How Hitman 3 Hides a Tutorial

Video game tutorials come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes these come in the form of pop-up prompts telling the player what button to press to perform a particular task, while other games may have full sections devoted entirely to being a tutorial. These can be fun, or in the worst cases, they can be a complete slog. But regardless of how it turns out, the tutorial is, generally speaking, a necessary evil to teaching the player how to play the game.

Then sequels happen, and the whole conversation shifts. Depending on the series, and the level of change from the predecessor to the sequel, tutorials in later games can become a difficult balancing act. New players will benefit from these tutorials, but if done too poorly, old players can feel like their original time has been wasted.

Hitman 3, as the name suggests, is the third and final chapter in the current Hitman trilogy (also known as the World of Assassination trilogy). Hitman 3’s tutorial situation has an incredibly unique problem. The trilogy here is designed to almost take the form of a single long game rather than three completely separate ones. This is a choice made clear even by just browsing the game’s menus, where (with the legacy editions) the player can jump to any level from the whole series, giving them all three games at their fingertips.

In terms of a tutorial, this seems like a benefit. They have the ability to just reuse the same tutorial they used in the first game, and in fact, they do just that. But a problem comes when that tutorial is, in some small ways, outdated. Hitman 3 adds in a few new mechanics, which are not in any way addressed in the old tutorial. Because, well, how could they be?

This leaves the team at IO Interactive with a question: do they create a totally new tutorial level that is more exclusive to Hitman 3 (Like what Hawke’s Bay is to Hitman 2), or do they integrate a tutorial into one of their “normal” levels?

In the end, they chose the latter, and I’m going to talk about how they built this tutorial into their Dubai level, On Top of the World, using the mission story “How the Mighty Fall”.

The Prologue:

Before the player can even think about how to take out the two targets in On Top of the World, their first playthrough of the level has them moving through a sort of quick prologue (or playable intro, as they call it). Basically, instead of starting inside of the building where all the action is, they begin the mission outside, where the player must find their way in. This is the only time in the level where the player has no real choice and instead must follow one singular path.

The deluxe version of Hitman 3 includes optional commentary tracks over the beginning of the first five levels to the game, in which Mattias (the Game Director) explains some of the choices that go into various levels. Here is a key point he makes about this section of Dubai:

“By having a short, linear, playable intro, we can have the player get used to the control scheme of the game, tutorialize the new camera item and, at the same time, allow for some in-game storytelling.”

I’ll come back to the idea of how the camera is introduced later on, but it is important to at least note how it is set up this early, in the only forced section of the level.

The part of what I want to focus on from Mattias’s commentary here, is how they wanted to use this section to get the player used to the control scheme. Here is the grand total of controls you need to learn to get through this prologue: general movement and climbing controls, tool selection, using the camera, and (optionally) picking up a coin. What do all of these have in common? They have nothing to do with how to deal with NPCs (non-playable characters).

This is a game built around the premise of killing targets, but this opening prologue puts the focus almost entirely on movement (most specifically, vertical movement) rather than knocking out or killing the targets.

There is a possibility that this is a choice made based off the assumption that the player has played the previous games, or the original tutorial at some point, guiding them through the basics. With that in mind, this kind of vertical movement, while possible throughout the entire trilogy, became a bigger part of level design beginning Hitman 2. While there are some places for this kind of vertical movement in the original tutorials, they are so uncommon that it is possible to never even see in them.

This section is here to make sure the player understands this kind of movement before getting into the level, which is especially important because this is one of the most vertically designed levels in the series. For new players, this could be the first time they see Agent 47 hopping down from a ledge or climbing up a pipe. For old players, it’s a straightforward section that they may not even think about.

This section ends with the only forced costume change in the game, where exiting this prologue sequence means the player must pass through a curtain that changes Agent 47 from his skydiving apparel to a nice suit. It is a very cinematic Bond kind of entrance, that sets up the concept of the disguise system.

Starting the Story:

It is at this point that the level begins in proper. Hitman, at least in this current trilogy, is a series built on a collection of discrete levels, within each of which the player is given a sandbox to play around in as they see fit. By the very nature of the freedom the games promise the player, the concept of directing them becomes that much more complicated.

Let’s look at Hawke’s Bay for a moment. The way this level accomplishes its tutorial elements is by eliminating distractions. You enter a mission where there is a single house in the distance, the player could run around for a while, but they will eventually end up at the house because there is no where else to go. They are told about cameras and about a way to enter the house, which slowly leads them through the process of how to enter a locked building. There are no enemies in the map until the player has had time to familiarize themselves with the level to some extent, and even been given the option of a whole armory of weapons to use.

