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For the Multiplayer Level of Fort Frolic, see Fort Frolic (BioShock 2 Multiplayer).
Fort Frolic

Being the best at what you do can really take it out on you. So unwind! At Fort Frolic: gamble, shop, take in a show or meet a new friend, all at Fort Frolic. Fort Frolic: where the best and brightest celebrate success.
― PA Announcements[src]

Fort Frolic is the seventh level of BioShock. Trapped by the egocentric, demented artist Sander Cohen and cut off from both Atlas and Ryan, Jack will have to track down and kill Cohen's former disciples to be allowed to leave this district and finally reach Hephaestus.

History[]

Fortfrolic
Fort-Frolic Fleet-Hall04

Operatic elegance.

"CURTAINS FOR COHEN?… Fort Frolic Closed to Citizens -- Forlorn Visionary Promises Final Frolic…"
Rapture Standard[src]

Every society, even one at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, needs a place to unwind — a place where adults can indulge themselves with a couple of drinks, go on a spending spree with a day of shopping, take in a show, or try their luck in a casino. In Rapture, one such place was Fort Frolic. Decorated in neon lights, torchère columns, and checkerboard tiles, Fort Frolic was a glamorous setting that featured everything from the fine arts, such as music, film, and theater, to the more salacious distractions, such as strip clubs and gambling. It was also a shopping destination, featured many boutiques selling goods from the most luxurious clothing to the finest tobacco and liquor.

The Fort was run by Sander Cohen, an artist, director, gallery owner, and "a real lunatic, dyed-in-the-wool psychopath."[1] As one of Rapture's most celebrated artists, he used the district as his personal platform. He presented a number of his works in Cohen's Collection, or on stage in the Fleet Hall. Every 5th of November a large celebration was held to commemorate the founding of Rapture.[2]

In 1959, during the Rapture Civil War, Cohen closed Fort Frolic to the public, resulting in the closure of the theaters,[3] and artists like Suresh Sheti[4] and Mlle Blanche de Glace[5] lost their jobs. However, Cohen promised the people of Rapture one "Final Frolic".[3] What the unfortunate citizens didn't realize however, was that their time in the Frolic would become a permanent residence. Cohen trapped many people in the district when he closed it off to the public, using them for his twisted works of art.

Spoilers


BioShock[]

Main article: BioShock
The Artist Should Not Fear The Censor
― Banner[src]
Art Medallion
Fleet Hall Final Performance

The art of music is still enforced by Cohen.

Just as in Rapture's prime, Sander Cohen still holds power over Fort Frolic. Scattered throughout the Fort are examples of his artwork: Fort Frolic's patrons coated in plaster and posed in various positions to form real human statues. Jack experiences his control first hand when the mad artist jams the radio, locks off the bathysphere, and sends a small wave of Splicers to test Jack's potential. Impressed with what he sees, Cohen unlocks the entrance to the Fort and invites Jack in.

Rapture Metro Station[]

Fort Frolic station

Fort Frolic's station is hauntingly beautiful.

This area served as the main entrance into the Frolic and featured two Bathysphere docks. The first one Jack arrives in appears to have been for emergency access. The entrance hall contained a Vita-Chamber, Gene Bank and U-Invent, along with an Apothecary store which is now closed.

Fort Frolic's Rapture Metro station is truly symbolic of the districts artistic style. The station is bathed in purple light, and its walls are decorated with a large mosaic and red drapery. Two of Cohen's "statues" stand in awe of the Bathysphere, while four more dance on poles hung from the ceiling.

Atrium[]

Adjacent to the Rapture Metro, the atrium serves as the hub of Fort Frolic. Still advertising the lost pleasures of Rapture, it is now a hollow shell of its former glory. As Jack enters the room, the dim space comes alive: the lights and neon signs switch on, a dark figure dashes by one of the southeast doorways, and Cohen welcomes Jack in grand fashion. Lost and long forgotten memories of what the best of Rapture used to be like linger at every turn. Many of the entrances to the rest of Fort Frolic are either closed or destroyed. It is here that Jack must build Cohen's distorted "masterpiece": the Quadtych. The Atrium is divided into two sections: the Lower Atrium and the Upper Atrium.

