Arkane Studios - "Dishonored" Revealed

Dhruin

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Bethesda sent us a press released announcing Dishonored, a new first-person IP from Arkane Studios and the first project revealed since their acquisition by Bethsoft's parent, Zenimax. The game will be unveiled in the next GameInformer and details are currently limited - we certainly don't know if there are any worthwhile RPG elements but comments over the last couple of years from Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith - co-creative directors - would lead us to hope for a Deus Ex-like experience. Time will tell.
BETHESDA SOFTWORKS ANNOUNCES DISHONORED
Arkane Studios Reveals New First-Person Action Game
July 7, 2011 (Rockville, MD) — Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today confirmed that it will publish Dishonored™, an all-new first-person action game under development at Arkane® Studios. Dishonored will be the first project for the studio since being acquired by ZeniMax in 2010.
Under the direction of co-creative directors, Raphael Colantonio, lead designer on Arx Fatalis®, and Harvey Smith, lead designer on Deus Ex®, Dishonored is set for release on the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows® in 2012.
Details on Dishonored will be revealed in the exclusive cover story in Game Informer®’s August issue, which ships to subscribers in early July 2011 and hits newsstands on July 15th. Coverage of the game will also continue on the magazine’s website, www.gameinformer.com/dishonored, through the beginning of August.
“At Arkane we have a passion for creating deep, immersive game experiences,” said Colantonio. “To be able to finally share details of our project is both extremely exciting and satisfying.”
The game will also be featured in magazine cover stories around the world throughout the month of August. Check the official site for updated details: www.dishonored.com.
Forums are up at Bethsoft and GameInformer has some vague hints and a single piece of art showing some sort of scifi / cyber influence:
We've seen the game running, and now we share Colantonio and Smith's vision too. Dishonored is the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride. It's a game about assassination where you don't have to kill anyone. It's a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat's mansion rather than sneak in. It's a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there. It's a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.
More information.
 
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I'm interested and all I can say is make more Dark Messiah of Might and Magic games.
 
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I Concur… with JDR that is…

More Arx (personal favorite) instead of derivative Action games (as entertaining as it was for a while) please.
 
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Why does it look exactly like Half Life 2?

Apart from that (not a big fan) - I think it sounds fantastic. Here's hoping Harvey learned his lesson with DX2.
 
DMoMM was entertaining, but given the choice, I'd choose a sequel to Arx Fatalis every time.
Same here. I was, in fact, quite disappointed by DMoMM. It was a solid effort, sure, but fell short of my expectations after Arx Fatalis and was quite a forgettable experience after the kicking foes into spikes and other gimmicks had worn off their initial exitement.

This new project has been intriguing me for as long as I've read snippets about it. Very interested to see more info about it.
 
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Arx was definitely better than DMoMM to me as well.

It's the closest thing to a modern Ultima Underworld we've had. Still, UU was significantly better to me.

There was something "off" about Arx - which made me stop playing around half-way through. It just didn't have a "finished" feel to it.
 
Alpha protocol done right? Just need to wait for the obsidian sequel now ;)
 
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103 comments on my review here ... I don't think I want to wade into that one again. Suffice to say that I considered DMoMM DRAMATICALLY inferior to Arx Fatalis, and it wasn't a RPG anyway ... so Arkane just isn't a RPG company anymore. Shame.
 
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Sounds more like a mixture between Thief and Deus Ex rather than Arx Fatalis or Dark Messiah (the former of which I was hoping for, since I adored Arx) But I have alot of faith in Arkane. This has the makings of a very interesting, player centred game.

Edit: It's a bit premature to be saying Arkane isn't an RPG company anymore I think - they can still be around for some time yet to make more games.
 
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Why does it look exactly like Half Life 2?

Because the designer of City 17 (Viktor Antonov) works on Dishonored, too!
I am interested, too. I didn't like Arx Fatalis much (I enjoyed UUW1 recently, and I find Arx to be a bad spiritual successor), but play DMoMM once a year because it really is entertaining.
 
I preferred Ark myself.

