BioShock 2 Cultural References

Like BioShock before it, BioShock 2 contains many references to real life, video games, or history. Many of these references were placed in the game by a BioShock 2 designer, Steve Gaynor.

Video Game References

• 451 - The code, "1540", used to open the first locked door in BioShock 2 is a reference that has been used in several games made by previous employees of Looking Glass Studios since the creation of the System Shock game series, the predecessors of the BioShock games. In System Shock the very first keypad has a 451 combination. Similarly, in System Shock 2 the very first keypad uses a 45100 code. In the game Deus Ex (which was made by Ion Storm, a company with several previous employees of Looking Glass Studios) 0451 was a code to open an armory. In BioShock, 0451 opens a locked closet in Twilight Fields Funeral Homes. In BioShock Infinite, 0451 is the code to unlock an elevator. The number was originally believed to be a reference to Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451, but was later revealed to be the entry code to LookingGlass Technologies (later: Looking Glass Studios) offices and just a coincidence.
• Hitman - In Pauper's Drop, the Fontaine Clinic door code is 0047, which happens to be the code name for the protagonist in the video game series, Hitman. Also, the name of the person who recorded the Audio Diary pointing to the code is "Tobias Riefers"—an alteration of "Tobias Rieper," the name that Agent 47 gives as a pseudonym in the mission "Traditions of the Trade" from the original Hitman game.
• Pac-Man - Continuing the tradition of Pac-Man references begun in BioShock (see Worley Winery), some of the random names that can be assigned to hacked Security Bots with the Handyman Gene Tonic are "Pinky", "Blinky" and "Clyde"; the ghosts in Pac-Man.
• System Shock - The achievement/trophy name "Look at you, Hacker" is a reference to a well-known line by the main antagonist SHODAN in System Shock, BioShock's spiritual predecessor.
• Unstable Teleport Plasmid - This defective Plasmid found in Fontaine Futuristics is a nod to the Teleport Plasmid which was cut from BioShock due to the many glitches it would have caused. It also briefly shows a Splicer being surprised by your appearance, a reference to Half-Life 2 in which a malfunctioning teleport will do the same thing, albeit with much larger consequences.
• Thief - One of the possible names a hacked Security Bot can be assigned is "Garrett," the name of the protagonist from the game Thief. Also, female Splicers will occasionally say "You can't hide in the shadows for long" if they are alerted but cannot find you — guards in Thief sometimes say this exact line when searching for the player.
• BioShock Infinite - The remastered version of Minerva's Den in 2016's BioShock: The Collection features an added bloodied punchcard reading "THERES ALWAYS A LIGHTHOUSE" and some Morse code in the control room of The Thinker.

Name Inspirations

• Mythology - Just like in BioShock, some locations are named after elements of ancient Greek, Roman and even Colombian mythology. (Dionysus Park, El Dorado Lounge, Plaza Hedone, etc.)
• Augustus Sinclair - The last name "Sinclair" was inspired by the last name of BioShock's art director at Irrational Games, Scott Sinclair.
• CJ Greens - The brand name on each tin of Canned Beans is a reference to Christopher (C.J.) Green, a BioShock 2 developer.
• Dan Tate - The proprietor of Tate Wineries is named for Dean Tate, a level designer of Neptune's Bounty from BioShock and Fontaine Futuristics from BioShock 2.

• Detective Suspects - Scraps of paper on the wall in Rock Flanagan's office in Pauper's Drop list the names of several BioShock 2 developers. On a scrap labeled "Insane": Collin Fogel, CJ Green, Karina Riesgo, and Brandon Pham. On the scrap labeled "Special": Rinaldo Tjan, Brandon Pham, and Rich Wilson. Viewing the complete texture file reveals the title as "Special Treament" or "Special Treatment".
• Gaynor Peaches - The brand name on each tin of Canned Fruit is a reference to Steve Gaynor.
• Gilbert Alexander - Gil Alexander's name was a tribute to Stephen Alexander, an FX artist at Irrational Games who was influential in the making of BioShock.

