Bioshock Infinite

Columbia's existence is probably funded by wealthy backers, rather than Rapture's deep-sea mining/geothermal energy/submarine fishing/underwater greenhouse based economy. So someone is funding the city and presumably lifting up thousands of barrels of fuel so that it can keep going. Columbia isn't a self-sufficient hidden city; it's a massive military installation. That for some reason is also a city.

Government backed mainly, or as well as entrepreneurs?

It's not government backed anymore - but it IS an Imperialist American Death Star.

Well, Bioshock postulated the infinitely rich Andrew Ryan.

Actually, it's kind of contradictory. Andrew Ryan was almost certainly independently wealthy, and if not, he was obscenely rich for a self-made men. Yet, he constantly railed about how the Man was keeping him down and took everything from him, but clearly he had the resources to build a city under the ocean.

Then again, I guess that is typical of Libertarians.

It seems that there's a decent amount of before-its-time technology in the Bioshock universe even not counting various Applied Phlebotinium, so I think we don't need to think about it too much.

Ooh, I wonder if there'll be zeppelins?

There are.

edited 19th Aug '10 12:43:12 AM by JAF1970

I wonder if there'll be a zeppelin siege.

^^^^ He owned a gigantic nature reserve on the surface, and he set fire to it when the government tried to force him to turn it into a public park. I think that says something about both his wealth level and his issues, though I'm not sure entirely what.

edited 19th Aug '10 2:29:02 AM by feotakahari

...that sounds like a Captain Planet episode.

He owned a gigantic nature reserve on the surface, and he set fire to it when the government tried to force him to turn it into a public park. I think that says something about both his wealth level and his issues, though I'm not sure entirely what.

It's a reference to The Fountainhead. Howard Roark dynamites his own housing project because someone changed some of his architecture.

...that sounds like what I did when the teachers used to change my creative stuff.

In primary school. No wonder Ayn Rand is Snark Bait.

Objectivism is essentially kindergarten philosophy. Literally, as it pretty much advocates acting like a kindergarten-age child. Someone else play with your toys? BREAK YOUR TOYS.

Not quite. You have to understand where Ayn Rand was coming from. She escaped Russia at a time when Communism in Russia was brutally enforcing collectivism. Forced "altruism". She left her family behind, who accepted the policy, which must have killed her. Her sister defected to the US, then defected back to Russia because she couldn't stand capitalism.

edited 19th Aug '10 3:06:53 PM by JAF1970

I think I just got a feeling of Scenery Porn induced glee that I haven't felt since seeing Rapture.

Same studio, same wondrous attention to detail.

I'm just hoping my computer will be able to use it!

Anyone feel the threat when one of the city blocks elevated and the orchestra kicked in?

Oh yeah. Really hits home that A), you really are in Cloud City, and B), you're screwed if you don't keep your wits about you.

You travel by flying fox how can this not be awesome!

^^^^^^^Ayn Rand makes some fairly honest (even sensible) points on human natural, but it's telling of her quality as a writer that she couldn't even convince her own sister not leave american and returned to stalin's russia.

As for how Columbia keeps itself in the air remember that's it's armed to the teeth and mobile. They have likely resorted to extortion or out right piratically. if you lived in a small country town and one day woke up and found a floating city hoving above your home telling you that they are having trouble staying afloat. you would see to it that they got what they needed.

edited 25th Aug '10 9:21:40 AM by joeyjojo

Ayn Rynd: A Sense of Life. I think it's streamable on Netflix. Not sure.

edited 25th Aug '10 12:05:14 PM by JAF1970

One of the biggest diffs is that everyone knows about Columbia, and everyone knows about you, a famous Pinkerton investigator.

They have likely resorted to extortion or out right piratically. if you lived in a small country town and one day woke up and found a floating city hoving above your home telling you that they are having trouble staying afloat.

The final boss battle of Bioshock Infinite will take place while Columbia is falling in pieces from the sky over a major city.

Or falling into the ocean...

Note that the idea of a city made to exist high in the sky being adapted to the crushing pressure of the ocean is more dumb than words than convey.

A sky city turned into a floating city on top of the ocean, on the other hand, is much more plausible and interesting.