A city at the bottom of the sea

BioShock, released in 2007 by Irrational Games and directed by Ken Levine, opens with a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic, a lighthouse rising from the waves and a bathysphere descending into the dark. Below lies Rapture, an underwater city built in the 1940s by the industrialist Andrew Ryan as a utopia free from government and religion, now ruined, flooded and overrun by its own citizens, addicted to genetic powers called plasmids.

BioShock is famous for its story, its twists and above all its world: an Art Deco metropolis of gilded halls, neon signs and glass tunnels looking out at whales and kelp. It's one of the most beautifully designed places in gaming, and a BioShock rug brings that elegance, and its eerie undertone, into a room. Ours are printed into short velvet, so the gold lines, geometric patterns and deep ocean blues come out crisp, and they go in the washing machine.

Rapture's Art Deco

Rapture's architecture borrows from the great Art Deco buildings of the 1920s and 30s: sunbursts, stepped arches, chevrons, fan shapes and bold geometric frames in brass, black and cream. That makes BioShock one of the rare games whose decor works beautifully in a grown-up room. A Rapture-inspired Art Deco pattern looks like a classic 1930s design to anyone who hasn't played, and like the lobby of a doomed undersea hotel to anyone who has. If you love the style, see our art deco rugs for more.

The districts of Rapture

Rapture is made of distinct districts, each with its own mood: the Medical Pavilion's white tiles and surgical lamps; Fort Frolic, the entertainment quarter of theaters, boutiques and the unsettling art of Sander Cohen; Arcadia, a lush garden under glass that once supplied the city's air; Hephaestus, the industrial heart; and Neptune's Bounty, the fishing docks. Fort Frolic's theater lobbies and Arcadia's greenery make two very different, equally beautiful rug designs.

Big Daddies and Little Sisters

BioShock's most iconic image is a pair: the Big Daddy, a hulking figure in a heavy diving suit with a glowing porthole helmet and a drill for an arm, and the Little Sister, the small, eerie girl he protects as she gathers ADAM from the city's dead. Their relationship, and what you choose to do about it, is at the heart of the game. A Big Daddy design, his helmet glowing amber in the dark, is the defining BioShock rug: dramatic, unmistakable and strangely beautiful.

Plasmid posters and advertising

Rapture is covered in vintage-style advertising: posters for plasmids that let you shoot lightning or set enemies ablaze, ads for vending machines, propaganda for Andrew Ryan's philosophy, and cheerful mid-century illustrations selling something sinister. A poster-style rug, a retro plasmid advert in faded reds and creams, is a witty, eye-catching design for a game room or a bar, and it reads as a vintage poster to visitors.

Vending machines and their jingles

Rapture's vending machines are characters in their own right: the Circus of Values with its grinning clown, and the Gatherer's Garden, selling plasmids beneath the painted image of a little girl. Their bright mid-century signage, chrome and hand-lettered type make a playful, retro rug design, perfect beside a real arcade machine or a drinks fridge in a game room.

The music of Rapture

BioShock filled its silent corridors with old records from the 1930s to the 1950s, crooners and big bands echoing through flooded halls, and Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" became inseparable from the game. Infinite went further, with barbershop and ragtime covers of songs that hadn't been written yet in 1912. A BioShock rug beside a record player, with a stack of vintage vinyl, completes the scene. Our vinyl record rugs have more ideas for a listening corner.

Neon and the ocean

Rapture glows in the deep: neon signs for shops and theaters, lit windows in towering buildings, and the blue-green darkness of the ocean pressing against the glass. A cityscape design, Rapture's towers seen from the sea floor with schools of fish passing by, is a moody, atmospheric rug for a dark room, and it pairs beautifully with our ocean rugs for a whole underwater theme.

The lighthouse

Every BioShock game returns to the image of a lighthouse: the one in the ocean that leads to Rapture, and the many lighthouses of Infinite's ending. A lighthouse design, a lonely tower on a stormy sea, is a quiet, symbolic rug that suits a coastal room as easily as a fan's study. It's one of the subtlest ways to bring BioShock into a shared space.

