Could it be though, that we as players have been conditioned to look at our gaming experience as a cost-benefit analysis? What is it, exactly, that we're hoping to "get" from a game that offers us choices? ....

What is the crux of choice? When we make decisions in life, like which college to go to or what to do on a Friday night, it's true we are deciding between disparate experiences. But those kinds of choices are actually fewer and farther between than you might think, and, surprisingly, are not the ones we remember most. Think back to a time in your life where you had to choose — chances are, the flashpoints that stick with you were times when you asked yourself not, "what do I want to do," but "what do I want to be?" At those times, the cost-benefit analysis was almost irrelevant as you sought to reconcile your soul with itself.

I'm the type that will happily give up 'choice' for a strong and compelling narrative, but the chance for choices - no matter how superficial in terms of changing outcomes or dialogue - to really impact feelings during the game is something I'd be pleased to see in more titles. Then again, that goes for seeing an increase in the overall quality of narrative design in games in general ....

The Mechanics of Choice [Sexy Videogameland]

The goal was to present players with difficult choices, 2K Boston President Kenneth Levine said.

''As a piece of art, we want to deal with challenging moral issues and if you want to do that, you have to go to some dark places,'' Levine said. ''And 'BioShock' certainly does go to some dark places.''

And killing little girls is a pretty dark place indeed. I do like how Levine pulls out the work of art card. Seems to be the norm whenever the violence of a video game is questioned these days.

The article goes on to explore gaming violence, spewing out some of the same things we've posted here time and time again. Studies, incidents, court cases, etc. Pretty much all an outsider sees of the gaming industry. What the article doesn't touch on is this one, overwhelming fact. Giggling little girls are pretty damn creepy.

Would you kill 'Little Sisters'? Quincy company challenges taboos with game violence [The Patriot Ledger via Joystiq]

I was about 15 minutes into it, having very much enjoyed what I had seen so far, when I came upon the first Big Daddy encounter. I watch in rapt attention as he charges a splicer when suddenly BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. It sounds as though a string of firecrackers has been detonated in my computer case, as well as each BOOM being punctuated with a bright blue flash coming through the case window.

For about half a second I sit there stunned. The first thought in my mind is "Holy Fucking Shit, that is the greatest effect I've ever seen. They should have given this game an 11." Immediately following this a sickening realization dawns on me as I look over at my tower. Blue Smoke! The magic blue smoke that makes electronics work is escaping from my PC.

What follows is a 30 second vaudeville act of me simultaneously cursing, falling as I try to leap out of my chair, and finally ripping the power cord from the wall. But the blue smoke was already out, and the smell of ozone in the air told me the bitter truth. Bioshock had fried my computer from the inside and blown the capacitors.