Lower Level[]

The lower atrium is only a shadow of what it once was with most of the space shut-off or inaccessible to Jack. Cohen's Muse Box lies beside the stairs in its glass bell jar. The other six places in the Lower Atrium are blocked off with their signs destroyed, save for an inaccessible strip club called The Seahorse.

Upper Level[]

Bshock f1337

The colorful neon entrance of Fleet Hall.

Upstairs lies the upper atrium. There are many places to see here: first, and most notable is the Fleet Hall, where the citizens of Rapture could enjoy theatrical and musical arts. Inside, it offered a chance to catch a drink of Ryan's Club Ale or a bite of a chocolate-creme cake before the show started. Since Rapture's fall, Fleet Hall has remained in relatively good shape, but now contains plaster-covered Splicer statues frozen in silent expressions of clapping and cheering. The only other accessible place in the upper level of the Atrium is Cohen's Collection. Once a place where the wealthy could view and purchase Sander Cohen's art, all that remains are empty canvases and walls that have been burned to a crisp. Inside, all Jack will find are several safes and a plaster-covered table with a plaster family sitting around it.

Southern Mall[]

When open to the public, Fort Frolic was home to many different stores. However, much of the mall area has been closed off or shuttered. Only the southernmost portion of the area is easily accessible. Just off the Atrium are two bathrooms, and in the men's room one can see more of Sander Cohen's "Human art." The Cocktail Lounge once served as a place where the night-clubbers of Rapture could have a drink. Nearby sat a series of opulent, high end shops: Sophia Salon High Fashion, the Gardner Delux Modern and the Le Marquis D'Epoque. Only the first and last of these are accessible to Jack.

The Sophia Salon's last business, prior to the collapse of Rapture, held a 50% off sale. Inside the Le Marquis D'Epoque liqueur and cigar shop, many of the shelves on the upper floor are empty; the remnants of the stock are scattered about the floor. Downstairs are a couple of vending machines, boxes of cigars (most still on the shelves) and a dead man with his blood around him (possibly the corpse of Albert Milonakis.)

Poseidon Plaza[]

Fort Frolic Mall Directory

Poseidon Plaza remains largely intact, mainly suffering only cosmetic damage, such as leaks and holes in the walls. Behind these walls, shadowy figures dart about in the narrow recesses. Although the space is in relatively good shape, the same can't be said for most of the businesses here.

Lower Plaza[]

Eve's Garden Entrance

Eve's Garden.

The first of many once fine establishments are Sir Prize: Games of Chance. Sir Prize was just one of the many gambling and drinking spots in Fort Frolic, but is now in disarray. It is not empty, however, as when Jack arrives a trio of Splicers are engaged in a barroom brawl. Sinclair Spirits was, at one point, amongst the best places to sample and drink bottles of the finest wines, liqueurs, and beers in Rapture. However, it is now a wreck, the walls and pillars eroding away by the seawater leaking in from every direction.

Robertson's Tobaccoria, next to Eve's Garden, once sold the finest and most luxurious tobacco products in Rapture. Although this shop is not in danger of being flooded or suddenly collapsing, tobacco has become much less popular in Rapture, replaced by addictive ADAM.

Eve's Garden was a well known gentleman's club in Rapture, featuring Jasmine Jolene – "Andrew Ryan's Favorite Gal!" Here, the men and women of Rapture could unwind with a couple of drinks in the swanky bar and find some 'company'. Now the old haunt is a ghost of its former self.