While these choices make Hawke’s Bay a great level for new players to start with, it lacks the complexity and freedom of any other level. This keeps the level from being quite as interesting, though does definitely have its place.

Now let’s jump back to Dubai. This level is radically different from Hawke’s Bay even on the most surface level glance. It is completely populated, feels like it must be at least four times the size, and unlike Hawke’s Bay’s complete lack of mission stories, Dubai has three.

There are two ways in which the level design guides the player toward a particular one of its mission stories. The first way is only applicable in a first playthrough. The player has no map of the level, which is new for the series. They are told by Grey that they should find a floor plan, which just takes finding a directory terminal. And just by finding this floor plan, the mission story is activated. But there is something else going on simultaneously.

The lobby where the player starts has limited options, at least the first time. With Hitman 3, IO Interactive set up unlockable shortcuts throughout the levels, which become permanently unlocked after done once. More on these shortcuts later, but what is important now is that what will eventually open up to three possibilities is cut down to only one in the first playthrough.

And here is an especially fun little thing. While the player is in this first section, if they look up soon enough, both targets will be completely in their line of sight. If they had a pistol, they could end it right there. This is set up as a tease, the player knows where they need to go, but doesn’t yet know how to get there.

So, with no other options available, the player will eventually go up the stairs, which is where the level really opens up.

As mentioned, there is no map unless the player heads to one of the terminals, but that isn’t the worst thing for more experienced players who can now head off wherever they so please. But even with this being the case, the level’s design is built to lure them toward the terminals.

The player has three choices once up the stairs: go left, go right, or circle around behind you. Turning around, there isn’t much to see. It isn’t that nothing is there, but the architecture of the building is designed to keep them from being in plain view. Columns jut out, blocking the vines that can be scaled, as well as an entrance to another staircase. With nothing obvious is sight, while the curious may still take a peek, others will choose another direction.

This leaves the options of left or right. Regardless of which of these ways the player chooses, it doesn’t matter, because there are terminals in both directions.

Going to the left means the player will come across a small bar with a door behind it, but they can’t get through without trespassing. Just passed here are some more stairs, halfway up which is a small floor with just a single terminal and a turn to go up more stairs. The bar’s location means the player is forced to veer toward the windows to get up the stairs, upping the chance that they are probably facing toward the terminal on their way up. There are also very few NPCs on this section, making it even more clearly in view.

To the right, the design takes a different approach. There are many more NPCs between the player and the terminals, and the building’s design is no longer pushing you toward them, but they make up for this by having three terminals on the side rather than just one.

This is also a decent point to bring up the game’s Instinct mode (or Hitman Vision, as some call it), which highlights enemies and usable objects. When this is in use, these terminals become huge blocks of yellow in an otherwise grey area, standing out immediately.

Not everyone will end up here. In fact, the podcast Triple Click had an episode about this game, where one of the hosts talk about having missed this part entirely with some fun results. This is bound to happen in a game where freedom to the player is so important, but the design of the level tries its best to lead the player without forcing them.

How the Mighty Fall

Up to this point, the level design and voice prompt have been used to encourage the player toward one particular mission story. They can choose to do it, or completely ignore it. They could even choose to do it but take different directions than the prompts specifically suggest. Hey, you’re the player, do it your way. But let’s assume the player takes this mission story and runs with it exactly in the way it suggests.

The specific tasks lined up for the player in this mission story are perfect to ease in new players while not being so obvious that it should bore the old ones. It also has the added benefit of showing off the new mechanics for those older players.

Rather than run through this whole thing beat by beat, I will be splitting it up into sections to better look at particular moments. There are parts of this mission that are great for teaching the basics, parts that introduce players to the three major new additions to the series, and teasers that encourage replaying. In the actual mission, things are much more blended, but it’s going to be easier to talk about while split up this way.

Basics Tutorial:

For the basics, there are three main sections that are most worth talking about. There is the first hallway, everything around the server room, and where the kill opportunity takes place.

Once the player starts the mission story, they are directed to a particular hallway in which they are trespassing. The immediate section of hallway has no one who could see them, but there are two workers right around the corner. Inside this section is all the tools to teach the player a few lessons.

Let’s look at what exactly is in this hallway. There is small pile of stuff that the player can crouch behind right at the start. Closer to where the hallway turns, there are three things: a hammer, a vacuum that can be used as a distraction, and a closet to hide bodies. The player might just run down the hall, turn, and get caught, but everything here is built to hint toward another possibility. It might take some trial and error, but the player can grab the hammer, turn on the vacuum, duck behind the hiding spot, knock out the investigating NPC, and hide them in the closet. Rinse and repeat for NPC #2.

