Terribly well done. Super cool to get inside the heads of the devs and see exactly what they were thinking. This clearly took a while to make, so thanks for taking the time to share some cool insight with the community :)
The amount of detail they have in the prototypes is astounding! My prototypes are like, "Pretend this box is a person, and when your character glitches just ignore that."
To he fair, they reused the engine and model from Dishonored 1 for the prototype so they didn't have to make everything from scratch. Still, that's a lot of works.
@GameCraft That prototype looks a bit like the WIP Dishonored footage shown in the Noclip's documentary but I don't know much about game engine not licensing so my guess is as good as yours
@GameCraft "Paths need to be rebuilt!" is an error message in Unreal, so the clips where that is visible were most likely prototyped in UDK with the assets from the first game.
Yes. Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in the Slab are magnificent levels that are worth the entire price of the game. It's a shame that the game got such undeserved negative reviews.
@@theaxolotlgod1204 LOL, you got something against rail travel? I love the entire Half Life saga but I dislike On A Rail, except for the battles against the Marines.
I've never played Dishonored 2, and the clockwork mansion is so impressive that I had to stop watching this video about 4 minutes in. I *must* see this for myself before watching this breakdown!
Good idea, it's really mind blowing what things you can do in this level, the whole game is incredible like that. There is another level later in the game, where you can shift between past and present, insanely fun.
Literally had the same exact experience, just a few months ago when NoClip uploaded like a history on Arkane. Played through all of Dishonored and they're great. Prey is pretty decent too, I'd say if you like Bioshock check out Prey. The first 10 minutes of that game got me fucking hooked.
Dishonored 2 still feels miles ahead of level design, even now. The clockwork mansion is so beautifully made, it feels like something so pure and imaginative that I haven't seen reflected in any other games. Massive props to these geniuses
In the Dust District I went straight to the mansion door and the Jindosh lock, sat down with a notepad and solved the puzzle. Then I turned around and did then entire level anyways lol. It occurred to me a little ways in that none of it was necessary, but I have a hard time not combing every inch of the levels in immersive sims.
I did the same thing actually! Well, when I solved the puzzle I didn't realize it would skip the whole level, so once I realized that I turned right back around and went to discover the rest of the level. Honestly, interacting with Dishonored content is it's own reward, I didn't need any other incentive
Same, got an excel sheet and spend a whole evening trying to do it! Then I went and finished the whole mission because I was intrigued by the idea of the conflict!
Please let deathloop be a commercial success, I love arcane so much. they are one of the biggest devs of AAA immersive sims. These guys remind me of looking glass studios so much.
Hopefully the guys at Arkane play their cards well and dont end up like Ion Storm and Looking Glass. They are basically the only Triple A immersive guys that are around.
@@brandonmorel2658 The problem is all their games are great critically, it's just the problem of commercial success. Immersive sims don't have a huge following compared to other genres.
The subtle world-building in this level and other levels as well is crazy, I remembered that in this level you can see one of Jindosh's signs with something like "Don't mop the floor while the Ark Pylon is active, whether you understand conductivity or not", this one sentence literally shed a light on his personality and how he treats his staff while managing the whole mansion. This kind of subtle yet concise character building is one of the reasons why I love Arkane so much
That's *really* impressive, because it's pretty clear that the entire level was built around pulling levers and enabling the modifications to happen on command. But then someone went and thought: "Ok, but what if someone doesn't want to pull a lever?" And instead of going "Well, fuck them then", the team went "Well, THEN they can go THIS way."
@@miguelhenriquecosta That last sentence is what separates Arcane Studios from other AAA-Developers, they always go the extra mile, even if only 1% of players ever use what they developed just for them. I absolutely love that.
That sounded like it would have been so much fun, just getting blown around everywhere lol. Wish they could have included it but sadly probably a large portion of great game design ideas never see the light of day because of budget/time constraints
@@americantoastman7296 I'm pretty sure the budget Dana is referring to is the technical budget. This is related to the engine constraints, the actual budget (in mb) allotted for each level data in order for the game to work properly on PC and consoles. Think number of textures used in the level, meshes, animations & many other technical ingredients used to build the game. Usually in game dev talk the tech budget is the one they mean, unless stated otherwise, ofc. Working with the tech budget is one of the big challenges devs have to face when building the game. They might have a lot of very cool ideas, good intentions & talented people, but at the end of the day it all has to fit. It's quite ususual to have to prioritize what is really important to the player experience and scrap some stuff, even if it's good. I do appreciate Arkane that they don't completely throw away their ideas and try to implement them in a different context. Otherwise, when things aren't great with the tech budget, the game might have issues, bugs & all sorts of frustrating problems (what is called a "broken game"). Looking back at its launch, Dishonored 2 had its issues, but fortunatelly the devs managed to fix this, and the game plays super smoothly. Despite these bumps, I believe the people at Arkane did a stellar job with Dishonored 2, and managed to be very ambitious and delivered a wonderfully crafted experience.
@@rouge7777 Yes thank you for the extra context! I was assuming that she was referring to them running out of funding to keep developing the game and some mechanics had to be scrapped. I still think Dishonored 2 is an absolutely fantastic game as I didn't experience those launch issues and I honestly enjoyed it more than the first game.
The funniest part of my experience with the Clockwork Mansion was that I entered and immediately broke the glass roof rather than pressing the switch so I went through most of the level creeping around without going through the "main parts" and I was so confused haha
Yep, and Jindosh never realises you are there this way, so most security measures never turn on and he is even in distracted with other stuff if you get to him unseen without touching any levers
@@Ghrenix You can finish the level without ever changing the configuration of the mansion. There's even a trophy for it. How did you soft lock yourself?
when I play this level for the first time, It's really unthinkable how this level is made. The way gear shift and all the furnitures, level shift, moving up, down is very convincing. it looks really impossible and awesome.