BioShock Infinite and Columbia

BioShock Infinite, released in 2013, left the ocean for the sky. Its city, Columbia, floats among the clouds in 1912, a dazzling vision of turn-of-the-century American optimism with fairgrounds, barbershop quartets, airships and skylines, the rail lines players ride between buildings. Its heroes, Booker DeWitt and the remarkable Elizabeth, and its giant mechanical guardian, Songbird, are among the series' most memorable creations. A Columbia design, bright, sunlit and full of flags and clouds, is a lighter, more cheerful BioShock rug, a strong contrast to Rapture's darkness.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth, the young woman locked in a tower who can open tears in reality, is one of the most celebrated companions in games. Her look, a blue dress, a cameo choker and a sense of wonder, makes a lovely portrait design, and her tears, shimmering windows into other worlds, make a striking abstract one.

Burial at Sea

Infinite's two-part expansion, Burial at Sea, brought Booker and Elizabeth to Rapture on the eve of its fall, letting players finally see the city at its glittering height: shoppers, cocktail bars, bright boutiques and a sky of fish beyond the windows. Its look is Rapture at its most glamorous, a perfect inspiration for an elegant, glamorous rug.

BioShock 2

BioShock 2, from 2010, returned to Rapture with the player as a Big Daddy, Subject Delta, searching for his Little Sister. It added the Big Sisters, fast and terrifying, and expanded the city with new districts. For fans who loved playing as the protector, a Big Daddy and Little Sister walking hand in hand is the most touching design of all.

Retro-futurism at home

BioShock belongs to a wider love of retro-futurism, the future as imagined in the past. Fans of that look often decorate with mid-century furniture, brass lamps, vintage radios and old posters. A BioShock rug fits that style perfectly. Pair it with dark wood, a leather armchair, a record player and warm, low lighting, and the room starts to feel like a corner of Rapture before the fall. If you also love retro-futurism's sunnier side, our Fallout rugs share the same mid-century spirit.

A study or a bar

BioShock's elegance makes it a natural fit for a study or a home bar, more so than most game themes. An Art Deco pattern in black and gold under a desk or a bar cart looks classic and sophisticated, while a framed vintage plasmid poster on the wall tells fans exactly where they are. Under a desk chair, choose Standard, whose non-slip back and 5 mm velvet let the chair roll freely.

Colors and rooms

Rapture's palette is black, brass, cream and deep ocean teal, with amber light from a Big Daddy's helmet and red neon for accents. Columbia's is sky blue, white, gold and red, white and blue bunting. Rapture suits a dark, moody room; Columbia suits a bright one. Black and gold Art Deco designs go with almost anything.

Sizes and levels

Where	Design idea	Size and level
Study or office	A Rapture Art Deco pattern	3.3×5 or 4×6 ft, Standard under a desk chair
Home bar	A plasmid poster design	2.6×3.9 ft, Standard
Living room	Rapture's skyline or Columbia's clouds	5×7 ft, Premium
Doorway or corner	A Big Daddy helmet or a lighthouse	A 3.3 to 3.9 ft (100 to 120 cm) round, Standard

Premium is 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, softer and warmer for lounging.

Gifts

A BioShock rug is a great gift for a fan who still remembers the first descent into Rapture, or anyone who loves Art Deco and dark stories. If you aren't sure which design to choose, a Big Daddy helmet or a black-and-gold Art Deco pattern is the safest choice, and the Art Deco one suits almost any room in the house. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes. The design is printed into the fibers, so the gold lines stay crisp and the ocean blues stay deep.

A note on the series

The bathysphere

Every trip to Rapture begins with a bathysphere, a round brass diving bell with portholes that sinks from the lighthouse to the city below. Its riveted metal, round windows and glowing gauges make a beautiful round rug in bronze and sea green, as if you were looking down through the hatch. It suits a study, a home bar or a reading corner with the same Art Deco brass found throughout the city.

For a home bar, pair the bathysphere rug with brass fixtures and a few vintage-style bottles, and the room feels like a corner of Rapture before its fall.

Padrift is an independent studio. BioShock and its characters are named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by 2K or Take-Two Interactive.