First Available: Fort Frolic - Invented at a U-Invent vending machine. Hacker's Delight 3 The ultimate development of the Hacker's Delight line, this will make every hacker a healthy hacker! Fort Frolic is the only level where slot machines are found, so make use of your time there to unlock the achievement. 2 Find a working slot machine.
Fort Frolic is the entertainment district of Rapture, the main city of 'Bioshock' (2K, Irrational, 2007). It is my favourite level in the whole of 'Bioshock' series and I will analyze what makes it so successful.
The level begins in spectacular fashion: as soon as the player reaches the bathysphere, a scripted event blocks his path. The bathysphere goes down and a big mask of a bunny rises up into the purple lights, right in front of the player. The mask is a familiar for the player; it has been encountered many times before on splicer's faces. The fact that Jack has just seen his way out blocked with ease and a big symbol of horror arise right in front of him gives the player a sense of dread; the player feels trapped, without any option except to follow Cohen's orders and enter Fort Frolic where, judging by the mask, things might not be so pretty. The start of the level already reinforces one of the biggest themes of 'Bioshock': how much freedom does a player really have. Upon completion of the first small challenge of the level (a well-spaced out encounter with 4 splicers), Cohen deems the player worthy and allows access into Fort Frolic.
Mission Structure and Pacing
The mission structure in the level is straightforward and given to the player by Cohen himself: help him complete his final masterpiece, his 'quadtych' of photographs of 4 of his former students, all of whom have betrayed him. In order for the player to capture the photographs, however, the player has to kill them. The first victim whose photograph that Jack must take is already given to the player; poor Kyle Fitzpatrick gets spectacularly blown up on stage after failing to perform a piano piece the right way and lies on stage, waiting for his close up.
Upon taking the picture, Cohen asks Jack to place it on his masterpiece and rewards him with a new weapon, a long-range crossbow. This performs two things: it rewards the player for doing the right thing (take a picture of the body and place it on stage) so the player remembers what to do for next enemy encounters, and provides the player with a new weapon to deal with those future enemies: as the player later finds out, the other 3 students that Jack has to kill attempt to flee from him. This is where the new long-range and high-damage weapon comes in handy.
The 3 stages of the level (the 3 encounters with students) are very well paced in terms of rising and falling action. Each encounter can be broken down into phases: search for target (low action, if one does not fight Big Daddies or splicers), combat with the target (high action), return to Cohen's stage to place the photograph (low action). The encounters vary in terms of difficulty, too.
The third kill is the most interesting, though. It is not hard to kill the last student; rather, reaching him in Eve's Garden is a reward for the player. While the first few kills that the player does for Cohen are Cohen's mere fancy, Rodriguez's hideout (the name of the last student), which is Eve's Garden, is the only direct story-related event in the level. In Eve's Garden, the player learns that Jasmine Jolene, Rapture's favourite dancer, had a child with Ryan, but she gave it up for adoption. Later on, the player finds out that the child is Jack. This is why killing Rodriguez is not as challenging; whereas the previous few kills reached their rising and falling actions through physical encounters, this is a rising point in terms of the narrative, and to let the player analyze the newly-learned detail rather than fight off hordes of enemies, the designers made that encounter easier.
Fort Frolic, just like the rest of Bioshock, is extremely well designed in terms of space and player direction. As soon as Jack enters Fort Frolic, the player finds themselves in a middle of a semi-circle of shops and lights; all surrounding the main, red focal point of the space – the stage, where the masterpiece will be located. To help guide the player's eye towards the stage, there are two figures standing beside the stage, looking at it with awe. They are also dead, with blood visible around their necks, to add to the feeling of unease.
The main action of the level happens in Poseidon Plaza. It can be found by the use of symbols and arrows, guiding the player.
Fort Frolic Slot Machines Spin
The level, and each room within the level, can be navigated circularly, which adds dynamic movement to the player, encourages strategic positioning and cover during combat, while eliminating bland, straight hallways. In terms of cover, different objects within the level, like pillars, tables and cash counters, give the player room to hide and analyze the situation during combat. The main area in front of the stage resembles an arena, with two floors providing verticality. The player can make full use of the arena-like space after the second kill, when Cohen sends many waves of splicers at Jack. That fight acts as the 'boss battle' for the player before the 'baby' revelation and the final reward, a new Plasmid, given to the player by Cohen himself.
'Bioshock' uses light in a very useful way, and Fort Frolic is no different. It uses contrast to guide the player, mixing the general dimmed lighting with colourful and bright neon lights indicating different rooms and points of interest. The most important parts, the stage and Eve's Garden, are both red.
Inside of Eve's Garden, the body of Jolene is focused on by hard light coming from the ceiling, as a point of interest.
The vending machines, or power ups, are also very well-spaced. As soon as Jack enters Fort Frolic, there is a vending machine that allows the player to restock items from the previous battle and prepare for the level ahead. Different vending and ammo machines, as well as Gatherer's Garden and Gene Banks, are spaced out so that the player can restock after a battle, buy health and eve hypos.
The careful use of neon signs and the positioning of vending machines and power ups also encourages exploration. The action of hunting the three students happens in Poseidon Plaza, yet the level offers a lot of other rooms for the player to explore and learn more about Rapture, Fort Frolic and Sander Cohen. Places like Cohen's Collection, Sophia's Salon and Cohen's Projection Room contain certain objects and audio diaries within them that allow learning of new information and more immersion into the world of Rapture and Fort Frolic.