It’s better than the first one in almost every way imaginable outside the story maybe, but it was destroyed due the abysmal performance on PC and consoles at launch.
@@denisruskin348 That's cool to hear! I always wanted to get into Dishonored but always dropped the first game after a few hours. Gonna try the second game for sure as it's on Game Pass.
Hear, hear! I have been trying to get a couple of my friends to play it for three years now, and it pains me to say that I have failed to elicit action from them. I just shared this video with them in the hope that it will wow them where I have failed to geek-out sufficiently enough ☺️
@@franciscofarias6385 I think the first Dishonored doesn't have the best presentation since it really take a while before things start happening. I just love that game entirely but I understand why people drop it.
Man, it breaks my heart to hear how many aspects of this game were curtailed by the budget. I would love to see what the game would have looked like without the changes
Working within budgetary restraints is an everyday experience with design and development. Surprisingly though, these same restrictions have led to some of the most creative outcomes in some cases.
Being forced to remove some potential content is a way of making sure that the game actually releases, and even if some of the cut ideas are great you'll end up with a mess if you keep everything. By being forced to not include everything you want, you can focus on keeping the best ideas and making them work better.
The only thing I really pain for is the option of just leaving Jindosh alone. Some of the "non-lethal" options of dealing with the villains are honestly more brutal than just killing them outright...
The Clockwork Mansion and Crack In The Slab are really cool levels, but my favourite HAS to be the Dust District. It’s so incredibly non-linear. Like, sure a lot of the levels give player choice, and it is a bit guided, but you can approach it in any way, including (as mentioned) skipping it almost entirely.
Yeah I love it. And I'm one to never like skipping content. I'm the kind of person who plays a game thinking "ok, left seems to be the correct way, so let's go right just to see what's there". But the puzzle was hard enough and engaging enough that I decided to solve it and decided to skip the level (instead of solving it and then playing the level anyway which is what I tend to do).
Yeah, as great as Clockwork Mansion and Crack in the Slab are from a general design perspective, I think they end up lacking in the immersive sim area because they're so focused on their respective gimmicks. Where as before the focus is experimentation and freedom, knowing that the level revolves instead around time travel or clockwork mechanics changes your focus and makes the gameplay more prescriptive. I'm not looking for creative ways to sneak around any more, now I'm looking for the alternate route that I know is going to be provided by either shifting time or changing the room layout. Granted, there's still a lot of room to experiment within those levels (and these new mechanics give you some additional options too), but the very act of making a new mechanic become such a central focus makes them less appealing than the more traditional immersive sim levels that surround those two.
@@Laezar1 I do it backwards. I'll solve the Jindosh Lock puzzle using the "logic grid" puzzle template I have saved on my Google Drive, and THEN go back and then do the Dust District the normal way.
@@RonnieBarzel But why? Like, the puzzle is only interesting if you solve it yourself, and if you don't and you do the level anyway there is no point in cheating right?
@@Laezar1 I sat with paper and eventually figured out where everyone was sitting, who was wearing what and what they were drinking really proud to get that achievement
amazing design. I specially found it insightful when she explained how they took decisions based on budget, it's essential information for aspiring developers that is rarely discussed and very hard to find. Maybe in the future we can get a GMTK vid focused on that aspect?
Arkane really doesn't get enough public backing, this really makes me want to pre-order Deathloop, not necessarily because that game is guaranteed to be great, but because Arkane deserves respect, and Deathloop looks cool/ unique
I got Prey for a discounted price for the same reason, I want to try to appreciate their creative endeavors.....now I just need to make myself go ahead and play what I bought haha.
Loved her mentioning the budget constraints affecting design choices. It's not the sexiest stuff, but it's a part of the reality of game production not talked about enough!
Just came to comment on that exact same thing. Anybody has an idea of the buget of this game? I would've guesed that in AAA gaming breaking a budget happens as often as in Hollywood blockbusters, specially having (I'm guessing) well funded Bethesda as a publisher.
It's unbelievably amazing to see and hear all this. Aside from developer interviews, my favourite thing about this series is the development footage, it alone reveals so much about so many things. I love Arkane and Dishonored, thank you Mark and the devs!
Props to Dana, David and the rest of the team for this masterfully designed level. Half of my playtime in Dishonored 2 is solely in this level, and it's my favourite in the entire series. It's also up there with my favourite game levels of all time.
This and the time jumping level really blew me away. It's such an incredible feat of design to mesh the spaces together in a way that's mechanically interesting
I’ve been a fan of your video essays for a long time, but this marks a real culmination of your work. And like many things, much of this video’s success was finding collaborators who might meet you halfway. Dana in particular was an incredible interviewee. She really met you where you were for this video. Well done all around. Thanks.
I played the entire Dishonoured series and all DLCs. This level, The Bank Job (Death of the Outsider), and Aldermire Institute remain my favourite three levels after several playthroughs. Absolutely brilliant design and execution. Fascinating to find this smart lady at the heart of The Clockwork Mansion.
I love Arkane, there is just no-one else like them in the AAA space. Also, I've watched quite a few videos and essays about this level, and I still learnt some new stuff here. Thanks and good work!
Great Video Both Prey and Dishonored Have some of the Best Level designs of all time Clockwork mansion and Crack in the Slab are fantastic. Hoping for another video on that (and Prey) was well
Super interesting video. I love listening to workers talk about something they're really passionate about. It just felt kinda weird that you got David for the video and then he said like two sentences in total.
The other level in the mission -- the city section you have to get through in order to get to Jindosh's mansion itself -- is also pretty fun, though it obviously pales in comparison to the main event.
Quality content as always, really like getting the dev's perspective on the whole process. btw, one of my favourite moments fron the level was semi-inadvertently crushing the Clockwork soldier with the walls of the Assessment Room, great emergent moment.
