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Bioshock Infinite | Official Spoiler Thread |

LiK

Member
when i went to check the whole Songbird in Bioshock 1 thing I didn't hear what they were talking about.
 

DTKT

Member
"Smother him in his crib" and "pull 'em up from the roots" sound pretty similar to me

To be fair, while both are talking about permanently "solving" a problem, one deals with woobley-timey-willy-booley time travel and parallel universes and the other with class warfare.
 

Scratch

Member
"Smother him in his crib" and "pull 'em up from the roots" sound pretty similar to me

i think the context is different. Fitzroy doesn't know that the kids will grow up to be like their parents (though there's an excellent change that they will grow up vengeful). Booker knows how Comstock will always turn out thanks to Elizabeth and the Luteces
 

Trigger

Member
"Smother him in his crib" and "pull 'em up from the roots" sound pretty similar to me

Not quite the same thing.

Fitzroy was going to murder a child, turned on Booker out of convenience, and her people were raping/pillaging half the city. None of that is justified by the ending. I assumed that's what you were referring to with the phrase "tactics".
 

zkylon

zkylewd
when i went to check the whole Songbird in Bioshock 1 thing I didn't hear what they were talking about.
I wonder the same thing T_T

i think the context is different. Fitzroy doesn't know that the kids will grow up to be like their parents (though there's an excellent change that they will grow up vengeful). Booker knows how Comstock will always turn out thanks to Elizabeth and the Luteces
tbh I like the angle of fitzroy knowing, because the past helps understand the future, and history has proved once and once again that class struggle will always exist as long as there are privileged classes and exploited ones, that she has to kill that child to help her fight.

but in-game it's just not conveyed in any way as a decision made with any thought, it's just fitzroy being a murderous psycho.
 
Can someone tell me what that creature was in comstocks house where after you hit that button, it appears an inch from your face when you turn around?

It seems like it just disappeared after that and you didn't even have to fight it so what was its purpose of being there?
 
Because it isn't necessary. Liz's solution leaves the door open for Booker/Anna to live on in other timelines.
I must have missed that bit in the OP. Can you point me to it?

Can someone tell me what that creature was in comstocks house where after you hit that button, it appears an inch from your face when you turn around?

It seems like it just disappeared after that and you didn't even have to fight it so what was its purpose of being there?
Boys of Silence. They had originally intended on him being an enemy who you would fight. But I guess with the changing of plot or something else along the line they just decided to shoehorn him in there with no explanation. As they seemed to do with a few things in Infinite.
 

Scratch

Member
Can someone tell me what that creature was in comstocks house where after you hit that button, it appears an inch from your face when you turn around?

It seems like it just disappeared after that and you didn't even have to fight it so what was its purpose of being there?

they're called the "boys of silence," i think. pretty much a glorified security camera. it made that awful screeching which alerts the guards to your presence.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Can someone tell me what that creature was in comstocks house where after you hit that button, it appears an inch from your face when you turn around?

It seems like it just disappeared after that and you didn't even have to fight it so what was its purpose of being there?

It calls all the enemies in the area towards you. You had to dodge like 5 of them to get to that room.
 

LiK

Member
Can someone tell me what that creature was in comstocks house where after you hit that button, it appears an inch from your face when you turn around?

It seems like it just disappeared after that and you didn't even have to fight it so what was its purpose of being there?

well, you had to avoid or fight it before you got there. also, jump scare
 

Salamando

Member
So, why not do what was suggested and just go back and have Booker killed as a child?

There's lots of people they could've killed to stop everything.

Kill Letuces' mom. Comstock still exists, but he doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill Fink. It's presumed he's bankrolling Comstock, and Comstock with no money doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill the priest. No priest, no baptism.

Kill the horse that brought Booker to the baptism. Or the horse that took Booker to Wounded Knee.

They could probably set up an entire DLC revolving around killing people in the past to see how it affects Comstock/Booker in the present.
 
There's lots of people they could've killed to stop everything.

