Big Daddy (BioShock)

Big Daddy
BioShock series character
A Bouncer-type Big Daddy alongside a Little Sister
First game	BioShock

A Big Daddy is a fictional character in the BioShock series of video games. Big Daddies are heavily spliced (genetically mutated and altered with ADAM) human beings who have had their bodies directly grafted into antiqued, heavily armored atmospheric diving suits. They are armed with a rivet gun, heavy drill, rocket launcher, or ion laser. Alpha series Big Daddies are equipped with any of several other weapons as well. Though they make low-pitched groaning noises similar to whales, Big Daddies have no voice actor attributed to them. Designed by Irrational Games (then under the supervision of 2K Boston/2K Australia), they first appeared in BioShock and were promoted heavily. A six-inch Big Daddy action figure was included in the limited edition version of the title. In its sequel, BioShock 2, the player controls a prototype Big Daddy.

They roam the underwater dystopian city of Rapture, mentally conditioned to protect the Little Sisters—little girls who harvest a substance called ADAM from corpses—thanks to a series of plasmids stripping them of their humanity and free will. The player's interactions with Big Daddies and Little Sisters have been described by developer Ken Levine as the cornerstone of the game, due to the player's need for ADAM in order to gain strength in the game.

Conceived of early on as a man encased in a diving suit, the Big Daddy was designed to have "that hulking metal feel of an underwater protector, so solid not even a shotgun blast could knock him off his feet." While the concept remained the same of an AI character that protected the "gatherer" AI characters in the title, many ideas were considered for their mobility and execution, including a wheelchair mounted version. As the designs for the individual types evolved, intricate details of the actual diving suit were worked out piece by piece, using the concept that the suits would be constructed from salvaged parts of the city. Developer Ken Levine noted that with the concept of the gatherers as little girls, it allowed the team to explore the protector role of the character and demonstrate it in a way to appeal to a real-world relationship for the player.