Before we get to the main focus of today’s round-up (you can all guess, I’m sure), let’s focus for a bit on that other game that other Bethesda game. If you’ve ever wondered just how Skyrim’s difficulty system works, this explanation might satisfy your curiosity. And of course, don’t miss Tom Francis’ continuing adventures playing the game’s Illusionist class, and this review of Dawnguard which, as has become the norm, treats the DLC as being of middling quality.

Also, there’s this preview of The Elder Scrolls Online that explains some of the game’s systems, including its stats system.

Okay, now on to what everyone’s really excited about: Arkane Studios’ Dishonored. The game is about murder, and it’s fitting that the game also wants to murder your computer; the system requirements are pretty steep. They seem to be worth it, though, as preview after preview (after preview after preview) shows. Every time we get another glimpse at this game, it just seems that much more awesome…and in most cases, it’s the game speaking for itself that is giving that impression, rather than slick marketing materials. Most of the previews are “hands on”, and the kinds of fun that the previewers discover whilst playing it are just…either this game is going to be utterly awesome, or else it will be one of the most epic letdowns in gaming history.

The subject of breaking Dishonored has also come up in the last day or two. The range of choices offered in the game evidently borders on the ridiculous…

…and as a result, breaking the game is a real risk, albeit one that Arkane are willing to take:

“It’s so much easier to make a game where you unlock things at the right time,” [Arkane Studios’ co-creative director Harvey Smith] says. If, for example, a certain power is unlocked in the third mission, you know that players won’t be able to use it in the second mission. You can “bullet-proof” against any game-breaking issues that way, he says. Creating this sort of closed, curated experience is simpler from a design perspective, and allows developers to spend “many many more hours polishing, making it more cinematic-like” says Smith.

On the other hand, with all the systems at play in Dishonored – stealth, a variety of powers, multiple entrances, numerous weapons, variable A.I. – it’s a much greater development challenge to ensure that everything comes together. “You have fewer hours to polish, so games like this are inherently less cinematic in a way. They’re inherently more player-driven. They’re inherently harder to make, but, at the end of the day, the experience is something that you can play improvisationally,” he says. “We’re very passionate about that goal.”

Is emergent gameplay set to make a triumphal, blood-soaked comeback?

Also: Don’t miss this retrospective, from QuakeCon, of Looking Glass Studios: