Liverpool Hope University

Rethinking Ludonarrative Dissonance in BioShock

This analysis re-evaluates the concept of ludonarrative dissonance, specifically focusing on its application to the video game BioShock.

• Ludonarrative dissonance occurs when a game's mechanical rules conflict with its narrative, such as when a player is forced to perform actions that contradict the character's established motivations.
• Clint Hocking’s 2007 critique of BioShock highlights a fundamental dissonance: while the game offers players the mechanical freedom to choose between harvesting or rescuing Little Sisters, the narrative forces the player to follow Atlas’s instructions without meaningful agency.
• Distinguishing between ludonarrative dissonance and cognitive dissonance is essential; the former is a structural mismatch between mechanics and story, whereas the latter may simply be a player struggling to accept the alterity of a controlled character.