So simple, and yet quite possible the most brilliant, illusion-shattering words ever uttered in a video game. You play through all of Bioshock thinking that you're exploring a cool, ruined underwater dystopia of your own free will, smashing Splicers and seeking to rid the world of the madness of Andrew Ryan. But then you realise what these words actually mean, and your whole perception of the game - and your relationship with it - are turned upside-down. As a psychological cue programmed into the hero, Jack, to do exactly as Atlas asked; Jack wasn't in control at all, but a slave simply doing one nefarious person's bidding. By extension, that meant you were a slave too. The ingenuity lies in the fact that this essentially sums up our relationship with the vast majority of games, but Bioshock dared explicitly state the gamer's lack of autonomy in the narrative, then throw it in our face to see how we'd respond. Obviously, being the game-slaves that we are, we keep on playing... What's the most iconic and timeless video game quote of all time? Let us know in the comments!
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
