HITMAN: World of Assasination is a trilogy of three videogames: HITMAN (2016), HITMAN 2 (2018), and HITMAN 3 (2022) from IO Interactive. In them the player plays as a professional master assassin, Agent 47, assigned with a series of targets in various locations around the world. In each level the player is given an open level free to explore and are allowed to choose their own approach to assassinating the target: whether by following scripted “mission opportunities”, where the player triggers specifically scripted events by performing a sequence of actions, or simply sneaking around the target like an old school stealth game. Since all three games in the trilogy operate on the same basic mechanics, for convenience we’ll refer to them collectively as HITMAN.
There are already numerous video essays and articles out there that discuss, praise, or criticize the design of various HITMAN levels, but I have not found one that systematically dissect what really makes a HITMAN level great in terms of its use of space. This article would be a rudimentary exploration of that angle.
Of course, there are many elements outside of the spatial design of a HITMAN location that make them fun and memorable. A significant and crucial one is its environmental art. Many of them are well-loved by fans even without the mission for IO’s stunning rendering of their unique settings, whether the neon streets of Chongqing, the wonderful medditerannean coast of Sapienza, or the sinister Isle of Segail. A beautiful environment with lively events and NPC activity is crucial for the immersion that forms the basis of the HITMAN experience. Another component is the scripted stories: are there stylish moments like taking to the stage disguised as a fashion model? Or participating in a secret society meeting to vote on “the future of energy”? Or becoming a drummer for the target you are about to eliminate?
Fig. 1. Disguising as a cult member in The Isle of Segail. Original from RockPaperShotgun.com
Of course, it is hard to separate the different components that makes a good level to talk about them separately. Different players also have different preferences. But by focusing on space, HITMAN can illuminate future designs of games that employ a similar model.
HITMAN is a unique game in that each level is essentially a small but open-world sandbox. Therefore, it cannot neither follow the logic that guides the design of “true” or “large” open-world games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, nor that which organizes the design of more linear games, like Dark Souls III or IO’s previous installation Hitman: Absolution, even though it incorporates certain aspects of both. A linear level is more akin to an obstacle course, where player overcome a series of challenges or enemies before reaching additional content, with perhaps spaces with more freedom interlaced between for an exploratory element. A large open world game may be include some smaller and more linear segments, like the traditional Zelda dungeons, but also allow the player to roam free.
HITMAN levels cleverly take from open world games the combination of multiple different areas, but on a smaller scale. A lot of its levels are composed of multiple distinct areas that are connected together, like how Sapienza is made of the Mansion, the streets of the Sapienza town, and the underground lab. They can also contain some linear, more old-school stealth moments — players that go for Suit Only, Silent Assassin challenges, where one is not allowed to use disguises or get spotted by any witnesses at all — often have to bypass guards using distractions, covers, and clever movement to move through obstacles in order to kill the target. If one chooses to follow one of the levels myriad of Mission Opportunity, one must also perform a series of linear actions to trigger the kill.
We can think about the HITMAN mission in this way: The player is allowed to explore the area, but must eventually decide on some sort of approach and execute a series of actions to terminate the target. In other words, one must in the end perform a linear series of actions, but what actions go into that series is mostly contingent and up to player choice. The player would essentially assemble this sequence themselves with the clues they picked up around the map. In Sapienza, for example, you may discover an antique cannon lying on a hill near the coastline pointing out to the sea. You may also discover that, if you trigger a fire alarm and a lab emergency, one of the targets, Silvio Caruso, will look to escape using his waterplane. And then the eureka moment: carefully trigger a lab accident with a dongle you can steal, trigger an fire alarm, and then wait for Caruso’s plane to fly right into the cannon’s line of fire…
So what sort of spatial design would enhance that experience?