Upper Plaza[]

Upstairs is the most destroyed part of the plaza, with walls coming away and the glass ceiling giving way under the pressure of the sea. There are only four accessible places, two of which are hidden from the ground floor: Rapture Records and the Pharaoh's Fortune Casino. Rapture Records is the most ruined part of Poseidon Plaza. Once a place where shoppers could go to stock up their record players and jukeboxes, it is now completely razed. Walls stripped bare, fires still burning above the metal ceiling, burnt furniture and bodies chucked around, and water dripping through the sodden ceiling.

In contrast, the Pharaoh's Fortune Casino still stands tall. This gambler's haven was and still is the perfect place to get drunk (a 2 drink minimum) and put one's luck to the test. Jack can still put the many slot machines to the test and win (or lose) some cash.

Map[]

This map is interactive. Click on an icon to find out more about it, or choose a tab to see a different map.


Healthstation
Health
Station
Icon vending
Vending
Machine
Icon gathergard
Gatherer's
Garden
Genebank
Gene
Bank
Botshutdown
Bot Shutdown
Panel
Icon uinvent
U-Invent
Station
AudioDiary
Audio
Diary
Plasmid
Plasmid
Genetonic
Engineering
Tonic
Physical Tonic
Physical
Tonic
Combat Tonic
Combat
Tonic

New Discoveries[]

Little Sisters in this Level

Ungathered Icon Ungathered Icon Ungathered Icon

Single Use Events[]

  • There are two Power to the People vending machines. However, activating the one at Poseidon Plaza also sets a trap for the player.

New Weaponry[]

New Plasmids and Tonics (Found)[]

New Plasmids and Tonics (Available at a Gatherer's Garden)[]

New Enemies[]

Coded Doors[]

  • Robertson's Tobaccoria - 7774

Audio Diaries[]

For Radio Messages in Fort Frolic, see Radio Messages: Fort Frolic.
  1. Diane McClintock - Stood Up Again
  2. Sander Cohen - Musical Insult
  3. Sander Cohen - The Wild Bunny
  4. Sullivan - Artist's Feud
  5. Martin Finnegan - The Iceman Cometh
  6. Bill McDonagh - Fontaine's Army
  7. Sander Cohen - The Doubters
  8. Silas Cobb - Come to the Record Store
  9. Albert Milonakis - Fancy Cigarettes
  10. Jasmine Jolene - Pregnancy
  11. Sullivan - Bump Culpepper?
  12. Anna Culpepper - Ryan's Stableboy
  13. Bill McDonagh - Guns Blazing
  14. Hector Rodriguez - It's All Grift
  15. Sander Cohen - Requiem for Andrew Ryan

Walkthrough[]

Extended Walkthrough

Entry Hall

  • U-Invent on the left. Hack it and get as much Electric Gel as possible.
  • Shoot or hack the Health Station.
  • Crate on the other side has EVE.
  • End of the entry hall, on the left, windows have 2 First Aid Kits ("FAKs"), EVE Hypo.
  • Go down the hall the opposite way to Bot Shutdown station.
    • This is because breaking the window on the left will set off an alarm.
  • Shoot out the left window and shut down (or shoot) the Security Bots.
  • Go pick up the FAKs. Shoot out the right window (no bots) to get the EVE Hypo.
  • Continue through the Rapture Metro door leading to Hephaestus.
  • Upon exiting this room, six Splicers will attack.
  • Stay just inside the door to funnel the Splicers towards Jack.
  • To the right of the doors to the Atrium is a Circus of Values ("CoV").

Atrium

  • On the left is an archway with a stage to its right.
  • Stairs down to the stage go up to the Fleet Hall, where the player will go soon.
  • Through the arch and up the stairs is Poseidon Plaza, to be visited later.
  • Circle the room to look. Shoot or hack a Health Station.
  • Exit through the doors to the right of the stage.
  • Turn right and hack the Security Camera to the right.
  • CoV (Difficult) below it has a FAK in its tray.
  • Hack it for Antipersonnel Auto Rounds.
  • Notice that this CoV has no EVE.

