I did not know those things about the development. Thanks for the correction!Robert Rath said:I'm going to disagree with you there. Arkane Studios very clearly based most of Dishonored on Britain as a whole and London specifically. Their artists took trips to both London and Edinburgh during the game's development in order to design the look of the city, and they even kept an anatomy expert on staff in order to design the characters' faces in line with British morphology. In addition, early in the conceptual phase, Dishonored was actually going to take place in London during the year 1666 - the year the plague hit the city, followed by the Great Fire. Ergo, the whole idea of Dunwall as a decaying, dying city comes from British history. Moreover, a major part of the game's plot involves assassinating the Pendleton twins so that Lord Pendleton can gain their votes in Parliament, which is a British - not Russian - institution.jetriot said:The problem is that this is a tale the fits far more in line with 18th and 19th century Russia not Britain. The entire idea of an Empress should have clued us in there as Russia had an Empress or Tsarina ruling for 2/3s of the 18th century. The culture, the politics, the personalities could all be pulled right out of 18th century Russia. It is easy for the western world to look at Britain as the model for this time period because so much of who we are comes from them(and France) but not every story ties to our particular roots and this one certainly comes from Russia's less well known history.
On the other hand, I will give you one thing: Sokolov is definitely based on Gregori Rasputin, so the game isn't missing Russian elements. Though I wouldn't say that having an "Empress" automatically means Russia. Remember that during the long eighteenth century we had a French Empress (Josephine), a Russian Empress, an Austrian Empress, an Empress of the Holy Roman Empire... hell, there was even an Empress consort of Brazil and very briefly an Empress of Mexico, before Maximillian got gunned down by Juarista rebels. There were Empresses all over.
I will say this though: I'm on record in last week's comments saying I'd love to play more games based on non-WWII Russian history. You're right that it's a sadly overlooked period.
It doesn't sound very heroic at all no, but it does sound very Italian. Corvo has expertly placed himself as the power behind the throne, his (possible) daughter is safe and his own version of honor is satisfiedNinjaDeathSlap said:I love you for this article...
You're right, it's not a perfect fit (for example, when Corvo has outlived his usefulness to the Loyalists, they try to cover their tracks not just by attempting to kill him, but by poisoning him, which is not at all the 'Gentlemanly' thing to do), but it does help explain why I love the choice system in Dishonored so much. It annoys me when I see people describe it as an 'arbitrary moral choice', because it's not about morality at all. Corvo is never supposed to be an honourable hero, but one of the main themes of the games is demonstrating how fucked up this society's idea of 'Honour' is in the first place, so what does it matter.
Look at the so called 'Good' ending for example (although, again, the game never says that it's supposed to be 'good'). In this ending, after removing the conspirators on both sides, you place a child on the throne who really has no idea how to rule by herself, and the only adviser she has is you. So you have, to all intents and purposes, seized power for yourself, regardless of whether or not you also care for Emily in other ways. Does that sound 'heroic' to anybody here?
Well, being bodyguard of the Empress does bring its own title so he could very well just have been a talented common swordsman from the streets the Empress or her father picked just because, then raised to a noble so he could perform his duties.2fish said:Fun read I just never figured Corvo as being a member of the nobles. I thought he was just a bodyguard that every tolerated because the empress liked him. Always nice to learn more about the games we play and how they link to history.
Actually this is pretty common across sword fighting systems, so I don't think it was considered 'dirty'. Also one does not even necessarily need a protected hand to do it (depending on the type of blade, it's easier with broader blades).Prince Regent said:Good article. It made me think of a 'dirty' form of sword fighting that was popular in spain where one would grab the opponents sword with a protected left hand first chance they got and then stabbed the unprotected enemy with their own sword.
It depends on how you interpret the title "Lord Protector". Is he the protector of lords, or the lord of protectors? The former would be a formal title given to a commoner, the latter would be a noble's title. Given that the bodyguard is chosen from commoners, I'm more inclined to believe the former, rather than the latter. It would also explain why, if Emily really is Corvo's daughter, it's kept a secret, as it would have been a scandal for the Empress to have an affair with a commoner, even one of such high position.Quaxar said:Well, being bodyguard of the Empress does bring its own title so he could very well just have been a talented common swordsman from the streets the Empress or her father picked just because, then raised to a noble so he could perform his duties.2fish said:Fun read I just never figured Corvo as being a member of the nobles. I thought he was just a bodyguard that every tolerated because the empress liked him. Always nice to learn more about the games we play and how they link to history.
