Ruin your day with this concept art of a helmet-less Big Daddy
It's cursed.
There is too much to know in this world; sometimes you're better off with your head in the sand. And there's no better demonstration of this fact than beholding a BioShock Big Daddy without a helmet.
Andy found it and posted it to Twitter, a website for the expression of all things outrageous and horrible:
Good morning to everyone except the BioShock concept artist who drew this image of a Big Daddy without a helmet. pic.twitter.com/VjI31ouaXEJuly 6, 2021
This concept art—a trace of which never made it into the game, because Big Daddy's aren't so cruel as to demask—is the work of artist Robb Waters. That's according to Fandom anyway: it doesn't appear on Waters' own website, presumably to avoid a curse. The face is pretty yuck, but it also kinda reminds me of a sad old man. It's that ambiguity that drives its weirdness home.
Of course, BioShock isn't all about mercifully hidden monstrosities: there's beauty in it too, as this collection of BioShock Infinite concept art shows. But if you want some insight into another of BioShock's more grisly moments, the making of Fort Frolic is enlightening.
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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.