Bad ports hurt, especially when the game getting the shoddy treatment is otherwise good. Dishonored might be quite good , so a little before E3 I asked co-designers Raphaël Colantonio and Harvey Smith -- who have a great deal of PC development experience -- how much attention is being paid to PC optimization. Their response wasn't especially detailed, but it does inspire optimism.
"Our background is very PC for sure,” said Colantonio. “And now in this game we have a mix of strong console players and fans, and also hardcore PC people. So both sides are very influential, and in the end, yes, the PC has its own different interface."
"It's a very cool mix of culture, as Raph was saying," continued Smith. "At either location [Lyon and Austin] you'll have people that are like, super hardcore strong about these PC standards. Obviously with the long legacy we've had, it's a religion.”
Smith went on to say that "the same is true for the PS3 and the Xbox,” and that the studio's philosophy is to “step back” and let those who are passionate about one platform influence development there. Achievements, for example, are left to the Xbox evangelists on staff.
If PC standards are truly a “religion” at Arkane Studios, we may be served well, but we haven't yet verified it with our eyeballs.
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Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.