Lower Shopping Area

  • Go through an opening towards the burning debris.
  • A Splicer fight will ensue. Take pics, then kill 'em.
  • Loot: Napalm, recording: Come To The Record Store.
  • Ladies' room: Turret, FAK, Liquid Nitrogen.
  • Men's room: EVE in sink (this may not always happen, though), 4 bottles of Distilled Water on a corpse.
  • Security Camera in the back of the bar across the hall. EVE by a sofa.
  • U-Invent has Hacker's Delight 2.
  • Jump over the bar and a Splicer comes down the hall. Photograph the Bots at work.
  • On the bar: recording: Artist's Feud.
  • Behind the bar: safe (Hard): Film, EVE, $28.
  • Continue down the hall. 2 Splicers come. Exploding Buck works well.
  • El Ammo Bandito is to the left.
  • Return the way one came. Have Telekinesis ("TK") ready.
  • Splicers attack including a Nitro Splicer.
    • Use TK to throw his projectiles back at his teammates.

Up Atrium Stairs

  • Recording by trash can: Stood Up Again
  • Turn right at the Fleet Hall to find a Gatherer's Garden ("GG").
  • Shoot/hack the Health Stations on either side of the GG.
  • Go back to the left of the Fleet Hall to:
  • Cohen's Collection:
    • Recording: The Doubters, minor loot.
    • Upstairs are 3 wall safes guarded by a Turret:
      • Run up to the post for cover, set a Target Dummy a step below, run and hack.
      • Safe nearest Turret (Very Hard): very little loot. Skip it.
      • Middle safe (Hard): Armor-Piercing Pistol Rounds, $47, FAK.
      • A Houdini Splicer attacks. Take pics and help the Turret kill her.
      • Last safe: Medium. Auto Rounds, Film, EVE.
  • Return to…

Fleet Hall

  • Security Camera inside. Hack it.
  • Go up the stairs on the right to the first landing.
  • Look under the next stairs: Film, FAK.
  • Go up those stairs to a room: EVE, Film, recording: Musical Insult, U-Invent.
  • Go down the stairs.
  • Set a few Cyclone Traps or a Proximity Mine at the bottom of the stairs.
  • Cross over to the elevator and get a Napalm-loaded Chemical Thrower ready.
  • Push the elevator button, turn around, and Napalm the Splicers coming down the stairs.
  • Go up the elevator.

Auditorium

  • EVE on a railing to the right as one enters.
  • Get the Research Camera ready and go down to the stage.
  • Wait for Kyle Fitzpatrick to blow up and take his picture.
  • Go back up toward the glass door, but turn down the hallway to the right.
  • Go to the next-to-last door, jump up on the railing, run and jump to the left railing.
  • Pick up Alarm Expert from that railing.
  • Drop down to the floor below and follow the right wall around.
  • Stop when one reaches a small staircase.
  • Two Turrets are at the end of the wall to the right.
    • To hack both of them:
    • Set a Target Dummy by the entry and run towards the Turrets.
    • Set another Dummy if the previous one disappears.
    • Hack the two Turrets, starting with the one on the left.
  • Safe (Easy): 2 Proximity Mines, 2 FAKs, Auto Rounds.
  • The back right corner of the auditorium contains some minor loot if one wishes to take a look.
  • A Houdini Splicer will be lurking around the auditorium if one wishes to research that enemy type.

Atrium: First Photo

  • Return to the atrium and go up the steps onto the stage.
  • Insert the picture in one of the frames and pick up Cohen's reward: the Crossbow.
  • Go up the stairs to…

Poseidon

  • See the Extra Little Sister Bug to get a little extra ADAM.
    • That article recommends not doing the following photo next.
  • Hallway: recording: "The Iceman Cometh".
  • Corpse above it. Melt the ice. Loot: 8 Armor-Piercing Pistol Rounds, 3 bottles of Distilled Water.
  • Hallway to the left with several Splicers encased in ice:
  • Take all the pictures one can without going past the first Splicer.
  • Go down the left wall and melt the ice: Crossbow, Automatic Hack Tool, FAK.
  • Keep going until Martin Finnegan ices Jack over.
  • After thawing out, use the Crossbow to headshot the frozen Splicer at the far end. It's Finnegan.
  • Photograph him and search him for Frozen Field.
  • Search the nearby frozen trash can for components.
  • Return to the Atrium.

