Hokkaido (Hitman)

Last updated
Hokkaido
Hitman location
First appearance Hitman - Episode 6: Hokkaido (2016)
Last appearance Hitman 3 (2021)
Created byTorbjørn Christensen
Genre Stealth
In-universe information
Location Japan

Hokkaido is a level from IO Interactive's Hitman video game franchise. It takes place in the fictional GAMA Private Hospital in a remote location of Hokkaido, Japan.

Contents

Development

Hokkaido was created by lead level designer Torbjørn Christensen. Christensen and lead game designer Jesper Hylling describe it as an absurd location due to how remote and inconvenient it is for people to get to it, but Christensen regarded that as a strength, owing to its "fantastical" nature that allows them to take more liberties than if it was set in Tokyo. [1] The developers had been looking for an opportunity to include a hospital in the Hitman series for a while, brainstorming on what could go wrong in a hospital setting. [2] Initially, the setting was just going to be a hospital, but the team elected to add the resort and morgue in order to make it more surprising for players. They also sought to make the different parts of the level feel visually and thematically distinct. They went to lengths to ensure that the different areas felt like they made sense to be connected to one another, justifying the presence of a resort being that a rich patient would want to recuperate or the staff room having a dance mat game because it's set in Japan. When describing the level archetype Hokkaido fits into, Christensen called it a spiral, due to how they wrap around and interconnect with stairs and slopes. [1]

They set the location in Japan as part of their effort to have a hospital where the technology "borders on science fiction." They also chose it because they wanted to have a controlled climate setting located in a setting that's otherwise harsh. They also aimed to make the spa area inviting from a tourist point of view. [2] The level is designed to be more restrictive than normal, requiring Agent 47 to be wearing certain disguises to get into certain areas. This is done by having an AI control the facility, and it only allows doors to open if Agent 47 is wearing a disguise that it deems fit to enter that area of the facility. The idea was that clothes were fitted with RFID chips that the AI would identify. This was a difficult thing to get working well, creating a number of issues for the team. [1] They wanted to experiment with the idea of emphasizing the disguises after they experimented with a more military-focused level in Colorado. [2] They had to avoid potentially confusing players, which they accomplished by having an early area require them to learn the gimmick, as well as through signposting the access levels on the doors and the clothing. [1]

Hokkaido is a more dense level, which affects how the 300 non-playable character limit manifests. In other levels, areas that should be more densely populated than they are, have justifications for why they aren't. Meanwhile, because the level is smaller, no such justification is necessary, and the level is busier as a result. [1]

Art director Jonathan Rowe worked on the level, and found that Hokkaido being "clean, stark, and austere" made it more difficult to make the level look good. He felt that more details make something look more realistic, but due to how sterile the level was, it was difficult to make it not seem unfinished. Rowe accomplished this by focusing on "micro details and surface details" to complete the package. [3] A surgical robot resembling a spider was featured in the level, and was based on car manufacturing robots. Rowe wanted something that was both "industrial and clunky" yet moved unnaturally fluidly, finding those two themes working in concert "very disturbing." [3]

Characters

With Hokkaido, Christensen wanted to experiment with a static target to see if it would be interesting. This was attempted with the character Erich Soders, who is unconscious while undergoing gene therapy. Christensen wanted to take advantage of the spiral structure of the level as part of this target. He was partly designed in response to a mission in the Sapienza level, where Agent 47 has to eliminate a virus in an underground seaside cave. Christensen felt limited by this due to the fact that the virus had only few ways to be eliminated, and thus aimed to provide more in this case. This was accomplished by implementing failsafes designed to resuscitate Soders that need to be prevented. [1] Soders was also chosen for this because of his role in the game, being that he had the power to determine whether Agent 47 would live or die. The designers put him in a helpless state in order to turn the tables in their roles. [2]

Helmut Kruger, a character from the Paris level, was mentioned in this level in response to positive fan feedback. [4]

