Andrew Ryan (BioShock)

Andrew Ryan is a fictional character in the BioShock video game series developed by Irrational Games. He serves as the secondary antagonist in BioShock, and also appears in its follow-ups BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea. Ryan is portrayed as an idealistic business magnate in the 1940s and 1950s, aiming to create an underwater city called Rapture to avoid government oversight and scrutiny. As civil war erupts in Rapture, Ryan's utopian vision collapses into a dystopia, leading him to become reclusive and paranoid. After winning the war, he becomes increasingly ruthless in his control over the city's remaining inhabitants.

The character of Ryan was created by Ken Levine of Irrational Games, drawing inspiration from real-life figures like Ayn Rand, Howard Hughes, and Walt Disney. Critics have praised Ryan, with Electronic Gaming Monthly ranking him ninth on their list of top ten video game politicians. He is voiced by Armin Shimerman, whose voice acting contributed to BioShock 's success and earned the game "Best Use of Sound" from IGN. Ryan has been compared to various real-life and fictional figures, and the world of Rapture has been likened to the setting of Galt's Gulch in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.

Concept and creation
BioShock director Ken Levine described Andrew Ryan, whose appearance is based on Vincent Price, as a character driven by ideals, in contrast to the game's other antagonist, Frank Fontaine, who lacks such ideals. Designing the encounter between the player and Ryan was a contentious decision for the developers, as it raised questions about the player's motives at that point in the game. Ryan's act of taking his own life to prevent the protagonist, Jack, from achieving his goal was considered the "ultimate insult" by Levine and took considerable time to develop.

Though saner than the adversaries encountered before him, including a plastic surgeon with an extreme view of beauty, Ryan is depicted as steadfast and unwilling to compromise his ideals. Levine explained that Ryan's philosophies were inspired by the Art Deco movement, representing a belief in human dominance over the universe. Ryan's character draws influences from historical figures like Howard Hughes and Ayn Rand, but he is also portrayed with human flaws and fears, making him more realistic. The character's name was deliberately chosen as a semi-anagram of Ayn Rand's name to establish a connection.

Levine acknowledged that video games often have linear plots, making it challenging to provide multiple plot options, like sparing Ryan's life. He did not anticipate the strong emotional impact of the Andrew Ryan scene near the end of the game and acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining consistent highs throughout the entire gaming experience.

Role in BioShock
In the entire BioShock franchise, the player encounters Ryan only once in person, while most of his appearances are through radio transmissions and audio diaries. Ryan first appears in BioShock, the first installment of the series.

Character history
Andrew Ryan's early history draws inspiration from the early life of Ayn Rand. Like Rand, he was born in the Russian Empire to a middle-class Russo-Jewish family. In BioShock 2, it is revealed that he was originally named Andrei, and the novel BioShock: Rapture provides his birth name as Andrei Rianofski, hailing from a village near Minsk in modern-day Belarus. The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 compelled Ryan to flee Russia and immigrate to the United States, similar to Rand's own experiences. His time in Russia fueled his deep disdain for communism and the authoritarian Tsarist regime that preceded it.

Upon arriving in the United States, Ryan became an immensely wealthy business magnate, initially content with the capitalist society the country offered. However, governmental and religious interference in his affairs eventually left him disillusioned. In response, he used his entire fortune to secretly construct Rapture, a city where he could shape society according to his ideals.

Throughout Rapture's history, Ryan had frequent dealings with a businessman and smuggler named Frank Fontaine, who later became a prominent figure in Rapture's genetic arms race. While Ryan defended Fontaine's exploits in the genetics industry at first, his growing power led Ryan to take measures to control him. Eventually, Fontaine faked his own death and reemerged as Atlas, rallying the people against Ryan in a civil war that plunged the city into chaos.

Ryan emerged victorious, using genetic pheromones to control the populace, but the city had become a dystopia. Descending into paranoia, he ruled with increasing ruthlessness, alienating former allies who eventually betrayed him. Ryan impaled their bodies outside his office as a warning to others. Despite the devastation, he held onto hope that his city would rise again.

BioShock
When Jack arrives in Rapture in 1960, Andrew Ryan perceives him as a threat, initially believing him to be a government agent, possibly from the Russian KGB or the American CIA. Ryan attempts to eliminate Jack, who is guided through Rapture by Fontaine disguised as Atlas. As the game progresses, it is gradually revealed to the player that Jack is actually Andrew Ryan's illegitimate son.

Years before, in 1956, Ryan had an affair with a young stripper named Jasmine Jolene, resulting in her pregnancy, unbeknownst to Ryan. Fontaine capitalized on this situation and paid his employee, Brigid Tenenbaum, to obtain the embryo from Jolene. When Ryan discovered this, he brutally murdered Jolene. The child, named Jack, was then genetically accelerated by Dr. Yi Suchong under Fontaine's orders, making him vulnerable to mental techniques, such as obeying any command upon hearing the phrase "Would you kindly?".

Jack, aged 2 but physically an adult due to the genetic manipulation, was sent to live on the surface. He was Fontaine's "ace in the hole", a sleeper agent to be activated if Fontaine needed him to return to Rapture. With the same genes as Ryan, Jack could bypass much of Rapture's genetic-based security. The package received by Jack at the beginning of the game contains a gun and a note from Fontaine, using the "Would you kindly?" phrase to instruct Jack to hijack and crash the plane near Rapture.