@@hooimansen Fair enough dude, funnily enough my bro said the same about the first game and just couldn't get into it, despite it being exactly the kind of game he likes to play.
Bought this game on Steam Sales a few days back, i was thinking of starting it today, and just now this video pops up for me, now that's a sign, keep up the awesome videos, this is the best game design related content channel in the whole youtube
I've never once seen that cutscene of Jindosh taunting you from behind the glass in my many playthroughs. Of course I also didn't see many of those rooms you showed as well because I stealthed my way through by crawling around within the walls, between rooms.
Amazing timing for this video, I literally just replayed Dishonored 2 last week. Every time I play this level I'm like "man this must have taken some insane work from the developers".
I absolutely loved the idea that I can get inside the mechanisms.... The first time I discovered that I can go back in there and see all these moving parts was by accident... And I was literally blown away
I was surprised on my second playthrough to discover the "intended" path was to stay in the room. I think I even wound up under the floor by accident the first time. Stuff started moving and I went to hide and fell.
Love this, getting to peek behind the curtain and see some of the prototypes, hearing the reasoning behind some of the design choices, honestly just amazed.
Hey Mark! You should really check out the game It Takes Two. It has an incredible way of incorporating cooperative gameplay, and it shifts game genres seamlessly!
This is my favorite level in the Dishonored series and one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in a video game. It's so cool to see the devs talking about how it came to be! It really is something they should be proud of!
When you announced this series with the Ori episode I knew you were gonna do Dishonored . Such an awesome game and an amazing video!!!!! Maybe for the next episode you could breakdown the temple level from Celeste, or one of the planets from outer wilds. Or maybe you could do an episode with Id software on how they made intricate and amazing arenas for combat in Doom Eternal and doom 2016
From software I feel is over rated. Bloodborne was a master piece but I can't get into any of the other games. I'm too old and don't have the time to grind the same patterns over and over to level up, or replay 20 minutes of an area to get a shot at the boss so he can lock on and one shot kill me.
i read an article in EDGE about Deathloop and...it's pretty amazing :) there are 4 big open parts of the island AND all of them have 4 versions (for morning, midday, lateday, night time) and when you do something somewhere in the morning it has an effect later in the day (example they give is, bunch of people are digging a tunnel on the beach in the morning, if you let them alone, and come back later, there is now a tunnel that lets you get to a new part of the map)...and because you are doing the loop so many times you can experiment so much with all the combinations...i am so excited by Deathloop
@@t.t6294 the explanation the devs give is that, because it's a time loop, noone actually dies, so it doesn't really matter...it wouldn't make sense to slow down, if your character only has one day to break the loop...i would still like some sleeping darts or something
@@Atropos148 I understand the explanation, I Just think more options would've made the game more replayable But I respect their decision. I Just love finishing Immersive sims FULL Pacifist mode lol
I like both, but the final design does clearly communicate the final Clockwork Soldiers' ability to see backwards, while that design would've either completely obscured that fact (if they tucked a lens in that mess of hair in the back) or forced them to remove that ability entirely for the sake of mechanical clarity. In fact, the version of the Clockwork Soldier with the early design used in Death of the Outsider does lack the ability to see backwards. And I do really appreciate that backward sight, since it makes them intimidating and challenging even in stealthy pacifist runs.
I remember playing this the first time late at night doing a stealth play through. Took me over 9 hours to explore the mansion, and was surprised to see it I still didn't see everything in my second and third play through. Honestly hats off to the devs to creating one of the most iconic level designs of my childhood.
I recently started playing Dishonored 2, and I started this very level on the 16th, before this video was posted. I later saw this video posted, so I decided to complete the level the next day, so I could watch the video. Craziest coincidence I've experienced.
Corvo: Hey lets do 'Get Help' Sokolov: What? Corvo: 'Get Help'! Sokolov: ...No. Corvo: Come on, you love it. Sokolov: I hate it. Corvo: Its great, works every time. Sokolov: Its humiliating! Corvo: Do you have a better plan? Sokolov: No. Corvo: We're doing it. Sokolov: We are not doing 'Get Help'. 15:55
Really, I've been binging over a hundred hours on Dishonored 2 and now this?! You guys read my mind or the TH-cam algorithm done some magic to make this.
Fascinating analysis and insight into a brilliant level from a terrific game. The bit where the whole mansion opens up still stays with me, as does the dark non-lethal choice toward the end. Makes me want to play Dishonored 2 again!
Wonderful! Even after all the praise I still think the Dishonored games and Arkane Studios are way underrated! These is easily one of the best gaming series I have ever played in my 35 years of gaming! The first one was a blast, but this second one elevated everything to state of the art level: story, presentation, originality, game play, physics, asthetics, power of choice, player freedom, etc...everything is just amazing! A shame that the big guys upstairs didn't let them pursue a third full game and had them settled for the (still great) Death Of The Outsider DLC. At the same time other franchises get all the money to repeat over and over again the same beated boring formula with only better graphics. Pathetic! The gaming world needs a lot more "Arkane Studios" way of thinking and doing things! Thank you to all involved for making me experience this MASTERPIECE! No matter the sales, one of the best games of all time!!
Amazing video. I've never played the second Dishonored, but now after seeing how much care and love went into making these levels I really want to have a go at it.
Honestly when I entered the mansion I was a bit overwhelmed. I’m usually not looking forward to levels in which it’s easy to get lost. However, I found the clockwork mansion challenging enough without being frustrating. It was easy enough to map out in my head while going along. The place is intricate but not confusing. When the mission was over, I was honestly sad to leave even though I had spent hours exploring it. It’s incredibly impressive the level of detail and organization it took for the devs to design this level.