At this point, without the game giving the player direct instructions, it has given them everything the need to figure out distractions, subduing, and hiding bodies. But there is a little bonus here too. When the player turns on the vacuum for the first time, it is a female NPC that comes to turn it off. While Agent 47 can’t take the clothes of every male NPC in a level, he is never able to take the clothes of any female ones (a thing I have ranted about on many streams, but I digress). This is means the player can’t just take the disguise of the first NPC who they knock out. It teaches the player that they can’t take absolutely anyone’s disguises. At the same time, in having to knock out a second person to get a disguise, it teaches that two bodies can fit in a container at the most.

Jumping ahead, after the player gets a quick reminder about climbing on ledges, they should find themselves heading to the server room. In the hallway just outside of it is the first time the player encounters a security camera. This is a camera that oscillates in a way where it is incredible easy to move past it by sticking close to the wall. It is introducing a new concept, but in a very light kind of way.

There is a breakroom between the hall and the server room, where the player finds an NPC conveniently looking away, a hammer between the player and this maintenance worker, and even a closet right beside the door. All very clearly signposting what the player should do.

Inside the server room, Grey’s lack of computer knowledge helps teach the player another lesson. Grey tells them to just rip out one of the servers so they can hack in but doing so triggers an alarm. The player has no way out, and must either confront two armed guards, or hide. It’s teaching about hiding from guards and can very easily shift into a lesson in not confronting them, because if the player is caught it will most likely go poorly.

In order to make the server actually do what the player needs, they must go get a keycard from a maintenance worker. And what do you know, this means showing the player that key items can be found by subduing NPCs.

Swiping the card, and the player gets into the computer. There are a few options on here, which will be discussed a little more later. For now, the important ones are deactivating security cameras (teaching new players this is a possibility) and rescheduling the meeting (the main drive of this whole mission story).

It is at this point that where the player is explicitly told not only to take a disguise, but which disguise they should use. It is entirely possible that if they were sneaky enough (or chaotic enough), they could have made it this far entirely in their suit, but that’s about to change.

For reference, since being in these trespassing zones, the player has had to deal with 8-11 NPCs total. Just to get to the stairs to the penthouse, the player will need to move past nearly 10 that are in much closer proximity to each other, making it impossible (or nearly so) without being spotted.

The player ends up at the penthouse floor where they can get a couple easy kills. How easy this ends up being is incredibly important. There are given ample time to decide how they want to go about it, even given a knife which is kindly placed right next to the button that brings down the iron curtains to the room. Grey has a whole speech to the two targets, ending with telling 47 to “finish it”. Not only does he say this on the video call to the targets, but he repeats his words to 47 over their normal communication. The room is locked down so no one can see what is happening, and the player can freely kill them both and stuff them into containers without any worry of being found out.

After this, there is an exit located right outside the penthouse. It couldn’t be easier for a player to take the quick run over and escape.

So, in the end, this mission story works through distractions, subduing NPCs, containers, hiding behind things yourself, vertical movement, security cameras, key items being on NPCs, the importance of disguises, the way particular interactions can lead to kill opportunities, and even finding an exit. But you know what? That’s not even all it does. Let’s look at how it introduces the new mechanics.

The New Additions:

Hitman 3 introduces, aptly enough, three new core mechanics to the game. There is the camera, keypads, and permanently unlocked shortcuts.

As mentioned before, the player needs to use the camera in the short prologue section to the level. More so than the other new features, the game wants to be sure you know about the camera. There are three basic uses for the camera, although only one is utilized for this mission story: the ability to hack certain locks with the camera.

The camera comes up not just in the prologue, but twice in the actual mission story itself. Once to get out of the building, and once to get back inside. It is about reinforcing the mechanic and reminding old players about this new tool at their disposal.

Next up, keypads. This is actually the very first thing that the mission story has the player come across. To get into the previously mentioned hallway, the player is led to a locked door with a keypad next to it. Because this is a mission designed to teach, they don’t just bring you to the door and try to make you guess, they give you the answer. But what’s great is how they give it.

Many events in the game, like distractions, or bodies being found, can trigger a picture in picture display to show the player what is happening somewhere other than where they currently are. Reaching this door brings up a similar display. While Grey tells the player that he is searching through security cameras to find the password, the player is shown the one that he finds. Here an image pops up containing a whiteboard with the passcode on it. This is important because it shows the player that the password exists somewhere where they can find it, it just might be a matter of searching.

