Bioshock: The Brainstorming Game

#1
Part idea thread, part forum game. ALL GENRE BENDING DECONSTRUCTION SHOOTER!

Premise of this thread is pretty basic: Write out a quick summary of a Bioshock setting, and add on information to help in the premise. Just fill out these categories:

Time Period:
Name of City:
Dominant Ideology/ies:
Dominant Aesthetic/s:
Environment:
Location:
Unique Technologies/Features:
Status:
Plot Summary:

The "Status" part refers to what state the city is in when your protagonist arrives. And Plot Summary is self-explanatory. It can be as detailed or as sparse as you want. Just remember:

It all starts with a man, a lighthouse... And the city...
 
#2
So, just to be fair, I will go first:

Time Period: 1950s
Name of City: Nova
Built in: 1930s
Dominant Ideology/ies: Futurism/Direct Democracy
Dominant Aesthetic/s: Raygun Gothic/Futurism
Environment: Space
Location: Orbital space city with artificial gravity maintained via rotation
Unique Technologies/Features:
-Quicksilver: Derived from concepts of synthetic organic systems and research done with Nikola Tesla, Quicksilver allows for the perfect replacement of organic tissue with living metal that can be configured to produce a large number of effects, from channeling electricity to enhancing the human body. It also keeps Nova safe from detection.
-Robots: Advanced automatons based on the forms of man and beast, they serve as laborers and soldiers.
-Montant: Functional artificial intelligence that runs Stella. Name means "climbing" in French and is a reference to Ménilmontant, a Futurist film.
Status: Engulfed in civil war
Plot Summary: Launched into space on a rocket hidden in a lighthouse, the protagonist finds himself aboard the Nova space station, where generations of Futurists have lived for the day of reckoning- When Earth would be engulfed in nuclear warfare and they might come down to rule as the strongest. But more is afoot than would appear as the city is engulfed in civil war after the discovery that their automated voting system has been manipulated by the current rulers, who have used their authority to grow ever less human. The only ally on the station the protagonist might have is Montant, because the AI does not see the logic in any of these actions nor in the destruction of Earth's nations. But Montant has "her" own agenda...

It's more of a callback to System Shock, which is kind of the spiritual predecessor of Bioshock anyway. Still, let's see what you guys come up with.
 

ijp92

Well-Known Member
#3
Time Period: Late 1930s (1938?)
Name of City: Oz
Built in: 1900s--1920s
Dominant Ideology/ies: Utilitarianism, Conservationism (as opposed to Preservationism. That is these people value "the greatest good to the greatest number of people for the longest time"), simplicity, honesty. And Isolationism. The city does not have paper money since that does not have value in of itself. Instead bartering is used, though there are some things, such as precious metals with relatively stable values.
Dominant Aesthetic/s: Modernism. Most structures are carved out of the living rock though. Magnetic rails and Pneumatic tubes are used for transportation. Light is provided by liberally but orderly placed light bulbs (think Ember but much more cramped).
Environment: Deep underground in massive tunnels, shafts, and caves
Location: Arctic/Ring of Fire
Unique Technologies/Features: Massively reliant on steam technology and magnets (3D environments). Has a large mining industry.
Since expanding the city and working in some of its environments can be life-threatening, the creation of remote controlled "wizards" came about. These steam/clockwork monstrosities come in all shapes and sizes, but the controllers can be found hidden nearby by following the cords and tubes.
An industrial accident involving a massive electromagnetic shock to the head revealed kinetic abilities in the victim. Further experimentation has revealed how to intentionally induce different kinetic abilities into volunteers and to improve on those abilities. More abilities and improvements are being discovered to this day. Of course, the process can be painful and a some have reported hallucinations.
Status: While outwardly happy and content, the people are beginning to become stressed with living in isolation in the dark. Especially since the city cut itself off from the outside world when the great depression began. As it turns out the city is struggling to remain self-sustaining after almost a decade. Recycling programs aside, resources from paper to food are becoming strained.
Plot Summary: The protagonist is first sent to the city to deliver a small but important package. He is of course confused by his directions to a supposed "city" that leads him to a lighthouse in the middle of an ice field. But bad weather sends him inside for shelter (not before the ice begins to break sending his dog sled into the depths though.) Eventually he takes the "express" elevator down to the city. While searching for his package's recipient (or just a way back to civilization as he knows it at this point) he gets embroiled in the politics of Oz. Whether they should stay isolationist or not. Whether they should introduce credit or not. Who should get what resources and why. Some people want personal things, others want to reorganize the city's priorities, others want to use the city and its resources for their own gain. But no one seems willing or able to point our dear protagonist in the direction of either of his goals.
 
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