Earlier this year, IO Interactive announced that its upcoming Hitman game would be released as a series of episodes rather than a single title, and the move received a mixed response from fans. The studio itself even admitted at the time that the decision “may frustrate some players.”

In a recent interview with Gamastura, Hitman Creative Director Christian Elverdam explained why the episodic model is an important change for the series from a storytelling perspective.

According to Elverdam, the story of Agent 47, the lead character in the Hitman series, does not fit into the traditional hero’s journey formula because the character does not really grow or change.

“This story structure doesn’t work with Agent 47 because he is, essentially, a blank canvas on which players can express themselves,” Elverdam said. “Furthermore this is a game where freedom of approach is one of the most critical features; the setup is based on a silent master assassin taking out his targets in unforeseen and creative ways and where the turn of events are left mostly up to the players to decide.”

“The gameplay conflicts with the classic storytelling model. With a new way of distributing the game we could now allow ourselves to be inspired by a new, very strong trend – the reinvention of the TV series.”

Elverdam compared the story of Agent 47 to that of Sherlock Holmes, saying that fans of Sherlock care more about the individual mysteries he solves rather than how his character progresses.

“It is the meeting of the profession and the character that together create the fascination,” Elverdam said.

“There is always a risk when you are among the first to do something”

While there are numerous examples of episodic games, most take one story and divide it across multiple episodes. Meanwhile, Hitman will tell multiple stories across its episodes that will primarily be tied together only by the main character and the gameplay.

“There is always a risk when you are among the first to do something,” Elverdam admitted. “Will people get it? But we already have seen a lot of interest from colleagues in the industry, who want to copy our example.”

“There is no question, in my mind, that it is a very natural and beneficial evolution. It brings the players and the developers much closer together, which is almost always a good thing. It will mean better games, more innovation, and more diversity.”

You can read the full interview with Elverdam at Gamasutra.

Image courtesy of Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd