Audio Diary



Audio Diaries are the main narrative device of the BioShock series. They were recorded by the citizens of Rapture, either as notes for themselves or as messages for other residents. When the player picks up an Audio Diary he or she can usually choose to play its message, however a handful of plot-crucial diaries throughout the games play automatically as soon as they are picked up.

All of the Audio Diaries that can be found within Rapture were made by Accu-Vox, a sub-company of Fontaine Futuristics. Accu-Vox managed to manufacture and market compact, audio-tape technology at least five years before it was produced on the surface.

Bugs/Glitches

 * After either a radio transmission or another playing of an audio Audio Diary, a previously obtained Audio Diary will play directly after on its own (without having selected it from the menu). The reason this happens remains unclear. This occurs in both BioShock and BioShock 2 A notable occurrence can happen after picking up the Agnus Dei Audio Diary; after it finishes playing, the Alone at Last diary will start playing.

Behind the Scenes

 * Early in the development of BioShock Audio Diaries were planned to be "squishy, organic things, with lips and ears" instead of tape recorders.
 * The transcripts of Audio Diaries provided in the game often have errors or discrepancies with the actual words of the audio. This has been corrected in the transcripts on BioShock Wiki.