7 Secrets Of Dishonoured 2's Development

By Tom Willis /

2. Risk-Takers: How Bethesda Give Arkane Their Important Freedom

Arkane Studios

There’s always the need to please the boss. Think how awful a time Snake had during the events of Metal Gear Solid 3.

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But, Arkane is in a much better position than that. Bethesda, their ‘boss,’ seems to want the very best for Arkane’s IP’s. That’s why they allowed the studio to take risks and fully realize their vision.

Carrier noted how risk-takers could have such a huge influence in the games industry, if their idea pays off well. He points towards Minecraft by remarking, “…the Minecraft guy tried something crazy and it worked.” He’s not wrong.

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This ‘risk taking’ isn’t just the initiative from the lead designers, either. The team are happy to take every idea into consideration. A good idea is a good idea, is their maxim. Allowing these risks is arguably the norm with a publisher like Bethesda. The Fallout series also benefits from the same sort of intellectual and creative freedom that Arkane behold. It undoubtedly lends to the idiosyncratic worlds created for the game.

Would levels such as Crack in the Slab even exist if Bethesda were not champions of Arkane? Possibly not.

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