BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea demands 'thoughtful' approach while playing as Elizabeth

BioShock Infinite DLC "Burial at Sea" will let players play as Elizabeth for the first time. But what does that mean? How will that work?

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BioShock Infinite DLC "Burial at Sea" will let players play as Elizabeth for the first time. But what does that mean? How will that work?

"Liz is such a different character to Booker, and if we were to just put Booker in a dress, then that would be the most awful betrayal of what we're doing for Liz, and players would just feel like it was a cheap way out, and that's not something that we want to do," level designer Amanda Jeffrey said. Instead, playing as Elizabeth will require being "much more thoughtful."

"I think, we would be betraying her character again if suddenly she's got these huge biceps and she's running around the place with a ginormous machine gun," Jeffrey told IGN. "She needs to be kind of thinking in a roundabout way of how to deal with her enemies. And, sometimes, that might mean completely bypassing the enemy entirely, because she doesn't need to... There's all of these different kinds of ways of being more thoughtful, and--I hesitate to say it--almost more feminine way of approaching a problem."

Tears will serve as a key differentiator between Elizabeth and Booker. Jeffrey admits that the team is still "trying to work out exactly how extensive Liz's tear abilities will be," noting that she must be far more powerful than in the main game, but at the same time, it can't result in gameplay that's too easy for the player. The mechanics also can't be too different from the main game. "We don't have enough time to make an entirely new game. We're building on an existing set of systems and all the rest of it," Jeffrey admits.

Another question that remains: is this a continuation of BioShock Infinite? Is it canonical? Is this the same Elizabeth? "I will say certainly you are picking up after the events of Infinite, and this is a person who has seen all the things you've seen in Infinite, and that's had an effect on her," Irrational's Ken Levine said.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 7, 2013 11:30 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea demands 'thoughtful' approach while playing as Elizabeth.

    BioShock Infinite DLC "Burial at Sea" will let players play as Elizabeth for the first time. But what does that mean? How will that work?

    • reply
      August 7, 2013 11:32 AM

      Like the coin toss trick in Hitman: Blood Money?

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      August 7, 2013 11:57 AM

      "almost more feminine way of approaching a problem"
      *sighs deeply*

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        August 7, 2013 12:03 PM

        Yeah, I had to add that quote into the story when I read that.

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          August 7, 2013 12:14 PM

          Because using shooty pointy sticks to slaughter hundreds is a man's work! If you have more thoughtful gameplay you are by default not manly.

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            August 7, 2013 12:42 PM

            Press X to nag.

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              August 7, 2013 12:50 PM

              I'm all about more thoughtful gameplay, and playing as Elizabeth is bound to present some wonderful opportunities. The quote bothers me because of the gendered language. Can we not ascribe certain actions as masculine or feminine when talking about gameplay? Please?

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                August 7, 2013 12:53 PM

                .... I didn't actually press X there.

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                August 7, 2013 7:26 PM

                [deleted]

              • ArB legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
                reply
                August 7, 2013 11:56 PM

                She meant cis female gameplay. She didn't mean to offend you.

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                  August 8, 2013 5:51 AM

                  You misunderstood what rubbed me the wrong way about that quote. Can you tell me what exactly comprises "female gameplay"? She's not talking about the fact that you are playing as a female character. She's talking about approach. What makes a play style "feminine"? Does this qualify the DLC as a "girlgame"? This is what bothers me about that quote. Why do we continue to feel the need to dictate whether things in the gaming world are masculine or feminine on pretty much no ground? You could say it's just sticking to traditional gender roles, but that's arguably a bit of a stretch. Labeling things with gendered wording like this just perpetuates the problems the community (and developers) have with being inclusive.

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        August 7, 2013 12:52 PM

        Probably just marketing on their part. They have the idiot teenage boy dollar, they want to glob on some other demographic.

        It's becoming more obvious that Irrational is a cynical cash machine just as much as they are known for purty concept arts and lofty literary references.

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        August 7, 2013 12:56 PM

        [deleted]

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        August 7, 2013 1:05 PM

        "Tears will serve as a key differentiator between Elizabeth and Booker"
        Sounds like she will cry her way out of situations.

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          August 7, 2013 2:15 PM

          I think they're talking about one of the other definitions of tear.

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            August 7, 2013 2:15 PM

            ... and if not, lol.

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            August 7, 2013 2:33 PM

            that's the joke and I'd like to point out that I made it first >:(

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              August 7, 2013 2:41 PM

              Binding of Isaac made fighting demons with your tears manly.

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            August 7, 2013 2:43 PM

            Aha, so she'll get pregnant and give birth!

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              August 7, 2013 3:16 PM

              She's shoot babies out of her vagina to kill enemies. Unfortunately there's a 9 month reload time, so you have to make the shots count. :/

              Beating the game unlocks the hispanic version of Elizabeth who only has a 3 week reload time.

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          August 7, 2013 2:32 PM

          I hope it's like Super Princess Peach.