Saw this in my recommended and was like how did I miss a dishonored video, pretty sure I watched all of them, what year is this from. Then realized this just posted… THANK YOU SO MUCH GMTK
I wish there was more from David Di Giacomo, I want to know how these things are actually made. The whole 23 min video and only about two or three of his insights? Too few.
I just love Dishonored. Both parts. Belong to the best games in my opinion. So much to explore and every run can be different. I stayed hours in Jindoshs House, sneaking through every corner. Played this part again, just a couple of days ago, pulled no levers, not even the first one and managed to extract Sokolov, with only killing the clockwork guard thats guards Anton. the rest was pure sneaking though the walls, and even killed Jindosh without noticing me, till I cut his throat :D Sneaky sneaky, those levels, the runepowers, jumping, teleporting, wibbly-wobbly-timebending and most of all: the setting and the atmosphere of the game itself. just perfect, best gift you can give me as a gamer.
What levels should I break down in future episodes of On the Level? Leave your ideas in reply to this comment!
The final train sequence from Uncharted: Lost legacy
i would love it if you broke down the first level of dark souls.
Chapter 9 of Celeste?
You should make a video about grinding, it's bad and good sides, etc.
I’d want to see more of the boss keys series. I miss them so much :(
“Am I allowed to say that ? Should I do another take ?”
“Sure, let’s do”
**Put the first take in anyway**
Power move
Interview a guy and only leave 43 seconds of his footage in the final 23 minutes video. That's value right here.
@@СимеонСемёнов ?
@@СимеонСемёнов don’t reproduce pls
That's to show multiple player paths.
Terribly well done. Super cool to get inside the heads of the devs and see exactly what they were thinking. This clearly took a while to make, so thanks for taking the time to share some cool insight with the community :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
Terribly?
Terribly? Bruh
@@suhasop4919 i think they meant terrificly
@@johnvermintide "Terribly" is a valid synonym of "very", and not an uncommon usage in British English; see "I'm terribly sorry." The end.
The amount of detail they have in the prototypes is astounding! My prototypes are like, "Pretend this box is a person, and when your character glitches just ignore that."
To he fair, they reused the engine and model from Dishonored 1 for the prototype so they didn't have to make everything from scratch. Still, that's a lot of works.
@GameCraft Are you saying they also used the Void engine for this prototype?
@GameCraft That prototype looks a bit like the WIP Dishonored footage shown in the Noclip's documentary but I don't know much about game engine not licensing so my guess is as good as yours
@GameCraft "Paths need to be rebuilt!" is an error message in Unreal, so the clips where that is visible were most likely prototyped in UDK with the assets from the first game.
One of the best levels ever put into a video game. Period.
Wonderful video.
But what about On A Rail? :3
Gonna go watch your video about it next.
Yes. Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in the Slab are magnificent levels that are worth the entire price of the game. It's a shame that the game got such undeserved negative reviews.
@@theaxolotlgod1204 LOL, you got something against rail travel? I love the entire Half Life saga but I dislike On A Rail, except for the battles against the Marines.
@@theaxolotlgod1204 On a Rail wasn’t even that bad, the Xen levels were way worse.
I've never played Dishonored 2, and the clockwork mansion is so impressive that I had to stop watching this video about 4 minutes in. I *must* see this for myself before watching this breakdown!
Good idea, it's really mind blowing what things you can do in this level, the whole game is incredible like that. There is another level later in the game, where you can shift between past and present, insanely fun.
@@nichtrick3308 That level blew my mind when I first played it
Literally had the same exact experience, just a few months ago when NoClip uploaded like a history on Arkane. Played through all of Dishonored and they're great. Prey is pretty decent too, I'd say if you like Bioshock check out Prey. The first 10 minutes of that game got me fucking hooked.
Clockwork mansion and crack in the slab are insane masterworks
@@nichtrick3308 Titanfall 2 spoiler:
That game has one level just like that as well, beautiful stuff
Dishonored 2 still feels miles ahead of level design, even now. The clockwork mansion is so beautifully made, it feels like something so pure and imaginative that I haven't seen reflected in any other games. Massive props to these geniuses
In the Dust District I went straight to the mansion door and the Jindosh lock, sat down with a notepad and solved the puzzle. Then I turned around and did then entire level anyways lol. It occurred to me a little ways in that none of it was necessary, but I have a hard time not combing every inch of the levels in immersive sims.
I did the same thing actually! Well, when I solved the puzzle I didn't realize it would skip the whole level, so once I realized that I turned right back around and went to discover the rest of the level. Honestly, interacting with Dishonored content is it's own reward, I didn't need any other incentive
Same here!
I did the same thing, very proud of that achievement.
Same, got an excel sheet and spend a whole evening trying to do it! Then I went and finished the whole mission because I was intrigued by the idea of the conflict!
Please let deathloop be a commercial success, I love arcane so much. they are one of the biggest devs of AAA immersive sims. These guys remind me of looking glass studios so much.
Hopefully the guys at Arkane play their cards well and dont end up like Ion Storm and Looking Glass. They are basically the only Triple A immersive guys that are around.
On the other hand, if deathloop will be success, they might stick to multiplayer games instead of these immersive sims
@@MagosJCDentonus451 Death loop is still an immersive sim at heart.
@@brandonmorel2658 The problem is all their games are great critically, it's just the problem of commercial success. Immersive sims don't have a huge following compared to other genres.
I hope they nail redfall too
The subtle world-building in this level and other levels as well is crazy, I remembered that in this level you can see one of Jindosh's signs with something like "Don't mop the floor while the Ark Pylon is active, whether you understand conductivity or not", this one sentence literally shed a light on his personality and how he treats his staff while managing the whole mansion. This kind of subtle yet concise character building is one of the reasons why I love Arkane so much
also the note to his staff about having sokolovs needs met so he doesn’t have to take care of him
Not the focus of the video at all.. but I like that little "you're under 30fps" reminder!
