AusGamers recently caught up with Hitman: Absolution art-director, Roberto Marchesi, to talk about the recently unveiled online Contracts Mode and cornered him on crafting a dynamic AI not only for the new mode, but also for the full game, and what it means to remain true to the Hitman series roots amidst a tough field of assassin competitors these days.
"The AI has different states, on what type of level you are. But what is very interesting about it, is that the AI -- how we set it up -- talks a lot among each other, it has to share knowledge," Roberto explained to us about Hitman: Absolution's AI systems.
"For instance, if the first cop finds a dead body, he will get alerted and start to be agitated. If there are no cops in the vicinity, he won’t be able to share this knowledge, so the other cops on the level will not be alerted. The moment that he meets another one, they can share this knowledge and they’ll both be on the lookout for you, but until that point, it’s not a hive mind, they have to talk to each other."
When Hitman 3 recently changed its name to Hitman World of Assassination, fans had no idea how meaningful the moment was. On the outside it looked like a simple thing: Hitman 3 would now be known by this name and include levels from Hitman 2 and 3 - the trilogy would all be in one place. But on the inside, at IO Interactive, much more was going on.
You mean destroyed it with this tethered single-player campaign BS... And only the first few levels of the third modern game were on the disc! I'll never support this crap at any price-point! They've lost me as a customer.
The last 10 years of Hitman have been full of highs and lows. And David Bateson and Jane Perry have been there with the series through this eventful decade.
Hitman is, and has been, a remarkable series developed by some of the best. Some are better than others, but every Hitman is challenging and fun.
Sure, there have been some stumbles and fumbles, but always in pursuit of the perfect Hitman game. The most recent trilogy is a masterclass in level design.
Hitman: Absolution: 72H for FREE. There's no gimmick here, just CLAIM IT and it's yours forever