Level content

The level takes place in an exclusive hospital located in Hokkiado, the northern most prefecture of Japan, featuring three main areas. The first and spawn area is a luxury resort, sushi restaurant, garden, hot springs, and more. It's accessible to 47 with no disguises. The second area is located below the main resort where guests stay. It consists of a kitchen, staffroom, capsules for the staff and many other facilities needed in order to run a resort. The third and most dangerous area is the hospital located at the back of the map. It houses the large surgical room where robotic surgury is performed. During the main mission, Situs Inversus, this area is under a state of extreme security due to the patient being Erich Soders, the Head of the ICA. This makes the area particularly hard to access and eliminating Soders even harder. The morgue is located in the basement area of the hospital with it also being patrolled by guards.

Release

Hokkaido first appeared as the setting of the sixth and final episode of the 2016 Hitman game, with the episode releasing on October 31, 2016. [5] It was later featured in a complete edition of Hitman, which launched on January 31. [5] Hokkaido reappears in Hitman 2 , given a new mission. [6] It later appeared in Hitman 3 .

Reception

The Hokkaido level and its containing episode was met with generally positive reception, holding an 81 and 83 on Metacritic for PlayStation 4 and PCs respectively. [7] [8] Destructoid writer Chris Carter found himself uninterested in the assassination targets, being more interested in the level and environment itself. He felt it evoked the vibes of Sapienza, while praising the RFID gimmick. [9] IGN writer Luke Reilly praised it as one of the best levels in the 2016 Hitman, calling it "vintage Hitman at its most creative" as well as "atmospheric and tricky." [11] PC Gamer writer Phil Savage praised it for how it made the systems and level design work together so thoroughly as well as how "confident and experimental" it was. Savage considered it his all-time favorite stage in the series due in part to the RFID mechanic. [12] [13] Push Square writer Sam Brooke felt that, while it wasn't the perfect ending to Hitman, it was a "nice swansong," calling it the most "atmospheric and creative" of all the episodes. [14] Hardcore Gamer writer Adam Beck praised the atmosphere and level design, as well as the gameplay, but found the plot anticlimactic [10] Kotaku writer Riley MacLeod praised it as a finale due to it not feeling like a finale. He discussed how the level is strange and challenging due to how much information certain NPCs have, citing a moment when he was disguised as a patient and a guard caught him wandering outside. He felt that the level's "long, subtle burn" contrasted with the previous episode, Colorado, which was more "upfront aggression." [15]

PC Gamer staff ranked it as the third best level in the World of Assassination trilogy. Writer Fraser Brown appreciated how it started off relatively uncomplicated, but only grew more complicated as he uncovered it. [13] Paste Magazine writer Hamish Black ranked it as the fourth best level in the game, praising the variety of strategies you could employ as well the atmosphere. However, they felt that, with there being less area to explore and going back to the two-target system, it makes Hokkaido feel anticlimactic. [16] Hardcore Gamer writer Adam Beck ranked Hokkaido as the second best mission in Hitman 2, feeling that the size was just right and that Japan is a good choice for a level. [17] TechRadar writers Samuel Roberts and James Peckman ranked it as the fifth best level in the World of Assassination trilogy, with James praising it for shaking things up by making a level that's more restrictive and challenging to navigate. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Doom</i> (1993 video game) First-person shooter

Doom is a first-person shooter game developed and published by id Software. Released on December 10, 1993, for DOS, it is the first installment in the Doom franchise. The player assumes the role of a space marine, later unofficially referred to as Doomguy, fighting through hordes of undead humans and invading demons. The game begins on the moons of Mars and finishes in hell, with the player traversing each level to find its exit or defeat its final boss. It is an early example of 3D graphics in video games, and has enemies and objects as 2D images, a technique sometimes referred to as 2.5D graphics.

