%0 Journal Article %A Tulloch, Rowan %T A man chooses, a slave obeys: agency, interactivity and freedom in video gaming %D 2010 %J Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, %V 2 %N 1 %P 27-38 %@ 1757-1928 %R https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw.2.1.27_1 %K interactivity %K narrative %K post-structuralism %K pedagogy %K Bioshock %K agency %I Intellect, %X This article explores the concept of interactivity through a close reading of the 2007 video game Bioshock (2K Boston & 2K Australia 2007). By analyzing the interconnections between the game's storyline and ludic mechanisms I argue that Bioshock's narrative twist can be read as a powerful deconstruction of the notion of player agency (cf. Ruch, this issue). I therefore offer an analysis of this game as a problematization of traditional understandings of choice. By highlighting the role of pedagogy in Bioshock I reveal the importance of processes of training in the medium of video gaming. I conclude by drawing upon a post-structuralist framework to suggest that the subjectivity of the video game player is constructed through the play experience. %U https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw.2.1.27_1