The Italian Job

The story behind Sapienza, Hitman’s best episode.

- Phil Savage

Sapienza, the second level of Hitman, began as two words: Coastal Town. “This was the only direction we got,” says Torbjørn Christensen, lead level designer. “So we really had a lot of freedom to be creative.” That coastal town would become the game’s standout level, against which subsequent Hitman episodes are compared. For many, myself included, it was the level that proved IO knew what it was doing— that after Absolution, and despite a controversial episodic release plan, the studio was back to making quality assassination sandboxes.

Sapienza was developed in parallel with Paris, Hitman’s first level, and in part as a response to it. The Showstopper mission was built around exclusivity— the idea that 47 is able to infiltrate any location. “This night-time gala feeling was something that we felt was important to Paris,” says Christian Elverdam, creative director for Hitman. “I think the contrast to Sapienza, then, was obviously daytime; relaxed, casual and all that.” Where Paris is enclosed, with muted lighting and soft colors, Sapienza is bright, open and vibrant.

“The level was created by an environment artist and myself,” says Christensen, who spent two weeks mocking up a rough version during IO’s summer holiday. “During those weeks the good weather was definitely an inspiration, and we could work undisturbed because everyone else was on vacation.” He based the look on towns along Italy’s Amalficoast, using both the colorful yellow buildings and the unusual topography. “We especially wanted to explore the verticality in coastal towns, and how streets and corridors connect everything.”