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Half-Life 2 and Dishonored art lead Viktor Antonov has died
- asdf6969 2y agoRIP. Dishonored was a beautiful game with a surprisingly deep world. Sad to read this. I was hoping to see more
- phendrenad2 2y agoDishonored had such a unique style and setting. Head and shoulders above the usual AAA slop set in generic sci-fi or fantasy (or occasionally western) worlds.
- Trasmatta 2y agoReally sad to hear about this. He was only 52. It's a safe bet that his brilliant art direction was deeply impactful to a lot of HN readers.
- txdv 2y agoO wow, the architecture in Dishonored gave me always combine vibes, now I do understand why
- karaterobot 2y agoI didn't know the same person was involved in shaping both projects, but as soon as I read that, the personality that connected both those beautiful games was immediately clear. What an amazing legacy to leave despite a sadly shortened life.
- automatic6131 2y agoThe man loves spikey metal walls in European cities, especially with an overhang. He couldn't help himself!
- nice_byte 2y agoHL2 stuck with me for years and years exactly because of his art direction. It was the first time I ever saw a video game world that somewhat resembled my actual real-world surroundings. Incredibly sad he passed away at only 52...
- the__alchemist 2y agoDishonored and its sequel were two of the most memorable games I've played.
- Trasmatta 2y agoAgreed. Two of the best games ever created, and I'm not sure we'll ever see anything like them ever again. The art design played a huge role in that. Let's gather for whiskey and cigars tonight, in honor of Viktor.
- alserio 2y agoI loved the first one and its dlcs and had the second on my steam queue for 8 years while life got in the way. This year I've 100% completed the game (3 playthroughs) and I'm currently thoroughly enjoying Death of the Outsider. These games are the amazing product of talented people who love their crafts and Viktor was one of them.
- soulofmischief 2y agoDo yourself a favor and play Thief if you haven't! Dishonored is kind of a spiritual successor to the Thief series, several team members from Looking Glass went on to work at Arkane. It's one of those rare times I've felt like I was playing a video game, yet still fully immersed. Every feature surprised or delighted me, nothing felt out of place. It felt very polished and ahead of its time despite its raw nature. The gameplay of the first two titles holds up very well. Make sure to consult PCGamingWiki for critical compatibility patches
- scrlk 2y agoRIP. For those who haven't seen it yet, he was interviewed in the HL2 20th Anniversary Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4 (intro and chapter 1 at 13:40)
- heraldgeezer 2y agoHL2 is a masterpiece. RIP.
- maartenscholl 2y agoThis is sad news, I was aware of his work on Half Life 2 through art books, and I bought the first Dishonored game because of it
- portaouflop 2y agoHalf-life 2 is imo still the most important and impactful game of our generation — from gameplay to art-style to game mechanics and so on, it’s still exceptional and I struggle to come up with another single player game that blew me away like HL2 - Dead Space comes close but it was less revolutionary imo
- Trasmatta 2y ago> I struggle to come up with another single player game that blew me away like HL2 I feel the same, but incidentally one of the ones that blew my away like HL2 was Dishonored.
- Aeolun 2y agoPrey was really good too, if not quite up to the level of HL and Dishonored.
- Trasmatta 2y agoDishonored, Prey, Deus Ex. Relics of a lost era: I don't know if we'll ever see big budget "immersive sims" like them again.
- Schiendelman 2y agoI'd recommend Death Stranding and Control.
- Aeolun 2y agoControl, while fun, was too much of an action game for me.
- Schiendelman 2y agoI can understand that. I'm no good at action games, but it was great playing on easy! Well worth it.
- moralestapia 2y agoRIP, truly a legend, very creative guy, thanks for all the good times!
- accrual 2y agoRest in peace, Viktor. Your influence and design greatly affected the way I viewed and experienced video games.
- whywhywhywhy 2y agoArt direction is the part of HL2 that has aged the least imho. Still would be a surprising setting and tone if done today.
- escapecharacter 2y agoI still yearn for a riff on Ravenholm
- Tsiklon 2y agoArkane (Dishonoured) were making a Ravenholm based game, it was canned towards the end of development.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoThe latest game in the franchise is Alyx, which is the same setting and tone and done today~ish (...2020)
- remoquete 2y agoNo matter how brilliant the game mechanics of those games were, they wouldn't have hooked me as they did without Antonov's exceptional vision. City 17 and Dunwall Will forever live in our memory.
- teroshan 2y agoThe bleakness of both Half Life 2 and Dishonored's really resonated with me. I can't overstate how much I appreciated both of these games, and in no small part thanks to the art direction. This is really sad news, but it's amazing how much of a profound impact he left on so many players, and without a doubt on so many past, current, and future artists.
- duxup 2y agoI remember quitting HL2 at times because "man this is depressing".
- ant6n 2y agoA lot of it is quite beautiful.
- stephen_g 2y agoYeah I especially liked the section along the coast. Beautiful, but hauntingly beautiful for a lot of it.
- Clamchop 2y agoI never noticed on my own that the sea level at the coasts is visibly much lower than it should be, because the Combine have been stealing the water. Such an interesting detail and I totally missed it!