<i>Hitman 2: Silent Assassin</i> 2002 video game

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a 2002 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The game was re-released for Windows through the Steam online distribution service, and a DRM-free version was later made available through GOG.com. It is the second installment in the Hitman video game series and the sequel to Hitman: Codename 47. The single-player story once again follows Agent 47, a genetically enhanced human clone who worked for the International Contract Agency (ICA) as an assassin. Following the events of Codename 47, the former contract killer has retired and started a peaceful life at a church, but after his only friend, Reverend Emilio Vittorio, is kidnapped by unknown assailants, 47 resumes work for the ICA in hopes of tracking him down.

A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses stealth to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. Some games allow the player to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking antagonists, but rewarding the player for greater use of stealth. The genre has employed espionage, counter-terrorism, and rogue themes, with protagonists that are special forces operatives, special agents, secret agents, thieves, ninjas, or assassins. Some games have also combined stealth elements with other genres, such as first-person shooters and also platformers.

Hitman is a stealth game franchise created by Danish developer IO Interactive. The player controls the contract killer Agent 47, who travels the world to assassinate various targets who are assigned to him.

<i>Hitman: Contracts</i> 2004 video game

Hitman: Contracts is a 2004 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the third installment in the Hitman video game series, and serves as both a remake of Hitman: Codename 47 (2000) and sequel to Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), incorporating gameplay elements introduced in the latter into missions from the first game, which have been remastered with enhanced graphics. The game also includes several new missions, which serve as flashbacks experienced by the cloned assassin Agent 47 after almost being killed on a failed mission.

<i>Hitman: Codename 47</i> 2000 video game

Hitman: Codename 47 is a stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows in November 2000, and the first entry in the series. In the game, players control Agent 47, a genetically enhanced human clone who is rigorously trained in methods of murder. Upon escaping from his testing facility, 47 is hired by the International Contract Agency (ICA), a global contract killing organization. His missions take him to locations in Asia, Europe, and South America to assassinate wealthy and decadent criminals, at first seeming to share no connections with each other, but who are soon revealed to have all played a role in a larger conspiracy. The gameplay revolves around finding ways to stealthily reach and eliminate each target; to this end, players can make use of various tools, including disguises and suppressed weaponry. However, some levels are more action-focused and do not feature stealth as a possibility, instead playing like a traditional third-person shooter.

<i>Super Fantasy Zone</i> 1993 shoot em up video game

Super Fantasy Zone is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Mega Drive. Part of Sega's Fantasy Zone series, it was released only in Japan and Europe. Players control the character Opa-Opa on his quest to defeat Dark Menon, and the game plays similarly to previous Fantasy Zone entries. The game plays similarly to Defender, where the screen scrolls in the direction that Opa-Opa is going. The player shoots at enemies to defeat them, collecting gold coins that are used to purchase temporary upgrades that improve Opa-Opa's offensive capabilities and speed, among other things.

<i>Hitman: Absolution</i> 2012 video game

Hitman: Absolution is a 2012 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix's European branch. It is the fifth installment in the Hitman series and the sequel to 2006's Hitman: Blood Money. Before release, the developers stated that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on 20 November 2012 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. On 15 May 2014, Hitman: Absolution – Elite Edition was released for OS X by Feral Interactive; it contains all previously released downloadable content, including Hitman: Sniper Challenge, a "making of" documentary, and a 72-page artbook. On 11 January 2019, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released enhanced versions of Absolution and Blood Money for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as part of the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection.

<i>Hitman Go</i> 2014 video game

Hitman Go is a turn-based puzzle video game developed by Square Enix Montréal and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. Announced in February 2014, the game was released for iOS in April 2014 and for Android in June 2014. Windows and Windows Phone versions were released the following year in April 2015. In February 2016, a "Definitive Edition" version was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and on Linux and Windows via Steam. It is the first game developed by Square Enix Montréal, a studio founded in 2011. Development entered full production in 2013 and was completed by eleven people using the Unity game engine.

