An exclusive interview with Hitman: Absolution lead producer Hakan Abrak from IO Interactive.
With Hitman: Absolution finally available for fans who have been waiting six years for more Agent 47, developer IO Interactive can take a break just in time for Christmas. (They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Copenhagen.) Lead producer Hakan Abrak talks about the new Square Enix action adventure game, which introduces a new online mode with Contracts.
What’s going on within the Hitman universe?
Agent 47 works for the Agency, which gives him contract hits. His old friend, his handler, Diana Burnwood, who he has been working with for many years, is the contract he’s assigned. Allegedly she has betrayed the agency. A new head of the agency gives him this contract. It’s obviously really hard for Agent 47 to carry it out, but the professional he is he actually does it. But compared to the other games, this one is a far more personal story because while doing so, he discovers that there’s something shady going on. Diana’s dying wish is to protect this mysterious girl called Victoria, a young girl that the Agency is after. He’s supposed to hand her over after killing Diana, but he does not do that. He actually honors Diana’s dying wish and protects her from the Agency. Nnormally in the other games Agent 47 would progress from assignment to assignment, from kill to kill, but actually here, Agent 47 makes the decisions and decides where to go next.
What have the Hollywood actors brought to the tablet for this new adventure?
We worked with Hollywood actors and did performance capture in LA. We worked with Marsha Thomason, Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Traci Lords, Isabelle Fuhrman. There are a lot of actors who have been a part of it, doing both the performance capture and also the voices.
What do you think that adds to the story?
We wanted the game to have a cinematic feel. We also wanted them to engage in the story and adds a far more personal story. It really shines through with these actor’s performances. We’re really happy that they made it possible for gamers to immerse themselves in this personal story.