Kill Letuces' mom. Comstock still exists, but he doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill Fink. It's presumed he's bankrolling Comstock, and Comstock with no money doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill the priest. No priest, no baptism.

Kill the horse that brought Booker to the baptism. Or the horse that took Booker to Wounded Knee.

They could probably set up an entire DLC revolving around killing people in the past to see how it affects Comstock/Booker in the present.
That's sort of the point I was making. It's why I'm not so hot on multiverse stories. However, poster above said there was an explanation, but I must of looked over it or not quite picked it up. I will have to look again.
 

Dylan

Member
BioShock_Infinite-Boys_of_Silence_Concept_2.png

I didn't realize you could sneak passed them. And those fights were annoying too. Oh well.

I think the Boys of Silence are the coolest looking enemies in all of BI. Makes me wish there were less humans to fight on the whole.
 

Scratch

Member
I didn't realize you could sneak passed them. And those fights were annoying too. Oh well.

I think the Boys of Silence are the coolest looking enemies in all of BI. Makes me wish there were less humans to fight on the whole.

i never understood why it has giant funnels into its ears, especially when it relies so heavily on eye sight. i fucking sprinted passed a couple and they gave no shits.
 
I didn't realize you could sneak passed them. And those fights were annoying too. Oh well.

I think the Boys of Silence are the coolest looking enemies in all of BI. Makes me wish there were less humans to fight on the whole.
Could you actually sneak by them? I tried a few times but it seemed that if you just got close enough they would pop off.

i never understood why it has giant funnels into its ears, especially when it relies so heavily on eye sight. i fucking sprinted passed a couple and they gave no shits.
:lol I hadn't thought of this. Just remembering now that it was the line of sight that caught you out. Even though it's blind and the idea -- as I understood it -- was that it picked up on sound.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Could you actually sneak by them? I tried a few times but it seemed that if you just got close enough they would pop off.

:lol I hadn't thought of this. Just remembering now that it was the line of sight that caught you out. Even though it's blind and the idea -- as I understood it -- was that it picked up on sound.

You can't get close to them in proximity but can run right past them. So yeah, they really don't pick up sound, lol.
 

Salamando

Member
That's sort of the point I was making. It's why I'm not so hot on multiverse stories. However, poster above said there was an explanation, but I must of looked over it or not quite picked it up. I will have to look again.

The point was - killing Booker as a baby means Anna will never exist. While it's debatable whether Elizabeth drowned all Bookers who showed up to be baptized, or only those who accepted, either way there's timelines where Booker never even showed up to the baptism. It's along those lines where Anna could still exist and allow the post-credits sequence to actually happen.
 

Trigger

Member
I must have missed that bit in the OP. Can you point me to it?

I don't think it's in the OP, but I liked the rationale provided by other posters:

Drowning Booker creates a paradox.

Booker accepts baptism->Liz drowns him->Booker is dead so no Bioshock Infinite->Liz doesn't exist to drown him->etc...

As a paradox, this scenario is obliterated by nature so the only remaining timelines are where Booker refuses baptism. These timelines don't involve any tampering with spacetime and everyone lives happily ever after.

Well, one explanation is that there are other bookers in the multiverse who do not even go to the baptism, but that seems rather irrelevant to the nature of the game to be included such a way in the post-credit scene.

The nature of the paradox argument is that by ever having the choice to accept the baptism, Booker eventually is killed by Liz before the choice can actually be made in order to prevent Comstock from ever happening, which leads to old Liz destroying the world in fire Noah's ark style.

But as soon as Booker dies before the choice is ever made (the when is important), Liz as we know her, with her Tear abilities, ceases to exist. This happens because Liz only exists due to Comstock taking her, which was what led to her ability to create tears and eventually kill Booker before the choice is made.

But if she ceases to exist before Booker actually makes a choice, which is necessary for her to exist to drown him, how could she have ever killed Booker in the first place before the choice was made?

