Dionysus Park

"Dionysus Park. Lamb mocks me in the naming of this place. She knows precisely how I feel about this celebration of "unconscious art.""

- Andrew Ryan



Dionysus Park is the sixth level in BioShock 2. It was Sofia Lamb's private retreat, hosting an exploration of art and culture. The player is required to pass through this area to reach Fontaine Futuristics and Eleanor Lamb. Stanley Poole, however, requires that the player rid the Park of all Little Sisters before he will allow Subject Delta access to the Atlantic Express in order to progress onwards.

BioShock 2
After Subject Delta and Augustus Sinclair left Pauper's Drop on board the Atlantic Express, they meant to head straight on to Dionysus Park, but Simon Wales kept them from doing so by blowing open Delta's train car with a torpedo. After Wales was defeated in Siren Alley, Delta used his key to drain the water from Dionysus Park and free Sinclair from the damaged train car. Sofia Lamb then flooded all of Siren Alley in anger at Wales' death. Once the draining was complete, Delta entered the park through a maintenance hatch in the basement storage area. He then made his way upstairs to the train station where Sinclair had been trapped.

Soon after Delta entered the Park, he was contacted over the radio by Stanley Poole. After the seawater was drained, Poole had holed up in the security booth of the park and refused to let the train pass unless Delta performed a task for him. Poole feared that the Little Sisters that were coming into the Park to gather ADAM might relay the truth about his betrayals in the genetic memories of the corpses they drained. If Dr Lamb learned of those memories, Poole's duplicity would be laid bare. He required that Delta deal with all of the Little Sisters before he could continue his journey. So Delta re-entered the Park and set about finding them. Lamb did not take kindly to Delta intruding on what was once her "experiment in social unity" and made her displeasure clear by sending a horde of Splicers into the park and bombarding the radio with taunts and threats. After Delta took ADAM from each Little Sister, Eleanor telepathically showed him the memories that Stanley had wanted to hide. When Subject Delta was finished with all of the Sisters, he learned how the Park's flooding, Eleanor's fate, and Delta's own condition were all caused by Stanley. Surprisingly, Lamb was actually already aware of all of this information. When Delta returned to the train station, Stanley held true to his part of the bargain and opened the way for the train to pass. However, the door to the security booth was opened as well, and Delta was faced with the choice to either forgive Stanley or kill him out of vengeance.

History
Before the fall of Rapture, Dionysus Park was the private property of Sofia Lamb, and she meant for it to stand as a living example of her ideals. Lamb felt that, despite Andrew Ryan's goal that artists in Rapture should "no longer fear the censor", he still censored the city's artists when he believed they were against his own ideals. Thus, Lamb created Dionysus Park to be a safe haven where all artists could speak out. The Park was open to the public free of charge to spread Lamb's philosophy and to subtly slander Ryan in front of all visitors.

Dionysus Park soon became a haven of the most respected artists in Rapture, including even one of Ryan's staunchest supporters, Sander Cohen. Lamb encouraged the exploration of "unconscious art," an idea that Ryan found loathsome. None of this escaped Ryan's attention for long, and he began to seek any excuse to take Lamb out of the picture. He had Augustus Sinclair hire a man who could infiltrate Lamb's group and gather any evidence he could against Lamb so that she could be arrested and detained for her altruistic ideals. This man was Stanley Poole, a newspaper man for the Rapture Tribune. Lamb, fooled by Stanley's claims of stifling censorship at the Tribune, and blinded by her own philanthropy, chose to let him into her innermost circle.

While in the Park, Stanley struggled to learn of Lamb's plan and avoid detection while carrying out his duties as a mole. However, he became increasingly anxious as Ryan's men pressured him, and he suspected that Lamb's daughter saw him as a "phony." Eventually Stanley found enough evidence of Sofia's allegedly "Marxist" activities that Ryan could go ahead with his plans, resulting in Sofia Lamb's arrest and imprisonment.

