Arkane Studios: Dishonored / Deus Ex / Thief - One of the gaming industry's most unfortunate victims.

[The Pulverizer]

Arkane Studios started in Lyon, France 1999. Like many studios of that era that went on to survive the later generations of gaming they started with a hit, Arx Fatalis, which was later followed by Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. These hits gave them the unique opportunity of working with the great people at Valve, an experience that no doubt influenced Arkane's style for years to come.


Dishonored came from some of the industry's greatest minds. The gorgeous art from the art director Half Life 2, Viktor Antonov, the phenomenal music from a man who had had a long career in Hollywood, Daniel Licht, as well as the designers and writers of System Shock, Thief and Deus Ex fame. All of these talented, passionate people came together to create the best Western RPG experiences out there. The future was looking very bright for Arkane. The studios split in two with continuous collaboration to work on Prey (2017) and Dishonored 2 respectively using a highly edited version of idTech 5 as opposed to the Unreal Engine 3 (that was used for Dishonored).

The beginning of the end​

Dinga Bakaba, the "creative" mind behind the commercial failure of Deathloop, as well as the man currently in charge of Arkane's French studio. Accompanied by Anita Sarkeesian, the Gamergate queen that literally took over Arkane.

Story-wise, Dishonored 2 was a downgrade compared to the first highly refined game. A lot of characters ended up feeling very uninteresting, like Billy Lurk. It was very baffling to me that they'd choose the women who betrayed Daud in the DLC to be Corvo's/Emily's aide. The game is built on their relationship, but it never felt natural (I kill her in all of my runs). It still features some of the best gameplay, art, and music seen in modern AAA games, as does Prey.

Arkane once again took a back step and focused on assisting other studios. Mostly id software and other fellow Zenimax studios. After selling out to Microsoft, the founder and head of Arkane for 17 years, Romuald Capron, chose to retire leaving some of the company's most notable developers in charge and DINGA BAKABA. This braindead rat-faced shitstain that doesn't understand the games he directed was forced to the top by our beloved Anita. Subsequently, every game made by Arkane failed horribly. The greatest minds of Arkane who ended up working on Redfall and Dishonored notably took a back step in production of those games.

It seems that Arkane is attempting to hit the reset button. The Microsoft leaks confirm that Dishonored 3 is in development, and you just have to wonder if Arkane is going take this project seriously.

The end​

FROM THE STUDIO THAT BROUGHT YOU... DEATHLOOP!​

Dinga Bakaba appeared in the 2023 TGA (The GAY Awards) to present Arkane's latest and greatest game, French Blade. For some reason the French version of Blade is more black than actual Blade.

Obviously Mrs. Gamergate and Dinga Kebabababa couldn't give two shits about Blade. They just want to combine Arkane's best games: Redfall and Deathloop. I hope the "developers" have discovered the technology to make games run on computers since Redfall. I plan to sink my teeth deep into this disaster of a game like a racist vampire.

 

[God of Nothing]

a nigger is responsible for niggerloop
color me surprised

 

[Miller]

Dinga Bakaba, the "creative" mind behind the commercial failure of Deathloop, as well as the man currently in charge of Arkane.

I thought the Anita simp Harvey Smith was in charge of Arkane after Raphael Colantonio left.

 

[Evil Peter Griffin]

Thanks to that Microsoft leak we know they're making Dishonored 3.

 

[Doctor Lurk]

a nigger is responsible for niggerloop
color me surprised

The West has truly fallen if all that race-obsessed losers like you do is complaining about ethnic minorities or whatever the fuck making their videogames.

 

[Blasterisk]

The West has truly fallen if all that race-obsessed losers like you do is complaining about ethnic minorities or whatever the fuck making their videogames.

And what of persons snidely commenting on the people complaining about the thing they don't like? Are those intellectual powerhouses able to save the West?

 

[Breadbassket]

Dishonored 2 was perhaps a sign of things to come, Deathloop as far as I am aware was dead on arrival and mediocre and Redfall was just bad.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I personally think THIEF should have just been left alone, since you can’t really make a series like that in current day without someone attempting to change the story of what a thief is supposed to be.

Dishonored on the other hand was so forgotten that I didn’t even think we needed a sequel. If anything, I almost confused it with Forspoken.

 

[Blacklight]

Prey was the last good Arkane game.

