Following the release of Deathloop, Arkane Studios revealed in a new interview that they have no interest in returning to linear-based storytelling.
Arkane are best known for developing titles such as Dishonored, Prey, Deathloop, and the upcoming Redfall, which is currently slated to release in early 2023. But, following the success of Deathloop, which features a non-linear story, the developers are aiming to continue working on games that have no “right” way to play them.
RockPaperShotgun recently had the opportunity to interview some of the team at Arkane Studios, including campaign director, Dana Nightingale, and studio and co-creative director, Dinga Bakaba. During their discussion, the pair expressed their love for making games that have no “right” way to play and can be revisited numerous times by the player.
Bakaba says that “at Arkane, we care a lot about the playfulness of getting towards an ending. We like to have several endings in our games, it’s interesting, but it’s really about the journey. What’s interesting is people setting their own challenges, and deciding what the game is for them.”
They went on to discuss the lessons learnt from Deathloop, and if the hugely successful game had altered the distinct Arkane DNA. Nightingale responds by saying that she doesn’t “feel any interest in making a completely linear campaign again, it’s not something I want to do again. I fell in love with the way Deathloop is structured, where the players’ goals are their own. The idea of saying, ‘Okay, mission one, mission two, mission three…’ that feels like a step backwards for me.”
The developers went on to say that they hope the success of non-linear games such as Deathloop encourages developers to take some risks, even with bigger triple-a titles. It’s clear that Deathloop was a risk that paid off for Arkane, after PlayStation revealed that it was the 18th most downloaded PlayStation 5 game for 2021 in the US and Canada.
