2013's BioShock Infinite is the third and latest entry in the acclaimed FPS series. After original creator Ken Levine and his studio, Irrational Games, broke new ground for the medium with the first title, BioShock 2 was then produced by 2K Marin. Irrational then returned for BioShock Infinite, tying all three titles together via a multiverse-spanning narrative.
Across each entry, the main characters have an intimate connection to and relationship with the villains. With today marking the birthday of BioShock Infinite's protagonist, Booker DeWitt, it's the perfect time to reflect on how Booker and his story represented the culmination of BioShock's themes centering on identity, free will, and morality. Booker's journey of self-discovery and redemption was the natural evolution of the franchise's exploration of these elements, with Booker being the most complicated and tragic iteration of them.
BioShock 4 has been in the works from developer Cloud Chamber since 2019, with very few updates about its progress being provided since.
April 19 Marked the Start of Booker DeWitt's Heartbreaking Journey
Spoilers for all three BioShock games.
BioShock 1 and 2's Protagonists Set the Stage for Booker DeWitt
BioShock 1's famous twist of player character Jack being the genetically engineered "son" of antagonist Andrew Ryan was one of gaming's most shocking moments. As a meta-commentary on the nature of freedom both in games and without, Jack's tale concludes with him deciding his own fate and moral compass through his treatment of the Little Sisters in Rapture.
BioShock 2 then followed Subject Delta, a prototype Big Daddy, and the bond between Delta and Eleanor Lamb, who was the daughter of BS2's villain, Sofia Lamb. Both titles explored characters who were artificially created and manipulated by outside forces twisting them to their own ends, but eventually broke free of their control, gaining the capacity to form a conscience. BioShock Infinite then saw Booker DeWitt take these aspects much further.
Booker DeWitt's Tragic Tale
Born on April 19, 1874, Booker DeWitt is an American citizen of partial Native American descent. At the age of 16, he joined the United States Army, and his major turning point came when he participated in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. After being ostracized for his heritage, Booker committed atrocities against the indigenous population at the battle to "prove" his loyalty. This left him wracked with guilt and shame, which he would later try to atone for by attending a river baptism.
However, he backed out of this at the last minute, feeling it an inadequate way of absolving himself. A few years later, Booker worked as a Pinkerton Agent for a time before becoming a private investigator. He met and married Annabelle Watson, and they had a daughter together, Anna, although Annabelle passed away during the birth. Booker subsequently fell into despair, turning to alcohol and accumulating gambling debts.
In this state, he was contacted by a mysterious trio led by Zachary Comstock. Comstock offered DeWitt a diabolical deal, promising to wipe away his debt in exchange for Anna. Booker agreed, but immediately regretted it and attempted to wrestle Anna back. Comstock escaped through what appeared to be an otherworldly portal with her, though, and Booker was left even more bereft than before.
Booker is later offered a similar deal by an enigmatic pair of twins, the Luteces, to rescue a woman named Elizabeth from the flying city of Columbia in 1912. This begins BioShock Infinite's plot proper. By the end, it's revealed that Booker DeWitt and Zachary Comstock are two versions of the same person from differing realities, and that Elizabeth is actually Anna.
Comstock was the version of Booker who accepted the baptism and turned into a pseudo-religious cult leader. He recruited BioShock's Luteces, brilliant scientists who are themselves also dimensional copies as well as the ones responsible for inventing the reality-warping technology. Anna/Elizabeth, having gained reality-altering powers, was being used and abused by Comstock to further his own ends. Booker eventually rescues Elizabeth, but is forced to come to terms with the gravity and truth of the situation.
In the end, Elizabeth transports Booker to the moment of his baptism. Surrounded by multiple versions of herself, Elizabeth drowns Booker before he can accept or reject the ritual, with them realizing it's the only way to prevent the vicious cycle from occurring.
How Booker DeWitt Is the Pinnacle of BioShock's Themes
Booker DeWitt's harrowing journey and reckoning with his past and decisions in BioShock Infinite embodies the personal and moral philosophical explorations that were part of the franchise since its inception. While Jack and Subject Delta were earlier sketches of these ideas, Booker was a fully formed person unto himself well before the events of BioShock Infinite took place. Notably, Booker was also the first voiced BioShock protagonist, and Troy Baker's performance was a major contributing factor in the character being so well-realized and resonating with fans alongside the mind-bending story.
As the BioShock protagonist with the most intimate and darkest relationship to the game's villain and supporting characters, particularly Elizabeth, Booker DeWitt's attempts to redeem himself in his own eyes as well as that of his daughter were the catalyst for all that followed. BioShock Infinite took the template of the narrative twist introduced in the first game and expanded on in the second to its logical conclusion. Booker DeWitt's birth set off the chain of events leading to BioShock Infinite's whirlwind adventure, and the heights of the series' psychological and metaphysical commentary through the culmination of his life, making today one to remember for fans of the character and franchise.
BioShock Infinite
- Released
- March 26, 2013
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Mild Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- Irrational Games
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Franchise
- BioShock
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