Afterwards, Stanley Poole was left in charge of Lamb's entire estate, including Dionysus Park. He then embezzled the Park's wealth to throw lavish parties for his own pleasure. Eleanor Lamb, Sofia's daughter, observed that Poole was misusing his position of power. She confronted him and threatened to tell her mother's supporters about his actions. Poole panicked, kidnapped Eleanor, and sold her to the Little Sister's Orphanage in Siren Alley. With her gone, Stanley continued to abuse his position as leader in the Park and exploit his control over Lamb's remaining followers, uncontested.

However, after the events of the 1958 New Year's Eve Riots Stanley began to hear rumors that Sofia Lamb had been sighted within the city again. He realized that she must have broken out of Persephone somehow, and he feared what she and her followers would do, if she learned of what he had been up to in her absence. Poole needed a way to silence all of Lamb's followers in the Park so that none of them could stand witness to his betrayal. He learned of a critical fault in the pump lines running through Dionysus Park, and he took advantage of the faulty construction by damaging several pumps, flooding the entire park and killing anyone who could testify about his treachery.

The flooding was called a "cult-related" incident by the press. Sometime later, Lamb discovered that it was Poole who had taken her daughter and flooded the Park, but she forgave him. Poole spent a decade believing that he was the only one who knew what really happened. The secrets of Dionysus Park stayed underwater until Subject Delta drained it dry during the events of BioShock 2. Over the years, the area suffered heavy water damage, and coral and other ocean life grew to cover the floors and walls of the park.

Gallery Entrance
This was the main hub for Dionysus Park, connecting all the locations of the Park to the Train Station. This area included two large pools of water accompanied by two statues, several benches, a Circus of Values Machine, and a Health Station.

Triton Cinema
Next to the Gallery Entrance is the Triton Cinema, a large theater in the south section of Dionysus Park. Triton Cinema held a ticket booth, a lounge, a concession stand, restrooms, a projection booth, and a lower seating area overhung by a spacious balcony facing the screen. The theater once seated 240 people in the top and bottom levels.

The cinema was one of the tallest structures in Dionysus Park. When it was flooded, the Cinema was one of the only places that was partially untouched by water. Half of the upper balcony, the hallway, and the room of the Projection Booth are all above the water line that spoiled the rest of the level.

The Promenade
The Promenade is located behind the Gallery Entrance. This region was a pleasant area for relaxation, socializing, and dining. The first two rooms contain cloth covered tables littered with wine bottles for wine tasting. Through the hallway is the Piano Bar which held only one piano and an entrance to two of the many galleries of the Park.

Imago Fine Arts
This art gallery was once used to display paintings and other cultural work created by the citizens of Rapture. The title seemed to fit Lamb's ideals of butterflies and rebirth, taking its name from the word for the final stage in metamorphosis. At some point in its history, the temperature control for the gallery was broken, and the room became completely frozen over, sealing the entrance behind a thick wall of ice.

Upon using Incinerate! on the frozen blockage, the player will find that the interior of the gallery is guarded by a large amount of security, including Security Cameras and Turrets. As dealing with the Little Sisters is required in this level, and there is an ADAM corpse near the back of the gallery, this area proves quite useful for the player if they hack all the security before setting a Little Sister down to gather.

J. Fischer Gallery
Another gallery is located beside the Imago Fine Arts, the J. Fischer Gallery. The gallery was a split-level facility that displayed the works of established artists. The first level contains several tables, several paintings, and a statue of a bear. The second floor contained chafing dishes for a banquet and a storage area.

The Carousel
The Carousel was another atrium connecting regions in the Park. The center of the room was dominated by a large Carousel. This seemed to be one of the most fitting places for children who visited the Park.

Lamb's Garden
Lamb's Garden is connected to the Carousel atrium. The entryway contains several food and wine tasting tables and doors to the actual garden beyond. Lamb's Garden was meant to be similar to Arcadia with trees and ponds, but after the flooding the remaining plant life was killed by the cold saltwater, and the two entryways to the main portion of the garden became inaccessible.

Cohen's Collection
Cohen's Fine Art Collection is another branch of his Collection in Fort Frolic. It contained valuable art pieces and statues arranged in several lounges.

