The controversy that surrounded Hitman: Absolution and its violent “sexy nuns” trailer has caused the team to add more content to the game, revealed director Tore Blystad. The Saints — the PVC-flavored assassins that Agent 47 demolished in the trailer — will be given more context and a greater part in the story.
“One way to go about that level is to go in all-guns blazing, but of course, it’s not the smartest way,” he told Eurogamer. “We learned from the trailer that we really needed to give these characters some context and some backstory. We’re working within the game — within that level — to build these characters up before you meet them.
“That way you know what you’re getting and you aren’t put off by them.”
Bystad added that his team was “surprised” at the reaction to the trailer, and that the video would probably have been different if the backlash had been anticipated.
Despite things going down the way they did, I reckon this is a healthy reaction. Rather than cut out the content altogether, the developer is fleshing it out even further. I think that’s pretty laudable, and evidence that the team feels strongly about what it’s doing. There’s a positive side to punching nuns after all.
Provided, of course, that they do all of this well.