Big Daddy Battle

  • In the Atrium, two Splicers attack a Bouncer and a Little Sister.
  • When they're done, run up the stairs and around the railing.
  • When one can see the Big Daddy, hit him with 100 units of Electric Gel.
    • Switch to Frag Grenades if he needs finishing off.
    • On Hard, another 65 units of Gel will do it.

Atrium: Second Photo

  • Insert the second photo. Reward: 10 Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, $30, 3 FAKs.
  • Go to Poseidon Plaza.

Poseidon, Lower Level

  • Spider Splicers:
    • As soon as the player enters, a wave of Spider Splicers attack. Napalm 'em.
    • As Jack walks around Poseidon, Splicers will frequently attack him.
      • If one has Static Discharge, stay away from the windows.
      • Fail to do so and the electric attack will destroy the windows, setting off an alarm.
      • If this happens, drop everything and find the nearest Bot Shutdown Machine, which happens to be to the right of the staircases.
  • An El Ammo Bandito (Very Hard) is nearby.
  • Incendiary Bolts for the Crossbow are a good choice.
  • The first establishment to the right of the ammo machine is…
  • Sir Prize:
    • FAK, recording: "Fontaine's Army", Film.
    • Safe (Hard) behind bar: 2 Trap Bolts, Exploding Buck, ammo.
    • Upstairs: Trap Bolt, Steel-Tip Bolts.
  • Outside: CoV (Hard).
  • Continue along the left wall. U-Invent is in a nook to the left.
  • While turning left at the next corner, a FAK may be on the floor through a hole in the wall.
  • Sinclair Spirits:
    • Security Camera on the right wall.
    • Behind the bar: Cash Register on the floor. Push the red button to open a secret door.
    • The door is in the corner across from the bar. The crate has components.
    • Go down the stairs, turn left to the Power to the People Station.
      • Have a weapon ready before using the machine, preferably a Shotgun loaded with Exploding Buck.
      • After using it, turn around straight away and shoot the Plastered Splicer which has now spawned behind Jack.
    • Safe (Hard) next to PttP: $33, FAK, Automatic Hack Tool.
    • Come out, turn right, go to…
  • Robertson's Tobaccoria:
    • Recording: "Guns Blazing". EVE behind the counter.
    • Door lock code: 7774. Security Camera to the left. Ammo, cash.
    • Come out, turn left, go to…
  • Eve's Garden:
    • Go between the dance floor and the bar to a door leading to a flight of stairs.
    • Check the Cash Register.
    • Upstairs, hug the rail, get centered on the door.
    • Get Target Dummy ready.
    • Advance until the doors open. Set a Dummy out in front of the Turrets.
    • While they are firing at it, run out and hack the two.
    • Exit through the doors to the…

