Tore Blystad, Game Director for Hitman Absolution, spoke with Eurogamer at Gamescome today about changing a Hitman Absolution level after a negative reaction to the "nun trailer." Agent 47 completely destroys a group of well-armed – and well-dressed – nuns. Even after showing off the video internally to hundreds of people, no one expected the public reaction that erupted.
"We were surprised by the reaction to it. We've been trying to find out, y'know, how could we not see this happening?" Blystad said. "If we knew it would get such a negative reaction we would have done it in a different way. The game is inspired by Grindhouse-style movies, so for us the trailer was natural way to deal with that subject matter."
The trailer was based on a level in Absolution, and Bylstad explained that there are a variety of ways to go about taking down The Saints. By going in "all-guns blazing," you aren't giving yourself much of a chance, but mixing up action and stealth is the most realistic way to deal with this unrealistic situation. The gun-toting nuns will be built up, character-wise with context and backstory, so players know more about them when they encounter the level.
Blystad concluded, "There will have been so long between the trailer coming out and the game being released that people will have forgotten about it."
Via Eurogamer
