Gameplay Limitations

This article concerns the variety of Gameplay Limitations that can be encountered throughout the Hitman Series.

Gameplay-Story Relationship

Most video games with both gameplay aspects and an overarching storyline can be catagorised as one of two types; Gameplay Segregated and Story Integrated. The games within the Hitman series are almost exclusively segregated, with features later included to instead affect future playthroughs on the same save files.

47 taking part in the IAGO Auction whilst dressed as Corky the Clown. In real life, this would not be accepted for such a formal event.

Gameplay Segregation refers directly to the distinct separation of gameplay and story as a medium; meaning one doesn't tend to affect the other, regardless of the outcome from either. Segregation allows for an open ended game session unrestricted by the games story, physics or lore, but at the cost of breaking immersion by creating two seperate and distinct narratives. Games like this are often sandboxes, and have a set story that is not affected by any actions the player performs in game (except when failing missions or objectives).

Story Integration refers to the designed correlation and synergistic behaviours between gameplay and story, with one ostensibly affecting the other. Integration allows for a combined story, and gameplay immersion and experience, at the cost of gameplay freedom and, in some cases, replayability. Games like this are often linear leveled, multiple ended, or directly story driven. Whereas Hitman: Absolution may appear more story integrated with its gameplay than the rest of the series, it is still a very mild example of a Story Integration.

The story and gameplay of Hitman were originally segregated in Hitman: Codename 47, meaning the story was not altered or changed by how the player plays the game, only the gameplay is affected. Beyond mission failure, there is no way for the player to alter the outcome of the story, except in one particular instance. This allows the player to engage in both the game by level and the story by cutscene or description, without worrying about one affecting the other.

A very noticeable 47 dressed as Santa whilst riding Dolphins out of Miami.

From Hitman 2: Silent Assassin onwards, the lines of segregation between gameplay and story become messy. In one view, both are synergized with the ability to complete missions with the rating of Silent Assassin, as well as story lore heavily suggesting this being 47's preferred methods of completing contracts. Various other, mostly uncategorized mission ratings were also introduced. This presents an interesting feature where story and gameplay tie hand in hand when playing to achieve the Silent Assassin rating. Conversely, the gameplay and story can also be completely segregated by achieving the worst attainable ratings, or by massacring entire areas, without the storyline being affected whatsoever. Certain instances of player action can directly affect the storyline, whereas other minor instances can be referenced as variable outcomes, these do not affect the storyline but can make future missions more dangerous.

Although most of the Gameplay Segregation in Hitman has improved over the series, to the point of where it is barely noticable, obvious segregation without explanation does appear throughout gameplay in the series, in an effort to maintain playthrough consistency and gameplay mechanics. For these reasons, the unique appearance of 47, his unique and specifically placed tattoo, along with his often deadpan and on-the-nose verbose do not ever seem to be noticed by plot pivotal characters, guards or enemies, nor does it blow his cover. These attributes would otherwise be very easy to spot in real life, especially by trained personnel.

It is also for these reasons that 47 can wear unique and very noticable starting costumes in the World of Assassination trilogy, without NPCs reacting to the player's initial appearance. A good example of this would be wearing the Santa 47 outfit in the middle of Marrakesh, or wearing a wetsuit whilst exploring Chongquing; while NPCs do not notice the difference, these actions would be very noticeable in real life. This is again subverted in some regards with costumes that are acquired in-mission. For example, wearing the Plague Doctor outfit in public areas can generate unique responses from NPCs, and wearing the wrong outfit in restricted areas will gain the attention of guards and enforcers.

Empty Developer Space

Not to be confused with the White Void, an intended visual effect.

Empty Developer Space (often referred to by gaming communities as Blue Hell) can be described as the large, undefined area surrounding a game map, and is featured in almost every open-world 3-dimensional video game. Most polygons are only rendered from one side in modern games, so falling through the world causes most of the terrain to be transparent, as they weren't intended to be seen from behind. Well developed and polished video games should never expose players to Empty Developer Space, but as games and technology get more advanced, access to those spaces are still prevalent. The EDS in most Hitman games is grey in color, and can create trailing distortions and depth issues when viewed during gameplay.

