The ‘Void’ as ‘Heterotopia par Excellence’ in Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

Abstract

This paper presents an intellectual exercise of approaching a virtual space as if it were ‘real’. I approach the ‘Void’, one of the spaces emphasized in the action-adventure stealth video game Dishonored: Death of the Outsider from the standpoint of Cultural Anthropology. My purpose is to describe the ‘Void’ and establish whether it can be considered a ‘heterotopia par excellence, in Foucault’s terms (Foucault, 2008, p. 22). I argue that the ‘Void’ connects and inverts multiple places and meanings in a similar manner to the ship from Foucault’s ‘heterotopology’. Thus, it represents a fictional example of a ‘heterotopia par excellence.