History BioShockInfinite / TropesAToH

** When you first come to Columbia, the priest who baptizes you asks "Is it someone new?" - just like the spider splicer did when Jack first arrived in Rapture.

* CoolGuns: The weapons in general all have a considerable weight to them, from the Mauser pistol to the [[GatlingGood Pepper Mill]].

** As another reflection of the deeply ingrained racism of Columbia, it's also called the Paddywhacker. And at least some residents of Columbia refer to Irishmen as "Paddies"..

* DaylightHorror: In contrast to the dank and gloomy Rapture. [[spoiler:It does get noticeably darker in the latter half of the game]].

* DeathIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler:At the end, Booker must allow Elizabeth - [[ExpendableALternateUniverse and all the other Elizabeths from all the other timelines]] - to drown him before he can make the choice that would, in an alternate timeline, lead to him becoming [[BigBad Comstock]] and setting the events of the story in motion]].

* AmbiguousSyntax: As the Lutecs row Booker to the lighthouse at the beginning of the game in the rain, Roslind notes that they could ask Booker to row to help get there sooner. Robert says they could, except Booker doesn't row. Roslind assumes he means that Booker doesn't enjoy rowing. Robert's re-emphasis of what he says clarifies [[spoiler:that Booker not rowing is one of the constants between all of the universes that take him to Columbia]], though that is not something the player would understand at first.
-->'''Roslind Lutec:''' Perhaps you should ask him. I imagine he has a greater interest in getting there than I do.
-->'''Robert Lutec:''' I suppose he does, but there's no point in asking. . .he doesn't row.
-->'''Roslind Lutec:''' He doesn't ''row''?
-->'''Robert Lutec:''' No. He ''doesn't'' row.
-->'''Roslind Lutec:''' Ah, I see what you mean.

* HaveAGayOldTime: Very early on, you come across a barbershop quartet performing ''God Only Knows'' in front of a sign that, among other things, proclaims them to be "Columbia's Gayest Quartet".

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Aside from the ending, apparently in one reality, Booker became a Vox Populi and died, becoming a martyr that the faction rallied around]].
* HiddenElfVillage: Subverted. Booker had no previous knowledge of Columbia, telling Elizabeth he only heard of it once he got there. Elizabeth mentions that she assumed it was common knowledge below, and a kinetoscope confirms that Columbia was in fact once part of the USA until it seceded. [[spoiler: It's because Columbia didn't exist in the universe Booker came from.]]

** The Vox Populi. In the flash game, they give you missions because they want you to get the weapons off the street, only for the next mission to show they actually want the weapons to use themselves.
** There's also Comstock, for a multitude of reasons. [[spoiler: The most readily apparent, in retrospect, is how he claims unbelievably egotistical glory for his service at the battle of Wounded Knee (as seen in the Hall of Heroes), despite getting baptized specifically because of unbearable guilt from taking part in the campaign. Compared to Booker, who refused baptism, and was very firm in refusing being called a hero for his actions there in his dealings with Slate]].

** [[TheKlan The Order of the Raven]], with their [[TheFaceless face-concealing]] robes (blue robes in their case,) [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain pledge to safeguard the white race from "inferiors"]], and veneration of John Wilkes Booth as the man who shot the [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Great Emancipator]], is one for the [[AcceptableTargets Ku Klux Klan]].

** Columbia's soldiers wear Brodie Helmets (or perhaps, their identical American counterparts, the M1917 Helmets), patented in 1915. According to the Hall Of Heroes, the Columbians already donned them during the Boxer Rebellion in ''1900''. They also wear strange ones that look like a fusion of contemporary Pith Helmets and US [=WW2=]-era M1s.

* AnAesop: [[spoiler:Not even the power of God will whitewash your sins if you don't make a serious attempt at atonement.]]

** Right away you start off the game being dropped off at a Lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, which leads to how Booker is transported to Columbia. Just like in ''[=BioShock=]'' when Jack was [[IncrediblyLamePun "dropped off"]] at a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean and leads to transport to Rapture. [[spoiler: This becomes much, much more significant then it initially seems on first playthrough]].

--> '''Booker:''' I gotta get me a job in the [[IncrediblyLamePun prophet]] business.

** A minor one at the start of the game, when Booker brings out the card that tells him how to ring the bells.
** If you fall into one of Columbia's many BottomlessPits, you'll simply be put right back where you fell with only a minor drop in health.

** Similarly, being killed in battle results in only a nominal financial penalty with no loss of progress, and even if you run out of money you are still revived; the only way to actually trigger a "game over" is to play on the most difficult setting, "1999," and run out of money before being killed. Also, if you died with depleted salts and/or ammo, they are slightly restored upon revival.

