Well since there is a possibility that might visit the Fisk theater, I guess it might be a opportunity to include Vaudeville references that were popular at the time? Of course what about a Silent Film theater as well?
Well since there is a possibility that might visit the Fisk theater, I guess it might be a opportunity to include Vaudeville references that were popular at the time? Of course what about a Silent Film theater as well?
Vaudville was in its golden age and there was an awful lot of it (and most people today probably couldnt name something that was even the most popular of that era)
But they should present something like that as it was a big part of the era - actually anyone good would have left Columbia (run from it actually) and they should have some really lame act being done.
I wouldn't be too surprised if they used silent cartoons in a style close to those of Bioshock, in order to introduce the vigors and nostrums for the first time.
Of course they should have a Sander Cohen equivalent in Bioshock Infinite which would explore Vaudeville in a darker twist perhaps.
Just include burlesque, and I'll be happy.
As long as they could do it in only a few frames :Originally Posted by losstarot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animated_cartoon
Single Slide type advertisements in the moviehouse probably would be more typical (along with posters and billboards). I suppose those little phonograph disks we talked of to be in place of the Audio Diaries could have adverts inserted in them (being part of the Exposition tour system).
Can always have an illustrated 'instruction sheet' (with every bottle) done in the style of that era...
I think the inclusion of both vaudeville and japester's in-jest-but-maybe-not comment about burlesque are both interesting ideas. Watchman already pointed out that this was the time for vaudeville, and also for burlesque performances.
It's said that every army needs bullets, beans, and bandages, I would probably include breasts to that list. The combatants in Columbia, no matter how unhinged, would need some form of entertainment or diversion when they were off the line. Booker and Elizabeth eavesdropping on a USO-style vaudeville performance could tell the player a lot organically about the emotional states of both the Founders and the Vox, and a seedier burlesque show could also show the darker aspect of what it takes to keep an army's mind off the brutality of combat, especially if some of these burlesque performers aren't exactly doing it by choice.
The situation in Columbia would only logically work if it was (at the time of the game) on the edge of largescale violence (too many normal people are still around and havent yet gone to find basements to hide in for the real shooting to have already started).
So many of the 'normal' activities will be there for the player character to encounter (and possibly suddenly change/react to the war/uprising really starting).
Now 'show people' live more on the edge and are better at judging 'changing winds' and their performance may reflect what is happening (most 'acts' would have already RUN from Columbia years before seeing what was coming, as well as it being too small a venue with the same audience every night - who would also be thoroughly tired of them). So we probably would see the 'acts' going 'through the motions' and an audience with little choice for other entertainment.
Last edited by watchman; 06-11-2012 at 06:27 AM.
If entertainment is included as part of the window dressing, then not jesting about burlesque. They need to make that happen.
I think we're getting pretty deep into "optional" territory here, so I don't really expect to see this stuff. But if it was included, then I would love to see how Vox and Founder-friendly performances would differ from each other. Definite fun could be had with that.
I'm still not buying the belief that nearly everyone would vacate the minute trouble started. Reality doesn't reflect that as a general rule, so why should a game. Particularly one where egress is a bit more complicated than walking down the road. Also, I'm no vaudeville expert, but I do recall from my theatre studies that performers back then were discouraged from changing their acts. Unlike today, where we are inundated with entertainment and crave new experiences, people back then found comfort in seeing the same jokes and performances over and over. It was an entirely different culture.
Vaudeville acts traveled constantly, often on far ranging circuits of venues -- people DID want to see new acts.
Vaudeville allowed the performers to adjust their acts til they found what worked that got them into the 'big time' (it was one of problems for Radio and TV later that didnt allow that evolution of good acts and a new one being required every week).
Egress over YEARS after 'things went bad' and before that ('show city' period) they would have brought in many popular acts (effectively become part of a circuit).
--
I could see the Vox Populi barring the doors at gunpoint and then FORCING the audience of unfortunates to watch one of their propaganda passion plays.... And if they didnt applaud sufficiently ....
I don't think the Vox Populi would actually do that and I doubt their that diabolical (since there the Vox Populi are divided into just random thugs to the actual leftists).
If you look at the E3 Demo you see them doing a show trial in the street (with summary execution??) with a projected confession and the huge banners and other things show that they can do things that organized. Part of 'the revolution' is to scare the majority into doing nothing and grabbing an audience is pretty straight forward (at least a few times til normal people hear about it and then audiences are pretty sparse after that).
Both sides wouldn't be beyond that. But, we're getting further away from the actual point of vaudeville, which was entertainment. Irrational has said repeatedly that they try to make the enemies in the game feel like actual people. People, especially in a bleak and downtrodden environment, need something to distract them from the problems that they have.
The mental image that pops into my head is from Escape from New York when Snake enters the burned out theater and sees the convicts putting on a show for themselves. (Also we're introduced to the legendary Ernest Borgnine as Caddie) There's no organization or greater purpose here; these are just guys who need something to watch for a few minutes before they go back to whatever holes they crawled out of. If we see any sort of "act" going on in Columbia, it's probably going to look a lot like that.
The Founders probably dont have to do it that way (all the decorations of the 'city' act as their propaganda and they have to keep things running (being the 'establishment') so cant use such tactics that would alienate (they might institute a 'pledge of allegiance' before every show or have an anthem played as a more 'normal' tactic, besides the likely background 'flag' theme in the theater).
And what I said before about the better acts being 'long gone' would allow the deveoplers an easier task of creating some lame 'represenative' Vaudeville acts being presented (without having to come up with really good material and timing that would be realistic ).
And the 'enemies' would not be the target of (the Vaudeville performances) trying to maintain a 'normal' environment -- it would be for the people in the middle that both sides need to get on their side (the Founders to maintain what they have and the Vox Populi to try to prove they arent just a bunch of murderous thugs/petty tyrants.)
The environment is a bit different than 'Escape from New York ' where the convicts have their own little world walled off from Society and are recreating some of the conventions and order of their own. They recreate parts of society out of boredom and a need for something more than anarchy -- just as the convicts had set up a pecking order and a social contract between themselves (needed where even the strongest can be murdered in their sleep).
But both spring from the need of people for normlacy (which would soon be disappearing when the 'uprising' actually begins).
Some would try to keep going to the Vaudeville shows to try to hold onto that normalcy, at least until their survival was threatened sufficiently by attempting to.
Amusing interaction for Booker and Elizabeth -- using the 'Big Hook' on a particularly bad Vaudeville act, to try to get a plot item from one of the performers before the place is raided by whichever faction is currently chasing them....
With the audience already throwing rotten fruit at the act for flavor (a routine occurance by then in that theater)....
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