Dishonored is already proving to be one to look out for. The trailers thus far have shown a game that’s seeking to reinvent the stealth and first-person action genre all in one fell swoop. The game is also noteworthy for one other reason – the revival of the dev diary.
Last week’s dev diary saw the Dishonored developers discussing the importance of narrative versus player freedom. They believe that they were able to strike a fair balance between the two, but the game’s success in this area will be measured most by its ability to immerse the player in its fiction.
The game’s artist drew upon his experience as an industrial designer to create the world. He said that an industrial designer’s job is to create things that can not exist. His design draws upon that philosophy to create a world that seems ripped straight out a contemporary fantasy novel.
Another point of interest is that the team originally wanted to set the game in 1666 London. The game’s setting has obviously changed since then, but they kept the spirit of Industrial Revolution London in the design. The buildings in the game feature the kind of design that you would see from 19th century London period pieces.
These development diaries first and foremost serve to sell the game to players, but players should look deeper. Hopefully gamers will seen when Dishonored launches on October 9 that the design is an extension of the developers’ voices. Where else are you going to see a property that kicks 17th century London into the 19th century while adding a dose of sci-fi? That’s something that only video games can do and Dishonored looks to do it extremely well.