Elizabeth (BioShock)
Elizabeth[a] is a fictional character in Irrational Games' BioShock Infinite, the third title in the BioShock series. The game is set in 1912 on a floating steampunk city named Columbia which was founded on the principles of American exceptionalism. Elizabeth has been groomed in a controlled environment to take over the reins of the city once its current leader, Father Zachary Hale Comstock, dies. Elizabeth has the power to open "tears" in the fabric of reality; she is able to view every event across all of the infinite timelines simultaneously and effortlessly open doorways to them, allowing her to access parallel universes.
Elizabeth
To prevent her from leaving Columbia, her captors employ a "siphon" which drains and limits her powers, and she is locked in a tower guarded by a giant mechanical bird called the Songbird. In exchange for his gambling debts being forgiven, the main protagonist of Infinite, Booker DeWitt, enters Columbia in order to retrieve Elizabeth, unaware that she is his long lost daughter Anna DeWitt. Elizabeth also appears in Burial at Sea, a film noir-inspired episodic downloadable content story set in the underwater city of Rapture, where she takes on a femme fatale role and serves as the player character in the second episode.
The character is voiced by Courtnee Draper and her motion capture was provided by Heather Gordon. Irrational Games based Elizabeth's face on Anna Moleva, a Russian cosplayer, after the developers saw her accurate costume, and hired her to do live-action advertisements. Elizabeth's relationship with Songbird was partly based on Ken Levine's personal experiences. She is slightly naive after having lived most of her life in a tower. Developers repeatedly considered simply cutting her due to the hassle in making her "work". Great work was put into her artificial intelligence, with the developers believing there had been no real great A.I. companion in video games since Half-Life 2's Alyx Vance. The character has hyper-realistic expressions to help players see her from across the battlefield, as well as a two-tone colour scheme and unique silhouette. Elizabeth was heavily featured in news and media prior to the release of the game, and plastic figures of her have been made. She has been positively received, and Infinite reviews particularly highlighted her role. Her A.I. was praised, as was her character and narrative role.
Character[edit]
Elizabeth is introduced in Infinite as a young woman that has been held captive aboard Columbia since a baby. She is claimed to be the daughter of Father Comstock, the founder of Columbia, and heralded as the proverbial Lamb that will inherit the city. She has been kept under observation in a well-furnished cell within a large statue of the female personification of Columbia, using her time in captivity to become well-read and to learn practical skills like lock-picking and cryptography. She is aware of the existence of tears in the fabric of space-time within Columbia and has limited ability to manipulate them.
Her captivity is maintained by Songbird, a mechanical robot-like bird creature. Elizabeth experiences a conflict in her feelings about Songbird, since he has been feeding, playing, etc. with her, while at the same time keeping her captive.[1] This conflict was partly based on Ken Levine's personal experiences.[1] Levine once knew and dated a girl that had been abused by a former partner; and she made excuses for him, and eventually went back to him.[1] He highlighted the difference between the two, "Elizabeth is trying to get free", but still drew a connection between them.[1]
Elizabeth is "the most critical of the game's visual icons", being constantly a companion to the protagonist.[2]
No longer being recently out of the tower, Elizabeth's character is slightly different in Burial at Sea,[3] being "older, wiser and more confident".[4] The DLC, taking place in Rapture from the first BioShock games, is evocative of film noir with Booker becoming the private detective and Elizabeth the client and femme fatale.[5][6] Elizabeth's arc in the DLC continues on from her one in Infinite.[6][7] She is still aware of the events in the main game, and has an understanding of the various universes she can visit and the so mentioned "constants and variables" she is aware of.[7]
Promotion and merchandise[edit]
Prior to the release of the game, Elizabeth was widely publicised and reported in media, and Elizabeth (along with one of the "Boys of Silence" enemies) plastic figures were created, produced by NECA.[25] The second of Infinite's "Truth from Legend" trailers – both designed to look like old documentaries – details both Songbird and "the Lamb of Columbia", showcasing more of the character and her past.[26]
