You can see my choices below.
Bioshock:
During the beginning of 'Bioshock' (2007) there is perhaps my favourite speech in existence. Andrew Ryan's speech in Bioshock is superb, the delivery is excellent as he is directly asking the player questions and therefore makes them think. Another reason why I think this speech is so powerful is because it uses the words such as 'I' and 'chose' which are strong words that make the speaker sound as if he passionately believes in what he is saying and therefore this influences his audience to think in the same way. The speech is rather like a poem and includes repetition which provides flow and encourages the player to guess what is coming up. Also good use is made with its short sentences since these are more powerful than longer sentences I find.
The scene itself plays as follows:- the player crash lands in the ocean and has to make their way to a mysterious lighthouse they can see in the distance. Once inside they find a machine that dives taking them underwater, during which a projected presentation is put up on the screen. Atmospheric music plays whilst the player is watching. At the end of the speech at the very last line the presentation stops and the window is shown to reveal the city emerging. The player cannot fail to know that the rest of their visit in Rapture is going to be awesome since the scale of the city from this view is so imposing and realistic. Since this environment hasn't been seen in a game before the player generally gets eager and excited to start their adventure.
Said speech goes as follows.
I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?
No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different.
I chose the impossible. I chose...
Rapture.
- Andrew Ryan
You can also listen to the speech itself below.
The Walking Dead - The Road to Woodbury:
Written by my favourtie writer Robert Kirkman alongside Jay Bonansinga, 'The Road to Woodbury' (2012) is a book in the series that I am about halfway through. I found the introduction to be very good since not only does it establish a time and place, but it also sets the atmosphere for the rest of the book since its uses smells and sounds to help the reader imagine the terror more clearly. This is very clever as most of the time it is easier for someone to scare themselves with a vivid imagination than someone else trying to. Therefore if the reader can imagine what is happening in the scene then they may be more moved by the events. Also, like my other choice the writing uses repetition to 'push its point home'. In this case the use of 'No one' to make the impending events more tense, especially when combined with the build up to what the 'biters' are.
You can read the start of the book below.
No one in the clearing hears the biters coming through the high trees.
The metallic ringing noises of tent stakes going into the cold, stubborn Georgia clay drown the distance footsteps-the intruders still a good five hundred yards off in the shadows of neighboring pines. No one hears the twigs snapping under the north wind, or the telltale guttural moaning noises, as faint as loons behinds the treetops. No one detects the trace odors of putrid meat and black mold marinating in feces. The tang of autumn wood smoke and rotting fruit on the midafternoon breeze masks the smell of the walking dead.
Harvard Referencing:
- Kirkman, R and Bonansinga, J. (2012) The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury. London: Pan Macmillan.
- Unknown. (2007) Bioshock - Andrew Ryan Introduction (High Quality). Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J47ENHSomc8 (Accessed:28/4/2013)
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