Game Maker: Starting by Healing the Players

Just like Ben, quite a few players were looking forward to BioShock: Rapture.

Many players were already mentally prepared for the dark and complex story halfway through.

They knew that the final ending of BioShock: Rapture might not be a happy one.

And most of the protagonists in games developed by Lucas have tragic endings.

But seeing Elizabeth actually fall in a pool of blood still made all the players' hearts ache.

Especially after witnessing everything this girl had been through in the sky-city of Columbia.

They had adventured together, and the feeling brought by this emotional connection was incredible.

Come to think of it, Lucas never actually said Elizabeth would survive.

He only said she wouldn't be the protagonist anymore but would appear.

But such an appearance is far too cruel!

Before this, players could still imagine that Elizabeth hadn't disappeared, leaving a sense of ambiguity.

Just like the story of "The Last of Us," if it had continued, many players would have to admit that in such a dangerous world, it was inevitable that either Ellie or Joel would die sooner or later.

But the game's plot stopped abruptly after leaving Fireflies, and this ambiguous ending was perfect.

However, BioShock: Rapture was too complete.

So complete that it brought the entire story to a perfect closed loop.

As Elizabeth's eyes slowly closed, the game screen returned to Jack.

The game needed an ending, and the players needed an explanation.

So, while being chased by Rapture's security forces controlled by Fontaine, Jack escaped to Dr. Tenenbaum's secret hideout.

With the help of the female doctor, Jack raced against time to the former site of Dr. Yi's laboratory and drank the potion to break free from mind control.

Next, Jack could finally confront Fontaine, the old liar who had controlled his life.

And this battle with Fontaine made Ben feel quite pressured.

But as the game's protagonist, having a four-dimensional pocket was perfectly normal.

The legendary mobile armory, plus a plasmid sorcerer.

Even the mighty Fontaine eventually fell into Jack's hands.

Both Fontaine and Jack were exhausted after the series of battles.

And at this final moment, a group of Little Sisters rushed out from the shadows.

They stabbed Fontaine with needles, draining all the ADAM and life from his body.

The last Little Sister handed Jack the control core key to Rapture.

'They gave this city to you.'

'You rejected this city.'

It was Elizabeth's voice!

Watching the Little Sister hand the key to Jack and hearing the narration, Ben felt incredibly moved.

Elizabeth's death, Andrew Ryan's death, and Jack's arrival.

It was like variables and constants in parallel universes.

Elizabeth saw the future in this timeline, and she understood that only by following the path she saw would it not deviate, and only with Jack's arrival at the end could Rapture truly come to an end.

She saw this beauty, so she chose to follow the future she saw.

In the game, Jack takes the Little Sisters' hands and leads them into the bathysphere, returning to the world outside the sea.

'And then what?'

'You saved them.'

'You found the stolen wealth in their hearts and returned it to them.'

'That is hope!'

'You watched them go to school.'

'You watched them get married.'

'You watched them find hope in life.'

'And in the end, what did you get?'

Old and frail, Jack lay on the hospital bed, his outstretched hand trembling.

From different directions, five hands reached out and placed themselves in Jack's palm.

'You never mentioned it, but I think we all know...'

'A family.'

As the scene faded, the camera moved to Paris, and Elizabeth's singing was heard, but Elizabeth herself was nowhere to be seen.

With this ending, the BioShock two-part series officially concluded.

......

Watching the producer credits roll at the end of the game.

Elizabeth's singing still echoed in his ears.

Ben was filled with so many emotions.

Perhaps it was Elizabeth's sacrifice.

Perhaps it was BioShock's vast and complex setting and stunning storyline.

Perhaps it was the bond between Jack and the Little Sisters, and the adventure of Booker and Elizabeth.

But one thing Ben was sure of was that BioShock was definitely a masterpiece.

Especially with the latter part, "Rapture," which completely filled in the entire BioShock story, forming a perfect closed loop.

Even now, he hadn't fully recovered; the content of the game was too shocking.

Besides the big plot twist at the end of "Infinite," where the boss turned out to be himself, which he found shocking.

Secondly, the entire gameplay was focused on the tacit adventure between Booker and Elizabeth.

The early and mid-game fun was pretty much all here.

The reason for this was that there were simply too many hidden plots throughout the game.

It wasn't until the first lady of Comstock was met that the mysteries in players' minds were slowly unraveled.

Ben originally thought that Rapture, the second part of BioShock, was just a simple change of scenery.

And not very related to the sky-city Columbia.

But he was completely wrong.

The sky-city Columbia and the underwater city Rapture, these two so-called utopian cities, were incredibly closely linked.

In fact, without either one, the other city would not have continued to develop.

Similarly, Elizabeth going to Rapture and finding Booker was just a spark.

More importantly, it connected the stories of Elizabeth and Jack.

Ben had to admit one thing: BioShock was definitely the game that most successfully blended elements without feeling abrupt; it was unmatched in history.

From the ending's perspective, it was indeed a good ending.

As long as players chose not to harm the Little Sisters in the game, Jack would successfully rescue the five Little Sisters and bring them back to the surface, adopting them and sending them to school until they got married.

Then he would live out his life peacefully.

Like Ezio in "Assassin's Creed."

But the key point wasn't Jack, it was Elizabeth.

Compared to Jack in Rapture, and Booker in Columbia.

The most impressive aspect of the entire BioShock was Elizabeth.

That's right, the protagonist did get a good ending this time.

But this was based on the sacrifice of a more charismatic character than the protagonist.

This instantly made countless players unable to hold back their emotions.

(End of Chapter)

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