Launched today with some cool stuff from the game -- including some awesome animated .gifs Nick Breckon put together.

http://dishonored.tumblr.com

Hi Gstaff!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7249097476_d8c1db461f_o.gif


Fireworks!

Looks sweet! Thanks!

I'm assuming those gifs are in-game captures?

Looks absolutely fantastic. Antonov was right -- the painterly approach to the art was the right way to go.

Thanks looks lovely, really love the artstyle.

I made a tumblr just for this!

But my tumblr is just for porm.

http:// 24.media.tumblr(.)com/tumblr_m4fhc32GXO1rw6vtxo1_1280.jpg

I say, what the hell is this?

EDIT: for some reason, it doesn't let me post links, I probably don't seem trustworthy or something... It's the picture of the blue thing from tumblr. What is it?

I have no idea what that is but it looks awesome.

Is it underwater? There's something 'floating' in the distance in the upper right. Then there are those strange strands on the left.

But the light's coming directly from the left, and even a little down. So that can't be right.

If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe it's another dimension? Maybe the realm of the Outsider? But Dishonored doesn't strike me as the type of game that would involve travelling through otherworldly planes.

They can actually screw a lot of things up with The Outsider. For one the otherwordly planes that you mentioned. They might also use him as a Deus Ex Machina in the game in order to bail Corvo out of tight situations (like the prison cell but that one doesn't count). So it can go really wrong with that aspect of the game.

I came back just now to say exactly that after looking at it some more. I disagree with your bit about the planes. I don't see why you wouldn't get at least brief glimpses of Outside.

Because Dishonored already has a rich world and we don't even get to see all of it. Not only that but The Outsider teleporting you through other planes and so on is unnecessary and incredibly cheesy. In fact, it reminds me a lot like the G-Man from Half-Life. And if the The Outsider had a rich and diverse personality (as seen in the trailer) he won't need such a pointless gimick that goes nowhere with the story. We could get a better experience from him talking (if done well) than him teleporting us through all the planes of existence.

I rather think that visiting the home of the Outsider might diminish some of his mystery and, by extension, appeal.

Well I'm saying we don't need to actual travel through the planes of existence for it to be relevant for us to see something of The Outside. I wouldn't imagine that they would include it as some kind of actual level, rather maybe you glimpse it in some kind of "flash" sequence. Like maybe the Outsider's mark and power has an effect on your mind, and you're catching bleedover from The Outside.

Shoop da whoop! Yeah, that blue picture looks like another dimension that has large floating rocks and giant ribbons

Which is even less relavant. Do I need to remind everyone that one of the best writen works of art are set in reality where they don't need cheesy gimicks like this. They don't hold any meaning or symbolism and they don't uphold the aesthetic of the world they are set it. And like I already said, a few lines of dialogue can have a larger impact than some different world.

Except you don't know any more about the game than I do, so you don't have any idea as to whether or not it's relevant.


Do I need to remind you that this isn't a "written work of art"? This is a video game, an interactive audiovisual experience, with entirely different requirements and techniques from a written work. How about the fact that some of the best written works of art aren't set in reality at all? Just because you don't like the idea of a story not being locked to one world doesn't make it "cheesy," nor does it make it a "gimmick." Maybe it's just part of the story.


Again, you don't know anything about the game in terms of story, and only the barest necessities about the setting. You don't know what meaning or symbolism they hold, nor do you have any way of knowing whether or not it will "uphold the aesthetic." I understand that you're not a fan of shifting dimensions (that's what I'm taking away from this), but you're talking like anything involving it is objectively bad and could not possibly be good in any way, which is obviously a ridiculous assertion.

cool thanks

I know and judge from the examples you give me. And, though it is true that writing for an interactive medium is a little bit different, writing is still a huge part of a video game. And I like the idea of a story not bieng locked to one world. I like a lot of ideas in fact. Too bad most of them are executed badly and have no weight. They just become dull and conform to mediocrity in order to satisfy the needs of the close-minded.

You're right, I don't know anything about the story. But we are not arguing over the story. We are arguing over a blind assumption that may be way off track.

I'm not sure there's any cause to be confrontational about this matter. Perhaps it is the plane of the Outsider. That is the best guess I have at the moment. If it is, I have some confidence that it will be presented in such a way as will be tasteful and in keeping with the contextual story.

Oh, making it fit with the context of the story is easy. Making it rich and meaningful is going to be a challenge. Why even invite him into his realm? Is it maybe the stage for the final battle? Maybe it isn't all that special and everyone with abilities from The Outsider can go there? What does a change of scenery do for the story and the gameplay?

These and many more questions need to be answered in order to avoid plot holes and maintain the game's serious tone. I have yet to see a reasonable explanation for it to be implemented into the game. Before this post was made nobody was even sugesting it and now we blow up over one picture? Like I said before, I have no issue with trying to show more of the world I just know how easy it is to completely ruin a story due to the pressence of an omnipotent being.

Perhaps, just maybe it is tied into the spirit of the empress. That long flowing blue fabric might evoke her presence. Perhaps it is a dream sequence where she tries to relay a message to you from beyond the grave, only made possible my your new extra sensory capabilities? Just trying to make this image relevant in a way that would be consistent with the overall tone of the story...