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          August 8, 2013 4:17 AM

          mace? mace!!!! You're needed in this DLC

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        August 7, 2013 8:46 PM

        oh shit its not like women are different from men or anything

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          August 8, 2013 6:00 AM

          I mean, no, they really aren't? Almost half of all gamers are girls. I'm fairly certain a number of girls played through Infinite's guns blazing Booker campaign just fine without someone telling them that they were going to need to masculine approach. I'd still love for someone to explain to me what the difference between masculine and feminine gameplay is.

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      August 7, 2013 12:04 PM

      Well, obviously a lot more of the clothing stores will be staffed.

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      August 7, 2013 12:08 PM

      Can you look down like in trespasser?

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      August 7, 2013 12:10 PM

      "well boys, we're gonna need to have tears. Lots of tears."

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      August 7, 2013 12:22 PM

      As a feminist frat boy, I'm outraged.

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      August 7, 2013 12:31 PM

      Wait if she killed Booker in the ending there by preventing her existence is this DLC even necessary? Terrible.......

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        August 7, 2013 12:46 PM

        [deleted]

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          August 7, 2013 9:18 PM

          Article confirms it's post-game.

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            August 7, 2013 11:32 PM

            WELP looks like everything you did in that game was obviously a waste of time then! Still don't know why this game is popular with anybody....

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        August 7, 2013 1:12 PM

        To allow yourself some headroom to think about the actual status of Booker & Elizabeth at the end of Infinite, head over to Youtube and watch the quick post-credits scene. It allows the theory that her wishes can alter the dimension being traveled to to see realization. Did she allow a "reset" of her & Booker's life? That said, the DLC clearly shows her sans pinky finger and wearing the necklace, so it is clearly "the" Elizabeth. Did she go on a walkabout of sorts? Maybe exploring the multiverse now comfortable with her ability to move freely between tears. All I know is, I laugh out loud when they ask us to allow a "thoughtful" approach to gameplay, when the story itself still requires mires of thoughtfulness. ;-)

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        August 7, 2013 5:39 PM

        You didn't see the post credits scene?

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        August 7, 2013 8:47 PM

        I don't think the ending of the game is well-understood. Or at least, I think I understand it differently.
        According to the game, multiple timelines were created when Booker decided to accept or refuse baptism. In the timelines in which he accepts, he becomes Comstock, can't have children, and steals Anna from Booker. In timelines in which he refuses baptism, he stays Booker, and gives Anna to Comstock. But he allows Elizabeth to kill the version of him that accepted baptism--which means no more Comstock. This means that the Booker in timelines in which he refused baptism gets to keep Anna (or at least, he doesn't give her to Comstock), and he lives.

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          August 7, 2013 11:37 PM

          No its just dumb.
          http://youtu.be/VdNhwb7iuI4

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            August 7, 2013 11:40 PM

            start at 14:50 for a nice timeline break down. Oh and spoiler alert!

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            August 8, 2013 1:13 AM

            Nope, that guy has it dead wrong. Elizabeth herself says that the baptism was a nexus point in realities from which all of the infinite versions of Comstock originated. That guy may have understood the basics, but he wasn't paying attention.

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              August 8, 2013 3:13 AM

              Care to explain plain the Lutece's then? So no he was paying attention very well. The ending just is just plain dumb.

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                August 8, 2013 4:03 AM

                I don't see what the Luteces have to do with it. The fact that there are male and female Luteces doesn't really matter, does it? If the Booker that becomes Comstock is killed in all realities, then there is no Comstock, whether the Lutece is male or female.

                Having said all that, it isn't even clear to me that the male Lutece's timeline has a Comstock--does it? I don't remember. I agree with many of the other criticisms, though, such as Booker's stupid choices (failing to cover up his hand, passively accepting number 77, etc.).

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                  August 8, 2013 4:05 AM

                  Also, this doesn't mean that the DLC makes any more sense. Elizabeth still exists as Anna, but she shouldn't exist as Elizabeth.

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                  August 8, 2013 5:24 AM

                  As stated by Elizabeth there are infinite realities so killing one Booker didn't matter if that statement was truly true as Comstock can still come to being through different events that have nothing to do with the game at all. Now if it was like comic where you have to find a prime version and eliminate him/her then that's different but than that entails the mind fuck that is the grandfather paradox. So just because she killed one Booker means nothing at all when there are more out there......

                  Oh and the Luteces are integral parts of it because they both existed before the baptism ever came to be therefore before Elizabeth came to be. If they had just gone back in time to say kill Rosalind when she was a child you could have prevented this from happening at all but there are infinite realities as stated by Elizabeth so another Lutece could have taken that role with another Comstock......

                  Overall the ending makes NO SENSE and is TERRIBLE.

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                    August 8, 2013 5:31 AM

                    Saying that Comstock can be eliminated doesn't mean that there aren't infinite realities. Take the number "1" out of t the number line and there are still infinitely many whole numbers. Also, if you're really upset by the grandfather paradox, then just about any time travel story ever told must really upset you. You might as well just (correctly) complain that traveling back in time (to a time prior to the invention of the time travel mechanism) is impossible, or that buildings can't fly.

                    I still don't see what the problem with the Luteces is. Why does it matter that they existed before the baptism? Another Lutece won't assist Comstock because Comstock has been eliminated from all timelines.