Thus, Booker ever accepting the baptism and creating Comstock will inevitably lead to the whole chain series of events of Infinite, which in the end, creates a paradoxical event that immediately 'rights' itself by removing the possibility from the universe.

Now, if Booker NEVER accepts the baptism, it's impossible for him to become Comstock. And since any Booker ever accepting the baptism will (as we understand it) always lead to the Comstock/Liz paradox, which erases itself, Booker refusing the baptism becomes the only remaining variable which is possible for the universe to accept and for time to continue. In essence, refusing becomes a constant of the universe, instead of a variable, hence the post-credits scene's existence.
 

Zeliard

Member
There's lots of people they could've killed to stop everything.

Kill Letuces' mom. Comstock still exists, but he doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill Fink. It's presumed he's bankrolling Comstock, and Comstock with no money doesn't get a fancy flying doomsday fortress.

Kill the priest. No priest, no baptism.

Kill the horse that brought Booker to the baptism. Or the horse that took Booker to Wounded Knee.

They could probably set up an entire DLC revolving around killing people in the past to see how it affects Comstock/Booker in the present.

The dimensional node starts and ends with Booker at the baptism. That's the point where it has to stop.

If Booker's horse dies, then the infinite other Bookers find a way to go on without him, and end up at the baptism anyway. If that preacher is dead, another one will be there to replace him. Same with all the other choices - the Bookers will always end up at the baptism, and will always create PI Booker DeWitt and maniac Zach Comstock. That's why it had to stop at that specific point.
 

B33

Banned
I just flipped through The Art of BioShock Infinite book and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're fond of the game's art direction and would like a peek behind the curtain, I highly recommend purchasing it.

Full disclosure: there aren't any major narrative spoilers in the book. It's relatively safe to read if you haven't completed the game.

Here are some things of note (warning – book spoilers?):

  • In earlier renditions of BioShock Infinite, Columbia's citizens could become mutated in several ways. "Vigor" abusers became repugnant versions of whatever the ability was. So Shock Jockey mutants would have those crystallized structures seen in the final game all over them, Devil's Kiss mutants would have charred skin, and so on.

  • Instead of "nosebleeds," characters would instead end up physically merging with other incarnations and appear as if their young and old bodies were ghastly "morphed" together (if the process went awry).

  • Songbird went through many variations, some of which are comparable to something you'd see out of Shadow of the Colossus to literally Big Daddies with wings (sans the drill). The book equivocates Songbird to the Big Daddies and states Irrational worked backward from that impetus in creating the character (knowing that it needed to fly to suit the city in the sky concept).

  • Details can be found in released concept art that suggests Songbird has an organic core with mechanical parts (That tube you see running from his face? It's an air hose for breathing). An inordinate amount of thought went into how his wings function and his entire body moves in relation to this mechanism.

  • Columbia definitely carried an Art Nouveau style in original designs. One can liken it to Rapture in the sky, albeit with subtle touches. The palette and curvaceous nature of these designs were pared down and modified, but there is still quite a bit that made it into the final game in some shape or form.

  • Elizabeth went through countless designs and profiles. It's staggering to see how much thought was put into this character. Earlier designs definitely harked toward Disney Princesses and distinct outfits from the time the game is set in. There are also a couple concepts that show Elizabeth utilizing telekinetic abilities.

  • Vigors originally were in canisters that had needles pop out to be inserted into the players forearm accompanied with some sort of mutation. The idea was that switching Vigors would show the new canister on the player's affected arm, thus always allowing you to see which power was in play by the canister's design. This was jettisoned in favor of animating Booker's arm "mutated" in a unique manner with each power.

  • Each Vigor bottle went through at least a dozen designs. Many are shown for each ability. For instance, the Shock Jockey originally had a stylized rendition of Zeus brandishing a lightning bolt in each palm.

  • There are at least a handful of distinct heavy hitter and mid-tier enemies featured in the book that were cut from the game. One being a toymaker with denizens mutated into larger versions of children's toys (one being a stuffed rabbit and the other an owl doll). Another enemy was a stage magician set in the aesthetic of Columbia (not unlike Sander Cohen).

