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 the use of a few of Antonov’s former colleagues within the trade, 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 (often known 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 below assault by the invasive, angular, alien designs of the Mix, their otherworldly creations latching onto the human structure beneath like tumors.
Antonov drew on comparable concepts within the creation of Dishonored’s Dunwall, together 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 a substitute 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 wish to say a lot till I felt it was confirmed,” Laidlaw wrote, “however I discovered at the moment that Viktor Antonov, our visionary artwork lead on Half-Life 2, has died. I haven’t got particulars, simply unhappiness. Good and unique. Made every little thing higher.”
Former Bethesda advertising head Pete Hines praised Antonov’s affect by way of Twitter, writing, “Thanks for all of the hours of pleasure you gave us, Viktor, you will be missed.” Arkane and WolfEye Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio responded to Antonov’s passing on Bluesky: “I want I instructed 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 good friend with whom I’ve many fond reminiscences.”
Deus Ex lead designer and Dishonored inventive director Harvey Smith responded to Colantonio together with his personal remembrance of Antonov. “Good reminiscences of journey along with each of you; London, Dallas, Lyon,” Smith wrote. “All this about affect and expertise is true, however I may even at all times keep in mind how a lot he made me giggle, together with his dry, devastating wit, RIP.”
Lately, 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 gathering 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 stated 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 among 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 numerous work on this.”