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                      August 8, 2013 6:53 AM

                      Actually yes I hate the usage of time travel unless its within a comedic setting like the Back to the Future series and the Bill and Ted series. Although I really like it the best in BttF it still really stretched it thin lol. I really hate it in comics that use it to make divergent times lines which usually renders meaningful characters deaths void and null.

                      Take 1 out of the number line and now the others don't exist because you always need 1.

                      No Luteces equals no Lutece Field equals no taking Anna equals no Elizabeth, pretty simple. It make no sense that wiping out one Booker will ever stop Comstock from ever coming to exist. All they did was stop one variation of Comstock from rising but another Comstock could come to rise say before the baptismal rendering the events of the game useless. As long as one Prime Booker exists then Comstock will still exist maybe not with the same name or backround. Same with Lutece as long as one Prime Lutece exists then there will be a Lutece Field. Maybe not all the Luteces will develop the field but there will still be some as infinite proved.

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                        August 8, 2013 7:39 AM

                        "Take 1 out of the number line and now the others don't exist because you always need 1. "

                        Imagine a piece of paper that goes on forever, with all the integers on it, written in pencil. Erase the number 1. The other numbers do not disappear, right? Yet the paper and the numbers still goe on forever. In mathematics there are actually different infinities, with some being bigger than others. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-infinity-comes-in-different-sizes

                        I don't understand why you think there would be no Luteces. I think maybe this stems from your confusion about the meaning of "infinite realities". Just because there are infinitely many doesn't mean there is a reality for every imaginable thing. There could be infinitely many realities, none of which involve Comstock, just as there could be infinitely many realities, none of which involve purple unicorns becoming president.

                        In general I don't like time travel as a story device. I didn't mind it much in Bioshock Infinite, but I do think the game had other flaws--much more serious flaws, particularly related to gameplay and choice--that prevent it from being a good game.

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                          August 8, 2013 8:27 AM

                          What?

                          You just proved my point with your theory.... All you did in your understanding of Infinite is erasing 1 aka Booker in this long trail of paper and numbers which in fact means it did nothing as Comstock has changed to another number in that chain.

                          But in reality if I went back in time and erased the number 1 aka Booker from early history where would all the other numbers aka alternate Bookers come from? 1 is always needed, 1+1=2 and so on so forth. Get rid of the Prime and it all disappears.

                          It not that there's no Luteces its the fact there is already 2 separate Luteces before this nexus of all realities baptismal baloney happens meaning that the alternate realities already existed and had split before hand like in the video I posted. So had Elizabeth been smart she would have killed the Luteces and Comstock would still exist with out the ability to jump through Tears, Columbia wouldn't exist and she and her father would still exist. Bioshock Infinites use of time travel is just a cheap plot device that was used horribly.

                          I was really looking forward to the game but it was a disappointment and just a mediocre shooter experience overall that looked pretty and had a dumb story.

                          • reply
                            August 8, 2013 11:13 AM

                            I can't help you with math. I'm sorry. Granted, the idea of infinities of different sizes is not intuitive. The game was disappointing and uninteresting, but not because of the ending.

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                              August 8, 2013 3:46 PM

                              Its not the math its the blasted crap use of time travel and the multiple realities :/
                              I do agree with you as I thought this game was finally going to get me into Bioshock but it did the opposite. So I came riding the hype train and was expecting a lot.

                              I usually bring up the ending as many people I know tend to hail it as a crazy good twist when it was nothing but stupidity. And that's just one of many flaws of this game which was gotten rave reviews..... I tell people if they want a real game that has is far more deep and amazing than this and has a real twist ending? Play Red Dead Redemption. Can't wait for GTAV

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                August 8, 2013 5:50 PM

                The Luteces have nothing to do with the nexus point that is the baptism. That is a "prime" point in the multiverse that is the Bioshock reality. He was not paying attention, and you are jumping to some ridiculous conclusions.

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                  August 8, 2013 6:38 PM

                  So this nexus point created stuff before the event of the baptism before it even happened at all? Everything diverged after the baptism? The female Lutece came into being after this event she never existed before?

                  You sir are not understanding it because it seems Irrational doesn't understand it because if they did all Elizabeth had to do was kill him while he was on his way to this baptism and "BAM" game over but then we enter the grandfather paradox.

                  That Youtube video shows exactly what I've been explaining this entire time. The true nexus is the birth of the 2 DIFFERENT LUTECES. If the Luteces had both been male then I'd might see otherwise.

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          August 8, 2013 1:04 AM

          Yup, basically this.

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          August 8, 2013 3:51 AM

          That is my understanding of the situation. It's why they felt the need to include the post-credits scene.

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        August 8, 2013 5:05 AM

        I think this would sit much better if they just used the core premise of the game to tell short and interesting stories which they can honestly set in any time and place.

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          August 8, 2013 6:56 AM

          They should have left time travel out of it and it would have been fine.

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      August 7, 2013 1:45 PM

      It's a damn mission pack.

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      August 7, 2013 4:23 PM

      DON'T CALL HER LIZ!!!!

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      August 8, 2013 9:15 AM

      Cheers for the spoiler in the headline. Much appreciated.

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