Poseidon Upper Level

  • There may be a BD-LS pair in this hallway.
    • Use Proxy Mines and/or Trap Bolts assisted by the two Turrets.
    • Use a couple of Frags to lure him into the trap.
  • Walk around to the left to…
  • Pharaoh's Fortune Casino:
    • Middle area is covered by a Security Camera upstairs.
    • Go up the stairs to the first landing. Hit the Camera with Liquid Nitrogen or Winter Blast and hack it.
    • On the pool table: FAK, recording: "Bump Culpepper?"
    • EVE and ammo on a sofa. Go back downstairs.
    • Wall safe (Very Hard) behind bar: FAK and $25.
  • Rapture Records:
    • This is where Silas Cobb, the next target, can be found.
    • Advance on the right until one drops downstairs.
    • Approach the center where there's a figure propped up on a chair.
    • It's not Cobb, rather it's a very powerful time bomb. One the ticking starts, back up into the staircase.
    • Go back out and face upstairs to see Cobb.
    • He will throw a grenade at a crawl space door and run out.
    • Three flaming Spider Splicers drop down from a vent on the ceiling and attack Jack.
    • Alternatively, Napalm them.
    • Loot downstairs: Napalm, FAK.
    • Go to the back corner and take the crawl space back upstairs.
    • Crawl space has 2 FAKs.
    • Drop down into the upstairs area and Cobb comes in.
      • The best way to kill him is to launch Cobb's own Molotovs back at him with TK (He's a Nitro Splicer).
    • If one doesn't have TK, use Napalm and Heat-Seeking RPG's.
    • Recording behind the bar: "Ryan's Stableboy".
    • Take Cobb's picture and head back to the Atrium.
    • As one exits Rapture Records there's some Electric Gel in a hole in the wall towards the left, near a COV.
  • Go downstairs and find a set of stairs by some falling water down to a flooded room.
    • Get Electro Bolt ready.
    • Go to the far corner of the room and get Extra Nutrition 2.
    • The area also contains 2 Proxy Mines and a crate with cash and an Automatic Hack Tool.
    • Jump up onto the crate, turn around, and zap the water.
    • Several Plastered Splicers have spawned in the water; three zaps should do them in.
      • These Splicers hold very good loot. However, never look away from the corpses.
      • Fail to do so and not only do the corpses disappear, but new Plastered Splicers spawn in the room.
    • Upstairs, turn left. Kill another Plastered Splicer by the falling water.
    • Go back to the Atrium.

Atrium: Third Photo, Battle

  • A big battle (15-16 Splicers in all, two will be alive at any time) will take happen after placing the third picture.
  • As usual, many strategies can work. Save first.
  • The battle starts a few seconds after placing the third photo.
  • Easiest solution that requires no ammo: if you've hacked the nearby camera and have the camouflage tonic: Go back to the camera you've hacked that's nearby. Stand under the camera and watch the Splicers get killed by the Security Bots as they trip the alarm. Even if you're invisible, they'll all come where you are but won't attack since you're invisible.
  • Run back to the corner to the left of the Metro exit doors.
  • Set a Target Dummy out away from Jack.
  • When the Splicers attack the Dummy, toast them with Napalm.
  • When done, one can replenish one's EVE at the CoV out by the Metro doors.
  • Go back to the stage to collect the reward for the third photo.

Poseidon: Back to Eve's Garden

  • Eve's is at the opposite corner from where the player enters the Plaza.
  • Run all the away and avoid encounters with Splicers if possible.
  • Go backstage, down a hall, and into a room. A ghost will lead Jack.
  • Left of the bed: cash, recording: Pregnancy.
  • Right of the bed: safe: $34, FAK, 8 Antipersonnel Pistol Rounds.
  • When going back out, Hector Rodriguez will be at the bar.
  • He will run out the door and lead Jack on a long chase.
  • Here's one way to prevent that before going backstage:
    • Step inside the door to the left, facing the stage. Save.
    • Crouch down and fire a Trap Bolt at the top edge of the stage.
    • Move left quickly so that the trap line doesn't hit Jack.
    • Repeat. Six trap lines should be more than enough.
    • They should all go from the edge of the stage to the wall.
    • Hop up onto the stage and go back to the private room.
    • Coming back: at the edge of the door the to stage, turn and fire a Frag at the end of the bar.
    • Hector runs into the trap lines and dies. Take a picture.
      • If the player ends up chasing Hector across the Plaza anyway, use a Shotgun filled with Exploding Buck.
    • A recording "It's All Grift" spawns on the bar next to where Hector was sitting.