A lithograph of one promotional artwork, featuring Elizabeth and Songbird, was also released, alongside other lithographs.[25]
Reception[edit]
Before the game was released, Nicole Tanner of IGN, although initially offput by her large cleavage, praised her realistic personality and the idea of bringing more realistic female characters into games. She also felt the relationship between her and Songbird was "one of the most complex [she'd] seen explored" in gaming.[27] In a comparison between Dishonored and Infinite, Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton compared Elizabeth and Emily in "The Girl" category, preferring Elizabeth, saying she "moreorless WAS BioShock Infinite" and praising her believability.[28] IGN's Beyond! podcast compared the character to The Last of Us's Ellie, noting their similar roles but markedly different personalities.[29]
Courtnee Draper was nominated for "Best Voice Actress" for her role as Elizabeth in the Spike VGX 2013 awards,[30] and was nominated for "Best Performer" in the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards,[31] but lost to Ashley Johnson as Ellie in both cases.[32][33] Draper and Baker together both won the "Best Song in a Game" award, for the moment in Infinite where Booker begins playing the guitar and Elizabeth sings "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?".[32] Elizabeth was nominated for "Best New Character" in Hardcore Gamer's Game of the Year Awards 2013, though again lost to Ellie.[34] In addition, she was nominated by Destructoid as "Best Character", losing to fellow Infinite characters the Lutece Twins.[35]
Her implementation as an AI partner for the player-controlled Booker was described by GamesRadar's Lucas Sullivan to be "downright ingenious",[36] and was stated by Fitch and McCaffrey to be the main aspect that separated Infinite from its predecessors.[37][38] Also from Kotaku, Patricia Hernandez commented that Elizabeth felt more human than the player themselves, and her liveliness made other characters seem "dead by comparison".[39] Special praise was given not only to Elizabeth's ability to take care of herself in combat, but also for actively assisting the player by finding ammo and health, and opening tears.[36][40] Not all commentary was positive, however. Matt Bradford, again from GamesRadar, listed the lockpicking on a list of "biggest nitpicks" with Infinite, criticising the inconsistency between her always cheerful or cocky lockpicking lines and current mood.[41] bit-tech's Edward Chester criticised Elizabeth's interrupting, pointing out how she never mentioned she was picking ammo up, would throw coins during voxaphone listenings and mid-fight, and how she would only start talking after big moments rather than regularly. Chester also criticised the inconsistency about whether the tears were a "strain" on Elizabeth or not.[42]
Praise was given to the character's ability to invoke emotions. Sullivan stated that Elizabeth felt like "a friend,"[36] with McCaffrey adding that she "provides motivation and moves the story forward," and felt that her presence in the story added "emotional depth", something he believed the first BioShock lacked.[38] Several reviewers praised Elizabeth's relationship and interactions with Booker, believing that they formed the core of Infinite' s story,[43] with Mikel Reparaz of Official Xbox Magazine explaining "the evolving interplay between her and Booker is the heart and soul of what makes BioShock Infinite such an involving, memorable experience."[44] Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer listed the relationship between Elizabeth and Booker as one of ten "intrigues" he was unable to fit into his main review of the game, noting how despite needing to be rescued in the game a few times, "ultimately she is the one with power, both emotionally and science-fictionally."[45] Game Informer's Kimberley Wallace listed Booker and Elizabeth as one of 2013's best gaming "duos", crediting Elizabeth's ability to make Booker question things.[46] In 2016, Glixel staff ranked Elizabeth the 40th most iconic video game character of the 21st century, and the backstory behind her missing little finger her most "iconic moment".[47]
Legacy[edit]
Jonathan Nolan, co-creator of the Westworld television series, said that BioShock Infinite was a major influence on Westworld, in particular with Elizabeth as the basis for the lead character Dolores Abernathy.[48]
Elizabeth has been the subject of a vast amount of fan-created pornography, although according to creator Ken Levine, any sex symbol status was never the intention, and he has expressed displeasure at these depictions of the character.[49][50]