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Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

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Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#11

Post by ehnto »

frik wrote: post #8
ehnto wrote: post #6

I am currently playing Mankind Divided and have been reading into the art direction from interviews with the art director. I just love the world they have created and the way they utilize it to tell the story. One of their ethos is "show don't tell" and you can see they have really taken it to heart. The locations tell the story just as well as the dialog does.

You simple cannot compare Deus Ex 3 and 4 with Deus Ex 1. Deus Ex 1 is a much different and better game, a lot of thought went into it, the player can do so much more it's not even funny. No other game with Deus Ex in the name comes even close. Play Deus Ex 1 first and come back later, though some may never get into DX1 because the graphics hasn't aged that well.

Oh I wasn't comparing the game itself, but the franchises art style and story telling has really flourished with 3 and 4 I feel.

I have played all 4 and loved each one, the charm and freedom of the first may not have been reached with it's successors but I feel like 3 and 4 at least really were fantastic games in their own right.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#12

Post by fenomas »

arcanus wrote: post #4

One famous piece of trivia about Deus Ex is that, if you look at the city skyline during the missions set in New York City, the Twin Towers are conspicuously absent. The real reason for their exclusion isn’t very interesting: something to do with memory constraints. So in the game’s fiction, the Towers were destroyed by terrorists. Deus Ex was released in 2000, a year before 9/11. ---- 'How deus ex predicted the futu…

The specifics here are that the New York skyline was originally two big textures covering two faces of the skybox. Late in production, to save video memory they cut one texture and replaced it with a mirror of the other one, of course cutting the side with the towers so that they wouldn't show up twice.

(Source is an old IGN interview that I hunted down ages ago, because every time this trivia shows up somewhere there tends to be a comment war about how removing a building from a skyline couldn't possibly save memory, blather blather.)

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#13

Post by rangibaby »

arcanus wrote: post #4

One famous piece of trivia about Deus Ex is that, if you look at the city skyline during the missions set in New York City, the Twin Towers are conspicuously absent. The real reason for their exclusion isn’t very interesting: something to do with memory constraints. So in the game’s fiction, the Towers were destroyed by terrorists. Deus Ex was released in 2000, a year before 9/11. ---- 'How deus ex predicted the futu…

The pilot episode of "The Lone Gunmen" aired in March 2001, and details a conspiracy by the US government to remote control an airliner and crash it into the WTC to furnish arms sales:

"The Cold War's over, John. But with no clear enemy to stockpile against, the arms market's flat. But bring down a fully loaded 727 into the middle of New York City and you'll find a dozen tinpot dictators all over the world just clamoring to take responsibility, and begging to be smart-bombed."

https://youtu.be/EjbQ-BDh4PU

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#14

Post by int_19h »

papaf wrote: post #10
frik wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You simple cannot compare Deus Ex 3 and 4 with Deus Ex 1. Deus Ex 1 is a much different and better game, a lot of thought went into it, the player can do so much more it's not even funny. No other game with Deus Ex in the name comes even close. Play Deus Ex 1 first and come back later, though some may never get into DX1 because the graphics hasn't aged that well.

We used to play Deus Ex 1 in a pair. The game was so different for each player and their playing style that it never got boring. We completed the whole game in this way. One highlight that I remember was the explanation of mass surveillance being a replacement for less religion in a society. In the past people censored themselves because God was always watching. It was hoped that people would continue to censor thems…

"God was a dream of good government" is a very interesting idea to ponder.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#15

Post by ZenoArrow »

int_19h wrote: post #14
papaf wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We used to play Deus Ex 1 in a pair. The game was so different for each player and their playing style that it never got boring. We completed the whole game in this way. One highlight that I remember was the explanation of mass surveillance being a replacement for less religion in a society. In the past people censored themselves because God was always watching. It was hoped that people would continue to censor thems…

"God was a dream of good government" is a very interesting idea to ponder.

If you'd like more to ponder, the formation of the Roman Catholic church may be worth exploring.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#16

Post by waldfee »

papaf wrote: post #10
frik wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You simple cannot compare Deus Ex 3 and 4 with Deus Ex 1. Deus Ex 1 is a much different and better game, a lot of thought went into it, the player can do so much more it's not even funny. No other game with Deus Ex in the name comes even close. Play Deus Ex 1 first and come back later, though some may never get into DX1 because the graphics hasn't aged that well.

We used to play Deus Ex 1 in a pair. The game was so different for each player and their playing style that it never got boring. We completed the whole game in this way. One highlight that I remember was the explanation of mass surveillance being a replacement for less religion in a society. In the past people censored themselves because God was always watching. It was hoped that people would continue to censor thems…

This was the most memorable dialog in the whole game for me. An incredible game with many things that make you think.

Also: "everytime someone talks about DX1, someone else will install DX1 again" most likely applies here :)

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#17

Post by moogly »

ehnto wrote: post #6

I am currently playing Mankind Divided and have been reading into the art direction from interviews with the art director. I just love the world they have created and the way they utilize it to tell the story. One of their ethos is "show don't tell" and you can see they have really taken it to heart. The locations tell the story just as well as the dialog does.

It's too bad they didn't follow that for the story/social commentary though. The latter ended up being so hamfisted and shoved down your throat it was almost comical, and that's coming from a "bleeding-heart lib'rul" like me.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#18

Post by int_19h »

ZenoArrow wrote: post #15
int_19h wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"God was a dream of good government" is a very interesting idea to ponder.

If you'd like more to ponder, the formation of the Roman Catholic church may be worth exploring.

Eastern Orthodoxy, with its "symphonia of powers" caesaropapism, is equally interesting IMO.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#19

Post by Narishma »

pluma wrote: post #3

Fascinating how the design doc simultaneously seems to describe an entirely different game yet already shares so many similarities with what would finally become Deus Ex. EDIT: The postmortem linked at the end of the post also includes an even older pitch for the game from 1994 which has even less in common with the final release. It's amazing how the game mutated from "rugged ex-cop action movie shooter" to "cyberpu…

> where it's actually possible to beat the game without killing anyone.

It's been a long time since I last played the game but I don't believe that's true without cheating.

Re: Annotated version of an original Deus Ex design doc surfaces

#20

Post by eswat »

arcanus wrote: post #4

One famous piece of trivia about Deus Ex is that, if you look at the city skyline during the missions set in New York City, the Twin Towers are conspicuously absent. The real reason for their exclusion isn’t very interesting: something to do with memory constraints. So in the game’s fiction, the Towers were destroyed by terrorists. Deus Ex was released in 2000, a year before 9/11. ---- 'How deus ex predicted the futu…

Although less conspicuous, there’s a similar story with Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2’s box art depicting a NYC skyline being bombarded (also released in 2000).
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