Atrium: Last Picture

  • Enter the last picture and watch the show.
  • Collect the reward from Cohen: Medical Expert 2.
  • It's possible to kill him now or later.
    • Warning: Killing Cohen now means the player won't be able to access the Power to the People Station found in his apartment in Olympus Heights.
    • He is also much harder to kill now than later, and finally…
  • On the other hand, it is possible for the player to kill Cohen in Olympus Heights and then return to Fort Frolic to kill him again. Patience is the best solution here.
    • When going back to Fort Frolic after already killing him, simply set the Quadtych on fire to make Cohen appear again and attack.
    • On Cohen's corpse if he is killed here: Sander Cohen's Muse Key, 8 Film, 5 Trap Bolts.
    • Inside Cohen's Muse Box: 100 dollars, 8 Incendiary Bolts, 3 Spider Splicer Organs.

Cohen's Office

  • Go up the stairs to the Fleet Hall and go to Cohen's office (see map).
  • Loot: Electric Flesh, Film, EVE, recording: "Requiem For Andrew Ryan".
  • Go downstairs and leave for Hephaestus.


BioShock 2[]

PharaohBio2

Fort Frolic's "courier" marquee in 1968.

Main article: BioShock 2

Although Fort Frolic is never visited in BioShock 2, the Fort's marquee can be seen on a destroyed building when Subject Delta gets his first panoramic view of the city. A number of signs for businesses within Fort Frolic can also be seen advertised on adjoining buildings.

Burial at Sea[]

Rapture Map BATE2

Possible targets.

Main article: Burial at Sea

Fort Frolic is referenced in both episodes of the BioShock Infinite downloadable content Burial at Sea. An advertisement for Fort Frolic can be heard through the Public Address Announcement in Episode One. It is also learned that a business called the Defense Pavilion operated in Fort Frolic.

In Episode Two, it's learned that Felix Molloy was given an order by Atlas to choose a location to attack when/if they escaped their prison in Fontaine's Department Store. He believed that Fort Frolic would be a prime target if they managed to escape by the 5th of November as the Fort played host to an event celebrating the founding of Rapture and would be packed with revelers. Pharaoh's Fortune Casino would have been one of the main targets.

At the end of the episode, Fort Frolic's "courier" marquee can be seen from the window in the hall where Elizabeth rendezvouses with Atlas.

Gallery[]

Concept Art and Pre-Launch Images[]

In-Game Images[]

Remastered In-Game Images[]

Bugs/Glitches[]

  •  Icon mac Icon pc Icon xbox Icon ps3 It is actually possible to get trapped in Rapture Records. When trying to kill Silas Cobb, if the player hypnotizes a Big Daddy and approaches the booby-trapped corpse, the Big Daddy will stay on the upper platform. Normally, Cobb is supposed to throw a Molotov Cocktail into an air vent, allowing the player to go back up; however, in this case the Big Daddy will kill him before he can do so, leaving the player stranded on the lower deck. In such a case, the player can return to the main map by killing him/herself, most efficiently by use of the Incinerate! Plasmid at their feet.
    • A variance of this occurrence can happen even after Cobb throws the Molotov: the path to the upper platform through the vent will open, but the door will remain shut up there and the spotlight can be seen shining through the door.
  •  Icon mac Icon pc Icon xbox Icon ps3 Above the Atrium there are two schools of fish swimming in a loop. One of the schools swims so close to the roof, that two of the fish actually swim through the wall and into the Atrium.
  • If the player chooses to kill Sander Cohen, return to Fort Frolic and hit the Quadtych, Cohen will appear and fight the player despite being already dead. This also happens if a Splicer hits the Quadtych.
  • If you shoot twice at the sign of a smoking girl above the Quadtych, the hand in which she holds the cigarette will fall and hang in the air.
  •  Icon pc The projector in the projector booth in the Fleet Hall is unsolid and the player can move through it.

Behind the Scenes[]

Rosie2

A Rosie Big Daddy along a Little Sister by the Ferris Wheel, in an early version of Fort Frolic.

