Tue, Oct 09, 2012 | 23:33 BST

Dishonored writer champions Corvo over “creepy” Gordon Freeman

Dishonored’s lead writer has tempted the wrath of the Internet by daring to criticise Gordon Freeman, one of gaming’s best-loved silent protagonists.

Dishonored’s hero (or perhaps anti-hero) Corvo is silent, but while speaking to Kotaku, Arkane’s Austin Grossman said he personally is not a fan of certain other beloved mute characters.

“I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist. I find it incredibly awkward and really creepy. I find Gordon Freeman creepy as hell,” he said of the Half-life lead.

“It’s people talking at him, about him and sometimes even for him. He just happens to be in the middle of this whole thing,” he added of Freeman’s adventures.

In contrast, Grossman hopes his own creation, Corvo, is firmly embedded and participating in the narrative.

“The difference between Dishonored and how it works in Half-Life 2 is that it’s a lot more personal. I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it’s very clear that people have fucked with you in a very personal way,” he said.

“I’m biased, of course, but I think Dishonored grips you much more viscerally, more emotionally.”

Grossman said that Corvo’s actions – stabbing people, mostly – make a kind of speech. That’s not creepy at all, right?

Dishonored is out now in the US and launches in Europe and Australia this week.

Thanks, PC Gamer.

10 comments

LuLshuck
10/10/12, 12:41 am

true story

Telepathic.Geometry
10/10/12, 8:01 am

I wish devs wouldn’t trash talk other devs, and big themselves up. It’s no big deal like, but ya know…

Maximum Payne
10/10/12, 8:38 am

@3 They practically trash every game.They also said their game is much different then Assassin Creed and Hitman like we are on so bigger level than that games
What is even more funny on GT bonus round show , Host (Geoff Keighley ) ask the main designer of Dishonored what is his thought about Assassin creed 3 and he was like : well I don’t like it personally but graphics and animations are amazing -__-

G1GAHURTZ
10/10/12, 8:43 am

Corvo sounds like a Polish word…

Yoshi
10/10/12, 8:50 am

“I’m biased, of course, but”

That fact that he admitted to that makes this okay

Telepathic.Geometry
10/10/12, 8:56 am

Yeah, I seem to remember them trash talking dudes left and right a while back. I think they were saying that they were the only original guys out there deving games, and everyone else was just doing sequels.

the thing is that there are ways of saying that makes it okay, but they seem to just pick the worst wording to make them come across like complete knob-ends.

And I’m sure that they’re probably not arseholes as well, I mean look what they made!

roadkill
10/10/12, 9:52 am

Well, he does have a point.. And @3 this is not trashing. It’s just a simple comparison.

mojo
10/10/12, 9:54 am

5: kurwa, pls!

YoungZer0
10/10/12, 11:48 am

It’s lazy, and Corvo is no exception. Really, he’s just as shallow as Gordon.

#10

absolutezero
10/10/12, 12:36 pm

If I had to make the choice between Gordon and Corvo not saying anything at all and them spewing the same fucking shitty lines endlessly like in Borderlands Ill take the silent option please.

In cut-scenes fair enough but for the love of God shut up during gameplay. Its another fucking thing that Halo got right and no one else copied.