Timestamp? :)
@@Marshalicious Around 3:00
@@markwesterlund971 thanks!
What is that thing about?
@@daniberriro Likely a heads up that the level as designed causes performance to go below their standard
I love how devs aim to cover all play styles and reactions instead of forcing a player into something.
Immersive sim
I've always found this to mean that most ways are just kind of lack luster. We'll see if dishonored 2 breaks the trend when I get to it.
Dishonored forces you to use its tools and break the game, like a good immersive sim.
Immersive sims are fantastic...when they still existed
they even considered speedrunners. i wasn't expecting that
16:00 Here we can see all the classic Dishonored weapons in action; the crossbow, sword, and *old person*
One of the best level and best design of...... all game really
thats soooooo rigth bro very VERY nice level
I still love crack in the slab with all my heart, the "past" mansion just feels so cozy after being amongst the ruins!
Dont forget that its possible to beat the whole level without pulling a single lever
That's *really* impressive, because it's pretty clear that the entire level was built around pulling levers and enabling the modifications to happen on command. But then someone went and thought: "Ok, but what if someone doesn't want to pull a lever?" And instead of going "Well, fuck them then", the team went "Well, THEN they can go THIS way."
@@miguelhenriquecosta The beauty of Dishonored game design
@@miguelhenriquecosta That last sentence is what separates Arcane Studios from other AAA-Developers, they always go the extra mile, even if only 1% of players ever use what they developed just for them. I absolutely love that.
wait, really? i didn't even know that, this level has so many layers
Yup, you even get an achievement if you kill Jindosh without pulling any levers
You can tell that Dana was so passionate about her work from the sorrowful expression when she’s done talking about the cut of the wind corridor
That sounded like it would have been so much fun, just getting blown around everywhere lol. Wish they could have included it but sadly probably a large portion of great game design ideas never see the light of day because of budget/time constraints
Really made me sad to hear her talk about the budget restrictions. So much creative potential just scrapped because of money :/
@@americantoastman7296 I'm pretty sure the budget Dana is referring to is the technical budget. This is related to the engine constraints, the actual budget (in mb) allotted for each level data in order for the game to work properly on PC and consoles. Think number of textures used in the level, meshes, animations & many other technical ingredients used to build the game. Usually in game dev talk the tech budget is the one they mean, unless stated otherwise, ofc. Working with the tech budget is one of the big challenges devs have to face when building the game. They might have a lot of very cool ideas, good intentions & talented people, but at the end of the day it all has to fit. It's quite ususual to have to prioritize what is really important to the player experience and scrap some stuff, even if it's good. I do appreciate Arkane that they don't completely throw away their ideas and try to implement them in a different context. Otherwise, when things aren't great with the tech budget, the game might have issues, bugs & all sorts of frustrating problems (what is called a "broken game"). Looking back at its launch, Dishonored 2 had its issues, but fortunatelly the devs managed to fix this, and the game plays super smoothly. Despite these bumps, I believe the people at Arkane did a stellar job with Dishonored 2, and managed to be very ambitious and delivered a wonderfully crafted experience.
@@rouge7777 oh okay thanks a lot for the indepth explanation! Didnt know that was a thing at all!
@@rouge7777 Yes thank you for the extra context! I was assuming that she was referring to them running out of funding to keep developing the game and some mechanics had to be scrapped. I still think Dishonored 2 is an absolutely fantastic game as I didn't experience those launch issues and I honestly enjoyed it more than the first game.
The funniest part of my experience with the Clockwork Mansion was that I entered and immediately broke the glass roof rather than pressing the switch so I went through most of the level creeping around without going through the "main parts" and I was so confused haha
they let you do that? :) that's so cool
wait really? i didnt know that O.O
Yep, and Jindosh never realises you are there this way, so most security measures never turn on and he is even in distracted with other stuff if you get to him unseen without touching any levers
i did this exact same thing and soft locked myself at some point, having to go back and pull the level to continue dialogue
@@Ghrenix You can finish the level without ever changing the configuration of the mansion. There's even a trophy for it. How did you soft lock yourself?
when I play this level for the first time, It's really unthinkable how this level is made. The way gear shift and all the furnitures, level shift, moving up, down is very convincing. it looks really impossible and awesome.
Dishonored 2 is seriously underrated
It’s better than the first one in almost every way imaginable outside the story maybe, but it was destroyed due the abysmal performance on PC and consoles at launch.
@@denisruskin348 That's cool to hear! I always wanted to get into Dishonored but always dropped the first game after a few hours. Gonna try the second game for sure as it's on Game Pass.
Hear, hear!
I have been trying to get a couple of my friends to play it for three years now, and it pains me to say that I have failed to elicit action from them. I just shared this video with them in the hope that it will wow them where I have failed to geek-out sufficiently enough ☺️
@@denisruskin348 Xbox had good performance compared to the other two, that’s about it
@@franciscofarias6385 I think the first Dishonored doesn't have the best presentation since it really take a while before things start happening. I just love that game entirely but I understand why people drop it.
Man, it breaks my heart to hear how many aspects of this game were curtailed by the budget. I would love to see what the game would have looked like without the changes
Working within budgetary restraints is an everyday experience with design and development. Surprisingly though, these same restrictions have led to some of the most creative outcomes in some cases.
Being forced to remove some potential content is a way of making sure that the game actually releases, and even if some of the cut ideas are great you'll end up with a mess if you keep everything. By being forced to not include everything you want, you can focus on keeping the best ideas and making them work better.
The only thing I really pain for is the option of just leaving Jindosh alone. Some of the "non-lethal" options of dealing with the villains are honestly more brutal than just killing them outright...
@@crazycreeper888 I think a better option would have been to brainwash jindosh into being an ally
@@Jim26D I only touched the very beginning of it, but I think Remember Me does that to a character.
Speaking of, I should try that one again.