Basement Storage
This storage area held the various arts and objects of the Park that were not currently on display.

Map
Dionysus Park/L1 extra|Level 1 Dionysus Park/L1|Level 1 orig.||true Dionysus Park/L2 extra|Level 2 Dionysus Park/L2|Level 2 orig. Dionysus Park/L3 extra|Level 3 Dionysus Park/L3|Level 3 orig.

Single Use Events

 * There are 2 Power to the People vending machines.
 * Behind the door, combo 1080.
 * On the path to the train.
 * There are 11 ADAM bodies
 * 4 in Cohen's Collection
 * 1 in the main Collection room
 * 1 in Lamb's Garden
 * 1 in the Carousel
 * 1 in the basement storage
 * 2 in Triton Cinema
 * 1 downstairs
 * 1 in the balcony
 * 1 in Imago Fine Arts
 * 3 in J. Fischer Gallery
 * 1 in the Piano Bar
 * 2 are in the main area of the Gallery
 * 1 in the large gallery room between the Atlantic Express Station and the Piano Bar

New Weaponry

 * Launcher - Just before the Atlantic Express station

New Plasmids and Tonics

 * EVE Expert - Lamb's Garden, behind a broken door with water flowing out.
 * Electrical Storm - Triton Cinema.
 * Extended Reel - Triton Cinema, projection booth.
 * Hardy Machines - Imago Fine Arts
 * Demanding Father - Gift for rescuing eight Little Sisters.
 * Drill Specialist - J. Fischer Gallery.

New Enemies

 * Houdini Splicer
 * Elite Bouncer
 * Stanley Poole (Choice Only)

Audio Diaries

 * 1) Stanley Poole - Patronage - On a wooden rectangular box in the room with stairs in Basement Storage.
 * 2) Billy Parson - A Gift from Billy - Instead of turning left and going into Carousel room, follow and find it at bottom of blocked off stairs. In the recording, Billy reveals that the code for the locked room is "1080".
 * 3) Andrew Ryan - Lamb's Time is Over - In the locked room with the Power to the People machine.
 * 4) Andrew Ryan - Lamb's Idea of Art - As soon as Delta enters Cohen's Collection, turn left and it is next to a water leak.
 * 5) Mark Meltzer - Lost and Found - Inside of the booth in the carousel.
 * 6) "Big Kate" O'Malley - Dionysus Park's Weakness - In the first room of Lamb's Garden on the second level, leaning on the flooding doors.
 * 7) Sofia Lamb - The Voice of the Self - In the Piano Bar, on top of the piano.
 * 8) Frank Fontaine - Falling Into Place - In Imago Fine Arts, must use Incinerate! to melt ice covering it.
 * 9) Stanley Poole - Gotta Keep it Together - In Fischer Gallery, on the second level by the coral in the back.
 * 10) Sofia Lamb - Learning Poker - In a bar with two dancing Splicers, through a locked door to the right in a flooded room on top of a filing cabinet.
 * 11) Gilbert Alexander - A Secular Saint - In the backstage area of the Triton Theater, lying next to stack of reels.
 * 12) Sofia Lamb - A Spy - In the Triton Theater, on the ledge on the balcony.
 * 13) Stanley Poole - Lamb Flouts the System - In the gallery entrance, the room to the west of the train station, at the base of the statue.
 * 14) Stanley Poole - A Plan - After Delta gets access to Stanley's booth - in his room on the floor.
 * 15) Gilbert Alexander - Growing Up - In the cinema hallway leading to the projection booth.

