same way and end in the same way, showing that no matter what happens in the story the choices the characters make don't make any difference.

- The Multiverse, This could make a really interesting project looking at a narrative with details that change with each version of the narrative being set in a different alternative universe with different version of the characters. I could use this to tie in some of the other themes of the games such as objectivism and religion.

- I could do a autobiographical comic of Ayn Rand explaining how she developed the Objectivist theories she had. I think this may be straying to far into making work on the subject though rather than the themes.

- Post Humanism, I could do a poster on post humanism that explains the technological advancements that are foreseeable in the future and how they'll affect our lives. this could be really interesting and I could look at the marketing for games such as Deus Ex Machina this could also tie in some of the imagery of American Exceptionalism and Norman Rockwell.

COP Presentation

https://docs.google.com/a/students.leeds-art.ac.uk/presentation/d/1h1jnuFq86qP9op99yGdTyUtvgCi2tG1ziJmxHGy-b-I/edit?usp=sharing

Here's a link to my dissertation presentation, I've had trouble uploading the presentation to issuu for some reason it decides to change the colour of the background. For the majority of my presentation I'll just be going through my research and the structure of my essay, I won't really be adding anything  new since my last blog post it'll just be explaining that with these images to my group.

COP Ken Levine Interview

I found this interview with Ken Levine where he talks about his view on objectivism and how it influenced the original Bioshock game.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/48728/ken-levine-on-bioshock-the

This first section is really interesting because it reinforces my reading of the original game which is that the reason objectivism failed is Andrew Ryan, this essentially means that the game isn't really a criticism of Objectivism it's a criticism of people. There are definitely excerpts of this that i can use in my dissertation.

"I'm fascinated by Objectivism. I think I gave it--I think the problem with any philosophy is that it's up to people to carry it out. It could have been Objectivism, it could have been anything. It's about what happens when ideals meet reality. If you had to sum up BioShock's story, that's what it is.

When philosophers write books, when they write fictional works like Atlas Shrugged, they put paragons in the books to carry out their ideals. I always wanted to tell a story of, what if a guy wasn't a paragon? What if his intentions were really good, but at the end of the day he was human? I think that's where the problem is.

It's not an attack on Objectivism, it's a fair look at humanity. We screw things up. We're very, very fallible. You have this beautiful, beautiful city, and then what happens when reality meets the ideals? The visual look of the city is the ideals, and the water coming in is reality. It could have been Objectivism, it could have been anything."

I think this is a really interesting, I'm slightly confused as to what Fontaine's philosophy is that's definitely something I'll have to do some more research into. But at the center of the original Bioshock is the conflict between two idealistic unmoving men.

"They both let nothing get in their way. I think at the end of the day, Fontaine is truer to his philosophy than Ryan is to his, because when things start going bad for Ryan in the business world with Fontaine, he sacrifices his ideals when he takes over Fontaine's business using government power. Ideals are great until they don't work for you anymore, then you work around it."
"Yeah, and I think the brutality of his end was his mea culpa, his penance for that sin. McDonough is sort of the Greek chorus character--don't do this, you're heading towards the abyss! But he goes over. Ryan's a true believer, and he comes back, but it's too late at that point. BioShock's a tragedy in that sense. Ryan could have beat Fontaine if he put his mind to it. I think he was stronger and better, but he got scared."

COP Bioshock Key Quotes

" I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."

"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us"

"A man chooses, a slave obeys."