Ellie (<i>The Last of Us</i>) Video game character

Ellie is a character in the video game series The Last of Us by Naughty Dog. She is portrayed by Ashley Johnson through motion capture and voice acting; in the television adaptation, she is portrayed by Bella Ramsey. In the first game, The Last of Us (2013), Joel Miller is tasked with escorting a 14-year-old Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a cure for an infection to which Ellie is immune. While players briefly assume control of Ellie, the artificial intelligence primarily controls her actions. Ellie reappeared as the playable character in the downloadable content prequel The Last of Us: Left Behind, in which she spends time with her friend Riley. In The Last of Us Part II (2020), players control a 19-year-old Ellie as she seeks revenge on Abby.

<i>Hitman</i> (2016 video game) 2016 stealth video game

Hitman is a 2016 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. The game, which has six episodes, is the sixth mainline entry in the Hitman franchise, the first installment of the World of Assassination trilogy, and the successor to Hitman: Absolution (2012). The single-player story follows genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 as he goes on a worldwide adventure and solves a mysterious series of seemingly unconnected assassinations. Hitman features a number of large, open-ended sandboxes that Agent 47 can freely explore. The game presents the player with various assassination opportunities, many of which are unconventional. IO Interactive introduced a "live component" to the game with new content being regularly delivered in downloadable form.

<i>Technobabylon</i> 2015 video game

Technobabylon is a cyberpunk adventure game developed by Technocrat Games and published by Wadjet Eye Games for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Linux, and macOS. Originally intended as a series of 10 free episodic games, of which three were released, it was released as a full game on 21 May 2015. The game's story covers 10 chapters and focuses on three characters who live in the future city of Newton which is governed by an autonomous AI administrator, each of whom is faced with a complex matter, but soon find themselves caught up in a conspiracy surrounding the city's AI, including murder and hidden truths about its creation.

<i>Hitman: Sniper</i> 2015 video game

Hitman: Sniper is a 2015 mobile shooting gallery video game in the Hitman series by Square Enix Montréal. As the series' mainstay protagonist Agent 47, the player looks through a first-person sniper scope vision on their touchscreen device to assassinate several powerful figures who have assembled at a lakeside compound without alerting their associates. The player uses the environment to find creative ways to kill these targets, sometimes prompted by secondary objectives. Through mission progression, the player unlocks more powerful weapons and new weapon abilities.

<i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered</i> 2016 first-person shooter video game

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It is a remastered version of the 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and was initially released as part of the special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. A standalone version was released for these platforms in mid-2017. The game's story follows the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Special Air Service (SAS), who take on missions to fight against a separatist group in the Middle East and an ultranationalist group in Russia.

<i>Celeste</i> (video game) 2018 platform game

Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including Part of You, a personification of her self-doubt who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.

<i>Life Is Strange: Before the Storm</i> 2017 graphic adventure video game

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is an episodic adventure game developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. Its three episodes were released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in late 2017. It is the second entry in the Life Is Strange series, set as a prequel to the original game, focusing on 16-year-old Chloe Price and her relationship with schoolmate Rachel Amber. Gameplay concerns itself mostly with the use of branching dialogues and interacting with the environment. In September 2018, it was ported to Linux and macOS and later that month to Android and iOS. A remastered version of the game was released as part of the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection in February 2022.

<i>Hitman 2</i> (2018 video game) 2018 video game

Hitman 2 is a 2018 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive. It is the seventh main installment in the Hitman video game series, the sequel to 2016's Hitman and the second game in the World of Assassination trilogy. The game continues the story arc started in Hitman, following genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 as he searches for the mysterious "Shadow Client" who is trying to destroy Providence, a secretive organization that controls global affairs. It also explores more of 47's mysterious background, which Providence offered to bring to light in exchange for 47's assistance. Like its predecessor, the game is structured around six large sandbox locations that players can freely explore to find opportunities to eliminate their targets. It also included two online multiplayer modes called Sniper Assassin and Ghost Mode, though the game's servers for both modes have since been shut down; Sniper Assassin can still be played single-player.

