Ryan is portrayed as an idealistic business magnate in the 1940s and 1950s, aiming to create an underwater city called Rapture to avoid government oversight and scrutiny.

The character of Ryan was created by Ken Levine of Irrational Games, drawing inspiration from real-life figures like Ayn Rand, Howard Hughes,[1] and Walt Disney.

Ryan has been compared to various real-life and fictional figures, and the world of Rapture has been likened to the setting of Galt's Gulch in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.

Ryan's act of taking his own life to prevent the protagonist, Jack, from achieving his goal was considered the "ultimate insult" by Levine and took considerable time to develop.

[4] Though saner than the adversaries encountered before him, including a plastic surgeon with an extreme view of beauty, Ryan is depicted as steadfast and unwilling to compromise his ideals.

[6] Ryan's character draws influences from historical figures like Howard Hughes and Ayn Rand, but he is also portrayed with human flaws and fears, making him more realistic.

[12] Upon arriving in the United States, Ryan became an immensely wealthy business magnate, initially content with the capitalist society the country offered.

[16] Eventually, Fontaine faked his own death and reemerged as Atlas, rallying the people against Ryan in a civil war that plunged the city into chaos.

[22] When Jack arrives in Rapture in 1960, Andrew Ryan perceives him as a threat, initially believing him to be a government agent, possibly from the Russian KGB or the American CIA.

The child, named Jack, was then genetically accelerated by Dr. Yi Suchong under Fontaine's orders, making him vulnerable to mental techniques, such as obeying any command upon hearing the phrase "Would you kindly?".

[24] In BioShock 2 and its DLC Minerva's Den Andrew Ryan appears through audio diaries, providing the player with further insight into his history and character.

The player also visits 'Ryan Amusements', a theme park originally created to instill Ryan's ideology in the youth of Rapture and to warn them of the dangers of the surface world.

[25] In Episode One of Burial at Sea, Andrew Ryan is frequently mentioned, particularly for his recent actions of sinking Frank Fontaine's department store to the bottom of a trench with many of the mobster's followers imprisoned within.

[5] In his review article of BioShock, IGN editor Charles Onyett described Andrew Ryan as "anything but a prototypical villain", emphasizing his bottomless ambition in creating a city at the bottom of the sea.

Some editors even suggested the possibility of a sequel putting players in the role of Ryan, exploring the challenges of creating a perfect world that ultimately crumbles.