There was a time when the immersive sim was one of the most sought popular genres in gaming, with pretty much every player wanting to get their hands on a title that would truly place them in the shoes of a character as they interact. Games like Deus Ex, Thief, and System Shock 2 are a few of the many games that showed exactly how captivating and interesting gaming could be, given the proper execution of concepts and ideas.
Arkane Studios seems to have taken up the responsibility of introducing new gamers to the magic of immersive sims, as seen in the fact that most of their games have pretty much taken this design ethos and built upon it, modernizing these concepts for a new generation that can finally realize the beauty behind them. One particular title that is perhaps Arkane Studios' most well-known IP is Dishonored, which has gone on to become one of the greatest immersive sims of all time. Here are ten things about this title that most people might not be aware of.
10 The German Version Of This Game Has An Extended Title
One interesting to note about the game's release is the fact that the German version of this game is the only title that has been extended for some unknown reason. In German, the title of this game is Dishonored: Die Maske des Zorns, which translates to Dishonored: The Mask of Wrath.
9 The Creators Weren't Happy With The Portrayal Of Women In The Game
There's no denying that Harvey Smith and the rest of the team over at Arkane Studios did an absolutely fantastic job with Dishonored. However, there's one aspect of the game that's certainly problematic, and that's the portrayal of women. This is something that was acknowledged by the team themselves, who sought to correct this mistake in Dishonored 2 by including a female protagonist and having most of the women in the game actually have some character.
8 The Setting Of The Game Was Changed Numerous Times
In the initial stages of Dishonored's ideation, the team toyed with a number of interesting concepts. For starters, the game was supposed to be set in Feudal Japan, full of magic powers and weapons. However, due to a lack of knowledge about this era, the time period was shifted to the great London Fire of 1666. This also posed its own problems, as the concepts of the game were too fantastical as compared to the realistic setting.
So, the setting ultimately moved to a world inspired by London during Victorian times, which allowed the developers to enjoy the best of both worlds.
7 There Was A Game-Breaking Ability That Was Removed From The Game
While the interactivity in Dishonored is certainly quite high, one aspect that was removed during development was the player's ability to control random objects at will. This could've potentially allowed the player to freeze objects in mid-air to turn them into makeshift platforms, which would've definitely broken the level design present in the title to quite an extent.
6 Corvo Was Supposed To Be A Voiced Protagonist
During the game's development, the people over at Arkane toyed with the idea of turning Corvo into a voiced protagonist. However, the game was too far ahead in its development cycle for this to be made a reality. So, instead...
5 The DLC For Dishonored Was A Way To Rectify This Issue
The two DLCs released for Dishonored focus on the story of Daud, and serve as great narrative accompaniments to the main story of Dishonored. One thing that should be noted here is that Daud was a voiced protagonist, which was a conscious decision stemming from the studio's frustrations at not being able to make Corvo a voiced character.
4 The Announcer In The Game Can Be Killed During The Dunwall Tower Mission
There's an announcer in Dunwall that can prove to be quite irritating for players who have to listen to his droning voice over and over again. Well, there's a solution to curb this problem; if the player kills this announcer during the Dunwall Tower mission, then his voice will be permanently removed from the game. And that's not all...
3 This Announcer Is Replaced By Carrie Fischer For The Rest Of The Game
Playing the game without this droning announcer's voice could've been quite interesting, but Arkane Studios decided to go above and beyond to ensure that players were rewarded in the subtlest of ways for accomplishing this action.
So, the voice of the male announcer is replaced by a female one... who is none other than Carrie Fischer, herself! It's a cool touch that will definitely be appreciated by fans who recognized the voice of Princess Leia.
2 The Mission To Neutralize Campbell Has A Number Of Interesting Outcomes
One of the first missions that Corvo needs to accomplish shows just how interconnected Dishonored really is. Eliminating High Overseer Campbell is one of the most enjoyable tasks to undertake in the game, due in no small part to the massive amount of effort that Arkane Studios put into the final act of this mission.
Depending on whether Corvo steals the Sokolov Painting, switches or smashes both wineglasses, chooses to make his appearance, or even goes so far as to possess one of the two characters, there is unique dialogue and animation for each scenario, which is quite impressive indeed.
1 Corvo Can Potentially Bamboozle Martin In The High Chaos Version Of The Final Mission
A High Chaos playthrough might be a more enjoyable way to play Dishonored, even though it might make the final mission more violent and complex, as a result.
One such change comes in the form of Martin holding Pendleton at gunpoint. As is the case with High Overseer Campbell, there are a number of ways this situation can play out... but we'll be looking at the most interesting outcome of the lot. Martin isn't the greatest gunslinger in the game, and he will miss his shot pretty much every time. However, if the player times his shot to kill Pendleton just when Martin pulls the trigger, the latter will believe that he managed to hit his target, which is quite amusing.