Keep in mind that it wasn't uncommon for close courtiers of the Royals to receive a formal title. A good example is a position most popular during the 15th century known as "Groomer of the Stool", which basically meant you were responsible for providing facilities for and assisting with the king's excretions, yet was a sought-after position since it meant time alone with the monarch and since they were apparently prone to talking secrets on the potty it made the holder of the position much feared around the court.
I agree, "Lord Protector" is most likely a professional title and not nobility, but like Groomer of the Stool or Whipping Boy which were both job titles, a lot of them were later raised into high nobility by the king. Not during their career though, that might have been a bit of an error by me.wintercoat said:It depends on how you interpret the title "Lord Protector". Is he the protector of lords, or the lord of protectors? The former would be a formal title given to a commoner, the latter would be a noble's title. Given that the bodyguard is chosen from commoners, I'm more inclined to believe the former, rather than the latter. It would also explain why, if Emily really is Corvo's daughter, it's kept a secret, as it would have been a scandal for the Empress to have an affair with a commoner, even one of such high position.Quaxar said:Well, being bodyguard of the Empress does bring its own title so he could very well just have been a talented common swordsman from the streets the Empress or her father picked just because, then raised to a noble so he could perform his duties.2fish said:Fun read I just never figured Corvo as being a member of the nobles. I thought he was just a bodyguard that every tolerated because the empress liked him. Always nice to learn more about the games we play and how they link to history.
Keep in mind that it wasn't uncommon for close courtiers of the Royals to receive a formal title. A good example is a position most popular during the 15th century known as "Groomer of the Stool", which basically meant you were responsible for providing facilities for and assisting with the king's excretions, yet was a sought-after position since it meant time alone with the monarch and since they were apparently prone to talking secrets on the potty it made the holder of the position much feared around the court.
I struggled with this question too - especially the use of "Lord Protector" and whether it was an honorific or a true title. I decided that Corvo could be considered a "gentleman," because of a number of factors:Quaxar said:I agree, "Lord Protector" is most likely a professional title and not nobility, but like Groomer of the Stool or Whipping Boy which were both job titles, a lot of them were later raised into high nobility by the king. Not during their career though, that might have been a bit of an error by me.wintercoat said:It depends on how you interpret the title "Lord Protector". Is he the protector of lords, or the lord of protectors? The former would be a formal title given to a commoner, the latter would be a noble's title. Given that the bodyguard is chosen from commoners, I'm more inclined to believe the former, rather than the latter. It would also explain why, if Emily really is Corvo's daughter, it's kept a secret, as it would have been a scandal for the Empress to have an affair with a commoner, even one of such high position.Quaxar said:Well, being bodyguard of the Empress does bring its own title so he could very well just have been a talented common swordsman from the streets the Empress or her father picked just because, then raised to a noble so he could perform his duties.2fish said:Fun read I just never figured Corvo as being a member of the nobles. I thought he was just a bodyguard that every tolerated because the empress liked him. Always nice to learn more about the games we play and how they link to history.
Keep in mind that it wasn't uncommon for close courtiers of the Royals to receive a formal title. A good example is a position most popular during the 15th century known as "Groomer of the Stool", which basically meant you were responsible for providing facilities for and assisting with the king's excretions, yet was a sought-after position since it meant time alone with the monarch and since they were apparently prone to talking secrets on the potty it made the holder of the position much feared around the court.
On a related note, I am intrigued why the producers would chose the title of Lord Protector for Corvo if they intended to model the world after Britain. As far as I'm aware Lord Protector never meant anything close to bodyguard and was only awarded for representative regents during a ruler's inability to rule (illness, age, ...) and hasn't been used in Britain since Cromwell operrated under that title during the Interregnum. And I think it is still used in some constitutional monarchies, so as long as the king is out of the country the next heir becomes Lord Protector.
What's so bad about the proper British royal bodyguard title of <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentleman_at_Arms>Gentleman at Arms or Gentleman Pensioner? Granted, not an individual's title as such, but a damn lot closer than using the title for an active regent.
That entire video is brilliant! I'll be sure to give one of those modes a try on a second run through.The_Darkness said:VERY interesting read. I do like looking at Dishonored through this lens.
However, someone clearly hasn't played Dishonored as: Corvo Attano: The Loudest Man in Dunwall!
Honourably duelling your way through Dunwall, one guard at a time...