Dishonored (video game)



The player controls Corvo Attano, once a legendary bodyguard for the Empress, who seeks vengeance against the Lord Regent who framed him for the assassination of the Empress. The Empress died in Corvo's arms, and thus he was held accountable. Corvo is not only a fine swordsman and marksman, master-at-arms, and cunning infiltrator, but also possesses great supernatural powers. The game is presented in open world format. The player can roam The Isles as well as the distant Pandyssian Continent, though the primary setting for the game is the Steampunk-esque city of Dunwall. The game is played in first-person, with an emphasis placed on stealth action and the utilization of gadgets as well as the environment to eliminate opposing forces. In the Game Informer cover story, it was mentioned that every enemy in the game (even bosses) can be neutralized non-lethally, if the player so chooses. Lead designers Harvey Smith and Raf Colantonio have described the game world as a "simulation"; if the player encounters thugs harassing an innocent passerby, they can be fought off, but the thugs themselves exist within the game world prior to the event, rather than simply spawning in at a designated time or place. If the player encounters the thugs ahead of time, they can be defeated and the mugging will never take place at all.

Corvo has access to swords, daggers, and guns, including powerful but slow pistols and muskets. His supernatural powers include the ability to freeze time for a certain period, possess any living creature, summon plague animals such as rats, and teleport short distances.

Also, part of the game is an entity referred to as "The Outsider". The ambiguous being is described as part angel and part devil, and it is supposedly responsible for all magic in the world. Its motives and nature are shrouded in mystery, but the protagonist, Corvo, made contact with the being whilst imprisoned; the Outsider offered him the chance to exact vengeance on the people who framed him by giving Corvo its mark, gifting the disgraced bodyguard with magical powers. According to lead designers Raf Colantonio and Harvey Smith, the Outsider walks among the mortals of Dishonored's world.

Development
Dishonored is the first Arkane Studios game to be published by Bethesda Softworks since parent ZeniMax Media acquired Arkane Studios in August 2010. The game is being developed by several talented developers including lead designer Harvey Smith, known for his past work on the Deus Ex franchise as well as Thief: Deadly Shadows, Arkane founder and co-creative director Raf Colantonio, who worked on Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, while Viktor Antonov, the man who designed Half-Life 2 ' s iconic City 17, is lending his talents with Sebastien Mitton, Art director, to Dishonored's world. The game blends inspirations from a pantheon of modern classics: The oppressive atmosphere and paranoid politicking of BioShock, the graceful bloodletting of Assassin's Creed, the murky morality of Deus Ex, the stealth and shadow of Thief.