"What is the greatest lie every created? What is the most vicious obscenity ever perpetrated on mankind? Slavery? The Holocaust? Dictatorship? No. It's the tool with which all that wickedness is built: altruism. Whenever anyone wants others to do their work, they call upon their altruism. Never mind your own needs, they say, think of the needs of... of whoever. The state. The poor. Of the army, of the king, of God! The list goes on and on. How many catastrophes were launched with the words "think of yourself"? It's the "king and country" crowd who light the torch of destruction. It is this great inversion, this ancient lie, which has chained humanity to an endless cycle of guilt and failure. My journey to Rapture was my second exodus. In 1919, I fled a country that had traded in despotism for insanity. The Marxist revolution simply traded one lie for another. Instead of one man, the tsar, owning the work of all the people, *all* the people owned the work of all of the people. So, I came to America: where a man could own his own work, where a man could benefit from the brilliance of his own mind, the strength of his own muscles, the *might* of his own will. I had thought I had left the parasites of Moscow behind me. I had thought I had left the Marxist altruists to their collective farms and their five-year plans. But as the German fools threw themselves on Hitler's sword "for the good of the Reich", the Americans drank deeper and deeper of the Bolshevik poison, spoon-fed to them by Roosevelt and his New Dealists. And so, I asked myself: in what country was there a place for men like me - men who refused to say "yes" to the parasites and the doubters, men who believed that work was sacred and property rights inviolate. And then one day, the happy answer came to me, my friends: there was *no* country for people like me! And *that* was the moment I decided... to build one."

"What is the difference between a man and a parasite? A man builds. A parasite asks 'Where is my share?' A man creates. A parasite says, 'What will the neighbors think?' A man invents. A parasite says, 'Watch out, or you might tread on the toes of God... '"

"Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds; we couldn't handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled in cribs... the whole city went to Hell."

"So tell me, friend, which one of the bitches sent you? The KGB wolf, or the CIA jackal? Here's the news: Rapture isn't some sunken ship for you to plunder, and Andrew Ryan isn't a giddy socialite who can be slapped around by government muscle. And with that, farewell, or dasvidaniya, whichever you prefer"

COP Summary

Proposed Question
The Bioshock franchise, an exploration of the key themes and theories behind the game franchise.

? I'm having trouble with this, When I spoke to Richard over the summer he suggested that I break down my dissertation into 6 shorter essays on my subject that are tied together through the introduction and conclusion. On Richard's advice though I narrowed down my essay to focus on one franchise and I decided on the Bioshock franchise as it has lots to write about from Objectivism and Libertarianism in the first game to Racism, Revolution and Religious Extremism in Bioshock Infinite.

Proposed Essay Structure
Introduction
Objectivism and Libertarianism in Rapture
Ayn Rand, Andrew Ryan and John Galt similarities and influences
Is Rapture a criticism or celebration of objectivism?
Religious extremism, Racism and American Exceptionalism in Columbia.
The Vox Populi's revolution in relation to Marxist conflict theory.
Propaganda, Advertising and Aesthetics in the Bioshock franchise.
The Illusion of Choice in Bioshock.
Multiverse theory in relation to Bioshock Infinite.
Post humanism in the Bioshock Franchise.
Conclusion

theres a much more detailed outline here...
http://j-shiels1316cop.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/cop-essay-plan.html

Proposed Practical Project
I want to produce a comic that introduces the reader to the worlds of Rapture and Columbia, the comics will be in an "infomercial" style so the reader will need no prior knowledge of the franchise or there games as it will all be explained in the comic. the comic will introduce the readers to the main theme and theories of the games.

COP Practical Work

I've had a couple of ideas for my comic, I've decided I definitely want to include two "Stories" in the comic one will focus on Andrew Ryan who will introduce the reader to Rapture, It will introduce the reader to the concepts of Objectivism and Libertarianism. The other comic will focus on Zachary Comstock who will introduce the reader to Columbia, This side of the comic will be much harder to do as the themes of columbia are much more divisive and need to be handled with care as the racist and religious extremist overtones could become offensive if not handled well. I quite like the idea of having both of these comics in one publication each comic starts from one side and they'll meet in the middle on a fold out page with two lighthouses which are a key motif from both games. Both comics will have different colour schemes that match the games. I think the next thing to do for this is to start making thumbnails and work on the idea.

COP Scott Mccloud Contextual Research

For the practical side of my work I want to use a similar style of narration to Scott Mccloud's comics about making comics, I want to emulate the style of these especially with the narrator talking at the reader. I think these books are a really great example of how to do a comic with the character talking directly to the camera for almost every panel and still keep the audience engaged.

