BioShock Infinite's Heavy-Hitting Handyman Steps Into the Light

[Andy Chalk]

BioShock Infinite's Heavy-Hitting Handyman Steps Into the Light

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It's time for a look at the towering Handyman, the second of BioShock Infinite's "Heavy Hitters."

If the Motorized Patriot [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116226-Irrational-Reveals-the-First-BioShock-Infinite-Heavy-Hitter] is kind of creepy, the Handyman is downright frightening. The second of the BioShock Infinite "Heavy Hitters" to come to light, the Handyman is an absolute beast. He's huge, he's powerful and he's fast; he's such a badass that even other BioShock Infinite bad guys get nervous when he's around.

"They can pick up AIs, like friends or foes, and they can toss them at people," explained Creative Director Ken Levine. "So I think that everybody around them finds them quite terrifying, including sometimes your enemies, because they just become tools of the Handyman to get at Booker."

Lead Artist Shawn Robertson said inspiration for the design of the character came in part from toys of the era, in particular the porcelain dolls that were meticulously crafted for realism but couldn't quite pull it off, creating what he described as " the original incarnation of the uncanny valley." The Handyman will also be a "tragic character," although Levine added that he wants gamers to discover the specifics of their sadness for themselves.

BioShock Infinite [http://www.amazon.com/BioShock-Infinite-Xbox-360/dp/B003O6EB70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331742342&sr=8-1] is currently scheduled to come out on October 16 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.


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[UFriday]

I've been looking forward to finding out more about these guys since the E3 demo.

Anyone think they might just outclass the Big Daddy?

 

[MrBrightside919]

Want this so very very much...if only I could travel through time to October...

Spoiler

 

[EHKOS]

Tragic....you mean like how the Big Daddies got their organs grafted into the diving suits? You guys already did this.

 

[Blind Sight]

*Spoilers* The handymen are former political dissidents.

Calling it now.

 

[sushkis2]

I don't geddit, if they had all those various designs of the enemy, why did they just settle on a single one? Putting more of the planned designs into the game would bring a huge deal of variety!

 

[MercurySteam]

Keep at it Irrational. This game is shaping up to be one of the best titles in years.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

I don't geddit, if they had all those various designs of the enemy, why did they just settle on a single one? Putting more of the planned designs into the game would bring a huge deal of variety!

All ^^^THIS

I'd love to see their other designs incorporated, even as random reskins. That way it doesn't feel like we're fighting THE SAME GUY over and over. Give each just a touch of individuality, and we'll be able to sympathize with them more because we can recognize them as beings that were once normal people.

 

[BrainWalker]

I don't geddit, if they had all those various designs of the enemy, why did they just settle on a single one? Putting more of the planned designs into the game would bring a huge deal of variety!

Yeah, I have to ask the very same question. I do think the design with clothes works better than the design without clothes, but I mean, there's no reason you couldn't have both. Maybe the further on in the game you get, your opponents are getting desperate and they are less concerned with making their hideous abominations presentable and start sending them to you before sending them to the tailor. Or maybe they come at you with clothes by default but they can be burned off or something. There's so many better ways to approach it than simply having one static design.

I'm also pretty bummed they went with the bald thug head design instead of the "broad faced with lots of frown lines" mustachioed head. That mustache was my favorite thing about the design the very first time I saw a handyman, back before they had named them, in that very first gameplay footage video I saw over a year ago. I love the idea of this big hulking brute who's more machine than man but still has some tiny vestiges of the class and culture that are so important to Columbia's image. I guess the bald head with the scars and the dead eyes suggests more of the pain they've hinted these guys have been through in the transition from human to handyman. So, I can see why they changed it, but I still prefer the old design. And, again, if there's multiple handymen, as Ken says at the beginning of the video, there's no reason they couldn't use both heads, or more!

Also, I don't particularly care for the "exposed organs" design at 1:05, overall, but the non-human porcelain doll head on that thing is awesomely creepy.