 Andrew Ryan |
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| Series | BioShock |
|---|---|
| First game | BioShock (2007) |
| Created by | Ken Levine |
| Voiced by | Armin Shimerman |
Andrew Ryan is a fictional character in the 2007 video game BioShock. The character has received significant praise from critics, including his voice actor, Armin Shimerman, whose voice talent was cited as one of the contributing factors to BioShock winning "Best use of sound" from IGN. He has been compared to several different real-life and fictional figures, his world of Rapture compared to the world of Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged, while creator Ken Levine compared him to Ayn Rand herself, as well as Howard Hughes.
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BioShock director Ken Levine described Andrew Ryan as a character of ideals, in contrast to another character, Frank Fontaine, who has no ideals. Designing the boss battle between the player and Ryan was a controversial decision for the developers, due to the question of what the players' motive is at this point. Ryan taking his own life to prevent Jack, the protagonist, from accomplishing this, was described as the "ultimate insult" by Levine. The scene took a long time for the developers to finish. Levine stated that they figured out the question of who the character of Andrew Ryan is too early, adding that they underestimated the impact that this would make.[1] While he is saner than the opponents the players encounter before him, including a plastic surgeon who takes his ideal of beauty too far, he is as unmovable as they are, unwilling to change his ideals. When discussing how many people would get the good ending to BioShock, he commented that Ryan would not, choosing to take the easier path.[2]
In creating the world of Rapture, Levine imagined a utopia that its creators did not want anyone to find. Following this, he created the character of Ryan as its creator, giving him a "pseudo-objectivism and extremely capitalistic view on the world" as well as a fear of the New Dealers in the United States and Stalinists in Russia would find it. Levine states that to him, Ryan's philosophies come from Art Deco, describing the style as "Yes, we are men, and we control the universe!".[3] He considered Ryan a combination of historical figures such as Howard Hughes and Ayn Rand, though comparing him to character John Galt in that he is more similar to a real person, making mistakes and having fear and doubts.[4] During a questions and answers segment, a questioner stated that he did not want to kill Ryan, asking Levine "Are still doomed to make games where we have to use plot devices to clean that up?" to which Levine responded that video games were admittedly linear, saying that it was hard enough to come up with one good plot, let alone multiple ones.[1] Levine stated that he did not expect the "ugly comedown from the stratospheric highs" from the Andrew Ryan scene near the end.[5]
Andrew Ryan has strong ideals, so much so that they are the most important thing to him, trumping his own life.[2]
He is ranked ninth in Electronic Gaming Monthly’s list of the top ten video game politicians.[6] IGN editor Charles Onyett described him as "anything but a prototypical villain", describing him as having a bottomless ambition for creating a city at the bottom of the sea. He added that while his words resemble "totalitarian propaganda", players cannot help but sympathize with him.[7] During a discussion about the potential plot of the game's sequel BioShock 2, it was often brought up by editor Hilary Goldstein that Ryan should reappear in it, and that while it should be in a new area, it should still have connections to him. Onyett called Ryan a key element, and if not included in the sequel, there would be a dramatic loss of personality. He claimed that much of Rapture's personality comes from Ryan, and it would have much less of an impact without him. Editor Ryan Geddes agreed adding that he felt there was more to Ryan than Rapture. Editor Nate Ahem suggested that the game's sequel, BioShock 2, could potentially put the players in the role of Ryan, to explore the story of trying to create a perfect world and having it crumble beneath their feet.[8]
Gamasutra editor Leigh Alexander ranked him the third most affecting characters of 2007, behind GLaDOS from Portal and player-created characters such as in massive multiplayer online role-playing games. Leigh calls him a "cautionary example of the danger of pure philosophy", adding that while he begins as the primary antagonist, players sympathize with him once it becomes clear that he is so "bitterly wrong".[9] Adam Volk of Gamasutra described him as a fascinating take on the mad scientist character, adding that if more developers steer away from stereotypes of the character type, these characters could easily rival those in film, television, or novels.[10]
Onyett praised Armin Shimerman for his portrayal of Ryan, calling him a "joy to listen to" and adding that he would "give Stephen Colbert a run for his money."[7] 411 Mania editor Adam Larck agreed, praising the introduction Ryan gives to the player as they enter Rapture.[11] Game Chronicles editor Mark Smith praised the voice acting of the game, praising Shimerman's commitment to the story and theme.[12] Total PlayStation editor gave similar praise to Shimerman, commenting that he and Atlas' voice actor rounded out the cast.[13] Worthplaying editor Brian Dumlao commented that Ryan's voice "conveys ... the struggle of a man whose ideals are being threatened by a rival businessman", and praising the delivery of the actors to why the story is so good.[14] In their game of the year awards, IGN praised the voice acting, citing Ryan's speech he delivers to players as what convinced them. They awarded BioShock "Best use of sound".[15]
He has been compared to several other characters in fiction and real life. Ryan's world of Rapture has been compared to that of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, which similarly was created by the world's greatest minds, and went to hell without them. Blog Critics editor described Ryan as arrogant, greedy, and naive, adding that these traits led Rapture to destruction.[16] Lou Kesten of the San Francisco Chronicle also made this comparison, comparing the name "Andrew Ryan" to the author, "Ayn Rand", in its similarity.[17] Onyett agreed, describing him as a "Randian hero".[7] He has also been compared to the eponymous character of Citizen Kane.[18] Official Xbox Magazine editor Dan Griliopoulos likened his appearance to that of Gomez Addams, the father from The Addams Family.[19] IGN editors Phil Pirrello and Christopher Monfette described him as being more communist than Vladimir Lenin, the first head of state of the Soviet Union, also comparing him to Italian philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli.[20] While discussing potential actors who could portray Ryan in the upcoming BioShock film, IGN editors chose Anthony Hopkins as the perfect choice for the role.[21]
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