Hitman Absolution: Full Disclosure

Hitman Absolution: Full Disclosure
Game Information:
Developer:	IO-Interactive
Publisher:	Square Enix
Release Date:	September 12, 2013
Shut Down:	May 2018
Platforms:	IOS Android Apple Store

"The Uncut Retrospective of Hitman: Absolution - As Told by the Developers. Full Disclosure features more than 250 images and 25 videos that show the discarded concepts, abandoned ideas and creative exploration that helped craft Hitman: Absolution."

―Slogan of Full Disclosure.

Hitman Absolution: Full Disclosure (also known as Hitman: Full Disclosure) was an app released on September 11, 2013 that showcased various discarded concepts, cut content and abandoned ideas that were made during the development of Hitman: Absolution. It was shut down in May of 2018 when IO-Interactive separated themselves from Square Enix.

Overview

The app itself went over various scrapped characters, locations and various canceled storylines as well. Most notably were the various unused concepts made by the team. Full Disclosure opens up with a statement from Tore Blystad, the director of Absolution. Then it cuts to its contents then the real beginnings. After the release of Hitman: Blood Money in late 2006, Absolution began pre-production where anything that was created by the devs goes which started many various ideas and concepts.

The Angry Man

"From the very beginning, there was a strong desire to drive the gameplay forward through a personal and emotional story. The most extreme idea was dubbed, The Angry Man, and was a very dark revenge story about a group of teenagers who had killed a girl. Many years later, Agent 47 got involved and was tasked with killing the group of men, who in the meantime had grown in different directions in life."

―IO-Interactive on the first scrapped storyline.

In late 2006, the developers created an early draft of what the story of Hitman 5 was going to be. Simply put, the original storyline for the game was originally known as "The Angry Man" which revolved around a group of teenagers who killed an adolescent girl however many years later, Agent 47 gets involved and is tasked with killing the men while they have grown up into mature and older men since the murder. This idea was scrapped however an unused concept trailer as well as concept art was made for it. According to concept art, The Saints were one of the first antagonists created for the game, which made its way into the final game. The theming of the plot was scrapped however most of its elements were ultimately scrapped.

The Homeless Hitman

"The emotional impact of killing Diana Burnwood was the catalyst of 47’s decline and he was supposed to be gone for 13 years, having left the agency after the killing."

―IO-Interactive on the second storyline.

In 2007-2008, After scrapping the Angry Man plot, the developers found a new storyline concept. One that heavily rivaled its predecessor. The story was after the "hit" on Diana Burnwood, 47 got depressed and left the ICA. At first 47 goes to a couple bars however ultimately ends up going homeless and creates an entirely new persona and identify. Eventually he meets a girl known as "Anna" who eventually makes 47 become human again. However she is later killed by a group of gang members. 47 immediately after goes to a downtown Tattoo Parlor and tattoo's Anna's name and date of birth then goes to kill the gang. The story was like its predecessor scrapped however most of its elements and themes were used to help create the final game.

HITMAN 5 Gameplay Cards

During the development of Hitman Absolution, lead level designer Jacob Mikkelsen designed and created various cards for Hitman 5 which were used in pre-production of development. The cards became obsolete later in development and were never released to the public.

Instinct Mode

The Instinct feature was created in 2009-10 which was originally used by developers to determine where specific props and NPCs were located. However overtime decided to implement it as a gameplay feature. This involved giving the feature its own UI, sound effects and OST. Most of it changing as well. Some features did unfortunately change such as the design of the NPC pathing. Originally it appeared to be a flame with smoke however this ultimately changed into a highlighted fire spread in the final game.

Point Shooting

"Point Shooting started life as a simple concept image, one of the first ever made for Absolution. There was a strong desire amongst the team to create a more cinematic experience than previous Hitman games and we explored various ways of how to achieve that."

―Developer statement in Full Disclosure.

Point Shooting original started as just a simple concept. With a few pieces of concept art being made for what it could look like. Eventually this led to the developers of Absolution making an early prototype of the feature. This prototype involved the player controlling both arms autonomously with two separate crosshairs which allowed the player to shoot and kill two targets all at once. The concept was very cool but was near impossible for the developers of playtesters to operate functionally.