Conclusion
At the end of the level, Sander Cohen descends down the stairs and lets you go from his grasp, rewarding you with a new Plasmid. Fort Frolic is a great example of a level that affects the player emotionally, has a gradual progression of difficulty, rewards the player upon completion, and provides important narrative pieces for the overarching story.
Fort Frolic is the entertainment district of Rapture, the main city of 'Bioshock' (2K, Irrational, 2007). It is my favourite level in the whole of 'Bioshock' series and I will analyze what makes it so successful.
The level begins in spectacular fashion: as soon as the player reaches the bathysphere, a scripted event blocks his path. The bathysphere goes down and a big mask of a bunny rises up into the purple lights, right in front of the player. The mask is a familiar for the player; it has been encountered many times before on splicer's faces. The fact that Jack has just seen his way out blocked with ease and a big symbol of horror arise right in front of him gives the player a sense of dread; the player feels trapped, without any option except to follow Cohen's orders and enter Fort Frolic where, judging by the mask, things might not be so pretty. The start of the level already reinforces one of the biggest themes of 'Bioshock': how much freedom does a player really have. Upon completion of the first small challenge of the level (a well-spaced out encounter with 4 splicers), Cohen deems the player worthy and allows access into Fort Frolic.
Mission Structure and Pacing
The mission structure in the level is straightforward and given to the player by Cohen himself: help him complete his final masterpiece, his 'quadtych' of photographs of 4 of his former students, all of whom have betrayed him. In order for the player to capture the photographs, however, the player has to kill them. The first victim whose photograph that Jack must take is already given to the player; poor Kyle Fitzpatrick gets spectacularly blown up on stage after failing to perform a piano piece the right way and lies on stage, waiting for his close up.
Upon taking the picture, Cohen asks Jack to place it on his masterpiece and rewards him with a new weapon, a long-range crossbow. This performs two things: it rewards the player for doing the right thing (take a picture of the body and place it on stage) so the player remembers what to do for next enemy encounters, and provides the player with a new weapon to deal with those future enemies: as the player later finds out, the other 3 students that Jack has to kill attempt to flee from him. This is where the new long-range and high-damage weapon comes in handy.
The 3 stages of the level (the 3 encounters with students) are very well paced in terms of rising and falling action. Each encounter can be broken down into phases: search for target (low action, if one does not fight Big Daddies or splicers), combat with the target (high action), return to Cohen's stage to place the photograph (low action). The encounters vary in terms of difficulty, too.
The third kill is the most interesting, though. It is not hard to kill the last student; rather, reaching him in Eve's Garden is a reward for the player. While the first few kills that the player does for Cohen are Cohen's mere fancy, Rodriguez's hideout (the name of the last student), which is Eve's Garden, is the only direct story-related event in the level. In Eve's Garden, the player learns that Jasmine Jolene, Rapture's favourite dancer, had a child with Ryan, but she gave it up for adoption. Later on, the player finds out that the child is Jack. This is why killing Rodriguez is not as challenging; whereas the previous few kills reached their rising and falling actions through physical encounters, this is a rising point in terms of the narrative, and to let the player analyze the newly-learned detail rather than fight off hordes of enemies, the designers made that encounter easier.
Fort Frolic, just like the rest of Bioshock, is extremely well designed in terms of space and player direction. As soon as Jack enters Fort Frolic, the player finds themselves in a middle of a semi-circle of shops and lights; all surrounding the main, red focal point of the space – the stage, where the masterpiece will be located. To help guide the player's eye towards the stage, there are two figures standing beside the stage, looking at it with awe. They are also dead, with blood visible around their necks, to add to the feeling of unease.
The main action of the level happens in Poseidon Plaza. It can be found by the use of symbols and arrows, guiding the player.
The level, and each room within the level, can be navigated circularly, which adds dynamic movement to the player, encourages strategic positioning and cover during combat, while eliminating bland, straight hallways. In terms of cover, different objects within the level, like pillars, tables and cash counters, give the player room to hide and analyze the situation during combat. The main area in front of the stage resembles an arena, with two floors providing verticality. The player can make full use of the arena-like space after the second kill, when Cohen sends many waves of splicers at Jack. That fight acts as the 'boss battle' for the player before the 'baby' revelation and the final reward, a new Plasmid, given to the player by Cohen himself.
'Bioshock' uses light in a very useful way, and Fort Frolic is no different. It uses contrast to guide the player, mixing the general dimmed lighting with colourful and bright neon lights indicating different rooms and points of interest. The most important parts, the stage and Eve's Garden, are both red.
Inside of Eve's Garden, the body of Jolene is focused on by hard light coming from the ceiling, as a point of interest.
The vending machines, or power ups, are also very well-spaced. As soon as Jack enters Fort Frolic, there is a vending machine that allows the player to restock items from the previous battle and prepare for the level ahead. Different vending and ammo machines, as well as Gatherer's Garden and Gene Banks, are spaced out so that the player can restock after a battle, buy health and eve hypos.
The careful use of neon signs and the positioning of vending machines and power ups also encourages exploration. The action of hunting the three students happens in Poseidon Plaza, yet the level offers a lot of other rooms for the player to explore and learn more about Rapture, Fort Frolic and Sander Cohen. Places like Cohen's Collection, Sophia's Salon and Cohen's Projection Room contain certain objects and audio diaries within them that allow learning of new information and more immersion into the world of Rapture and Fort Frolic.
Conclusion
Fort Frolic Slot Machines Machine
At the end of the level, Sander Cohen descends down the stairs and lets you go from his grasp, rewarding you with a new Plasmid. Fort Frolic is a great example of a level that affects the player emotionally, has a gradual progression of difficulty, rewards the player upon completion, and provides important narrative pieces for the overarching story.