When Andrew Ryan and Jack finally meet, Ryan reveals Jack's true past, emphasizing how little he differs from a slave. Ryan hands Jack his golf putter and, using the "Would you kindly?" phrase mockingly, orders Jack to kill him. Jack, under the mental compulsion, is forced to obey and takes Ryan's life.

BioShock 2
In BioShock 2 and its DLC Minerva's Den Andrew Ryan appears through audio diaries, providing the player with further insight into his history and character. The player also visits 'Ryan Amusements', a theme park originally created to instill Ryan's ideology in the youth of Rapture and to warn them of the dangers of the surface world.

Multiplayer
Ryan also makes an appearance via television in the multiplayer mode of BioShock 2, which is set shortly before the events of the original BioShock. In this part of the game, he delivers a 1958 New Year's Eve speech to the citizens of Rapture. As the player progresses, the multiplayer story culminates with a public broadcast from Andrew Ryan, announcing Jack's arrival in Rapture and ordering Rapture's populace to hunt him down.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea
In Episode One of Burial at Sea, Andrew Ryan is frequently mentioned, particularly for his recent actions of sinking Frank Fontaine's department store to the bottom of a trench with many of the mobster's followers imprisoned within.

In Episode Two, Ryan contacts Elizabeth, who has been forced to work for Atlas and lift the sunken department store back up to Rapture so his army can attack the city, and offers her a job working for him instead, impressed by Elizabeth's abilities and tenacity. When Elizabeth refuses, Ryan sics his private police after her, which he has sent to the department store to kill Atlas' forces. After being fatally struck by Atlas with a wrench, a dying Elizabeth is given a glimpse into the future, showing Jack's arrival to Rapture and the downfall of both Ryan and Atlas.

Characteristics
Andrew Ryan is always seen with his hair slicked back and wearing a smart suit and necktie. In an image encountered by the player during the 'Welcome to Rapture' and 'Rapture Central Control' levels, he can be seen wearing a black fedora. Ryan, described by Levine as essentially an Objectivist, holds firm to certain ideals and refuses to surrender or compromise on them. He strongly dislikes what he refers to as "parasites", which mainly includes people who support left-wing political viewpoints such as socialism and communism. Ryan also has a deep animosity towards religious and altruistic beliefs, considering altruism to be the root of all evil. As a strong atheist, Ryan disregards all forms of organized religion. He firmly believes in meritocracy, asserting that a hardworking individual is "entitled to the sweat of his brow". Ryan developed his own economic philosophy called the "Great Chain of Industry", or simply the "Great Chain", akin to Adam Smith's "invisible hand of the market" metaphor. Essential to this philosophy is the concept of a free market, with Ryan insisting that all industries should be kept completely free from government intervention. When Congress attempted to nationalize one of Ryan's privately owned forests on the surface, he chose to burn it to the ground. Ryan vehemently opposed all forms of regulation.

While Ryan appeared to champion these beliefs to the extreme, denouncing all forms of governmental control, including laws, in reality, he had zero tolerance for certain crimes. Theft, for instance, infuriated him as he believed it went against Rapture's founding principles. Political dissidents were also persecuted. Ryan enlisted the services of people like Augustus Sinclair, who offered to imprison Ryan's enemies in his private detention facility, Persephone, for profit. Sofia Lamb, the main antagonist of BioShock 2, was initially invited to Rapture at Ryan's request but was later imprisoned at Persephone as it became clear her politics clashed with Ryan's.  Although smuggling was strongly discouraged, but not outright illegal initially, Ryan eventually outlawed it and made it punishable by hanging, claiming it exposed Rapture to the "parasites" from the surface.

In essence, Ryan ruled as a strong dictator, unrestricted and unaccountable. Despite founding the city on the principle of free will for mankind, he betrayed this belief when he feared losing the civil war in Rapture. He authorized the use of a pheromone that made Rapture's citizens vulnerable to his mental suggestion, effectively ending the conflict, though he did so reluctantly. Similarly, despite seemingly betraying his core ideals, he didn't hesitate to nationalize Fontaine's businesses when it became necessary to consolidate his power over the city.

Reception


In his review article of BioShock, IGN editor Charles Onyett described Andrew Ryan as "anything but a prototypical villain", emphasizing his bottomless ambition in creating a city at the bottom of the sea. Onyett added that although Ryan's words may resemble "totalitarian propaganda", players cannot help but sympathize with him. The editors at IGN discussed the potential plot of BioShock 2 and agreed that Ryan should reappear in the sequel, maintaining connections to his character. They considered Ryan a key element, and without his presence, Rapture's personality and impact would diminish significantly. Some editors even suggested the possibility of a sequel putting players in the role of Ryan, exploring the challenges of creating a perfect world that ultimately crumbles.

The portrayal of Andrew Ryan by voice actor Armin Shimerman received widespread praise. Reviewers noted Shimerman's commitment to the character and story, with some comparing Ryan's voice to that of Stephen Colbert, and IGN awarded BioShock "Best Use of Sound" in their Game of the Year awards.

Ryan has been compared to various characters in fiction and real life. His creation of Rapture has been likened to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, drawing parallels between the name "Andrew Ryan" and the author's name. Ryan has also been compared to the eponymous character of Citizen Kane, and the father from The Addams Family.

Andrew Ryan has appeared in several "top" character lists,  ranking as the 15th top video game villain by Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition and the 10th top video game villain by IGN. He has been praised for the force of his personality and the clarity of his vision in the game. Gamasutra ranked him as the third most affecting character of 2007. A species of marine gastropod was even named Rapturella ryani after Ryan in 2016.