{
  "id": 20000518,
  "title": "Dishonored 2 director Harvey Smith wants to honour sacred imsim texts while finding news ways to surprise fans: \"That's the two wolves inside me\"",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/dishonored-2-director-harvey-smith-wants-to-honour-sacred-imsim-texts",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-14T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/dishonored-2-director-harvey-smith-wants-to-honour-sacred-imsim-texts-while-finding-news-ways-to-surprise-fans-thats-the-two-wolves-inside-me/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Harvey Smith, the director of Dishonored 2, recalls his 10-month stint as quality assurance lead on System Shock, a game that left him feeling inspired. He compares the passion of the team at Looking Glass to their own dedication at Arkane when they created immersive sim games like Deus Ex and Dishonored. Smith emphasizes the importance of staying true to his passion for immersive sims, even if it means turning down opportunities to work on other genres. He explains how Arkane almost went under while trying to diversify into other game types, but eventually, their focus on immersive sims paid off. The studio's dedication to their craft helped them build a reputation as worldbuilders and architects of intricate first-person levels. However, not everything went smoothly for Arkane. In 2019, the team worked on Redfall, a game that struggled to incorporate immersive sim values into a co-op looter-shooter. The game was a disappointment, and it became a lightning rod for criticism of Xbox. Smith and Ben Horne, the production director of Redfall, realized that working on a game outside of their expertise was a mistake, and they have since refocused on making immersive sims. Smith and Horne co-founded Black Pony Immersive to pursue their love for the genre. They still remember the excitement they felt during their first day at Arkane, playing a build of the DLC for Redfall. Despite the ups and downs, Smith and Horne continue to chase meaningful and spiritual experiences in their work, whether it results in Deus Ex, Dishonored, or something else entirely.",
  "summary": "\"On one hand, I want to pay off those expectations. On the other hand, I want to exceed them.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}