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Take a Dip Into Bioshock 2's Viral Campaign

I've never really understood much of the appeal of viral marketing campaigns; it seems like they'd be perfect in a pre-Internet world, but in our modern society, they're found out for what they are seconds after hitting the web. That being said, they are an ultra-cool way to build hype and release information about upcoming games that's far more interesting than sending out a boring set of screenshots. And Bioshock 2's viral marketing site, somethinginthesea.com, certainly does a great job of giving just the right amount of tantalizing information about a game we really know nothing about.

So, what exactly do we know about Bioshock's sequel?

Where is… Oh Wait, Hydrophobia’s Right Here!

Where Is, as a feature, is typically reserved for those games and individuals who fall through the cracks of gaming history, those curiosities that were born briefly into the public eye and then disappeared into the digital ether, never to be seen again. It was born in the hopes of seeing its respective subjects resurface, as if our patient musings might give them new life. Today’s a happy one though, since Hydrophobia, an intriguing action title that hasn’t been heard from since early 2007, has not only popped back up on the gaming radar, but has an imminent release date of March 2009.

Games to Film: Et Tu, Bioshock?

I had a peculiar experience shortly after turning thirteen years-old. My uncle Bob was the epitome of class and cool in my mind. He lived in New York City with his artist boyfriend and knew about a world of culture that I only had the vaguest ideas about. As a birthday treat, Bob offered to take me to what would be my first Broadway show, a performance of Show Boat. As we drove into the city though, I was increasingly perturbed by the signs plastered all over town for Big: The Musical. What the hell was the point of that? Big was perfectly fine as a movie! I couldn’t conceive of a single reason why this perfectly charming story needed inexplicable dance numbers crammed into it. Ever since, I’ve been very much at odds with adapting works of art to other formats. It is, by and large, a pointless endeavor with rare positive results.

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.