** All vigors (except for Charge and Undertow) can be made into traps as soon as the player unlocks them, unlike in Bioshock 2, where the player had to spend their ADAM to purchase and upgrade Cyclone Trap and spend extra EVE activating the trap.
** The music is a clear indication when danger is near. There is clear, fast-paced melody when enemies are alerted to your presence, and a sharp chord is played to let you know when the last enemy in the immediate area has been killed, so you don't have to wonder if there's still someone waiting to ambush you. Elizabeth's behaviour is also a visual clue when danger has passed; she stops hiding and starts wandering around again. Note, however, that if the space is large enough, there could still be some lurking out of range.

** Even though Booker takes [[FallingDamage falling damage]] above certain heights, he can jump from any height off a skyline or hook and land safely.

** Elizabeth will try to keep you stocked with ammo, health and salts if you run low during a battle. The money she tosses you outside of battles also adds up.

* AirborneAircraftCarrier: The player can both see Zeppelins capable of carrying the smaller barges and the Columbia is itself a massive one.

** The Songbird. It's a terrifying creature whose goal is to keep Elizabeth in the tower no matter how miserable she is. However, its goal is still to ''protect'' Elizabeth--the two still have a deep bond that keeps it from ever hurting her. At the end of the game, [[spoiler:Elizabeth effectively puts the Songbird down by transporting it to the bottom of the ocean, cooing to and comforting is as it dies from the pressure.]]

* CriticalResearchFailure: InUniverse. At one point, Elizabeth comments that helping the Vox Populi [[spoiler:obtain weapons]] would enable it to stage a revolution akin to ''Literature/LesMiserables''. Given how naive she is, she's forgetting that the attempt at revolution that took place in that book was snuffed out easily. [[spoiler:And the Vox's attempt at revolution that players get to see over the course of the story actually ''is'' much more successful... and far more brutal. She does say that opening Tears was a kind of wish fulfillment, in which case it's GoneHorriblyRight]].

** Booker comes across an incredibly disgusting toilet apparently filled with crap, buzzing with flies. If any player is brave enough to look in... it's actually full of ''[[BaitAndSwitch potatoes]] -- edible potatoes.''

** After chasing Slate all throughout the Hall of Heroes, with him using the very vigor you’re after, you’d expect a boss battle against him. [[spoiler:When you finally reach him he’s too exhausted to fight back ([[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome since he’s an older man that just spent God knows how long running around and spamming Shock Jockey]]) and he merely asks you to kill him (which you can choose not to).]]

* CasualDangerDialog: Between Elizabeth and Booker sometimes, and especially evident during the Siren fight.

** Vigors, this game's equivalent of Plasmids, don't factor much into the plot or setting this time as much as Plasmids were in Rapture. Not only do they barely tie in with the game's central conflict, virtually nobody outside of Booker uses them, limited elsewhere to only a paltry number of EliteMooks.

* TheGildedAge: An undercurrent theme running through parts of the game. You have happy Columbian citizens, but they are supported by a vast underclass made up of "undesirable" immigrants kept in UrbanSegregation from the rest of the city. You have characters like Fink, who acts like a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Robber Baron]] to an [[UpToEleven even more excessive degree]] (with Finkton being a glorified CompanyTown that ''literally'' has gold gilding in public avenues just to stress this), and a society which cracks down on this so hard that, absent any attempt at reforms, [[BombThrowingAnarchists uprising becomes inevitable]].

* FalseProphet: Father Anthony Comstock passes himself as a prophet, using the Lutece twins' research about using tears in the space-time to predict the future and create advanced technology from other universes.

** All vigors (except for Charge) can be made into traps as soon as the player unlocks them, unlike in Bioshock 2, where the player had to spend their ADAM to purchase and upgrade Cyclone Trap and spend extra EVE activating the trap.

** All vigors (except for Charge) can be made into traps as soon as the player unlocks them, unlike Bioshock 2, where the player had to spend precious ADAM to purchase and upgrade Cyclone trap and spend extra EVE activating the trap

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: When wielding either the Pistol or the Hand Cannon, Booker and Elizabeth are shown to keep their fingers on the triggers even when idle and outside of combat. This action should never be taken unless you intend to fire at something, as this could lead to an accidental misfire.
** Both will also hold both weapons with the barrels pointing upward rather than down at the ground in case a misfire actually would occur.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: When wielding either the Pistol or the Hand Cannon, Booker and Elizabeth are shown to keep their fingers on the triggers even when idle and outside of combat. This action should never be taken unless you intend to fire at something or someone, as this could lead to an accidental misfire.