Dishonored: 'we want you to express your creativity while playing', says dev

Dishonored isn't an open world game, but it does have a pretty open rulebook when it comes to how you approach objectives. Developer Arkane Studios has shed light on why it opted for this route and why it will benefit the player in the end.

Speaking with AusGamers, Dishonored executive producer Julien Roby explained that while his team set out to make a game that offers players a wealth of choice, he understands that this may put fans of more linear experiences off.

"I can understand people may have some reserve on the final game," Roby said, "given that we are definitely trying to push the game very far in terms of player choices and the various ways you can play it."

"This is definitely a very hard goal to reach," he added, "but we knew that from day one – this was the kind of game we wanted to make. So we forged all our production around that. We’ve worked super hard to make sure each of the game missions will deliver the same kind of depth and options people have seen from the hands-on sessions so far."

Giving people this depth and the freedom to act as they see fit has been a long and difficult process however, as Roby noted, "It’s been more than three years at developing game systems that work as a true simulation (as opposed to pre-defined scripted events) to make sure the game can almost “live” on its own and let players experiment as much as they want."

"Every single decision we’ve made on the project was based around some simple but big ideas: “Say Yes to the Player” and 'Let the Player express His Creativity and Playstyle' We’ve spent ton of time on playtesting the game with external people to make sure the game [is] working fine and [is] well balanced around those goals."

"At this point, we’re very happy with how things are shaping up for the final version of the game. We really hope players around the world are going to like it."

Dishonored is out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 across Europe October 12th.