BioShock Infinite is just around the corner - well, not really since its release is now March 26th - but, to not kill the flow of my monologue, that is what I would classify as a minor detail. We’ve been getting teased by quite a few BioShock related news such as a great trailer, cosplay and the box art. The latter certainly takes a slightly new route from the previous installments of the series.

Both BioShock and BioShock 2 showed us the menacing yet bizarrely trust-inspiring Big Daddys. Infinites Boxart will star the main protagonist in a sort of Cowboy meets Hegel fashion. I guess even ‘easy to judge’ Gung-ho personalities can have their contradictions in mind and spirit.

At first, the Cover Art didn’t really strike too well with BioShock players. The departure from the status-quo is always upsetting for many and it was no different here. Many lamented that the distinct BioShock flair and character had been lost of a generic and cheap blend. In a way I can relate. While the trailers showed great promise, depth and programming love, the cover art looked more like one you would use on some run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse fps.

Yet, it does capture the consumer needs of our time. Cover art is more important than many give it credit for because, we as humans, often judge the worth of an object, good or person within a split second and that’s why first impression matters. We might find it to be lacking that BioShock flair but seeing that we are fans of the series and that the footage shown until now promises nothing but goodness, we will get our hands on the game without much deliberation on whether the box art is fitting. However, others might and seeing that today’s PC gaming community seems to be drawn to these kind of pictures, it is not surprising that a company will attempt to market their product in a way that will guarantee additional sales. Maybe Big Daddy didn’t inspire interest with some players – ‘Man with gun’ might. This could be the audience that Irrational Games tries to draw towards their franchise and as long as the BioShock character is an integral part of all the future games, I won’t complain too much.

Indeed, in an interview by Wired.com, Ken Levine, Infinite’s creative director shed some light on their decision:

“I understand that some of the fans are disappointed. We expected it. I know that may be hard to hear, but let me explain the thinking.”

“We went and did a tour… around to a bunch of, like, frathouses and places like that. People who were gamers. Not people who read IGN. And [we] said, so, have you guys heard of BioShock? Not a single one of them had heard of it.”

Using the common metaphor of a Salad Dressing, he went on to say that BioShock lives in a niche of sorts and needs to break out.

"You know, BioShock is a reasonably successful franchise, right? Our gaming world, we sometimes forget, is so important to us, but… there are plenty of products that I buy that I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about. My salad dressing. If there’s a new salad dressing coming out, I would have no idea. I use salad dressing; I don’t read Salad Dressing Weekly. I don’t care who makes it, I don’t know any of the personalities in the salad dressing business.”

“For some people, [games are] like salad dressing. Or movies, or TV shows. It was definitely a reality check for us. Games are big, and they’re expensive, I think that’s very clear. And to be successful, and to continue to make these kinds of games which frankly, of the people who make these types of games, there’s not a lot of them, and they haven’t exactly been the most successful with these types of games that have come out in the last few years. I was thrilled because I love them, and I hope that we had some small role in getting those games greenlit… But they have to be financially successful to keep getting made.”

Let’s be honest, he does have a point and as I touched upon earlier: the more successful a game, the more likely a sequel. BioShock Infinte already ampt the advertisement of the title quite substantially from their two previous games and if this game truly delivers what it shows, then it has to do well on the till to be a profit-maker. And to sum it all up, here are some choice words of wisdom from Mr. Levine:

"The money we’re spending on PR, the conversations with games journalists — that’s for the fans. For the people who aren’t informed, that’s who the box art is for.”