COP Essay Plan

I thought seen as I'm getting to the point where I'm going to start writing my dissertation soon it would be a good idea to write a solid plan of what I'm going to write about in my essay.

Chapter 1 - Objectivism and Libertarianism in Rapture

This chapter will begin with an introduction of the four tenets of Objectivism and at the end of each one I'll link them to examples in the original Bioshock game, I'll then go on to explain Libertarianism, what role it plays in rapture and how it goes hand in hand with objectivism.

Chapter 2 - Ayn Rand, Andrew Ryan and John Galt.

This will examine the similarities between the stories of Ayn Rand and the fictional characters Andrew Ryan and John Galt. This will lead on well from the last chapter as I'll be able to look at the reasons why these characters believe what they believe plus it will give a bit of back story to Objectivism through the section on Ayn Rand. I'll also look at the similarities between Galt's Gulch and Rapture as part of this section.

Chapter 2.5 - Is Rapture a criticism of Objectivism

To tie together the last two sections of my essay I ant to look at wether Rapture was intended to be a critique of Objectivism or wether it was intended to be a celebration of it. From my research it seems that it's a bit of both but the main reason Rapture went of the rails is when Ryan began to stray away form Objectivism.

Chapter 3 - Religion, Racism and American Exceptionalism - The key themes of Bioshock Infinite.

This will look at the portrayal of Comstock as a "religious zealot", I'll look at how the attitudes of the game represent the morals of society in 1912 when the game is set. I'll also look at the media reaction to the inclusion of these themes in the game as I know there are a few good examples of people reacting badly to the game such as a Christian member of the Bioshock development team leaving due to the depiction of Comstock in the game. I'll also look at the forced baptism of Booker at the beginning of the game.

Chapter 3.5 - The Vox Populi and Marxist Conflict Theory

This will tie into the last chapter but I don't think this section will be big enough to warrant it's own chapter. This section will focus on looking at how the Vox Populi's bloody uprising and how the revolution loses sight of it's ideals and turns anarchistic.

Chapter 4 - Propaganda, Advertising and Aesthetics of the Bioshock franchise.

This section will look at the propaganda and advertisements throughout the Bioshock games, Advertising relates more to Bioshock whereas the propaganda relates more to Bioshock Infinite and this is an important distinction as it relates heavily to the ideology of each game. I'll also look at the propaganda of the Vox Populi and there revolution in Bioshock infinite. Whilst looking at the Propaganda and Advertising I also want to tie in elements of the Art deco environments in Bioshock as they play a big part in the design of the advertisements. I'm not sure how you'd describe the architecture of Bioshock infinite but i'll look at the way it plays in to the themes of Nationalism and segregation.

Chapter 5 - The Illusion of Choice In the Bioshock Franchise.

I want to look at how though out both Bioshock games the players is repeatedly given choices but really there just an illusion as the player doesn't really have a choice in wether they do it or not. This will again tie into the forced baptism at the beginning of Infinite and the choice to save the little sisters in the original Bioshock. I'll then look at how the phrase "Would You Kindly?" is used through out the original Bioshock and the role it plays in the narrative, I think this is a big one to look at because when you realise what the phrase means in the game it drops like a ton of bricks.

Chapter 5.5 - The Multiverse and Bioshock Infinite

This will look at the role parallel universes and quantum mechanics play in the narrative of Bioshock Infinite and the implications this has on free will.

Chapter 6 - Post Humanism in Bioshock Infinite

In my final chapter I want to look at the way in which people are enhanced in the games this will cover the Big Daddys and Little Sisters in Bioshock who are used to harvest ADAM, Splicers who have been driven insane by there use of ADAM and then I'll look at the use of genetic enhancements in Infinite.