I would like to see more of Dana's flowcharts and how she externalized a real-time 3d space in a 2d diagram
It would be really awesome if you could find them as an Easter egg within the game!
@@esmelord2011 I might buy the game to get a chance on that easter egg 83
Is it really an easter egg in it?
@@dogmirian it’s not an Easter egg in the game, I was saying that I’d like it to be
@@esmelord2011 that would be cool
Absolutely love how honest Dana was about features that were cut due to budget concerns.
The Clockwork Mansion and Crack In The Slab are really cool levels, but my favourite HAS to be the Dust District. It’s so incredibly non-linear. Like, sure a lot of the levels give player choice, and it is a bit guided, but you can approach it in any way, including (as mentioned) skipping it almost entirely.
Yeah I love it. And I'm one to never like skipping content. I'm the kind of person who plays a game thinking "ok, left seems to be the correct way, so let's go right just to see what's there".
But the puzzle was hard enough and engaging enough that I decided to solve it and decided to skip the level (instead of solving it and then playing the level anyway which is what I tend to do).
Yeah, as great as Clockwork Mansion and Crack in the Slab are from a general design perspective, I think they end up lacking in the immersive sim area because they're so focused on their respective gimmicks. Where as before the focus is experimentation and freedom, knowing that the level revolves instead around time travel or clockwork mechanics changes your focus and makes the gameplay more prescriptive. I'm not looking for creative ways to sneak around any more, now I'm looking for the alternate route that I know is going to be provided by either shifting time or changing the room layout. Granted, there's still a lot of room to experiment within those levels (and these new mechanics give you some additional options too), but the very act of making a new mechanic become such a central focus makes them less appealing than the more traditional immersive sim levels that surround those two.
@@Laezar1 I do it backwards. I'll solve the Jindosh Lock puzzle using the "logic grid" puzzle template I have saved on my Google Drive, and THEN go back and then do the Dust District the normal way.
@@RonnieBarzel But why? Like, the puzzle is only interesting if you solve it yourself, and if you don't and you do the level anyway there is no point in cheating right?
@@Laezar1 I sat with paper and eventually figured out where everyone was sitting, who was wearing what and what they were drinking really proud to get that achievement
I want that "you are under 30fps" guy on every game now
I'm still waiting for that FPS boost so I can enjoy these levels again. D1 and Death of the Ousider got it already.
@@7783alfonso it's out for DotO and dishonored on the series x already
Really? So you're okay with under 60? Sorry, but I think aiming for anything less than 90 fps is stupid even if it's a walking simulator.
@@InfiniteDarkMass But my computer masterlord only allows me to run games at 15fps
@@InfiniteDarkMass even shadow of the colossus? One of the greatest games ever made?
This is some seriously ambitious content, Mark! Love the new series, can't wait to see more. 😍
amazing design. I specially found it insightful when she explained how they took decisions based on budget, it's essential information for aspiring developers that is rarely discussed and very hard to find. Maybe in the future we can get a GMTK vid focused on that aspect?
Developers taking speed runners into consideration makes me so happy, because it makes speedrunning that much more impressive to watch.
Arkane really doesn't get enough public backing, this really makes me want to pre-order Deathloop, not necessarily because that game is guaranteed to be great, but because Arkane deserves respect, and Deathloop looks cool/ unique
I got Prey for a discounted price for the same reason, I want to try to appreciate their creative endeavors.....now I just need to make myself go ahead and play what I bought haha.
@@KalebSDay Prey is the best game they've made, and it's not even close. Definitely play it when you can
I tried getting into arkane studio games but honestly they are not for me
@@KalebSDay prey is fantastic, especially if your old enough to have played system shock
A new video talking about Dishonored 2? I've already left my likes before even watching because I know that something great is coming!
Game Maker's Toolkit gets the same benefit of the doubt from me, too. I trust in their commitment to quality content and click the 'like' beforehand.
Dishonored games should be in game design textbooks
Loved her mentioning the budget constraints affecting design choices. It's not the sexiest stuff, but it's a part of the reality of game production not talked about enough!
Just came to comment on that exact same thing. Anybody has an idea of the buget of this game? I would've guesed that in AAA gaming breaking a budget happens as often as in Hollywood blockbusters, specially having (I'm guessing) well funded Bethesda as a publisher.
It's unbelievably amazing to see and hear all this. Aside from developer interviews, my favourite thing about this series is the development footage, it alone reveals so much about so many things. I love Arkane and Dishonored, thank you Mark and the devs!
This is the first time i've seen Mark's face and he's totally different from what i've imagined
Definitely what I expected.
Is this video a face reveal, or has Mark shown his face before?
@@hoodiesticks I've yet to his his face before other than my mind.
@@hoodiesticks He has shown his face in streams
Where does it show his face?
Props to Dana, David and the rest of the team for this masterfully designed level. Half of my playtime in Dishonored 2 is solely in this level, and it's my favourite in the entire series. It's also up there with my favourite game levels of all time.
This and the time jumping level really blew me away. It's such an incredible feat of design to mesh the spaces together in a way that's mechanically interesting
oooh, this is so awesome!!! Dana's mind is just... wow!
Incredible insights, I’m not a level designer myself but the dishonoured series is a huge inspiration for me when making maps and spaces in TTRPGs
I’ve been a fan of your video essays for a long time, but this marks a real culmination of your work. And like many things, much of this video’s success was finding collaborators who might meet you halfway. Dana in particular was an incredible interviewee. She really met you where you were for this video. Well done all around. Thanks.
I love that the Arkane prototyping tool has a pop-up telling you when your build isn't hitting 30fps lol
I played the entire Dishonoured series and all DLCs. This level, The Bank Job (Death of the Outsider), and Aldermire Institute remain my favourite three levels after several playthroughs. Absolutely brilliant design and execution. Fascinating to find this smart lady at the heart of The Clockwork Mansion.
