How to create elusive goals in the game 2016 Hitman

Torben Ellert is the leading online designer of the episodic game Hitman (2016) in Io-Interactive . He told Gamasutra in detail about the elusive goals (Elusive Targets) in the game. Most goals can be eliminated in many ways and at any time chosen by the player. Elusive goals appear in the game for a short period of time (48 hours), and players have only one chance to complete the mission.



One of the tasks of the first season was to present agent 47 as a superharvestor, traveling the world in search of his victims. Part of this task was the following requirement for the development team: to create a moment in which “one shot decides everything”, the quintessence of the work of an assassin. Another challenge was to create a constant pulse of events throughout the Hitman season, the heart of which would be intense missions to eliminate targets.



Thus, the idea of ​​elusive goals appeared: the creation of periodic time-limited and intense elimination missions. They are complex because players have only one chance to complete them. This changes the whole dynamics of the game.

We start with the standard sandbox with hired scenarios

This became a problem, because previous games of Hitman always allowed replay levels, gradually gaining experience and preparing for the perfect passage. The new game mode was completely different from everything we knew from the Hitman . But before we knew exactly what the new regime would be, we had to do research on what we can do with our game.

')

We tried a lot. This led us, for example, to develop an escalation regime , but we constantly returned to the very core of the assassin game. In her heart, it seems to me, receiving calls is: "Greetings, 47th, ICA has a new contract for you . " But we needed more - we wanted to immerse the player in the game, so that he felt important every second. It all depended on balance.



At first we decided to enter a time limit. The goal was to appear only for a short time (we started at 6 o'clock). And this goal could die only once, and the results achieved in this mission could not be changed.



Then we removed the tools, usually leading the player to the goal: the target's glow is red, the minimap and the icons on the main map. In general, we returned to the base core of the first Hitman games (and went against a lot of what we know about modern game design).

Just one shot

The very first time we played and edited the game mode, the main game designer Jesper Hylling and the creative director of the studio Christian Elverdam were present. We printed a photo of the victim, put it on the table in front of Jesper and said: “That's what he looks like, and that’s all you know. Find and kill him! ”





The eyes of the "template" of the victim



Jesper found him and followed him to the first level of the waste zones. Then he had to retreat and find cover. By that time, he had already lost the victim. It was a rather rough, but exact core of the gameplay. After that, we studied the rules of conservation and restart, as well as time constraints. In the first versions, the player had only one attempt. No restarts, no repetitions, just huge environmental pressure.



I remember how I stood on one of the studio's Friday plans and played live in front of a whole team. Then most of the people outside the online team saw the game for the first time, so I tried to look dexterous and “shoot” the target through a small window. It is clear that I failed and therefore had to improvise. This improvisation included the use of a saber in the middle of a cocktail party in Paris. The job was dirty, but it was done! I came up with a plan, failed it, improvised and executed the murder. I left the level to the accompaniment of bullets whistling over my head and felt like a king.



Having defined the basic concept, we had to create a ready-made design.

The implementation of the concept

We started with cocktails (as often happens). The final names for everything in a game like Hitman are always chosen by developers arbitrarily. Therefore, in order to distinguish the elusive goals that we are developing, we assigned a code name to each of them. In this case, we used the names of the cocktails.



The first elusive goal (White Russian) had no narrative at all. But with the further development of the idea, we realized that every elusive goal should be remembered, not only because of the intense pace of the game mode, but also because of the typical nature of the goals themselves. The idea was that any player from the community could tell: “I remember how I flew to La Sapienza to remove the Prince .” (Approx. Per.: So in the Russian version of the game. It would be better to call him " prince ".)





Cardinal in the bell tower with a large bell



Probably the biggest problem of the narrative was how elusive goals fit into the plot of the game. The answer was short: no way. We decided that we would have more freedom if they become “what if ...” stories taking place in one place. “What if agent 47 would fly to Paris to eliminate a celebrity at a private party during a fashion show?”





Star has thrown her last party



This gave us the freedom to create new characters that fill in the gaps in the themes that we have already chosen. In this case, we did not need to explain how they got into the plot of the missions of the game.



For example, in the Zvezda mission, the goal was Jonathan Smythe, a controversial celebrity who had long been a reclusive. Recently, the ICA became aware that he was going to attend a private party in Paris for a few hours (arranged by Dalia Margolis). There is no time for preparation, the 47th must act without a preliminary plan. We emphasize this at briefings of missions with elusive goals, which culminate in Diana’s sentence: “Time has gone, 47th. Good luck! ”Rather than the usual“ Get Fit. ”

Gap in the standard mission structure

Having defined the outline of the narrative, we faced an even bigger question: what will be the structure of the sensations from the game as a whole? How much information should we give to players, when mission restarts are allowed, will game saves and automatic saves, how to react to player failures?



One thing remained unchanged from the very first prototypes - the idea that failure (or success) will be permanent. The result of this simple design solution was amazing.