And finally, there are the shortcuts. These are built into the mission story in an interesting way, in that the player is shown them, but never made to act on them.

Remember that lobby where the main level begins, with only one direction to go? That was only partially true. There is a door on the opposite side of the lobby, but it is locked, telling the player it can only be accessed from the other side. This is the first shortcut the player comes across in Hitman 3, and it is placed directly in front of the player almost in the level. Its placement practically begs the player to check it out.

But let’s say they miss this shortcut and head up the stairs directly into the story mission. Well, that’s not the only time the player is brought to a point where they should come across one.

If the player follows the story mission, there is one exit closest to where kill their targets, and because of this, they are most likely to head toward that one. Right beside the exit, with almost nothing else around (aside from a single NPC, and a small golf set up), there is another one of these shortcuts, this time in the form of a ladder. The mission is built to both begin and end at these shortcuts, and not only that, it shows off the two forms they can take (a door, and a ladder). While the door told the player that they needed to be on the other side, this ladder tells them they just need a crowbar. Maybe they have found one along the way, or maybe they search for one. Or, maybe, they save it for later, knowing that they should come back here when they do have a crowbar in a later attempt. More on this soon.

And then there is the elevators. So, on a technical level, they work the same way as the shortcuts (as in, they become permanently unlocked). But they don’t seem to be considered such. There is no special challenge saying you unlocked the Shortcut: Elevator. Though, there are a few challenges for exiting using the elevator.

The way the player unlocks these elevators is in the same server as they arrange the meeting. What’s cool here, is that the mission story brings the player to a point where they will almost definitely hit the elevator button while they are in the server room. Doing this gives them a whole new way for them to move through the level in the next playthrough by opening the elevator inside the coat check room in that first lobby. This is a unique set up just for this level and connects to how they want to encourage a single direction in the first playthrough, but to allow for more freedom in the future.

Teasers:

In the original tutorial level, the player is forced to play it twice, where the second time they are given more freedom in how they want to go about their hit. This is a way to teach the player that there are multiple ways to do anything, and that the levels are meant to be replayed. While this is an important lesson, forcing a player to do anything can feel a little clunky. How the Mighty Fall plays with this idea in a very different way.

For the first half of this mission story, it is incredibly light on distraction. The player moves through areas with very few NPCs and not much going on. This changes after reaching the server room, when the player has to look for the NPC with a keycard.

At this point, the player is bound to overhear an NPC talking on the phone. If the player listens, they will learn that this maintenance worker has brought an exploding golf ball to work but has decided against actually using it. And if the idea of an exploding golf ball doesn’t pique the players curiosity, what can?

So, maybe at this point the player veers off the mission story to find this golf ball, but especially if they are new to the game, they may want to just stick what they are doing to get a feel for it all. But hey, remember what was brought up as being next to the exit? That’s right, the golf tee is right there when the player is about to leave. Now the player knows it exists and has a very good idea of what to do with it. Not only that, they may not realize it, but if the player unlocks the shortcut at this exit, the ball can be found directly down this latter.

This is all set up in a way to make the player want to come back and try things. A similar set up might be noticed right outside the room in which the player can kill the targets. There is enforcer inside the room at first, a guard who can see through the player’s disguise. Keeping the player from entering the room immediately has them either wait outside the room for a moment, or maybe go around. Either way, there is a very good chance they will overhear two guards speaking of the evacuation protocol, which involves swiping keycards in two places in this penthouse. Again, while the player may not do this now, they are put into positions where their minds should start working through these new possibilities.

Even the shortcuts themselves are a way to encourage future exploration. Sticking only to the areas covered by the mission story, they still have two places they are probably wanting to open up in the future. It is all about creating goals for the player to strive toward, to push them to want to replay the level, rather than force it.

Conclusion:

Why is any of this worth mentioning? Why did I just spend so long talking about a single mission story? Well, because when something feels like it is done so nicely, it’s fun to talk about. The key take away from How the Mighty Fall isn’t the way it gives a tutorial for nearly all the games main mechanics, it is the way it does so without explicitly call attention to the fact that it is doing it.

At any point, the player can leave the mission story behind, or even take different routes to move through it. Or, they can be play through this mission story in a way where they are constantly creating chaos rather than taking a stealth approach. There is never a point where the game stops to tell you that there is one right choice to make, it just gives you the tools to create opportunities yourself, and shows off much of what is possible within the game.