Boundaries/Invisible Walls

Boundaries in Colorado, appearing as a waist-high wooden fence and gate (right). Note the difference in features on either side of the radar.

An Invisible Wall (or alpha wall) is a boundary in a video game that limits where a player character can go in a certain area, but does not appear as a physical obstacle. The term can also refer to an obstacle that in reality could easily be bypassed, such as a mid-sized rock or short fence, which does not allow the character to jump over it within the context of the game.

Invisible walls also prevent the player from accessing undeveloped map space, where a variety of unintended consequences can occur. The main reason they are used beyond outer map boundaries is to prevent the player from becoming trapped or encountering problematic gameplay reactions, or to prevent major graphical issues (see below).

In 3D games, invisible walls are used similarly to prevent a player leaving the gameplay area (or map), or prevent them from getting trapped in small, inescapable spaces ("softlocking"). Visible boundaries such as stone walls or fences are aesthetically preferred, as some completely invisible walls can be seen as level design bugs (left-over geometry from an earlier version of the level or an object's improperly-aligned collision box). Nevertheless, designers might add invisible walls on cliffs to keep characters from falling off or use them as final borders of large open worlds, to make the world appear even larger than it actually is.

Map boundaries are the outer most perimeter limits of any loaded map. These are enforced to prevent the player from accessing un-rendered or undeveloped areas beyond the initial sandbox. Most boundaries in the Hitman series are aesthetic and blend in well with their respective maps in question, although some missions, like those on Haven Island, have completely invisible boundary limits. Although rare, map boundaries can be breached, especially in beta versions of the games, but this is highly discouraged as a variety of issues can arise. See Glitches.

Boundaries in Hitman

As an immersive factor, invisible walls can cause discrepancies between a game's systemic logic and its own fictional logic, as a game's rules dictate that one cannot continue past the wall, while the fictional setting cannot explain why this is. This can break the supposed internal reality of the game. These issues are tackled wisely throughout the series, limiting the initial actions the player can make 47 perform. Only when prompted can the player jump ledges, barriers and walls, so the risk of the player leaving set boundaries is already minimized. Some missions also warn the player that "You are leaving the mission area" while making the screen appear blurred, in order to reinforce the idea that 47 is simply refusing to leave the area until the mission is complete.

Despite being inaccessible to the player during normal gameplay, certain areas and objects out of bounds can still be interacted with. An example of this can be the Silent Assassin mission The Motorcade Interception. Even though the player is not able to leave the gated area and traverse the dirt road, the area outside is still solid, and the gate can be opened inward (an invisible wall prevents the player from going through the gate however). Another example is the Hitman: Contracts mission Traditions of the Trade, where several rooms are roped off and are inaccessible, yet roped off corridor doors can still be opened if they can be reached. Some have no geometry behind them and open into Empty Developer Space. Others have small partially solid corridors and empty doorways into EDS, suggesting some were originally designed to be bigger in size.

Boundary limits in the World of Assassination trilogy are highly polished, allowing 47 to avoid most danger outright when it comes to gravity. Conversely, it also makes it nearly impossible for players to return to the map if they happen to fall outside those boundaries.

Graphical Artifacts

See also: Glitches

Graphical (or Visual) Artifacts are rendering errors that result in distorted and discolored abstract shapes or lines that can vary in size, opacity and volatility. Some can retain a single color (usually the color of the object that is emitting it), whereas others can violently flicker between colors depending on the angle the artifact is viewed from. Few unintended graphical artifacts can be encountered in the Hitman series, as the development process tends to iron them out much earlier on. The most notable can be found in Blood Money, during A Vintage Year, where shooting at the plated food in the courtyard can create Graphical Artifacts that will emit from whatever piece of food was hit. When encountering Graphical or Visual artifacts, it is almost exclusively caused by the console/computer running the game, not the game itself. Causes can differ but the are usually either:

• Temperature issues, such as failure of cooling fan.
• Unsuited video card (graphics card) drivers or selected options.
• Drivers that have values that the graphics card is not suited with.
• Overclocking beyond the capabilities of the particular video card.
• Software bugs in the application or operating system.

Trivia

• Leaving a map's boundaries can leave the player in an indefinite free fall. Occasionally the player will be killed after 5-10 seconds.