• Handyman - A tonic acquired in the game assigns random names to any Security Bots that the player hacks. The player can control two hacked bots at the same time, creating several name combinations that are references to characters in the game, members of the game development team, or other real life people: "Rachel" & "Steven", "Andrew" & "Ryan", "Tommy" & "Rebecca", "Jordan" & "Thomas."
• Hudson Power Ltd. - Electrical fuse box panels in Siren Alley bear a reference to developer Brent Hudson. These also show up in the final level of Minerva's Den.
• Penal Colony Inmates - Several names of inmates in Persephone are taken from members of the BioShock 2 development team (Mattson, Wilson, Thomas).

• Steve Gaynor's girlfriend - Steve Gaynor, the level designer for Adonis Luxury Resort and Pauper's Drop, makes a reference to his girlfriend Rachel Jacks in the Audio Diary Fitness in Adonis Luxury Resort. In the sauna, there is an Audio Diary by "Rachelle Jacques." Rachelle has a husband named "Stephen" who sits around listening to radio serials while she swims laps at the Adonis. According to Gaynor, Rachel goes to the gym while he stays home and plays video games. A photo on a wall-mounted shotgun rack in the Fishbowl Diner is a picture of Rachel.

Miscellaneous

• Doctor Who - The inspiration for Sofia Lamb's character was that of Fenella Woolgar's role as Agatha Christie in the TV series Doctor Who.
• Judas - Sofia Lamb compares Stanley Poole with Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, in her audio diary A Spy.
• Louis the 15th - Eleanor Lamb breaks a tea service in the style of Louis XV of France, which can be heard in her audio diary Destructive Learning. Louis XV was one of the kings of France during the 18th century.

The Mugshots from game textures.

• Mugshots - A board of convict portraits in the Security booth in Inner Persephone are actually photos of BioShock 2 developers, including Jordan Thomas, Michael Kamper, Rinaldo Tjan, Rich Wilson, Hogarth de la Plante, Steve Gaynor and Ryan Mattson.
• Nighthawks - Pauper's Drop's Fishbowl Diner was inspired by the painting Nighthawks, by the American artist Edward Hopper.
• Revelations - The graffiti on the plaque directly across from the Vita-Chamber where Subject Delta first awakens in Adonis Luxury Resort reads "Fallen, fallen is Babylon." This is a reference to the Bible passage Revelation 18:2, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird."
• Schrödinger - A frozen cat in Imago Fine Arts is a reference to Schrödinger's cat; a thought experiment by the famous physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who postulated theories about quantum entanglement.

One of the Lempicka inspired paintings.

• Tamara de Lempicka - Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish Art Deco painter active in the 1920-30, who's art style inspired several of the Art Deco paintings in BioShock 2, notably featured in the Journey to the Surface and Dionysus Park. The texture files for these particular paintings are labeled Lempy_01_diffuse.tga, "Lempy" being a reference to Lempicka.
• The Wizard of Oz - BioShock 2 has a few references to the cult MGM 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz:
• If Delta chooses to save the Little Sister in Ryan Amusements, Sinclair will say of him that "our tin man had a heart all along," an allusion to the Tin Woodsman, a caring character of the story who seeks an heart without realizing he doesn't need one.

• Sinclair also comments in an audio diary that Andrew Ryan "reckoned the free market was some kinda holy spirit gonna lead us all over the rainbow," a possible reference to Over the Rainbow, the most popular song from the film, reflecting the main character's dream of finding a place out of all trouble.
• Concept art for the Triton Cinema has the movie advertised for showing.
• A concept art for a heaven-like outside appearance of Persephone (similar in shape to the definitive rending) had Persephone look like a green crystalline and transparent structure, which share similarities to the Emerald City of Oz. Coincidentally, the protagonists of BioShock 2 follow a single road to it (the Atlantic Express line) just as Dorothy and her friends walk along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. In both stories, the destination at the end of the road is the place where their wishes are granted.