  • An "Enhancer" enemy can be seen in the book. He appears like a cross between a vagrant and a wizard (strange, I know). It looks like it got as far as being modeled. He would provide potions and Vigors to fellow foes.

  • It seems that they toyed with the notion of using Automatons as enemies.

  • In original concepts, Fink's enterprise was going to be powered by half-human, half-machine slaves. The player would presumably encounter these atrocities as they delved further into Fink's Manufacturing lair.

  • The Sky-Hook was originally meant to be strictly a means to transport the player. It wasn't until later that they found it could serve also serve a grisly, darker purpose.
 

beastmode

Member
Not quite the same thing.

Fitzroy was going to murder a child, turned on Booker out of convenience, and her people were raping/pillaging half the city. None of that is justified by the ending. I assumed that's what you were referring to with the phrase "tactics".
Referring to the bolded.

i think the context is different. Fitzroy doesn't know that the kids will grow up to be like their parents (though there's an excellent change that they will grow up vengeful). Booker knows how Comstock will always turn out thanks to Elizabeth and the Luteces
That doesn't fundamentally differentiate them. Just means Daisy is less efficient.
 

sdornan

Member
NPR said:
Levine says everyone he's watched play has made the same choice. "It's an ode to human nature and where we've come as a society that I've never seen somebody choose to throw the ball at the couple," he says.

But when you try to throw the ball at the announcer, the battle begins. And, after all, Aristotle considers spectacle an element of tragedy.
I did wonder, what happens if you throw the ball at the couple?
 
So seeing as I passed the section twice, and threw the ball at the announcer...

How do things unravel if I throw it at the couple? Do I still get found out straight away? Do I get similar gear or none?
 

B33

Banned
I did wonder, what happens if you throw the ball at the couple?

From what I gathered, if you choose to throw the ball at the couple, they won't appear later in the game and offer gear and supplies as a reward for "aiding" in their escape.

Edit: Apparently, nothing. The same thing unfolds, you just don't receive a reward from the couple later on.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
i never understood why it has giant funnels into its ears, especially when it relies so heavily on eye sight. i fucking sprinted passed a couple and they gave no shits.

Haha I know, I sprinted around them when they weren't looking and they didn't seem to care.
 

Zeliard

Member
From what I gathered, if you choose to throw the ball at the couple, they won't appear later in the game and offer gear and supplies as a reward for "aiding" in their escape.

Their piece of gear also gave me either Storm or Blood to Salt. There are two pieces of gear in the vicinity so I don't recall exactly. Had those two very early on, though.
 

Salamando

Member
The dimensional node starts and ends with Booker at the baptism. That's the point where it has to stop.

If Booker's horse dies, then the infinite other Bookers find a way to go on without him, and end up at the baptism anyway. If that preacher is dead, another one will be there to replace him. Same with all the other choices - the Bookers will always end up at the baptism, and will always create PI Booker DeWitt and maniac Zach Comstock. That's why it had to stop at that specific point.

Chronologically speaking, the earliest branch we know happened was the Lutece's conception. One branch has a female Lutece, the other a male Lutece. By the time the baptism rolled around, there's an infinite number of Bookers in existence already. To stop all Comstock's, Elizabeth has a lot of killing to do regardless.
 

Trigger

Member
I just flipped through The Art of BioShock Infinite book and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're fond of the game's art direction and would like a peek behind the curtain, I highly recommend purchasing it.

Full disclosure: there aren't any major narrative spoilers in the book. It's relatively safe to read if you haven't completed the game.

Here are some things of note (warning – book spoilers?):

  • There are at least a handful of distinct heavy hitter and mid-tier enemies featured in the book that were cut from the game. One being a toymaker with denizens mutated into larger versions of children's toys (one being a stuffed rabbit and the other an owl doll). Another enemy was a stage magician set in the aesthetic of Columbia (not unlike Sander Cohen).

