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Exclusive
Dishonored 2 artists took inspiration from grandma’s scissors
"We’ve spent so much time on the character design and creation, with unique references from tailors and fashion designers, that one day, while talking about the big scissors my grandma used as a dressmaker, it clicked!"
If you guessed that Dishonored 2 seems like the kinda game where the developers poured over every minute detail of its design, well, you guessed right.
Dishonored 2 will debut November 11 for PlayStation 4, Xbox one, and PC. It is the sequel to the 2012 original and brings back the magical stealth and assassination gameplay of that game in a new Mediterranean setting. To get an early taste at what that world feels like, however, developer Arkane Lyon and publisher Bethesda has provided us an exclusive gallery that details the artwork that went into the game’s weapons and abilities.
To help flesh out the images, we’ve include commentary from Arkan Lyon art director Sebastien Mitton, who provides insight on each item. Check it out:
“At Arkane we don’t know the word laziness, so we’re crazy enough to offer each playable character their own set of weapons and powers.”
“Corvo has his own crossbow, so we’ve focused on giving Emily a more feminine version with softer shapes. It has inspiration from musical instruments (lyre, violin) but still looks lethal.”
“We’ve spent so much time on the character design and creation, with unique references from tailors and fashion designers, that one day, while talking about the big scissors my grandma used as a dressmaker, it clicked!”
“We were drawing swords for our howler gang, who wear dark fitted tailored coats, and decided to simply remove a blade of a scissor and sew the remaining part to the other: a unique sword which also fits the characters’ background!”
“Kirin Jindosh is the main inventor in Dishonored 2. Creator of the menacing Clockwork Soldiers, you can think of him as the new Sokolov. A new location and new characters means new designs. We’ve updated existing devices and brought Jindosh’s eccentric touch to them. Thanks to our new software, the Void Engine, we now have more dynamic objects and movement, in addition to a higher level of detail.”
“As a new playable character in Dishonored 2, Emily has a brand new set of supernatural abilities, whilst Corvo retains his supernatural abilities from the first game (with a few tweaks). Here you can watch how you can creatively combine some of their abilities to eliminate enemies or escape difficult situations. The abilities on show here are Doppelganger, Far Reach, Domino, Wind Blast, Dark Vision, and Mesmerize.”
Here are some storyboards that helped the VFX team figure out the main steps of the Far Reach ability. In this case you decide to grab your opponent, pulling him towards you to take him out.
“Can I cast everywhere? Could I hide behind it for a stealth approach? Have you considered linking one of these guards with Domino to extend the effect of Mesmerize? These are just a few questions we raised when discussing Mesmerize with the game design team. Mesmerize is one of Emily’s supernatural abilities, which allows her to summon a Void spirit to distract living enemies, putting them into a dream-like state.”
“Half butterfly knife, half switchblade, we made it as realistic as possible. We really enjoyed the day we received the functional prop made by a fan of Dishonored 1.”
“We’ve now decided to show the handle mechanism, which may seem like an unnecessary detail, but we want to let players see it in action when they bend time during combat. This attention to detail is what drives us, and we think it helps the game experience feel more genuine and immersive.”
“Whale oil is a central pillar in our world as it powers a lot of devices. The idea of using the whale oil battery as a projectile came naturally to our minds during the production of Dishonored 1. This time, and thanks to the capability of our engine to display new shaders, we’ve taken the opportunity to play with the viscosity of the oil to give different waves of reaction, from the melted ground to the more volatile vapors.”
“In Dishonored 2, we push the boundaries in every aspect. In one particular mission, we can even look into the past through a lens…and use this timepiece device to switch from the present to the past, and back again! Here are early attempts at the design of this device.”
“We wanted a weapon that would serve to distract enemies and crafted by the civilians themselves: that’s where this crazy lineup came from. For the design, we mixed a flute and an insect captured in a bulb. When launched, it makes a sound and the insect inside begins to glow, emitting a long, luminescent trail.”