When players start a mode of elusive goals, they act completely differently. Experiments with the triggering of an alarm or an intrusion into the exit zones in front of armed guards are rejected. This was only possible with the presence of savings. Players become much more focused and serious. Each step is carefully considered, and any improvisation is full of risk. Every guard is a deadly threat, and every civilian is a potential witness, a hindrance on the way to the desired rating of silent killer (Silent Assassin).



In larger-scale gaming tests, some players sat with stone faces trying to eliminate the target on their own, others gathered in small groups, and the rest watched for mistakes made and painful lessons learned.



Obviously, this worked because the players knew the game well. When a player first hits the card, he is completely in the dark. This is one of the reasons that in the Elusive Target mode we do not release the player to a whole new level - he should be able to get used to it first. And then, when a new goal appears, he may not know where it is, but have all the necessary arsenal of opportunities for its elimination.



But even so, it became obvious that the players needed the ability to restart the mission, at least to the point where they perform the kill. As each elusive goal changes the level (sometimes quite significantly), players need some kind of exploration and planning, or return to the choice of new equipment if necessary. This led to one significant change in the initial idea: we directly allowed the players to replay the mission at any time before starting to eliminate the goal or complete the tasks. This is the moment of the Rubicon, in which each player must realize his risk-taking plan, knowing that there will no longer be a chance to replay.



The elusive goals are designed to complement our level development system, simply because players who have reached the highest levels have learned the levels and their mechanics. They have mastered the strategy, they can start at the right place, choose equipment in advance, and get close to their goals with the help of advanced skills.



Almost like Agent 47, they can instantly adapt to changing conditions regardless of the precautions that the current goal has taken. Simply put, playing in Elusive Target mode at a fully mastered level gives you that very feeling of super predator. No matter what he cooks for you, you have the equipment and experience to cope with everything.



Having prepared the outline of the narrative and the gameplay structure, we needed to insert new missions into the existing levels. Fortunately, it was a simple addition to the design of the Hitman : NPC, geometry and rules were ready to assemble the Elusive Target mode.







Taking the “Star” as an example, we turned off all the “bricks” used in the back of the mission, especially those related to Novikov’s meeting with Max Decker. This means that many of the most obvious approaches to the rear have also been removed. This forced the players to literally "tiptoe." Then we took the resources of the rest of the level and created a private party, supplemented it with music, accessories and guests. We even changed the game lighting by moving the time forward an hour. The level began to look more evening so that it was obvious that the action was already taking place much later than Victor’s meeting with Decker.



It was an ongoing process - we collected and released the Elusive Targets mode, watched how it was played, then improved future levels and changed their design. The players felt that we were reacting to the style of their game, and we learned a lot about what the complicated gameplay is about. We experimented with different types of security details, we had goals with long and short cycles of action, goals in the thick of the crowd and goals in the center of the city. There were even identical twins, while it was impossible to kill the wrong target.





Competition between brothers! One is the goal, the other is the client. Aim gently!



Hitman is a “multiplayer” game. Yes, actually. A serious mood of the game with a touch of dark humor creates sensations that you want to share. From the very beginning, we knew that several experienced players would work together in it to eliminate targets. But it's still amazing how they “split” the passage of Silent Assassin and began to improve it. But of course, someone must go first and make mistakes, on which the rest will learn.



In the community, we saw significant differences in the approaches to the passage of Elusive Targets. Some preferred to go through the regime blindly, playing only once, and taking on all the consequences in case of failure. Others spent long hours exploring the level before it reached it based on the information we looked at in video briefings and the images we published. Such players often restarted the level, starting to kill, only making a plan.



When working together, they had a feeling of a common goal. Although each had its own version of agent 47, all were united by a common goal and common experience.



The sales model of the game in such conditions flourished, because we could respond to developing game strategies and respond to the game experience we create. The tight schedule and constantly emerging releases in the season format allowed us to adapt the experience and change the overall landscape of the game.



Players who have eliminated the first pair of elusive goals have noticed this very clearly. Sergey Larin (Falsifier) ​​was almost not protected, he was protected by the only guard. Congressman Anthony L. Troutt had two guards and a personal assistant. For Cardinal, Adalrico Candelaria blocked a whole section of La Sapienza with security at each point of approach (as might be expected).



At the time of this writing, we have ten elusive goals, and they all became part of our history, along with the Meat King and other classics of the Hitman franchise. Each player has his own history of approaching the Cardinal, or the Star, or the Joker. How they waited for the start of the mission, their preparation, and how they rejoiced (or swore) while performing. But meeting difficulties alone, we still struggled with them together. And for me it was the biggest success of such a game mode - he created moments in which we all united to eliminate memorable goals, realizing that the result is important. And knowing that we will never see them again.



Now is the middle of the season, there are still some new locations and many elusive goals. I can't wait to find out how they will go down in history Hitman .



And now forgive me, I need to start making bushwacker .