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mild in their intensity , and from persistent to fleeting in their temporality ” ( 87 ). Witnessing these scenes of a majestic and wondrous creature needlessly suffering may make a real and lasting emotional impression on the player . Furthermore , Järvinen asserts that “ voluntary suffering appears in many games ” and can indeed become a powerful aspect to storytelling ( 106 ).
The game series provides a brutal and realistic portrait of the suffering experienced by intelligent animals , such as whales as they are hunted and slaughtered , and it also considers other ecological disasters , including the silver mines in Karnaca and the plagues there and in Dunwall . Against this backdrop of plague and the decimation of the whale population , The Outsider emerges as the primary figure looming over the games and its main characters , 12 an enigmatic figure who in some instances appears to be a herald of destruction and at other times , a symbol of hope and renewal . The Outsider is best likened to a chthonic being associated with the deep . The area of the Void where The Outsider dwells reflects this as it is normally filled with crumbling stone buildings , symbolic of the earth , and whales , whether spectral or simulacrum , floating through . Hazel Monforton observes of The Outsider ,
His places are the hidden , marginal places of the world : the witches ’ hideouts , the rat-
12 In Dishonored , The Outsider appears to Corvo and grants him powers to facilitate his quest to avenge Jessamine . In Dishonored 2 , the player can embody either Corvo or Emily , and The Outsider grants powers to whomever the player chooses . The player can , however , opt for a “ no powers ” playthrough , thus completely rejecting The Outsider . Antagonists , such as Daud and Delilah , have similarly been marked by The Outsider . During Dishonored : The Death of The Outsider , Billie Lurk is granted powers temporarily , but The Outsider does not grant his mark .
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