Loading screens get a bad reputation these days, with seamless open worlds setting a kind of unspoken standard that every other game gets measured against. But Raphaël Colantonio, co-creator of Dishonored and founder of WolfEye Studios, is pushing back on that consensus. In a recent interview, he said he genuinely has a soft spot for those brief pauses between areas, framing them less as a technical failure and more as a natural breath between gameplay moments. It is a take that will ruffle some feathers, but it is not a crazy one. A well-placed loading screen can reset your brain, build a little anticipation, and give level designers clean borders to work within. Not every game needs to be one unbroken camera shot.
Colantonio also dropped a fun piece of cut-content trivia during the same conversation: an Evil Dead inspired severed hand sequence was apparently on the table at some point during development and never made it into the final release. No further details on which game or exactly how a scuttling dismembered hand was supposed to fit into the Dishonored universe, but honestly that tracks for a studio that has always leaned into weird, tactile, slightly grotesque world-building. Between the loading screen defense and the phantom Evil Dead cameo, it is a good reminder that the design conversations happening behind closed doors at immersive sim studios are way more chaotic and fun than the polished final products let on.
Alex
Catch-all — action, adventure, simulation, racing, casual, horror, puzzle
