Sander Cohen
Encyclopedia
Sander Cohen is a character in the 2007 2K
video game BioShock. Cohen lived among the most famous individuals in Rapture
. As one of Rapture's more respected musicians, playwrights and poets, Cohen resided in a lavish apartment in Mercury Suites, along with other Rapture celebrities such as Frank Fontaine, Brigid Tenenbaum and Yi Suchong. Following Rapture's civil war and the chaotic months that followed it, Cohen slowly grew extremely paranoid
. Cohen was given jurisdiction over an area of the city known as Fort Frolic by Andrew Ryan
, the founder of Rapture. The splicers under his domination are often subjected to Cohen's newfound sadistic enjoyment to the deaths and suffering of others. All around Fort Frolic, examples of Cohen's "art" can be found. These are in fact, Splicers encased in plaster
.
to reside in Rapture
, due to their possible prior friendship and his artistic talents. Before Rapture's descent into anarchy, Cohen was a prominent playwright, artist and composer in Fort Frolic. Cohen held a hatred towards rival performer Anna Culpepper, who referred to Cohen as "Ryan's Songbird". Sharing a close relation to Andrew Ryan, Cohen had Chief of security Sullivan murder her. With the competition gone, Cohen experienced a rare era of extravagance before the Rapture Civil War forced him to close Fort Frolic.
Shortly before the Rapture civil war, Cohen was given dominance over Fort Frolic by Andrew Ryan, who locked the area down to prevent its inhabitants from escaping. Similar to Dr. Steinman, Cohen was soon driven insane, mainly due to overuse of plasmids and the frustration generated by lack of appreciation for his work. An audio diary found in Fort Frolic shows that Cohen regrets his decision to move to Rapture.
Before Jack's arrival in Rapture, 1960, Cohen apparently had four major followers (his disciples), Silas Cobb, Martin Finnegan
, Hector Rodriguez, and Kyle Fitzpatrick. All of them either betrayed or displeased Cohen at some point.
During the events of BioShock, Jack is required to pass through Fort Frolic in order to proceed to Hephaestus. Just as Jack approaches the Bathysphere, Cohen blocks Jack's radio contact with Atlas and submerges the Bathysphere, trapping the player in the level. Cohen will not let Jack proceed until he takes photographs of four of Cohen's former disciples corpses, three of which must be killed. Once taken, the player is ordered to place the photographs in a work of Cohen's art in the centre of Fort Frolic, which he refers to as his "Masterpiece" - a tetraptych
called the Quadtych. After the completion of this, Cohen reveals himself and allows Jack to proceed to Hephaestus, at this point the player has the choice to kill Cohen. If the player chooses to spare Cohen, he can be seen later in the game, in his luxury apartment in Mercury Suites. He will welcome the player into his home, and invite him to look around. Cohen can be killed at this point after a pair of dancing Splicers are dealt with.
Cohen's sexuality is also referenced. Silas Cobb and Martin Finnegan both refer to Cohen as an "old fruit" and Cohen himself refers to Andrew Ryan as "the man I once loved." Another example of this is in BioShock 2
, The Splicer model "Brute" can also be heard saying "Sander Cohen. There was a man! Sharp suit, good mustache, took no guff!".
, who was also (like Cohen) a notable playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer and dancer. His physical appearance, however, was based on the surrealist artist Salvador Dali
. Cohen was described as a "horrible songwriter" by Ken Levine in an interview for CVG
.
were each given a 6-inch scale model of Cohen by the studio's creative designer Ken Levine. The sculptures were designed by Irrational Games
artist Robb Waters. IGN
listed Cohen as the 89th best video game villain, stating that his needs are more concrete than the two primary antagonists of BioShock. They added that he, like the other antagonists, is only a few shades from when he was sane, making him seem believable.
2K Games
2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...
video game BioShock. Cohen lived among the most famous individuals in Rapture
Rapture (BioShock)
Rapture is an underwater city that is the setting for the games BioShock and BioShock 2. The game's back-story describes the city as envisioned by business tycoon Andrew Ryan in the mid-1940s as a means to create a utopia for mankind's greatest thinkers to prosper in a laissez-faire environment...
. As one of Rapture's more respected musicians, playwrights and poets, Cohen resided in a lavish apartment in Mercury Suites, along with other Rapture celebrities such as Frank Fontaine, Brigid Tenenbaum and Yi Suchong. Following Rapture's civil war and the chaotic months that followed it, Cohen slowly grew extremely paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
. Cohen was given jurisdiction over an area of the city known as Fort Frolic by Andrew Ryan
Andrew Ryan (BioShock)
Andrew Ryan is a fictional character in the 2007 video game BioShock. The character has received significant praise from critics, and so has his voice actor, Armin Shimerman, whose voice talent was cited as one of the contributing factors to BioShock and won "Best use of sound" from IGN...
