Ludonarrative Synchronicity in the 'BioShock' Trilogy

This book presents a new methodology, ludonarrative synchronicity, to analyze the interplay between narrative and gameplay in video games. Using the BioShock franchise as a case study, this book aims to show the interaction of these two elements can form various subjects. Rather than prioritizing one over the other, ludonarrative synchronicity seeks to explore how video game texts function. By analyzing a trio of games focused on choice and control, this book manages to show how players, along with developers, can create their own subjects. Ludonarrative Synchronicity in the BioShock Trilogy will appeal not only to fans of the franchise, but to students and scholars of narrative theory, game design, and posthumanism.

1. Introduction

a. Ludonarrative Dissonance
b. Ludology
c. Narratology
d. Definitions
e. Ludonarrative Synchronicity
f. Research Approach & Analysis

2. BioShock: Welcome to Rapture
a. A Modern Day Atlantis
b. In The End, Our Choices Make Us
c. Somewhere Beyond the Sea
d. A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys
e. Summary

3. BioShock 2: Rapture Was Just the Beginning
a. The Beast of Ryan Lives
b. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
c. Here Comes the Bogeyman
d. For Every Choice, There Is An Echo
e. Summary

4. BioShock Infinite: The New Eden
a. Bring Us the Girl, And Wipe Away the Debt
b. A City Lighter than Air
c. Both Sinner and Saint
d. A Choice is Better than None
e. Summary

5. There’s Always a Lighthouse, a Man, and a City
a. Level Design
b. Theme
c. Immersion
d. Summary

6. Conclusion
a. Why Does Ludonarrative Synchronicity Matter?
b. Game Over?

Lyz Reblin-Renshaw is an Independent Scholar based in Los Angeles, California. She obtained her PhD from Michigan Technological University, USA, in Spring 2020. She has contributed a chapter  to Companion to Latin American Science Fiction (forthcoming), and has had articles published in Bright Lights Film Journal and E-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Studies.