Hitman's 2016 success was moored to a simple idea: shut down the binge.

Yes, the drawn-out release of six episodes during an eight-month period also kept the game in the "new releases" conversation far longer than most. But for developer IO Interactive, the biggest benefit by far was the way an episodic release took all players -- new and old -- to Hitmanschool.

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"A level is not supposed to be beaten by just killing the targets and proceeding [to the next level]; it's actually meant to be played multiple times," creative director Christian Elverdam said in an interview.

The Hitmanseries is built around the notion of artful murder. You are Agent 47, a top-tier contract killer who specializes in disguise, misdirection, and subterfuge. The core fantasy is one where you sneak in, do your job, and slip away without anyone ever knowing you were there.

A typical level might offer a dozen or more ways to kill a target, and that's on top of the more "mundane" options, like a bullet to the head. You have all manner of weapons and stealth tools but the real thrill of Hitmancomes from solving its intricate, multi-stage murder puzzles.

There's just one problem that comes up again and again for IO: most players are wired to finish a game rather than master it.

Forcing players to wait a month or two for each new level came with an unspoken encouragement: use the extra time to master them.

"If it doesn't immediately click for you or you don't notice [the variety in each level], maybe you play it more like a normal game," Elverdam said. "Then you go 'what's so special about Hitman?'"

The development team tried to address this problem in 2012's Hitman: Absolution. That game -- the immediate predecessor to the 2016 release -- attempted to combine the franchise's traditional design sensibilities with more of a story-driven experience.

Credit: IO Interactive

"With Absolution, we tried to do something about that by making the game a little bit more simple, making the levels a little smaller," Elverdam explained. "That obviously compromised on the depth of the sandbox and this free-roaming [exploration] that is the DNA of the game."

With 2016's Hitman, the team at IO wanted to get back to those core ideas, so an episodic release made sense. Forcing players to wait a month or two for each new level came with an unspoken encouragement: use the extra time to master them.

"We knew a lot of people would be playing the game together, talking about the same level," Elverdam said.

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The episodic release format came with another benefit: for the first time in the Hitman's 16-year history, IO could gather feedback on the game from just one episode and then take active steps to address it before subsequent episodes released.

"When you're knee-deep in building a game, it can sometimes be a little hard to see the game 100 percent. And you can also be surprised [post-release] by how people play it," Elverdam said.

"The idea of running a live season was really appealing, because that period would now be prolonged from two weeks to seven months. [We are] constantly looking at the game with our players playing it at the same time."

It's here that Elverdam reminds us: prior to 2016's game, IO hadn't done a proper Hitmansandbox since Blood Moneyin 2006. So the studio was very much re-learning how to make a Hitmangame, since Absolutionwasn't it.

Credit: IO Interactive

"I think we took a fundamental step in the right direction," he added. "Now, both core players and new players talk about the same great things in the game."

The team's learnings are plainly evident as the opening season of Hitmanprogresses. The feedback from Paris and Sapienza, the first two episodes, emboldened IO to experiment with some of the series most basic concepts by the end of the season.

"Getting to see people ... embracing the sandbox [in those first two episodes] affected how we thought about Colorado [episode 5] and Hokkaido [episode 6] in terms of how playful we can be, how much we can trust that the sandbox actually works."

The Colorado episode restricts player movement from moment one, depositing Agent 47 on the outskirts of an eco-terrorist compound where a season-topping four targets await. Finding a disguise quickly is a top priority, but even then -- due to the hierarchy of the military-style organization -- getting around takes some doing.

The final episode, in Hokkaido, sends 47 off to a secret hospital for the mega-wealthy in a remote part of Japan. There, again, movement is restricted -- but in the most inventive way.

"It's very playful, throwing some curveballs in terms of how we see a disguise," Elverdam said. "It's now embedded with a chip [in your clothing] and there's an AI in the building. So [your disguise] is literally a physical way to pass through doors."

Credit: IO Interactive

That's not the only way Hokkaido messes with player expectations. One of the targets, a patient who is in the hospital for a very involved and lengthy heart procedure, is safely ensconced in an operating theater. You can futz with the OR's machinery remotely, but the hospital's AI takes over and resuscitates the patient in those situations.

And there's one, final twist: since 47's initial way into the hospital is as a patient -- you can unlock other starting locations as you play more -- he starts with nothing. The limited selection of gear you normally have at the start of a Hitmanlevel is stripped away.

"It felt super comfortable doing all these things and finding different strategies for that level," Elverdam said. "I don't think we would have been able to think or do it like that earlier. It would have felt more risky."

Those lessons are front of mind as the team at IO Interactive turns to season 2. Plans for what's next haven't been formally revealed, but we know it's coming. The story alone -- which we won't spoil -- makes it clear that 47 has some work ahead of him.

"I think we're in the fortunate position of ... trying to improve on something that really worked," Elverdam said. "We have thought about a game that can span seasons and feel like it's constantly expanding and evolving, so that's basically what we want to do."

TopicsGaming