COP Practical Work Contextual Research

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X95lZ56ddj4

I found these videos that explain the perks of each stat in Fallout 4, I really like the way these videos are presented. For my practical work I think I want to go for a similar "Infomercial" style that will introduce the reader to the worlds of Rapture and Columbia. I think what really helps my idea is that like the Fallout video where they have vault boy as the main character, Both Bioshock games have iconic characters as the leaders of each. In Rapture there is Andrew Ryan the genius objectivist who founded rapture and in Columbia there is Comstock who is the religious leader of the floating island but theres a lot of opportunity to include elements of the Vox Populi and the Lamb of Columbia in the comic. Though I'm making a comic it could be interesting to take selected panels and try animating them in a simple way.

COP Practical Work

I've had a new idea for the practical side of my dissertation rather than simply produce a series of prints on Objectivism I'd like to try and produce something that is better linked to my practice, My new plan is to produce a comic based around Andrew Ryan introducing the reader to the world of Rapture, this will include an introduction to Objectivism and libertarianism but it will also show his criticisms of American and Russia it will also include lots of Art Deco influenced design elements as this is a key part of Rapture. I could also do a companion comic based on the themes of Bioshock Infinite as I've already researched Rapture so this side will be a lot easier to begin with.

COP Ayn Rand Answers: the Best of Her Q & A

I found this book which is a great way to find quick answers to Rand's views on a variety of subjects, This could prove to be a great resource if I'm struggling to find examples of what I need from Atlas Shrugged or the Ayn Rand Institute. This could work well for looking at how Ayn Rand has shaped Andrew Ryan as a character next I think I need to start looking at interviews with Ken Levine the director for the original Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite and how he's been inspired by philosophy and ethics when developing the games.

COP Atlas Shrugged

I read Atlas Shrugged over the summer and found there were a ridiculous amount of parallels between Galt's Gulch and Rapture. This is going to factor in in a big way in the second section of my essay where I begin to look at the similarities between Atlas shrugged, Bioshock and Ayn Rand as a person and how there are parallels between Ayn Rand and Andrew Ryan the figurehead of Rapture in the game. I think this has given me a good incite into how Rand's philosophies work within a narrative and will give me a much better idea of how well they've been incorporated into the original Bioshock game.

COP Ayn Rand Institute

A lot of my research has been focussing on Ayn Rand and her principles to begin with I was having trouble getting my head around her principles, But I found this website that was really helpful and ended up giving me a much better idea of the principles of her theories and philosophies. It's become an invaluable part of my research and is a one stop fix whenever I get stuck researching Rand's principles.

COP Bioshock Practical Work

I've realised that I haven't been blogging my research for my dissertation as much as I probably should have so I'm going to do a post a few links and ideas I've been working on.

I think for the practical work I really want to design something that explains the principles of Objectivism and Libertarianism but I want to do them as an in universe piece of media so they could just slot into the games easily, My two ideas at the moment are to either do videos or a set of prints. I think these could be really strong because Bioshock has such a rich unique world that it would be easy to make work that feels like it fits into that universe but it's also open enough that I can keep my own tone. I'm not sure if this is a good idea though and I might just completely remove the brief from the bioshock games and just work on the prints as a separate piece of media.

COP Bioshock and Objectivism/Libertarianism Notes

Objectivism is a philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in her novels Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, in Bioshock it's depicted as the freedom to do what you want and to feel no obligation to anyone else, the whole point is to serve your own interests and ignore altruism. It emphasises the working of your own back is how you'll succeed which starts to raise interesting questions about how Plasmids fit into this within the game where people can basically become post human what does it mean to be working of your own back when almost everyone else can do the same by taking a plasmid. Andrew Ryan starts to avoid the principles of Objectivism just before the fall of Rapture but I think that will fall into the next section of my essay more. Objectivism also says that facts are facts and superstition and religion makes no difference they're all false, this falls into the importance of reason in objectivism. Capitalism is the main system for objectivism where people are free to be traders for everyones mutual benefit, to it's full extent it would end up with a separation of state and economics. What I think is interesting about Rapture is that the entire design of rapture has been put through the lens of objectivism and it's seeped into every aspect of peoples lives.

