Highlights from the Arkane 20 Reddit AMA
Thanks for joining us for the recent Reddit AMA featuring developers from both Arkane Austin and Arkane Lyon, including Studio/Creative Director Harvey Smith (Austin), Co-Creative Director Ricardo Bare (Austin), Game Director Dinga Bakaba (Lyon), Art Director Sebastien Mitton (Lyon) and Business Director Susan Kath (Austin).
If you missed it, we’ve pulled together some highlights. Learn about the team’s favorite levels, get some game dev advice, and find out why “rat ball” is an inside joke.
The nightmare in Prey is terrifying! One minor flaw is that it lacked the ability to chase the player across maps and harder-to-reach areas. Were there any ideas that were dropped that would have made it more of a menace?
Susan Kath: I've been replaying Prey over the last few weeks and I keep grumping at Ricardo about how hard the Nightmare is and how I miss the days when I could just dev cheat my way around it when it showed up. While it never chased you across maps, the original design included a smoke form ability that would let it chase you through vents and into small spaces. Ultimately, we never could get it working quite up to our standards – and I think it would have made Nightmares just BRUTAL.
We heard that a lot of cool new features in Moocrash (ex. better HUD info, GLOO turrets, etc.) were the result of a gamejam within the company. Were there any awesome ideas that had to be left on the cutting room floor?
Ricardo Bare: The gamejam was super fun and in fact resulted in tons of creativity from the team. If I recall, one of them was a 'mimic' grenade, which spawned a group of hostile mimics. One iteration included a huge swarm of mini spider-sized mimics.
Did it require a lot of discussion to get to the point where you allowed Danny from Noclip in for such an open and honest documentary showing unreleased projects as high profile as a Spielberg project or a game in the Half-Life universe? I loved the documentary and greatly appreciated this honesty, so kudos to whoever got the ball rolling on that.
Susan Kath: Happy to hear you enjoyed the documentary! (And there's more to come!) Danny and his team are fantastic and having seen their previous work, I think there was never a question of trust on our part – we were all excited to talk with them. Being able to talk openly about LMNO and Ravenholm was an added treat. Both were things we've never really discussed in public and I want to throw a bit of appreciation to Valve and EA for being cool about letting us tell those stories.
Hi team from the first Jules cosplayer! I wanted to ask how it feels to see someone bring your creations to life? Something you worked so hard on and then someone also works hard to make it realistic.
Sebastien Mitton: It’s fantastic each time we see props, costumes and makeup. We detail so hard that our visuals are almost a blueprint for cosplayers. See what Maya Hansen (famous Spanish tailor) created based on Emily and Delilah.
As someone who loves stealth games, what sets Dishonored apart from the rest? I usually play stealth games with modern technology and politics, so I'm curious what makes Dishonored different aside from setting.
Harvey Smith: Our own take on the gas lamp setting, probably. We put a lot into worldbuilding and creating the sense of an ongoing narrative happening around you. Our artists and sound designers are so into it, too. But also, while stealth games are about the designer creatively disempowering the player, Dishonored does that then also super empowers players.
I'm amazed by how well realized and designed the station was in Prey, was there anything you guys wish you could've added that you didn't, design-wise or story-wise?
Susan Kath: The station, for the most part, was what we envisioned from the start, though some areas grew larger or smaller as development progressed. The Trauma Center, for example, was its own level at one point, but was scaled back and moved into a space in the lobby.
What is your favorite level/encounter that someone has designed in an Arkane game?
Harvey Smith: Lady Boyle’s Last Party, The Light at the End, A Crack in the Slab, and The Clockwork Mansion.
Susan Kath: I love the Crew Quarters in Prey because I enjoy snooping my way around in people’s cabins.
(Learn more about Arkane’s unique approach to level design here.)
How do you feel about player death as a mechanic like in Mooncrash, as opposed to simply a failstate like in Prey or Dishonored?
Ricardo Bare: Player death is just a tool. We seldom assign 'good' or 'bad' to a particular design in and of itself, but rather consider how it suits the experience we're going for.
How do you all look so fashionable all of the time? What are your beauty secrets?
Harvey Smith: Avoid the sun. Always wash your face twice.
Sebastien Mitton: I descend from a family of tailors, that’s maybe why in my case. I know Harvey is naturally handsome. He does not need any accessories.
My favorite thing about your games is the diegetic worldbuilding. What tips would you give other creators to help with worldbuilding and also presenting it to the player/reader/viewer?
Ricardo Bare: Two things:
- If you’re not excited about it, probably no one else will be.
- Don’t be precious. Cutting stuff is often better than adding more.
Congrats on 20 years! What's your favorite easter eggs?
Sebastien Mitton: No fave, just one I asked to be removed: My cell number engraved under a table in the Dunwall Tower.
What are the things you wanted to put in Dishonored or Prey (gameplay, characters, story…) but you had to cut from the final game?
Susan Kath: Rat balls! Ricardo really wanted a power in the Brigmore Witches that would pull together rats into a ball that could be thrown. It was late in the development timeline and I shot him down on it and he has never forgiven me for denying him his rat balls. (And I keep promising him he can have it in the next game, but it was hard to come up with design logic for flinging balls of rats on a space station.)