  • In Cohen's projection booth, the film reel is wound with tape that has the Irrational Games logo repeated on it. Irrational Games was the main game studio that created BioShock.
  • The original concept for Fort Frolic was designed to have a Ferris Wheel. It was removed before BioShock was completed, but the Ferris Wheel was later included in the Challenge Rooms downloadable content.[6]
  • There was a Rapture Zoo that was intended to be included in BioShock as a part of Fort Frolic.[7] Multiple interviews with developers of the game mention that this was a level that was ultimately cut fairly far along in the design process due to time constraints, and they indicate that it was one of the things they most regretted having to cut. To date, only one known art asset from the Zoo level has surfaced, so virtually nothing is known about it. The only concrete information comes from an interview that mentions that it would have included an elephant.[8]
Fort Frolic-Something in the Shadows

Something in the shadows.

  • As mentioned above, when Jack first enters the Atrium, a shadowy figure dashes by the southeast doorways in the room. With all the lights switching on, the figure is easy to miss. It's meant to look like a Splicer when in actuality the model is a blacked out female corpse using a Spider Splicer running animation. Similar figures are present in Poseidon Plaza, but the model is a blacked out Toasty using a Thuggish Splicer's animation. The Poseidon Plaza ones have the sparks present when the Thuggish Splicers drag their melee weapon even though they carry nothing.
Lady With Hotcakes Clip Art Fort Frolic Mall Directory

The "Lady With Hotcakes" clip art.

  • The woman seen on the Fort Frolic mall directory is a slightly altered "Lady With Hotcakes" clip art.
  • Every time Sander Cohen talks to the player the lights in Fort Frolic's Atrium will go darker and have a purple hue, before returning to normal when he is finished. When faced with Cohen's rage, the lights go bright red, and then they will go completely dark once he is defeated.
  • As stated in the Deco Devolution Artbook by Eric Sterner, Level Architect, 2K Marin: "Originally the way you got into the Dionysus Park was through the Atrium of Fort Frolic from BioShock — the big octagonal room that players who played BioShock would remember — only it was completely submerged under water in this game. You'd be going through this totally sunken version of a level that you might remembered if you played the first game." This reveals that Dionysus Park was originally meant to be an extension of Fort Frolic and that the player would have passed through it in BioShock 2.
  • Fort Frolic is the only area of BioShock that contains more than one Rapture Metro station.
  • Developer Jordan Thomas was responsible for the level design of Fort Frolic. He was able to include a number of Easter eggs revealed in subsequent interviews.
    • When Sander Cohen appears to see his finished Quadtych and when Cohen is killed, a recording of a cheering audience will be heard. This is a reference to Rupert Pupkin's imaginary audience in Martin Scorsese's film The King of Comedy.[9]
    • When responding to a question about game atmosphere and audio, he mentioned it was possible to kill the health-adjusted Spider Splicers at Cohen's Quadtych in time to "Waltz of the Flowers" with the Wrench. "I wanted the player to dance. To pin them with a spotlight, and show that FPS movements, regarded from above, are balletic. So I went to Emily Ridgway, who was in sound there at the time, and said - I needed something that would evoke that. She gave me Waltz of the Flowers, which was perfect - and I’d never have known to pick that exact song. But then we down-tuned the health of all the Splicers in the scene, so you’d mainly see them leap...and then fall, stay moving, fall into a balletic flow. A player online got the joke completely and made a video of him using just the wrench in time with the music swells."[10][11]
  • In the BioShock 2 Signature Series Guide, the description for the Fort Frolic multiplayer map incorrectly refers to Fort Frolic as a red-light district: "A two-floor affair, Fort Frolic is the red light district of Rapture. Now it serves as a battleground for the forces of Ryan and Atlas."[12] Fort Frolic is Rapture's recreational center, with art, entertainment, shopping, and gambling venues, which contradicts the red-light district label, which purely focuses on sex-oriented companies. The only businesses that fall under that description are Eve's Garden and The Seahorse, which are only a fraction of what Fort Frolic has to offer. The actual red-light district of Rapture is post-1959 Siren Alley.

References[]

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