 

[Dojima's Dragon]

Shouldnt this thread be renamed to the immersive sim thread

 

[The Pulverizer]

I thought the Anita simp Harvey Smith was in charge of Arkane after Raphael Colantonio left.

Dinga Bakaba is the director Arkane Lyon and Harvey Smith is in charge of Arkane Austin.

Dishonored on the other hand was so forgotten that I didn’t even think we needed a sequel. If anything, I almost confused it with Forspoken.

Maybe you just weren't in the right mood when you first played it. Dishonored is at its best when you can really appreciate the surroundings, music, writing, and the artistry of everything.

Thanks to that Microsoft leak we know they're making Dishonored 3.

Deathloop: Arkane Lyon
Redfall: Arkane Austin
So you know that regardless of what studio works on it, the game will be shit. I do hope Arkane gets it shit together one last time to finish the trilogy. However, my cynical side knows they aren't smart enough. It will probably be "Dishonored: Monarchy is bad and racist!!!"

 

[Judge Dredd]

I have a bit of a soft spot for Dishonored. Not for the game itself as I find it to be simply okay. But for how completely, utterly, irrationally mad Thief fans get about it.

If they just said that they don't like it, that would be one thing. It's that they have to hold Dishonored to a standard Thief fails to meet. They will say the AI is dumb because you can keep distracting the guards over and over again, but point out the guards in Thief will shoot themselves to death if you stand behind them and they have an autistic meltdown.


I find Prey plays best on easy mode, because the only thing that changes is how often you have to go around collecting litter to put in the recycler.

I never really get far in their games because they can't seem to keep my attention the entire run time. Likely because the focus on playing efficiently is also a boring playstyle. eg. The trailer for Dishonored shows lots of cool powers based combat, but that's a good way to lose all your resources.


Dark Messiah of Might and Magic was fun. That game never gets any recognition, but I liked it at the time.

 

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

I personally think THIEF should have just been left alone, since you can’t really make a series like that in current day without someone attempting to change the story of what a thief is supposed to be.

Dishonored on the other hand was so forgotten that I didn’t even think we needed a sequel. If anything, I almost confused it with Forspoken.

You could probably pick-up where Deadly Shadows left off where Garett becomes a mentor to a new Thief where Garett is mildly more heroic after the three previous games and mentoring a new Thief who is more pre-occupied with thieving in the rapidly industrializing City than hear about how Garett is warning her (I think the orphan at the end of Deadly Shadows was a girl) about magical bullshit. However, they’d mostly likely make a boring girl boss.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Dishonored. Not for the game itself as I find it to be simply okay. But for how completely, utterly, irrationally mad Thief fans get about it.

If they just said that they don't like it, that would be one thing. It's that they have to hold Dishonored to a standard Thief fails to meet. They will say the AI is dumb because you can keep distracting the guards over and over again, but point out the guards in Thief will shoot themselves to death if you stand behind them and they have an autistic meltdown.

I never really get far in their games because they can't seem to keep my attention the entire run time. Likely because the focus on playing efficiently is also a boring playstyle. eg. The trailer for Dishonored shows lots of cool powers based combat, but that's a good way to lose all your resources.

It comes down to how studios used to try to make encounters better and hide the bad AI behind the story. All the guards in Thief are typically incompetent or drunk, Garett is good and the mechanics can save you if you are good enough. However, some levels are bullshit where you step on a marble floor and every guard zeroes in on you in seconds.

The fun of Thief was how open ended the levels are and how Garett isn’t a morally grey protagonist as he is a dirtbag who is called to be heroic. The City is basically a cynical German fairytale going through industrialization and Thief 4 was a highlight to how shit that would be if a modern deb tried to do it.

 

[The Pulverizer]

I have a bit of a soft spot for Dishonored. Not for the game itself as I find it to be simply okay. But for how completely, utterly, irrationally mad Thief fans get about it.

If you are looking for a true stealth experience (fucking insane), you should check out Dishonored 2. There's so many small details the enemies notice and outwit you. Corvo is even voiced by Garett from the Thief franchise!

It comes down to how studios used to try to make encounters better and hide the bad AI behind the story.

I get far too involved with the story and the perfect level design of Dishonored to even notice the AI being bad. The combat is flashy enough to make the fights cool even if you aren't going to get the most ultra advanced immersive stealth experience.