Originally the mechanic was nicknamed as the "Bullet Ballet" and evolved into a sub-feature for the Instinct prototype. This led to them changing the mechanic name from "Bullet Ballet" to a mixture of either "instinct shooting" or "combat shooting". The mode was originally made specifically for special/military forces that were meant to appear in the game. This led to them showcasing their second prototype of the mechanic which showcased an early Courtyard from the mission Hunter and Hunted with various differences compared to the final game. The final concept for the Point Shooting concept was the developer short-film "The Shooting Ballet" which was made in 2010.

Scrapped Characters

Full Disclosure introduced a vast array of characters that were ultimately scrapped from the final game. It either went in depth on them or mentioned them. Here is a full list of all the scrapped/unused characters discussed or mention in the app:

• Big Mama
• Anna
• Babble
• The Group of Men
• Carl Cohen
• Ariel
• The Young Girl
• The ICA Sniper
• The Nun
• R. Prarott
• The Call Center Guard
• The Reporter (Absolution)
• The Chicago Technicians
• The Female Songstress
• The Cowgirl
• Fei Zhu's henchmen
• Todd
• Hotsauce Chefs
• Hotsauce Manager
• The unidentified couple

Scrapped Locations

Like minor characters, a bunch of locations were also scrapped from Hitman: Absolution. This list will cover all notable scrapped locations covered in the app exclusively. These locations either didn't fit the games' narrative or were scrapped due to time constraints:

• The Hotsauce Factory
• Chicago Riverside
• Gentle Giant Supermarket
• Chips Bowling Alley
• Hawaii
• Antique Radio Shop
• The Back Alley
• Skurky's House
• Dandelion Park
• The Ikan Sepat
• The Ice Cream Shop
• The Freeway
• Abandoned Mansion
• Unnamed Forest
• The Frozen Cave
• The Giant Cave
• 47's Stakeout
• Dry Cleaning: 24/7
• Unidentified bedroom
• Unidentified Mill Location
• The Church

Reworks

Throughout the game, many various characters, factions and etc were originally a completely different thing. Here is a (WIP) list:

• Victoria: Originally started out as an adolescent girl, modeled after one of the developers. She then evolved into "Anna" for the Homeless Hitman storyline. Then later she evolved into an unidentified ginger girl but then she became the Caucasian clone of 47.
• Christie Murray: Had a very different appearance. Her beta model looking very high-res and different compared to her final game model. Funnily enough, her beta model is used for various Vixen Club promotional posters.
• LaSandra Dixon: An entire scrapped cinematic of her was scrapped. This is thanks to an animatic seen in Full Disclosure, detailing her original history with the ICA and obsession of Agent 47. In the final game, most of her origin story is unknown and is only ever mentioned in the Saints ICA file trailer.
• Cosmo Faulkner: A private investigator that had a much larger role in the Hitman: Absolution storyline. Originally he was to have been seen in Blackwater Park for a scrapped sequence known as "The Crimescene". Unfortunately, most of his content and concepts were scrapped with him being reduced to an old private investigator failing to capture the silent assassin.
• Birdie: Birdie was originally known as a character titled "Babble" who was a private investigator who was friends with Diana Burnwood. However as the Homeless Hitman storyline was scrapped, so was Babble however his concepts and themes weren't entirely abandoned. He slowly but surely evolved into Birdie.
• Diana's Mansion: Originally, the mansion was to have been an abandoned one however this ultimately changed into a wooden cabin then changed near a cliff side with its appearance slowly being modernized.
• The Hotsauce Factory and Gentle Giant Supermarket: Were strongly developed into various locations however were ultimately cast aside for small poster cameos in various Hope South Dakota missions.
• Fei Zhu: A character mentioned in Hitman: Damnation, Fei Zhu was originally a target with his own gang. However his gang was scrapped, his placement as a target was removed and Fei Zhu was reduced to having no more than 15 seconds of screentime. This was done solely because Fei Zhu's gang and mission looked and felt very similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
• Birdie's Bus: Originally a school bus however transformed into his own non-exclusive HQ.
• The Agency technician(s): Originally they were Chicago paramedics/coroners however evolved into Agency technicians.

Trivia

• The app was given positive reviews however was later given mixed reception by dedicated Hitman fans, due to it not showcasing all of the cut content seen in Hitman: Burning Hope or the artbooks online.
• The app has its own defunct Metacritic page.

Gallery

The Barcode Bandaid as seen in Full Disclosure.

The Angry Man storyline in Full Disclosure.

Ditto, Angry Man continues.