World and levels › Level breakdowns
Hitman: Sapienza, a town built as a sandbox
Know first: Layout: loops, forks and dead ends, Gates and keys: a world that opens piece by piece
This breakdown takes apart Sapienza, the second level of Hitman, made by IO Interactive and released in 2016: a small Italian town by the sea, with a mansion where the targets live. It is made to be played many times and in many ways, and PC Gamer called it the best level of the game. The sources are interviews with its lead level designer Torbjørn Christensen and the creative director Christian Elverdam, and a talk by the level designer Mette Podenphant Andersen, all from IO. What makes it a good example: every way through the town leads on to another, and every part of it tells you who belongs where.
The whole picture
Think of a theater. The hall is open to anyone with a ticket. Behind the stage, only the staff may walk, and everyone knows it without a sign. The dressing room of the star is private even to most of the staff. Put on the jacket of a stage worker and you can walk backstage; stand where you shouldn’t and someone who knows every face will notice you. Andersen says IO borrows a little from the theater to bring its levels to life, and Sapienza works like this building, only as a whole town:
level = a town open to the player + a mansion where the targets live
+ spaces sorted by who belongs in them
+ disguises that give the player a role
+ characters with routes, and stories that open a way in
| Part | The problem | The answer |
|---|---|---|
| A town that wraps around itself | A large level where players get lost or walk back | A spiral of streets and stairs with no dead ends |
| Public and private spaces | The player must read where they may go | Six kinds of space, each with its own rules |
| A disguise is a role | Killing must be possible but never effortless | Clothes that open places, and people who see through them |
| Short target loops | Waiting for a target to come back is boring | Targets kept in the mansion on short routes |
| Stories that open a way in | A sandbox needs memorable moments | Story threads the player can use against a target |