SanAndreasSmoke said:
My first thought -
"Aww shit, a BioShock Infinite article. I want to read this but I've avoided Infinite spoilers for too long to risk being foiled now."
Anyone care to assure me it's spoiler free or not? (Yes, I plan on playing the game soon. Probably next month after my friend finishes it.)
I wouldn't read it, as it ruins certain character events and development. Its not spoiler-free, but I can explain it for you. The author actually distorts the events of the game to serve the point of the article. He makes many mistakes, intentionally, as if he played the game with a cursory glance, in describing a lot of what happens because thats how some people who make these similar arguments do - they disregard the actual context of what happens because they're either ignorant of what happens, or they just don't care about the truth, and are willing to lie if it helps support their claims.
An example is how the last point says that Booker not just could've, but should've, been female. He then goes on to say that there should be a character creator, and that players should be able to choose to play as a female. Anybody who has played the game will tell you that the idea of that would absolutely destroy the story, since Booker DeWitt, the player character, is an important character, with a history and personality relevant to the course of the story. Of course he knows that the idea of creating your character in Bioshock Infinite is absolutely absurd, and would outright ruin the plot, but people have made arguments for other games where your player-character isn't a blank slate as well, which is what the writer is trying to bring to light. I've heard some people say that in LA Noire, Red Dead Redemption, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, should've had a character creator, and say that by not having it, and being forced to play a male character, is inherently sexist. Nevermind the fact that Cole Phelps, John Marston, and Adam Jensen are all characters with an important history, so making a blank slate character in those games, like you would in a The Elder Scrolls game, would damage if not outright ruin one if not many of the overarching plots. Its the idea of having a specific character with a specific history and specific personality developing in a certain way as the story progresses, being completely interchangable with yourself just for the sake of being able to play the game as a female character - ruining the story for the illusion of equality.
