BioShock is set in 1960 and follows Jack as he discovers Rapture, an underwater city. Jack tries to flee, fighting ADAM-obsessed enemies and Big Daddies while conversing with the few sane humans left and learning about Rapture's past.

Ken Levine, Irrational's creative director, developed the game's concept, which incorporates ideas from twentieth-century dystopian and utopian thinkers such as Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley.

The game was created by Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009). Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier, three former Looking Glass Studios employees, founded the studio in 1997. In 2006, Take-Two Interactive purchased the studio. The studio was best known for its games System Shock 2, Freedom Force, SWAT 4, and, most notably, two BioShock games.

Here's the pitch proposal that helped BioShock get a publishing deal.