• 1939 New York World's Fair - BioShock 2 has a few references to the first of the New York World's Fairs, not to be confused with the more well known 1964 New York World's Fair.
  • The soundtrack features Horace Height's "Dawn of a New Day" composed by George Gershwin and posthumously completed by his brother Ira as the theme for the 1939 New York World's Fair.
  • The song is heard in the Puppet Workshop of Ryan Amusements. The technician for the park's animatronics, Carlson Fiddle is quoted in the novel as being inspired by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation exhibit in the 1939 Fair which featured "Elektro the Moto-Man", a 7-ft tall robot that could talk, walk, smoke cigarettes, and distinguish colors with his dog "Sparko" who could bark, sit, and beg.
• Bessie Smith - The character of Grace Holloway was partially inspired by the life of a 1930s blues singer named Bessie Smith.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer

Comparison of the concept art for Blanche and the photo of Rita.

• Pavlov's Dogs - Suresh Sheti uses the term "Pavlo's pets" to describe his audience in his audio diary Intellectual Stimulation. This referes to Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment with classical conditioning on his dogs.
• Playboy - Oscar Calraca's nickname, The Playboy, is an obvious reference to the Playboy magazine.
• Rita Hayworth - The appearance of the playable character, Mlle Blanche de Glace, was modeled after a picture of the famous actress Rita Hayworth.
• Shirley Temple - Louie McGraff refers to the famous child star of the 1930-60 when he picks up the Little Sister, by saying "Alright Shirley, come 'ere!"
• The Kraken - The map Point Prometheus features a Kraken exhibit with a large statue of the mythological octopus Kraken. The exhibit was inspired by the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which the multiplayer art director Mat Tremblay, saw as a child.

Minerva's Den

• Developer names
  • Brent Hudson - This character is named in honor of Kent Hudson, Senior Systems Designer at 2K Marin during development of BioShock 2.
  • Christopher di Remo - Named for Chris Remo, host of the Idle Thumbs podcast, and the Community Manager at Irrational Games.
  • Jack McClendon - The founder of McClendon Robotics is named after Zak McClendon, the Lead Designer of BioShock 2. Jack's radio portrait is also a photo of Zak.
  • Named slugs - Nine sea slugs found in jars are named after main developers of the DLC, including Steve Gaynor, Devin St. Clair, Jeff Fisher, Scott LaGrasta, Mario DiPesa, Rinaldo Tjan, Will Armstrong, Collin Fogel, and Brandon Pham.
  • The tenth developer, graphic artist Karla Zimonja, is referenced with Karla Electron Tubes.
  • Brandon Pham is also referenced as Pham Pneumo in part of the piping in Air-Tite Archives.
  • The machines printing binary code on lines of tractor feed paper found throughout Minerva's Den feature the names of the developers along the lines of 0s and 1s, including Brandon Pham, Devin St. Clair, Rinaldo Tjan, and Collin Fogel.
  • The Thinker's serial number spells out members of developer Mario's family.

Karla brand vacuum tubes.

Pham Pneumo.

Tractor feed paper.

The Thinker's serial number.

• Minerva - Minerva, the namesake of the DLC and the first level, is the Roman goddess of wisdom. Her symbol is an owl, which is seen in numerous places throughout the DLC.
• Hedy Lamarr - The name of the Minerva's Den exclusive Splicer model Heady is a reference to actress and computer scientist Hedy Lamarr.
• Named cats - Each level in the Minerva's Den DLC features a single named cat corpse.
  • Minerva's Den - Babbage: Named for Charles Babbage, the man credited with inventing the first mechanical computer.
  • Operations - Lovelace: Named after Ada Lovelace, a woman credited with having written the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine.
  • The Thinker - Turing: Named after Alan Turing, who conceptualized the "Turing Machine."

• The Thinker - The name of the Rapture Operational Data Interpreter Network is inspired by the famous statue of the same name, sculpted by Auguste Rodin. The acronym of the computer's name is R.O.D.I.N.- the last name of the sculptor. A version of The Thinker sculpture can be seen in the lobby of Minerva's Den.
• Clock - Lead designer Steve Gaynor has stated that the inspiration for the clock room in the Executive Wing came from the 1994 Coen Brothers film, The Hudsucker Proxy. During the film, the clock takes up an entire wall in the company director's office. During a pivotal plot point, the clock is also stopped near midnight.

See Also

• BioShock Cultural References
• BioShock Infinite Cultural References
• BioShock in Other Media