- mepian 2y agoMy favorite spot is the final area of Water Hazard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJpGHDZSSt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJpGHDZSSt4
- LeoPanthera 2y agoI love how each area has the color of the sky change to simulate the passage of time getting closer to sunset as you progress.
- caseyy 2y agoOne of the most prominent artists in games - unfortunate to hear this news. I hope the conditions of the stressful and demanding video game industry didn't contribute to this.
- PicassoCTs 2y agoRIP: He left a trail of things to behold- and you knew he was involved, long before the credits rolled.
- movedx 2y agoHis work and impact on both games is still fresh in my mind. You'll be missed, Viktor. RIP.
- eBombzor 2y agoThat's sad. Dishonored 2 is one of the greatest games of all time and there's truly nothing like that on the market anymore.
- crest 2y agoIt was a worthy successor building upon a great first game. The map and world design is top notch. Especially the switching between to interleaved time lines in the now abandoned manor and moving walls in the crazy inventors mansion. The chaos/karma system also functions as a good counterweight to the "stealth archer" game design problem so player aren't heavily incentivised toward clearing levels by separating enemies and killing them one by one thereby removing all obstacles until the emptied out game is nothing but a boring walking simulator.
- code-faster 2y agoHe was great, he deserves, in death, no dishonor
- ionwake 2y agoGood man thank you for your work
- ipnon 2y agoHe made true art! He made games for the ages. His work will be enjoyed for hundreds of years.
- nntwozz 2y agoHe's on the Borealis now, farewell o/
- stevefan1999 2y agoWait, he is the art lead of both Half Life 2 and Dishonored series? No wonder why Dishonored and Dishonored 2 looks so much like Half Life 2 with its dark and "wet" environment, especially when I was looking at the underground and underwater segments, and how it looks to incorporate a lot like European cyberpunk elements in Half Life 2 (it was set in East Europe tho), and then some steampunk elements with Dishonored
- boppo1 2y agoDid he work on D2 or DOTO? Regardless, too soon. I feel this one.
- SpaceManNabs 2y agoI was going through a rough time in my life when i got the orange box as a freshman in high school. half life 2 and team fortress 2 and the subsequent intro into the source engine... i really needed them at that time. Viktor dying makes me sad
- LarsDu88 2y agoI remember opening a copy of PC Gamer in the early 2000s. I was totally taken aback that they had moved Half-Life from a sci fi New Mexico base, to some sort of weird Eastern European dystopia. It was all thanks to Antonov. And Half-Life 2 was (aesthetically) so much more memorable than the first game thanks to that influence.
- tetrisgm 2y agoRest in peace. His work was monumental. Level design is something that is often there as a way to simply service the gameplay. You make sections that enable to game loop. Half Life 1 is designed this way: set pieces for aliens and marines to have interesting encounters. Viktor designed levels that felt part of worlds that are lived in. City 17, where Half Life 2 takes place, feels like a believable dystopia. With evil guards and propaganda and a looming techno tower of Sauron. Dishonored pushed this even further, with levels that not only are equally well presented, but can be traversed in so many creative ways. It’s a sandbox for the mind. Rip, your work was brilliant and inspiring.
- DanielHB 2y agoI remember listening to HL2 in-game commentary from the game devs. One that stuck to me was something along the lines "It really pains me that we put so much effort in all these connecting hallways and the players just run past them at mach 3 speeds, but you got to do it anyway otherwise the hallway looks out of place" (paraphrasing, not direct quote)
- IYasha 2y ago:_( What key should I press to pay respect? I think it might get jammed though...
- foxandmouse 2y agoI can’t believe I didn’t make the connection—both of those games are in my top 10. A big part of why I love them is how deeply immersive their worlds are. Dunwall and City 17 don’t just look great; they feel alive, with atmosphere, detail, and storytelling woven into every corner. No other game has quite captured that same level of immersion.
- klik99 2y agoNot only a great artist with a fantastic ability at creating a unified feeling unique for each project, but also designing for the constraints - so much of the combine look was around being low poly and striking.
- fennecfoxy 2y agoDishonoured is such a great game, both the art and the music made it so immersive and it really felt like the world was alive. The narrative was raw, and human. The credits song "Honor for All" was the cherry on top as well, it was like I'd been holding my breath the whole game until that moment when the story closed out so perfectly (spoilers for good ending: https://youtu.be/IM7TBRdferM?t=26 https://youtu.be/IM7TBRdferM?t=26). I got the same feeling from GW2's ending song/credits "Fear not this Night" (https://youtu.be/HuwXaAIenJw?t=28 https://youtu.be/HuwXaAIenJw?t=28). The Ori games also have such amazing narrative/music, too. (Ending spoilers for the first game: https://youtu.be/Kx9DPTIDB_0?t=232 https://youtu.be/Kx9DPTIDB_0?t=232). Little bit spammy so my apologies, but I just love it when a game's narrative, art and music all come together to make some special. Ori makes me bawl my eyes out to this day. And Dishonoured I felt like I was actually living in Dunwall the entire time, all credit to Viktor Antonov. "Shall we gather for whisky and cigars tonight?"