 

[Asian tech support]

A lot of the discussion here was probably already covered in the DX thread and the redfall thread. I'm all for it though as this is a particularly juicy subject.

Unpopular opinion: Dishonored 2 was a downgrade in terms of map design as well. Addermire was excellent banger material and the Royal Conservatory was good too but the rest were either unbelievably boring (the first and final levels in Dunwall, the duke assassination) or gimmicky (the clockwork mansion and the dust district). The clockwork mansion's gimmick was hardly a gimmick either. This does not excuse Dishonored 1 of the same sins; reusing half of the High Overseer for the Golden Cat mission is an L but the rest of the missions were pretty good, sans the Dunwall Tower lord regent assassination. Them reusing it again in D2 was inexcusable. I just don't enjoy that map. However, it's made up for with the Royal Physician, Lady Boyle's Last Party, and The Flooded District, and that's not even mentioning the excellent Knife of Dunwall.

 

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

If you are looking for a true stealth experience (fucking insane), you should check out Dishonored 2. There's so many small details the enemies notice and outwit you. Corvo is even voiced by Garett from the Thief franchise!


I get far too involved with the story and the perfect level design of Dishonored to even notice the AI being bad. The combat is flashy enough to make the fights cool even if you aren't going to get the most ultra advanced immersive stealth experience.

Dishonored is an action game with stealth mechanics. Thief is one of the first stealth games that’s playable with multiple ways to try a level.

I like Dishonored, but Thief 2 is one of the best stealth games of all time. Garett being a weak bitch is so you don’t kill your way through a level.

 

[The Pulverizer]

Unpopular opinion: Dishonored 2 was a downgrade in terms of map design as well.

Indeed! I often find that the levels are just too big and at some point I'm just rushing to get to the rest of the game.

This does not excuse Dishonored 1 of the same sins; reusing half of the High Overseer for the Golden Cat mission is an L but the rest of the missions were pretty good, sans the Dunwall Tower lord regent assassination. Them reusing it again in D2 was inexcusable. I just don't enjoy that map. However, it's made up for with the Royal Physician, Lady Boyle's Last Party, and The Flooded District, and that's not even mentioning the excellent Knife of Dunwall.

Let's go there. I liked the Golden Cat because it let you see more of the city (after that point you don't see more of it). You also immediately see the consequences of your actions from the previous level, setting the stage for how your actions affect the world. Every level after the Golden Cat is absolute perfection. The Flooded District is an absolutely perfect mission. You really feel like you've taken a deep dive into the heart of the city's corruption, witnessing it first-hand. When I get to this point of this game all I can think about is charging forward to see the sun again. You just want to rape the soldiers at the Hound Pits Pub (great hub level by the way) for ruining the city.


The DLC is like: Damn... how can humans create all this? The Brigmore Manor is the all-time best level ever found in a first person shooter. It's a stunning decaying lakeside mansion surrounded with a beautiful vibrant forest that's packed with TONS of shit to discover. The witches are also fun to slaughter because they are absolute fucking shitcunts. Based Daud shoves his butcher's blade in her fucking chest and then rapes the bitch. Once you finally get inside the manor all you can think about is wiping the floor with those witches.
Viktor Antonov is an amazing guy, one that I consider a huge inspiration as an amateur artist.

I actually liked seeing the castle again at the end of Dishonored 2. Seeing such a familiar place brings a nice contrast to the rest of the game where you only see unfamiliar places. The worst part about it is that they added an elevator that lets you skip it all.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Their games are overrated, Dishonored did nothing to suck me in and that's praised as one of their best.

 

[I've Seen Some More Shit]

Arkane's only fun game was Dark Messiah and I don't think literally anyone involved with that is still at Arkane anymore.

 

[Bubble Ba'ath]

Interesting that this was posted today, as I was just having a discussion with some friends about games we think would make great remakes and Arx Fatalis was my nomination. Possibly the greatest atmosphere I have ever come across in a game and some cool immersive sim mechanics but a clunky, buggy execution that fucks with how it plays and can be difficult to get working on modern machines. Of course, Arkane's 2002 flawed gem got buried because it was released within months of Morrowind.

I loved Dishonoured 1 but not 2 so we are on the same page there.