Libertarianism is more of a political philosophy compared to Objectivism, Libertarians seek to maximise the freedom of traders and like Objectivism it focuses on the freedom of choice and autonomy with minimal interference from the government. Rapture began as a libertarian society but gradually began to become more restrictive as Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine went to War

Quotes...

Andrew Ryan - "I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."

"No Gods, No Kings only Man."

Ayn Rand - “Freedom (n.): To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing.” 

Ayn Rand - "Man is an end in himself"

Sources...

Fountainhead, Ayn Rand (1943)
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand (1957)
Bioshock and Philosophy
Bioshock, 2k Games (2007)
http://www.aynrand.org/ideas/overview
http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/ubik/blog/bioshocks-critique-of-ayn-rand-objectivism/80374/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN8LgXsJJNA

COP Bioshock Possible Subjects

The Illusion of Choice in Bioshock.
Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Aura in relation to the cgi star of the game.
The use of Art Deco architecture in Bioshock.
Bioshock and Objectivism.
A comparison of Andrew Ryan and Ayn Rand.
Religious Extremism and Racism in Bioshock Infinite.
Libertarianism in Bioshock.
Rapture as an allegory for Galt's Gulch.
The impact of Bioshock on the games industry.
Bioshock and the Multiverse theory.
Post Humanism in Bioshock.
Propaganda in Bioshock.
Vox Populi as Marx's Conflict theory.

I think I'm going to use this as my structure but I'll try and tie in some of the elements of the subjects above I've decided not to include.

Introduction
Bioshock and Objectivism/Libertatianism.
A comparison of Ayn Rand and Andrew Ryan, bringing in elements of Rapture as Galt's Gulch.
Religion, Racisim and American Exceptionalism in Bioshock Infinite.
The Vox Populi as Marx's Conflict Theory.
Propaganda and Advertising in the Bioshock franchise, tie in the art deco aesthetic to this part.
Post Humanism in the Bioshock franchise.
The illusion of choice in Bioshock.
The Impact of Bioshock on the games industry, Tie in Mo-cap and aura.
Conclusion

Though this will probably change as I do more research into each subject, i think this is a good starting point, it also helps that because there are 8 subjects it makes it easier to write at least 6000 words.

COP Dissertation Proposal 3

I went and talked to Richard today about my dissertation and what direction to take, He suggested focussing on one game and treating the dissertation as 5 or 6 shorter essays and then using the conclusion as a way to tie the dissertation together.

Aim or objective of your proposed COP 3 project.

To explore the themes and philosophical messages of the Bioshock franchise. I'll more than likely focus on Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, missing out Bioshock 2 as it wasn't made by the same studio and doesn't really have the same messages as the other two. I want to look at Bioshock in relation to Plato's Cave and Ayn Rand and look at the theme of choice and free will, for Bioshock Infinite I'll look at the racism, religious extremism and American Exceptionalism of the game.

What research needs to be undertaken into the general and specific contexts of your practice?

- Identify the questions for each section of the essay.
- Research into the art movements for the practical side of the project.
- Read more into the theory behind Bioshock.
- Replay the games.

What Approach(es) will you take and what process, methods, materials and tools are to be involved in the research into your practice?

- For the practical side of the project I want to produce posters based on the theories behind the games, and in universe posters.
- I definitely want to scrren print the posters so they can be mass produced.
- The materials will depend on what part of the game the poster is for and which art movement influenced it.

What preparation or investigation do you need to undertake for your creative practice to take place?

- I need to look at the exact theory and put them into my own words, so they're easier to understand.
- Look into what the creators intentions were with the games.
- Identify the exact subjects.

What research do you need to undertake regarding who your creativity is for?

- I need to decide where the focus is with my practical work wether it's aimed more at the theoretical side of my work or focus more on the in game aspects of the work. This will decide the intended audience of the posters.

Primary Sources

Bioshock
Bioshock Infinite

Secondary Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN8LgXsJJNA
http://www.thunderboltgames.com/feature/bioshock-religion-a-look-at-extremism

Bioshock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series) 

Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged