Features

The very honourable Dishonored...

Dishonored, the new first-person action title from Bethesda, puts you in the role of a supernatural assassin in an atmospheric steampunk city powered by whale oil. And it's looking ace!

Coming from the talented team at Arkane Studios, this game features a distinctive 'moving painting' look with the quality and detail you'd expect from the likes of co-Creative Directors Raf Colantonio and Harvey Smith, who is known for his work on Deus Ex. And at E3, Raf and Harvey introduced their demo session by saying that this is the game they've always wanted to do.

Every play-through is different. You can play stealthily and avoid killing anyone but your targets or you can choose to kill everyone in sight. You can lean around things to study the situation ahead. Use Dark Vision to see through walls. Bend time, possess another being, conjure up a devouring swarm of rats and oh so much more! The kills are amazing - and humorous - and you can't not admit that it's really quite satisfying to embed a grenade in a enemy and then watch them explode!

After the demo we get a few minutes with the game's Executive Producer, Julien Roby.

Hi Julien! Can you tell me a bit about your role on this game?
"I am working as the Executive Producer of Dishonored at Arkane Studios. I've been at Arkane Studios for 11 years now.

This is the first time we have been working with Bethesda on a game. The publisher you work with does make a difference and Bethesda are very supportive of the kind of game we are making. They understand what is needed to make this sort of game and have been able to help us push it forward."

What would you say makes Dishonored different to what's out there in videogames?
"What gives Dishonored the edge is that generally you decide to approach an objective the way you want based on the equipment you have and all that so you're creating your own little story.

We tested the game and talked to those gamers about what they did and we were always astonished that what they did was always different from what the other guys did. So I think that what gives the game an edge is having the choice to play your own game."

On the subject of playing your own game, we've seen demos where you turned into a rat to spy on someone or a fish to swim into a building through a water outlet. There are a lot of things you wouldn't normally think to do that are available in this game.

"Yes, I think with Dishonored it's a lot about experimenting and trying things rather than just going forward and shooting. We don't like to put things in face of the player, we want them to try things out."

What elements of the game are you most proud of ?
"Two things. I would say the visuals first. The art direction is very strong. Like when you look at a picture from Dishonored, it is very Dishonored, you can recognise the game immediately, which also makes it very fresh compared to some other games that we've seen.

And also another thing of which I'm very proud is the gameplay. The way the player can move, they are very in control. And the way you can combine powers - this power here and this gadget over here, this kind of stuff."

How have you found the reaction here at E3? And what are people commenting on most?
"So far the reaction has been pretty positive actually. When people play, they really like it. A lot are commenting about how there are so many ways you can do things on the little map that we give them to test. And they come back to try things another way. So we are really excited about that.

People really get the game when they play and really understand it, so I'm pretty happy. And they get the cultural reference and appreciate that, so it's pretty cool."