  • An "Enhancer" enemy can be seen in the book. He appears like a cross between a vagrant and a wizard (strange, I know). It looks like it got as far as being modeled. He would provide potions and Vigors to fellow foes.

Sounds great. Maybe they'll make it into the DLC? The game was sorely lacking in enemy variety.
 

pargonta

Member
maybe i was the only one, but there was a box of pistol ammo in a baby stroller along the way at some point, which i took as a reference to the actual pistol in the baby carriage in bio 1. made me chuckle.

i dont recall the stroller location but i want to say battleship bay.
 

B33

Banned
i never understood why it has giant funnels into its ears, especially when it relies so heavily on eye sight. i fucking sprinted passed a couple and they gave no shits.

The Boys of Silence have large "funnels" for ears because they're blind and have to rely on sound to field what's going on around them. Well, that's the story provided in the concept art and Heavy Hitter video released months ago.
 

Scratch

Member
Referring to the bolded.

That doesn't fundamentally differentiate them. Just means Daisy is less efficient.

in that case, i have a couple of questions:

1) do you agree with killing the child as part of the revolutionary movement?

2) do you agree with "smothering Comstock while he's in the crib" as the correct method of getting rid of Comstock?

don't take these as snarky attacks; i'm actually curious.
 

Andrew.

Banned
The Boys of Silence have large "funnels" for ears because they're blind and have to rely on sound to field what's going on around them. Well, that's the story provided in the concept art and Heavy Hitter video released months ago.

I thought their use in the experience was quite weak actually. They were just humanoid security cameras and barely used at that.

At least they looked fucking awesome.

The little crazies with the founding father masks were way more memorable than those things.
 

sn00zer

Member
i never understood why it has giant funnels into its ears, especially when it relies so heavily on eye sight. i fucking sprinted passed a couple and they gave no shits.

This was one of those things im sure was changed last minute due to testing....it is very hard to judge "hearing" distance and what constitutes a loud or soft noise when playing a game...im also willing to bet that players could easily get through the whole section as long as they walked slow

EDIT: I stealthed by all except the first on my run through
 

Zeliard

Member
Were the Boys of Silence around in previous Infinite promotional vids and such? They strike me as a pretty late addition given their implementation in the game.

They were cool, though, at least visually. Those areas gave me Silent Hill vibes.
 
  • In earlier renditions of BioShock Infinite, Columbia's citizens could become mutated in several ways. "Vigor" abusers became repugnant versions of whatever the ability was. So Shock Jockey mutants would have those crystallized structures seen in the final game all over them, Devil's Kiss mutants would have charred skin, and so on.

  • Each Vigor bottle went through at least a dozen designs each. Many are shown for each ability. For instance, the Shock Jockey originally had a stylized rendition of Zeus brandishing a lightning bolt in each palm.

  • There are at least a handful of distinct heavy hitter and mid-tier enemies featured in the book that were cut from the game. One being a toymaker with denizens mutated into larger versions of children's toys (one being a stuffed rabbit and the other an owl doll). Another enemy was a stage magician set in the aesthetic of Columbia (not unlike Sander Cohen).

  • In original concepts, Fink's enterprise was going to be powered by half-human, half-machine slaves. The player would presumably encounter these atrocities as they delved further into Fink's Manufacturing lair.

  • The Sky-Hook was originally meant to be strictly a means to transport the player. It wasn't until later that they found it could serve also serve a grisly, darker purpose.

Reading these, I can see where the "cut 5 games worth of content" remark came from. You also can easily see the Skyhook's transformation to brutal melee weapon if you look at the original 2010 trailer with Saltonstall. The Skyhook looks completely different and nonlethal at all. He also melees a guy with the rifle instead of the skyhook, which is another clue.
 
maybe i was the only one, but there was a box of pistol ammo in a baby stroller along the way at some point, which i took as a reference to the actual pistol in the baby carriage in bio 1. made me chuckle.

i dont recall the stroller location but i want to say battleship bay.

Yeah, I think it was in between the two beach sections. That was a cool touch.
 
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