I love Arkane, there is just no-one else like them in the AAA space. Also, I've watched quite a few videos and essays about this level, and I still learnt some new stuff here. Thanks and good work!
these are seriously my favorite videos on the channel and I say that as someone who rewatches all GMTK videos nearly monthly
Great Video
Both Prey and Dishonored Have some of the Best Level designs of all time
Clockwork mansion and Crack in the Slab are fantastic. Hoping for another video on that (and Prey) was well
i swear prey having several routes to almost every location was just chefs kiss
So glad to see an interview of Arkane studio's people. So much talent in their levent design. Proud to be french
The Clockwork Mansion is easily one of the greatest video game levels of all time.
I love these videos! So great getting to hear from her!
Super interesting video. I love listening to workers talk about something they're really passionate about.
It just felt kinda weird that you got David for the video and then he said like two sentences in total.
I can definitely see how working on this led to the famous introduction to Prey, which has similar vibes.
I’ve heard great comments on that level, haven’t played it out myself tho. Gonna mark this one and watch later.
have you played it? it's unthinkable how this level is made
It is actually mind boggling how they managed to design this level, it's so intricate in how all the pieces move and fit
The other level in the mission -- the city section you have to get through in order to get to Jindosh's mansion itself -- is also pretty fun, though it obviously pales in comparison to the main event.
Quality content as always, really like getting the dev's perspective on the whole process. btw, one of my favourite moments fron the level was semi-inadvertently crushing the Clockwork soldier with the walls of the Assessment Room, great emergent moment.
Well, it's time to replay Dishonored 2... again. Thanks, Mr. Brown, for helping my game backlog grow.
dishonoured 2 was a masterpiece.
@@hooimansen lol
Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well
It was a good game, but absolutely terribly optimized which is unacceptable
@@jordanderosha6322 ran fine for me on my PS4, Can imagine it may have had issues on PC though.
@@hooimansen Fair enough dude, funnily enough my bro said the same about the first game and just couldn't get into it, despite it being exactly the kind of game he likes to play.
Hearing Dana talk about her level was so fascinating!
Bought this game on Steam Sales a few days back, i was thinking of starting it today, and just now this video pops up for me, now that's a sign, keep up the awesome videos, this is the best game design related content channel in the whole youtube
The level of respect and appreciation they have for the player is astounding.
I've never once seen that cutscene of Jindosh taunting you from behind the glass in my many playthroughs. Of course I also didn't see many of those rooms you showed as well because I stealthed my way through by crawling around within the walls, between rooms.
Amazing timing for this video, I literally just replayed Dishonored 2 last week. Every time I play this level I'm like "man this must have taken some insane work from the developers".
god, I absolutely love when areas move around like this - and the clockwork/steampunk styling makes it even better.
I love the Dishonored series. I played most of them multiple times. Hope Arkane comes back to the series in the future.
I absolutely loved the idea that I can get inside the mechanisms.... The first time I discovered that I can go back in there and see all these moving parts was by accident... And I was literally blown away
I was surprised on my second playthrough to discover the "intended" path was to stay in the room. I think I even wound up under the floor by accident the first time. Stuff started moving and I went to hide and fell.
OK, this format is AMAZING! A behind the scene of behind the scene levels
This level is one of my all-time favorites. I played it hyped because of the D2 trailers and it delivered. Superb job Dana (and Arkane team).
Love this, getting to peek behind the curtain and see some of the prototypes, hearing the reasoning behind some of the design choices, honestly just amazed.
Hey Mark! You should really check out the game It Takes Two. It has an incredible way of incorporating cooperative gameplay, and it shifts game genres seamlessly!
He's waiting he finds the one xD
YES
@@anb1142 He's partnered, I think engaged?
This is my favorite level in the Dishonored series and one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in a video game. It's so cool to see the devs talking about how it came to be! It really is something they should be proud of!
This game is outrageously under rated. Please guys, play the Dishonored series, it is a masterpiece
Probably the best gameplay out there and what an atmosphere and story. We want Dishonored 3!!!
When you announced this series with the Ori episode I knew you were gonna do Dishonored . Such an awesome game and an amazing video!!!!!
Maybe for the next episode you could breakdown the temple level from Celeste, or one of the planets from outer wilds. Or maybe you could do an episode with Id software on how they made intricate and amazing arenas for combat in Doom Eternal and doom 2016
really a classic of game design. hear it’s name a lot but not many people actually discussing the games intricacies. excited to watch this
Level designers from Arkane and From Software are my favorite in gaming industry period
From software I feel is over rated. Bloodborne was a master piece but I can't get into any of the other games. I'm too old and don't have the time to grind the same patterns over and over to level up, or replay 20 minutes of an area to get a shot at the boss so he can lock on and one shot kill me.
Damn, the idea of that windmill-flying-through-the-sky-level sounds so awesome and memorable, now I am really sad that they had to scrap it. :/
Imagine what Deathloop level design will be
i read an article in EDGE about Deathloop and...it's pretty amazing :) there are 4 big open parts of the island AND all of them have 4 versions (for morning, midday, lateday, night time) and when you do something somewhere in the morning it has an effect later in the day (example they give is, bunch of people are digging a tunnel on the beach in the morning, if you let them alone, and come back later, there is now a tunnel that lets you get to a new part of the map)...and because you are doing the loop so many times you can experiment so much with all the combinations...i am so excited by Deathloop
@@Atropos148 That's truly exciting. I remember Dishonored games all had these kind of mechanics, and Deathloop will surely have more
@@Atropos148 sounds amazing. I just wished they didn't remove the non lethal option
@@t.t6294 the explanation the devs give is that, because it's a time loop, noone actually dies, so it doesn't really matter...it wouldn't make sense to slow down, if your character only has one day to break the loop...i would still like some sleeping darts or something
@@Atropos148 I understand the explanation, I Just think more options would've made the game more replayable But I respect their decision.