, the founder of Rapture. The splicers under his domination are often subjected to Cohen's newfound sadistic enjoyment to the deaths and suffering of others. All around Fort Frolic, examples of Cohen's "art" can be found. These are in fact, Splicers encased in plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
.
Role in BioShock
Sander Cohen was invited personally by Andrew RyanAndrew Ryan (BioShock)
Andrew Ryan is a fictional character in the 2007 video game BioShock. The character has received significant praise from critics, and so has his voice actor, Armin Shimerman, whose voice talent was cited as one of the contributing factors to BioShock and won "Best use of sound" from IGN...
to reside in Rapture
Rapture (BioShock)
Rapture is an underwater city that is the setting for the games BioShock and BioShock 2. The game's back-story describes the city as envisioned by business tycoon Andrew Ryan in the mid-1940s as a means to create a utopia for mankind's greatest thinkers to prosper in a laissez-faire environment...
, due to their possible prior friendship and his artistic talents. Before Rapture's descent into anarchy, Cohen was a prominent playwright, artist and composer in Fort Frolic. Cohen held a hatred towards rival performer Anna Culpepper, who referred to Cohen as "Ryan's Songbird". Sharing a close relation to Andrew Ryan, Cohen had Chief of security Sullivan murder her. With the competition gone, Cohen experienced a rare era of extravagance before the Rapture Civil War forced him to close Fort Frolic.
Shortly before the Rapture civil war, Cohen was given dominance over Fort Frolic by Andrew Ryan, who locked the area down to prevent its inhabitants from escaping. Similar to Dr. Steinman, Cohen was soon driven insane, mainly due to overuse of plasmids and the frustration generated by lack of appreciation for his work. An audio diary found in Fort Frolic shows that Cohen regrets his decision to move to Rapture.
Before Jack's arrival in Rapture, 1960, Cohen apparently had four major followers (his disciples), Silas Cobb, Martin Finnegan
Martin Finnegan
Martin Finnegan was an Irish motorcycle racer.-Career:Born in Lusk, County Dublin, Finnegan took up riding from a young age. At first he went grass track racing where he tasted success. In his later teens his boss at the time, Tony Carton, offered Martin the lend of a bike to try his hand at...
, Hector Rodriguez, and Kyle Fitzpatrick. All of them either betrayed or displeased Cohen at some point.
During the events of BioShock, Jack is required to pass through Fort Frolic in order to proceed to Hephaestus. Just as Jack approaches the Bathysphere, Cohen blocks Jack's radio contact with Atlas and submerges the Bathysphere, trapping the player in the level. Cohen will not let Jack proceed until he takes photographs of four of Cohen's former disciples corpses, three of which must be killed. Once taken, the player is ordered to place the photographs in a work of Cohen's art in the centre of Fort Frolic, which he refers to as his "Masterpiece" - a tetraptych
Polyptych
A polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into sections, or panels. The terminology that follows is in relevance to the number of panels integrated into a particular piece of work: "diptych" describes a two-part work of art; "triptych" describes a three-part work; "tetraptych"...
called the Quadtych. After the completion of this, Cohen reveals himself and allows Jack to proceed to Hephaestus, at this point the player has the choice to kill Cohen. If the player chooses to spare Cohen, he can be seen later in the game, in his luxury apartment in Mercury Suites. He will welcome the player into his home, and invite him to look around. Cohen can be killed at this point after a pair of dancing Splicers are dealt with.
Cohen's sexuality is also referenced. Silas Cobb and Martin Finnegan both refer to Cohen as an "old fruit" and Cohen himself refers to Andrew Ryan as "the man I once loved." Another example of this is in BioShock 2
BioShock 2
BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The sequel to the 2007 video game BioShock, it was released worldwide on February 9, 2010....
, The Splicer model "Brute" can also be heard saying "Sander Cohen. There was a man! Sharp suit, good mustache, took no guff!".
Concept and creation
The character of Sander Cohen was based on several real-life figures. Firstly, Cohen's last name was influenced by real life entertainer George M. CohanGeorge M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
, who was also (like Cohen) a notable playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer and dancer. His physical appearance, however, was based on the surrealist artist Salvador Dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
. Cohen was described as a "horrible songwriter" by Ken Levine in an interview for CVG
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
.
Promotion and reception
Employees for 2K Boston2K Games
2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...
were each given a 6-inch scale model of Cohen by the studio's creative designer Ken Levine. The sculptures were designed by Irrational Games
Irrational Games
Irrational Games is a video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier as Irrational Games...
artist Robb Waters. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
listed Cohen as the 89th best video game villain, stating that his needs are more concrete than the two primary antagonists of BioShock. They added that he, like the other antagonists, is only a few shades from when he was sane, making him seem believable.