Viktor Antonov, the Bulgarian artist who served as artwork director on each Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, has died on the age of 52. The information comes by means of a few of Antonov’s former colleagues within the business, who additionally shared their ideas on Antonov’s legacy as an artist.
Antonov contributed his artwork to movies and dozens of videogames, getting his begin with Kingpin and Redneck Rampage studio Xatrix Leisure (also referred to as Grey Matter). Antonov’s defining work in videogames got here with Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, serving as artwork lead on each video games. Antonov has been credited with inventing each the Mix and Metropolis 17’s iconic visible identities. Half-Life 2’s central city-sized jail consisted of light nineteenth century grandeur and twentieth century Japanese Bloc tenements beneath assault by the invasive, angular, alien designs of the Mix, their otherworldly creations latching onto the human structure beneath like tumors.
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Antonov drew on comparable concepts within the creation of Dishonored’s Dunwall, along with his distinctive, invasive alien blue-metal prospers right here exhibiting the encroachment of a burgeoning, otherworldly industrial revolution versus an extra-dimensional invasion. As an alternative of Metropolis 17’s post-Soviet base layer, Dunwall known as to thoughts the cities of Nice Britain within the nineteenth century, significantly London and Edinburgh.
The information of Antonov’s passing was first publicly shared by former Valve author Marc Laidlaw in a since-deleted or expired Instagram story, preserved in screenshot kind right here by consumer ETPC on Bluesky. “I did not need to say a lot till I felt it was confirmed,” Laidlaw wrote, “however I discovered at present that Viktor Antonov, our visionary artwork lead on Half-Life 2, has died. I haven’t got particulars, simply unhappiness. Good and authentic. Made the whole lot higher.”
Former Bethesda advertising and marketing head Pete Hines praised Antonov’s influence through Twitter, writing, “Thanks for all of the hours of pleasure you gave us, Viktor, you may be missed.” Arkane and WolfEye Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio responded to Antonov’s passing on Bluesky: “I want I informed you ways a lot admiration I had for you, however we get caught in our lives till a shock like this hits us,” Colantonio wrote. “You had been instrumental to the success of Arkane Studios and an inspiration to many people, additionally a buddy with whom I’ve many fond reminiscences.”
Deus Ex lead designer and Dishonored artistic director Harvey Smith responded to Colantonio along with his personal remembrance of Antonov. “Good reminiscences of journey along with each of you; London, Dallas, Lyon,” Smith wrote. “All this about influence and expertise is true, however I may even at all times bear in mind how a lot he made me snicker, along with his dry, devastating wit, RIP.”
Not too long ago, Antonov’s phrases had been the primary we heard in Noclip’s unimaginable Half-Life 2 twentieth anniversary documentary, with the artist describing the method of amassing reference photographs from Paris’ Austerlitz prepare station to create Half-Life 2’s groundbreaking introductory sequence. “I at all times had been doing since my childhood a little bit of city exploration,” Antonov mentioned within the documentary. “So I like to interrupt by means of a window of an deserted manufacturing unit or constructing or prepare station. That is one in every of my hobbies, or was once. What’s on the roofs of buildings? What’s in an deserted constructing’s cellar? And a manufacturing unit? We did a number of work on this.”
