The lights are on
As they've watched the BioShock Infinite gameplay video and read our cover story, many readers have noticed that the powers that be in Columbia have more than a few things in common with the uglier side of the Tea Party movement. We asked Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine about this in our special edition podcast, and he took the opportunity to set the record straight. BioShock Infinite is in no way intended to be a direct commentary on the current political climate.
"We get a lot of questions about this, and [it was] last thing that was on our minds – especially because when we started looking at these issues it was prior to some of the current political scenarios that you see," he said. "I have no interest, and the team has no interest in masquerading a current political situation in our game as a way to comment on the current political situation. I think it dates what you're doing, and if you're dealing with something that's very temporal and very current – pulled from the headlines – it's not something that's going to last. It's not something people are going to look back on in 10 or 20 years and find any interest in. You need to deal with more timeless issues.
"I think if you look at the issues that we're dealing with in BioShock Infinite, you're seeing reflections of them now but that's just because they are timeless. They come up over and over again – issues of nationalism, and issues of xenophobia, and issues of what is the role of government, and what is the role of individuals within the government. These are things that have come about over and over again though history because they're the important tensions."
So there you have it. Irrational Games is leaving the political punditry to the rest of the media.
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They are timeless and I'm pumped for the game non-the-less.
I'm just ready to play the game, not really caring about all the hype! Let's just play the game for fun......
I never thought of the tea party. Odd.
its good to see that its just a game, not a political statement
I personally like a little politics in my games, it's one of the reasons the Metal Gear series is so wonderful.
I knew it had nothing to do with the Tea Party, but it's nice to hear him come out and say it too. I guess it'll at least shush the others up.
I think that it's cool that Bioshock infinite is going for a deep story that talks about meaningful issues, instead of the "go here, shoot this guy" plot in most games.
I do have one thing to say, though. I notice a lot of the people in the comments are talking about their political views, and whether or not they are a conservative or a liberal. Just stop. For one thing, no one is only one thing and every person has different opinions on different topics, so stop limiting yourself to one political group. Second, this is a video game website, so stay on the topic of games.
Im glad he made this statement. I think if they wanted to take a standpoint we would have seen it by now. Although I can see how people can make the connections, but I like to liken them as the worst parts of each party. From what I see so far it seems more like GTA where you have your own goal but will play both sides to reach it.
Plus if it has multiplayer then dosen't matter to me if your liberal or conservative...ur still gettin a plasmid to the face.
Am I surprised by this? It sucks that political correctness is coming into games. i bet this guy has never been to a tea party protest or has been working in CA since our taxes are really high for businesses
When I first read about this game, the Tea Party never crossed my mind.
the fact they had to say probably means they're lying since i've seen no conection to the tea party yet