https://bethesda.net/en/game/dishonored-de

Introduction

Dishonored is a first-person stealth action game developed by Arkane Studios and released in 2012. In the game, the player controls the Empress’ bodyguard, out for revenge after being framed for her death. Each of the nine missions directs the player to achieve a specific objective but gives the player great freedom in how they choose to achieve it. This freedom, expressed in the level design as well as the tools given to the player, encourages exploration and experimentation to such an extent that much of the storytelling becomes emergent in nature, varying from player to player.

Lens 8: Problem Solving

Like most stealth games, each mission in Dishonored comprises numerous enemies whom the player must pass to accomplish their objective. The basic gameplay loop is thus 90% problem solving: the player is constantly analysing enemies’ patrol routes and determining the optimal timing and route to proceed without being detected. This loop of observe-plan-execute is immensely satisfying and occurs continuously throughout each mission, keeping the player engaged.

In order to keep the experience fresh, the designers also evolved this core loop throughout the game using two main methods: increasing the variety of enemies and increasing the types of tools and supernatural powers the player has at their disposal. For example, the very first encounter of the game arms the player with just a knife and tasks them with getting past three normal human beings. Later, the player is given the ability to teleport – but must contend with enemies who can teleport as well.

By evolving the enemies alongside the player and filling missions with enemies of progressively varying types, the designers kept the core problem-solving gameplay loop familiar yet fresh throughout the game.

Lens 79: Freedom

While the game is full of problems to solve, it does not pigeonhole the player by giving single solutions for them. This is accomplished by providing the player with numerous tools and powers that are accommodated by the level design. For example, in one mission of the game, the player is tasked with infiltrating a bathhouse to eliminate two aristocratic brothers. To do this, the designers provide numerous possibilities: climb the building and sneak in through a window, teleport to the roof and enter through a private balcony, or even possess a fish and enter through the drainage system, to name a few. Each mission is rife with possibilities for progress, which speaks to the designers’ strong focus on player freedom.

Lens 6: Curiosity

The labyrinthine mission areas naturally lend themselves to exploration and the designers incentivize this by hiding clues everywhere, each of which can open up new ways for the player to accomplish their objective. However, the designers also went further in encouraging the player’s curiosity on a micro level. Due to how the player’s powers and weapons can interact with each other, the player can be highly inventive even when taking out a single enemy. One of the more well-known examples involves the following, ridiculously elaborate method:

1. Summon a swarm of rats and stop time
2. Attach a proximity mine to one of the rats and possess said rat
3. Walk the rat into a group of enemies before exiting possession
4. Move away and resume time – causing the mine to explode and kill all in the vicinity

The player could have just stabbed the target(s) from behind and moved on, but the fact that powers and weapons can be combined in such ways taps directly into the player’s curiosity, encouraging them to experiment with the game’s systems even when such experimentation is technically unnecessary. In the following video at 4:52, a player shows off by attaching a proximity mine to a severed head and using crossbow bolts to propel that head into a distant enemy – for no reason whatsoever other than the fact that it’s possible.

Lens 7: Endogenous Value

Aside from the main objective in each mission, the designers also scattered collectibles throughout the mission areas. These take the form of:

1. Runes, which the player uses to upgrade their powers
2. Bone charms, which provide passive bonuses such as faster movement or quicker strangling
3. Money, which is used to upgrade the player’s more conventional weapons and gear

As can be seen, all the collectibles are tied directly into the player becoming more powerful and thus serve to expand options during play. This gives the collectibles huge endogenous value and incentivizes the player to acquire them in each mission. As a bonus, scattering them throughout the mission areas also helps push the player to explore said areas, feeding back into the lens of curiosity on a macro level.

Lens 9: Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics

After examining the game through the lenses above, it is clear that the game aims to provide maximum player freedom, be it on the macro level of accomplishing each mission’s objective or on the micro level of dealing with a single enemy. Every mechanic in the game, from the player’s highly interactive toolbox to the multi-faceted mission areas filled with a variety of enemies and empowering collectibles, exists to expand the possibilities of the core problem-solving gameplay loop.

Technology

The game was built with Unreal Engine 3, but it is less the engine and more what was written atop it that proved important. As an example, the elaborate kill mentioned in the Lens 4: Curiosity section above would not have been possible had the developers programmed the proximity mine to only attach to floors and walls instead of any generic surface. This jives with how the developers have mentioned that testers often found new ways to make the systems in their game interact in unexpected ways. Such emergent gameplay likely would not have been possible without some robust programming in place.

Story

The main overarching story involves the Empress’ bodyguard out for revenge after being framed for her murder. Unfortunately, this is the weakest part of the game as, while functional, it is not particularly engaging. However, what helps to elevate it is that depending on the number of people the player kills, the narrative of the game diverges. Kill too many innocents and other characters react by becoming darker and crueller themselves. This system helps to add some replayability to the game, although the fact remains that the game’s chief strength still lies in the emergent narratives created by the player’s experimentation during play (as written about above).

Aesthetics

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Dishonored eschews realistic graphics for a more painterly style. The characters and environment are highly stylized and reminiscent of impressionist paintings. By utilizing stylized graphics instead of chasing realism, the game remains aesthetically pleasing even now, ten years after its original release. It also helps make the game less demanding to run.

Conclusion

Dishonored is a game that prioritizes player freedom and expression above all else. The analysis above, done through the lenses of game design, barely scratches the surface of the game’s many design elements. Nevertheless, it is still clear that the designers did their best to ensure each mechanic made the game as immersive as possible. Even a decade after release, it remains one of my favourite games simply for how much it excels on a design level.