<i>Hitman 3</i> 2021 video game

Hitman 3 is a 2021 stealth game developed and published by IO Interactive. It is the eighth main installment in the Hitman video game series, the sequel to 2018's Hitman 2, and the third game in the World of Assassination trilogy. Concluding the story arc started in 2016's Hitman, the game follows genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 and his allies as they hunt down the leaders of the secretive organization Providence, which controls global affairs and was partially responsible for 47's creation and upbringing. Like its two predecessors, the game is structured around six levels, five of which are large sandbox locations that players can freely explore to find opportunities to eliminate their targets. Each mission presents challenges that players can complete to unlock items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milkman Conspiracy</span> Level from 2005 video game Psychonauts

"The Milkman Conspiracy" is a level in the 2005 video game Psychonauts. It is a world that takes place in the mind of Boyd Cooper, a paranoid security guard of an asylum, which the protagonist Raz explores. The area has unusual gravity, causing Raz to be pulled towards different roads when he is near and walking at unusual angles. Multiple games have been compared to this level, including Jazzpunk, We Happy Few, and Super Mario Galaxy.

Sapienza (<i>Hitman</i>) Fictional location in the Hitman video game series

Sapienza is a fictional Italian town from IO Interactive's Hitman video game franchise. First appearing in Episode 2: Sapienza of the 2016 video game Hitman, Sapienza was modeled after the Ligurian comune Vernazza as well as various towns along the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy, and is similarly presented as a popular tourist destination like its real life counterparts. The levels of Hitman were originally released in episodic format, with Episode 2: Sapienza following Episode 1: Paris. In Episode 2, the player character Agent 47 travels to Sapienza in order to terminate a deadly biological weapon and its creator. Players may take advantage of "Opportunities", story driven threads scattered around the level that 47 can use to manipulate and kill targets. The sparsely populated town's peaceful environment and relaxed "siesta" ambience is intended to offer freedom of exploration, a deliberate choice to let players discover at their own pace weapons, secret routes and story threads that they could leverage in order to achieve the main objectives. Sapienza reappears in further levels which were subsequently introduced by Hitman developers, such as the bonus episode "The Icon", where the town center is reimagined as a movie set run by an assassination target.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wiltshire, Alex (March 24, 2017). "How Hitman's Hokkaido level was made". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Hitman Season 1 Interview Series - Chapter 6: Hokkaido". Game Reactor. February 16, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Wong, Kevin (December 2, 2016). "How 'Hitman' Uses Thoughtful Level Design to Tell Stories". Vice . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ Williams, Mike (March 18, 2017). "Hitman Season One: Looking Back With Creative Director Christian Elverdam". USgamer . Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (October 12, 2016). "Hitman: Episode 6 - Hokkaido is the Season Finale and out later this month". VG247. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ Reetun, John (January 21, 2019). "Hitman 2 Bonus Episode takes players back to Hokkaido". Game Revolution. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Hitman - Episode 6: Hokkaido". Metacritic . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Hitman - Episode 6: Hokkaido". Metacritic . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Carter, Chris (October 31, 2016). "Review: Hitman: Hokkaido". Destructoid . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Beck, Adam (November 3, 2016). "Review: Hitman – Episode 6: Hokkaido". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Reilly, Luke (November 2, 2016). "Hitman Episode 6: Hokkaido Review". IGN . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Savage, Phil (November 9, 2016). "Hitman Episode 6 review". PC Gamer . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Brown, Fraser; Savage, Phil (February 2, 2021). "Every modern Hitman level, ranked from worst to best". PC Gamer . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ Brooke, Sam (November 2, 2016). "Hitman: Episode 6 - Hokkaido Review". Push Square. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ MacLeod, Ryan (November 3, 2016). "Hitman Hokkaido Is Sleek And Subtle". Kotaku . Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ↑ Black, Hamish (December 9, 2016). "Ranking the Episodes of 2016's Hitman". Paste Magazine . Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  17. ↑ Beck, Adam (November 12, 2018). "Every Hitman Mission, Ranked from Worst to Best". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  18. ↑ Roberts, Samuel; Peckman, James (January 23, 2021). "The 10 best Hitman levels – including Hitman 3 locations". TechRadar. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.