Walkthrough

 * Behind a code locked combination door in the basement there is a fallen Bouncer that was crushed trying to deliver a gift to its Little Sister. The gift labeled, "Present for the yellow eyed girl", contains a single plucked rose which was left by Billy Parson.
 * In the Triton Cinema lounge a pair of Houdini Splicers can be seen dancing to music. Like all Splicers, they attack if approached by the player. However, if one of the Splicers is killed very quickly (such as by a few headshots from the Rivet Gun), the other Splicer will stop fighting, kneel over the dead Splicer's corpse, and start weeping, completely ignoring the player from that point on. However, if the fight takes too long the other Splicer may simply disappear mid-teleport when the first one is killed.
 * Big Daddies and Little Sisters will only spawn after Stanley Poole initiates dialogue.
 * The J. Fischer Gallery contains a perfect trap location for a Big Sister encounter. It contains a Little Sister vent at the top of a very long, narrow, dead-end stairwell with only one path of entry (a Big Sister will never attempt to hop onto the second-floor balcony at the top).  If you haven't skipped any Little Sisters by the time you reach this level, you will be due for a Big Sister attack when you rescue/harvest a Little Sister at a vent (keep track so you can anticipate which Little Sister in the level will trigger the attack).  If you rescue/harvest the Little Sister in the vent at the top of the stairs, the Big Sister won't simply teleport in but will spawn somewhere else in the level and physically have to run up the stairs to attack you.  This cramped, long stairwell is ideal for setting proximity mines and trap spears: also make sure to gather explosive barrels and oxygen tanks from around the level.  The hallway is long enough that you can actually space out each set of barrels/prox mines so she runs into multiple explosives - putting them all in one big pile might result in her luckily missing most of the blast.  All the while pepper her with long-range weapons.  She is determined to charge headlong at you and won't have the sense to retreat from this death-trap.

Behind the Scenes

 * Dionysus, in Greek mythology, is the God of Wine and ecstasy. Bacchus is the Roman version of Dionysus, providing the name of the Bacchanal Press.


 * In the heavily guarded Imago Fine Arts, the "Easter egg" Schrödinger (Cat) is hidden in a meltable ice pile. It is a reference to the Schrödinger's cat, a popular thought experiment involving a cat whose physical condition cannot be determined.


 * In a bathroom in the Triton Cinema there are three stalls. The first stall is closed, but the player can pass through it without resistance and the door will open fully. This reveals graffiti on the stall that says "Jeremy was here!"


 * In Dionysus park, the player can choose to gather ADAM from corpses in Cohen's Collection. This will trigger Cohen's Scherzo to play throughout the gather sequence. After gathering ADAM from the 2nd corpse, the 2nd half of it plays with a beginning or end in manic laughter that is very reminiscent of Sander Cohen.


 * As stated in the Deco Devolution artbook by Eric Sterner, Level Architect, 2K Marin: "Dionysus Park was originally designed as an uncorrupted, totally preserved section of Rapture that didn't get plundered." By this quote are three images of the original concepts for Dionysus Park, at least one seeming to be a rendering of the map.


 * Also as stated in the Deco Devolution artbook by Eric Sterner, Level Architect, 2K Marin: "Originally the way you got into the Dionysus Park was through the Atrium of Fort Frolic from BioShock -- the big octagonal room that players who played BioShock would remember -- only it was completely submerged under water in this game. You'd be going through this totally sunken version of a level that you might remembered if you played the first game." This, of course, revealing that Dionysus Park was an extension of Fort Frolic and that the player would have played through it.


 * As stated in the Deco Devolution artbook by Hogarth de la Plante, Lead Environment Artist, 2K Marin: "There were puppets. I don't even want to talk about that stuff. There were gigantic puppets. I won't go any further than that." Above the quote are seven conceptually drawn puppets: one of a Little Sister, the other six of classic puppet fashion, with the last ones face used as a Splicer mask later on. Considering the vagueness of this quote and the area, nothing more is known except it was featured on Dionysus Park level.D Park-Memory-Little Sister.png


 * Also as stated in the Deco Devolution artbook by Hogarth de la Plante, Lead Environment Artist, 2K Marin: "Dionysus Park had a section that was really an experiment we wanted to try with spatial surrealism. You would exit a normal-looking doorway out of a gallery space and end up in a forest. Not an Arcadia-like forest on the surface with bits of Rapture peeking through. It was an experiment that ultimately failed, but Dionysus Park was the first level we worked on for BioShock 2 and we were still trying to find our boundaries."


 * If the player watches the second ADAM-induced memory closely, they will notice that the little girl at the start is a regular Little Sister, whereas at the end it is Eleanor's actual child model.