And the small description make it sound like Dishonored is a lot like Deus Ex, but without conspiracies.
 
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Sounds like thief-series. Was kind of disappointed when looking glass went to thief from underworld. Arkane wants to offer that same disappointment to me?
 
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No. Just no. Arx Fatalis was much better. IMO.

Its just another game I cant figure out why people love it. All I remember is the terrible spell system. Sorry I have to say it remove the rose tinted goggles.
 
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I enjoyed both Arx and Dark Messiah, and I think that each had issues that the other game would solve if the two were combined. Dark Messiah clearly had much better combat, and the options available to the player were quite fun to experiment with. It's true that the player could abuse the "kick into spikes" mechanic, but if you trained yourself not to abuse it, the combat was pretty solid. Stealth gameplay was quite entertaining as well. On the other hand, Arx Fatalis had a far more interesting setting that was very immersive. The U.I. and control scheme were atrocious though, perhaps one of the worst and clunkiest that I've ever experienced. Neither game had particularly great character-building/stat development, so they cancel out there. I think the spell-casting system of Arx is a "love it or hate it" scenario, and I personally hated it. I have to give credit to Arkane Studios for being innovative with this aspect though.

All things considered, I enjoyed Arx more than Dark Messiah thanks to the game world feeling much more developed and the overall uniqueness of the setting. The atmosphere of Arx certainly made the game very immersive and memorable, and Dark Messiah just doesn't come close to measuring up in this regard. I still really enjoy some of the ideas and gameplay mechanics that were implemented in Dark Messiah, and I don't really care too much that it wasn't much of an RPG; I try to judge games based on how creative and enjoyable they are over focusing too much on defining what genre it belongs in.

edit: txa: "...so Arkane just isn't a RPG company anymore. Shame."

At the end of the day, does it really matter? A good game is a good game in my eyes, and some of my favorite RPGs have taken ideas and mechanics from other genres - such as Deus Ex, Ultima Underworld, Gothic, etc. Arkane has made two very creative games in their brief catalog, and if they create another unique and lovingly crafted game, isn't it fair to judge it on its own merits and not fault it for how much of an RPG it is or isn't?

I've gone quite off-topic now, but one of my favorite developer interviews is from Warren Spector, when before the release of Deus Ex (amid the confusion people were having in trying to label what Dues Ex actually was), he discussed how focusing too much on genre labels during development can hamper overall creativity and limit new and innovative ideas. The fact that Deus Ex is still a one of a kind experience 11 years later, I think his approach to designing Deus Ex without worrying about what genre it would ultimately belong to was a great decision.
 
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edit: txa: "…so Arkane just isn't a RPG company anymore. Shame."

At the end of the day, does it really matter? A good game is a good game in my eyes, and some of my favorite RPGs have taken ideas and mechanics from other genres - such as Deus Ex, Ultima Underworld, Gothic, etc. Arkane has made two very creative games in their brief catalog, and if they create another unique and lovingly crafted game, isn't it fair to judge it on its own merits and not fault it for how much of an RPG it is or isn't?

You are right - a good game is a good game. Arx Fatalis I really liked, and even (to CouchPotato's point) liked the spell casting system. That said, it is a ~80% game - solid but flawed in several ways. Certainly not in the top 25 of the RPG genre.

DMoMM, on the other hand I consider to be mediocre *at best*. I gave it a 40% in my RPGWatch review (two stars) - and that is honestly how I feel. It is (IMO) not even debatable that it is shallow and demonstrably immature and male-centric through the middle-school mentality shown throughout. The balancing is awful ... and on and on.

So if Arkane finally makes a truly GREAT game ... I don't care if it is a Match 3 game!
 
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It is (IMO) not even debatable that it is shallow and demonstrably immature and male-centric through the middle-school mentality shown throughout.

That's the same logic that doomed DNF. I have no problem since I know what I'm purchasing. Its the same argument used for the witcher and Gothic series. Yes there male-centric and make no apologies about it.

I always tell everyone research before you buy. Then you cant complain on what you bought.:roll:
 
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