- Hitman World of Assassination senior level designer Marin Ansdal explains how IO Interactive designs the best Elusive Target elimination methods
- Ansdal says the elimination has to serve "the target poetic justice for their central character flaw"
- He adds that it also requires "intriguing toybox mechanics to set up the kill and a nice juicy payoff presentation"
IO Interactive has shared its recipe for constructing the most creative Elusive Target eliminations in Hitman World of Assassination.
The ongoing Hitman game just received another major update in the form of a new Elusive Target mission called The Host, which tasks Agent 47 with taking down YouTuber JackSepticEye’s in-game character, Finn Colton.
As with every new Elusive Target mission, players will be able to use their imagination to eliminate Colton with the many possibilities on offer, which is what the game is best known for, and according to senior level designer Marin Ansdal, IOI has a very specific way of designing these murder methods.
"For each mission we brainstorm a bunch of elimination ideas and choose the ones that hit the most of our success criteria," Ansdal told TechRadar Gaming following the mission's release.
Ansdal explained that the Elusive Target's characterisation and mission story factor into what makes a good elimination as much as the mechanics, despite the player being given free rein to get creative.
"A great signature elimination is a combination of serving the target poetic justice for their central character flaw, intriguing toybox mechanics to set up the kill, and a nice juicy payoff presentation," he said.
"For example, JackSepticEye’s character Finn Colton is obsessed with generating online content and has no concern for safety or ethics. So we designed a kill where you overheat and burn down his generative AI server farm with him inside. Then his employees film him on their phones as he dies."
Hitman World of Assassination's new The Host Elusive Target mission is free-to-play now until November 25.
Ansdal also shared IOI's process for selecting the game's targets, confirming that the level designer and writer take over once a celebrity or public figure is on board, and "We try to find a location which thematically suits the talent and craft a story that synergizes with the talent in tone and genre."
