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worked on in the past such as Arx Fatalis, Dark UE3, along with advances in technology,
Arkane Studios Messiah of Might & Magic and Deus Ex: Invisible have helped the team implement exceptional
Reimagines First-Person War. lighting, develop better physics and gather more
characters on screen with higher polygon counts.
With Dishonored “We’ve never worked on open-world games, As a studio, there’s a certain level of graphical
but the confusion exists because our games – fi delity that the team loves. Smith and Colantonio
Arkane Studios has been utilizing Unreal Engine while mission-based – feel very nonlinear and like the abstract game mechanics, but they also
3 (UE3) to let their imaginations run wild in open-ended in very specifi c ways,” explained really like creating rich, interesting environments.
crafting a world that looks unlike any game ever Smith. “There are multiple pathways through the
seen before. Dishonored, the new fi rst-person environment. Sometimes these are just realistic “We’re using a lot of the advances in technology
perspective action adventure game, is set in the routes, like rooftops and windows, and at other for a very analog AI system,” said Smith. “The AI
industrial whaling city of Dunwall. The world has times these pathways are enabled by the player’s is not just a magic circle that knows where you’re
a painterly style with a 19th century London feel choice of powers, play style and morality. We at when you’re inside the circle. It has a set of
blended with steampunk, fantasy and science want to allow the player many choices so they can view cones. It’s used in the dark and with distance,
fi ction infl uences. The teams in Austin, Texas and author their own experiences.” where the vision falls off. The AI goes into an
Lyon, France have been using UE3 technology indeterminate state when it’s not sure if it’s seen
to further push the envelope of non-linear Arkane had a choice in technology when it came you and will give up if it hasn’t found you. It’s a
exploration. time to bring their vision to life. Colantonio said very warm, perception-based AI.”
that barring the additional stealth and AI code that
“We love fi rst-person action games with aspects the team wrote, UE3 enabled their artists and level The end result is a non-linear adventure that
of RPGs or adventure games added in,” said designers to start immediately prototyping layouts begs for replay given the open gameplay choices.
Raphael Colantonio, co-creative director on and mission concepts. This rich virtual world, ravaged by a rat plague
Dishonored at Arkane Studios. “There’s a and fi lled with unique characters, shows yet
particular type of game that is a blend of genres “Our game is special, blending fi rst-person another way that UE3 is being used to enhance
that we’ve always strived to create: immersive, melee combat, stealth and physical mobility,” the creative visions of game developers around
fi rst-person, with resource economics; a cohesive, said Colantonio. “So our tech director and lead the globe. Dishonored stands out from the
plausible sense of place; variable approaches gameplay engineer – Hugues Tardif and Stevan crowd, such as UE3 games BioShock and Mass
and outcomes that are presented in a consistent Hird, respectively – have led their teams in Effect before it, as an innovative new interactive
way, often relying on simulation, so the player can the creation of a variety of features and code adventure.
formulate and execute strategic plans in how they extensions.”
undertake encounters.” Thanks to Arkane for speaking with freelance reporter John
“We’ve used Unreal Kismet, Unreal Lightmass, Gaudiosi for this feature.
Dishonored gameplay blends combat, stealth, and the new navigation mesh system and most of
role-playing features. Gamers take on the role of a the standard tools. We’ve also added our own UPCOMING EPIC ATTENDED EVENTS
supernatural assassin in a retro-future world. The features, such as audio propagation and a dialog GDC Online
game mechanics can be applied creatively, as the editor, and we’ve replaced ‘Matinee’ with ‘Soiree’ Austin, TX
developer is encouraging gamers to play their way. because we needed to have a way for our NPCs October 9-11, 2012
to constantly switch between AI and scripted MIGS
According to Harvey Smith, co-creative director scenes,” added Smith. “We’re proud of the amount Montreal, Canada
November 13-14, 2012
on Dishonored at Arkane Studios, there remains of things we got the engine to do at the same time
confusion over the types of games Arkane has for performance.” Please email licensing@epicgames.com for appointments
© 2012, Epic Games, Inc. Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Developer Network, UDN, Unreal Engine, UE3, Unreal Kismet, Unreal Landscape and Unreal Matinee are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.