I Just love finishing Immersive sims FULL Pacifist mode lol
This series is gonna be great. Keep up the great work Mark!
Lmao seeing your own run in the middle of this was confusing but funny nonetheless.
oh hi ceara
I'm amazed that they appearently accounted for speedrunning when designing the level. They really wanted everyone to have fun playing their game.
Incredible episode, getting a peak inside these brilliant minds is unbelievably interesting and Mark's interview skills really elevate it
i still think the early design of clockwork soldier is more terrifying
agree. The one that made it to the game looks kinda generic in
@@pinegoistic2352 but it also fits better imo, given jindosh's personality and strive for efficiency
I like both, but the final design does clearly communicate the final Clockwork Soldiers' ability to see backwards, while that design would've either completely obscured that fact (if they tucked a lens in that mess of hair in the back) or forced them to remove that ability entirely for the sake of mechanical clarity. In fact, the version of the Clockwork Soldier with the early design used in Death of the Outsider does lack the ability to see backwards. And I do really appreciate that backward sight, since it makes them intimidating and challenging even in stealthy pacifist runs.
I remember playing this the first time late at night doing a stealth play through. Took me over 9 hours to explore the mansion, and was surprised to see it I still didn't see everything in my second and third play through.
Honestly hats off to the devs to creating one of the most iconic level designs of my childhood.
Very cool that the devs took speedrunning into consideration! Seems like they really care about letting the player have the experience they want.
I recently started playing Dishonored 2, and I started this very level on the 16th, before this video was posted. I later saw this video posted, so I decided to complete the level the next day, so I could watch the video. Craziest coincidence I've experienced.
Yeees! I remember asking for this one specifically! Amazing
I have never watched a video of yours, and not felt infatuated with ever moment of it. Keep up the amazing work
Corvo: Hey lets do 'Get Help'
Sokolov: What?
Corvo: 'Get Help'!
Sokolov: ...No.
Corvo: Come on, you love it.
Sokolov: I hate it.
Corvo: Its great, works every time.
Sokolov: Its humiliating!
Corvo: Do you have a better plan?
Sokolov: No.
Corvo: We're doing it.
Sokolov: We are not doing 'Get Help'.
15:55
I've seen all the GMTK videos, and this is one of the standouts, hands down.. cheers to everyone involved!
Really, I've been binging over a hundred hours on Dishonored 2 and now this?! You guys read my mind or the TH-cam algorithm done some magic to make this.
i literally just did this level like 2 days ago, heading into dust district today. perfect timing lmao
I have been waiting for you to cover this phenomenal level for so long!!! Finally!
Doing the whole level without Jindosh even knowing you're there is seriously one of the coolest things.
Fascinating analysis and insight into a brilliant level from a terrific game. The bit where the whole mansion opens up still stays with me, as does the dark non-lethal choice toward the end. Makes me want to play Dishonored 2 again!
Wonderful! Even after all the praise I still think the Dishonored games and Arkane Studios are way underrated! These is easily one of the best gaming series I have ever played in my 35 years of gaming!
The first one was a blast, but this second one elevated everything to state of the art level: story, presentation, originality, game play, physics, asthetics, power of choice, player freedom, etc...everything is just amazing!
A shame that the big guys upstairs didn't let them pursue a third full game and had them settled for the (still great) Death Of The Outsider DLC.
At the same time other franchises get all the money to repeat over and over again the same beated boring formula with only better graphics. Pathetic! The gaming world needs a lot more "Arkane Studios" way of thinking and doing things!
Thank you to all involved for making me experience this MASTERPIECE! No matter the sales, one of the best games of all time!!
Amazing video. I've never played the second Dishonored, but now after seeing how much care and love went into making these levels I really want to have a go at it.
The "You're under 30 FPS" is absolutely brilliant.
timestamp?
Honestly when I entered the mansion I was a bit overwhelmed. I’m usually not looking forward to levels in which it’s easy to get lost. However, I found the clockwork mansion challenging enough without being frustrating. It was easy enough to map out in my head while going along. The place is intricate but not confusing. When the mission was over, I was honestly sad to leave even though I had spent hours exploring it. It’s incredibly impressive the level of detail and organization it took for the devs to design this level.
I absolutely adore the dishonored series and can’t wait for deathloop
Saw this in my recommended and was like how did I miss a dishonored video, pretty sure I watched all of them, what year is this from. Then realized this just posted… THANK YOU SO MUCH GMTK
I wish there was more from David Di Giacomo, I want to know how these things are actually made. The whole 23 min video and only about two or three of his insights? Too few.
the unedited version over on patreon should have a lot more of his insight
@@DSkulle1 I am not on the Patreon
@@hiddenshadow2105 tough breaks
I literally played this level for the first time two days ago and was wondering how it was made. Impeccable timing
This game is a piece of art. Its like you are playing an oil painting. Future generations will study this game's art for inspiration.
Thank you for putting this together. This was my favorite level yet, in ANY game
I played this level for almost 8 hours on my first playthrough. This alone could have been sold as a seperate game.
agreed :) i was in there for 5 hours, no regrets!
I just love Dishonored. Both parts. Belong to the best games in my opinion. So much to explore and every run can be different. I stayed hours in Jindoshs House, sneaking through every corner. Played this part again, just a couple of days ago, pulled no levers, not even the first one and managed to extract Sokolov, with only killing the clockwork guard thats guards Anton. the rest was pure sneaking though the walls, and even killed Jindosh without noticing me, till I cut his throat :D Sneaky sneaky, those levels, the runepowers, jumping, teleporting, wibbly-wobbly-timebending and most of all: the setting and the atmosphere of the game itself. just perfect, best gift you can give me as a gamer.