Bethesda recently released a video showcasing the developers thoughts on the structure and design of missions. The video includes discussions from creative director Harvey Smith and lead designer Dinga Bakaba about the non linear gameplay styles within the story.
At the beginning of the game you’re faced with the choice between Corvo and Emily. And then you’re faced with the choice of which pathway to take through this crazy non-linear space … And then on top of that you’re faced with the play style question. Do you sneak and try to avoid killing people? Do you sneak, but kill as many people as possible? Do you just kick the front door in and fight through?”
Later in the video they talk about how they brought back some of the epic Dishonored two style mission where there is a highly defended location on a mission while also giving players and epic theme, whether it be fictionally or game mechanically. They wanted to ultimately create a “completely memorable space to move around in”.
The most impressive part about this video was the fact that one mission requires placers to dynamically travel back and forth in time to get through the mission. The video also shows off Clockwork Mansion, where a simple pull of a lever transforms any room.
To finish off the video they discuss the fact that they believe, due to the nature and endless paths through each map and mission, that players will have a hard time having an identical play through as someone else.
Dishonored 2 will be released on all platforms on November 11th.