5 Dystopian Video Games Inspired By Classic Literature

BioShock – Atlas Shrugged

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The original BioShock is fondly remembered as one of gaming’s most compelling single-player experiences. The dark, dystopian world of underwater Rapture and its eerie inhabitants make for a superbly atmospheric setting, and it’s given context by an absolutely brilliant narrative that twists and turns in a way that left us dumbstruck. In fact, it’s that very famous deception that gave rise to games like Specs Ops: The Line. Importantly, it helped pioneer the notion that players didn’t always have to play the triumphant heroic role to be successful.

BioShock is the story of a utopia fallen, a once prosperous independent society destroyed by their obsession over a substance called ADAM, and steered to their downfall by a tyrant who rules them. Fans of dystopian works of fiction will have noted similarities to literary works such as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Levine himself certainly acknowledges them as inspiration. But it’s Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged that might be its greatest inspiration, though not necessarily in a conventional way.

Like BioShock, Atlas Shrugged depicts a grim world, but its own segregated super-city is one of utopia and success. The plot moots that society can exist in isolation from the evils of oppression, prospering as a capitalist under the control of a visionary, named Ayn Rand. So Ken Levine’s BioShock shares a thematic premise, but it’s actually the ultimate riposte to Rand’s theory. For Levine, capitalist societies can’t self-govern according to philosophies of reason and individualism. Speaking to Techcrunch, he said:

“What I was trying to do with BioShock was to say, ‘Okay, well, [in Atlas Shrugged] that’s a utopia where Ayn Rand, who made the philosophy, made all the rules, and all the characters were under her control. What if things weren’t under everybody’s control?’ And I think that’s the problem with utopias — we bring ourselves to it, you know? We think we’re leaving our problems behind but – I don’t mean this in a cynical way – we are the problem. Like, whatever social problems that occur come out of us. It’s not like they fall out of the sky. I think people think they’re going to go to a utopian society, and I think it’s not really possible.”

You’ll notice that Atlas Shrugged protagonist Ayn Rand and BioShock antagonist Andrew Ryan share similar names. Ryan is Rand, except in BioShock, instead of doggedly sticking to idealist philosophy, he’s vulnerable to human nature. In other words, Levine considers that in actuality, humans don’t respect honor or greatness, and they’re happy to use violence even when they aren’t actually threatened themselves.


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Author
Alex Gibson
Alex was a Senior Editor at Twinfinite and worked on the site between January 2017 and March 2023. He covered the ins and outs of Valorant extensively, and frequently provided expert insight into the esports scene and wider video games industry. He was a self-proclaimed history & meteorological expert, and knew about games too. Playing Games Since: 1991, Favorite Genres: RPG, Action