As far as art books go, this is pretty stellar.In The Art of BioShock Infinite, delve deeper into the city of Columbia-the fabled floating metropolis that serves as a beacon of technology and achievement for the early 1900s! This deluxe hardcover features production designs and concept illustrations focusing on main characters Booker DeWitt, Elizabeth, and Songbird from the BioShock Infinite video game. The book gets additional bonus points because in a game as complicated and secretive as BioShock Infinite, there is nary a spoiler or hint of plot meaning you can enjoy the book before finishing the game. It's a true gift for BioShock fans and for anyone wanting a deeper look at the creation and finalization of this game. The inclusion of several vigor advertisements and various pieces of propaganda help turn this hardcover art book into a work of art in its own right.
Sketches of men with mechanized arms, quite literally chained to their job, show why so much of Columbia's population would have embraced the Vox. While the weapons and "normal" citizens don't blow me over much, there are a few revealing pages dealing with the working class of Columbia. There are the obligatory chapters detailing the various styles and weapons of the world, as well as a closer look at the members of the Vox Populi and the citizens of Columbia. In fact, these early pages suggest a game far more on the horror spectrum than BioShock Infinite ended up being. They are both hideous and fascinating as the exact mechanics of Elizabeth's powers were eventually ironed out. In addition to clockwork toy monsters, there are also some horrific sketches of people who had utilized Elizabeth's "tears." These illustrations show the tears as more of "quantum rifts," with a person re-emerging with multiple versions fused into one person. I imagine the toymaker was scrapped as seemingly a little too reminiscent of someone like Sandor Cohen, but he may have also provided an intriguing look at the citizens of Columbia. The mechanical owl and rabbit are especially rooted in early 1900s style, looking like a macabre greeting card of the time. The illustrations are both chilling and highly detailed, showing a gorgeous world of possibility. My favorite section of the book is an early section in which several designs explore an insane toymaker's creations. Their section makes me insanely curious to see how this different approach would have played in-game. The Boys of Silence, on the other hand, were originally designed with a much different purpose in mind, using sound as both a weapon and an alarm. If you've experienced the game, there is something tragic about the Handymen and the art and notations manage to capture this. The Handyman, most noticeably, has an extensive thought process behind him, showing that Irrational wanted to do more than evoke the technology and styling of the time.
The Heavy Hitters chapter also lends more insight into the iconic villains seen in-game. Booker, too, underwent several transformations, starting with a younger, more roguish look, up to a traditional, "square-jawed comic book hero." They even toyed with his age, making him far older and, in some sketches, the effects of his hard lifestyle are more apparent.
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