Jeshibu on 11/6/2007 at 21:42

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It was a bad joke at the expense of Invisible War, which made all the endings to DX happen. :p
I suppose they could all happen, but it would result in killing off each of the faction leaders one by one after Alex D. decides that that outcome isn't going to work, eventually leading to the Omar ending.

negativeliberty on 12/6/2007 at 10:50

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Hey, isn't different people/groups vying for control/power pretty much the basis of ANY fiction (ie from soap operas to cyberpunk, thrillers to James Bond movies with archetypical arch villains etc)? Meaning I concur, that in itself does not constitute a carbon copy (it would be a little bit like saying "OMG they're going to use sound effects again, DX had that too!!").

Well, to be fair, DX already had a little bit of that "global police state" going (which suited the atmosphere perfectly, every place you'd visit was practically oozing with a repressive atmosphere). And then ofcourse there were multiple AIs with pretty much unlimited (technological) resources easily able to monitor and analyse virtually every camera on the face of the earth (and apparently they could even break into the highest security level facilities like when you're freed from your cell at UNATCO by Daedalus).

I like the idea of them taking that a little bit further though, where there are literally too many security systems in place to disable, but there'd still be gaps in between where you could disable one of the many cameras and slip through without too much use of multitools and the like. But if they're going to focus DX3 more heavily around evading security systems there ought to be a counterbalance or something to spice it up, like 'manual' hacking of security systems (ala Splinter Cell or Dreamfall), where you've also got like a reusable multitool which takes longer to disable a camera/turret/etc. (because you've got to manually crack it by way of a little puzzle, which could become easier and more difficult with the game's main difficulty setting). So all of a sudden regular one-use multitools become a lot more valuable (since manual hacking takes more time). That way, disabling cameras won't become such a boring mundane task, but more of a challenge (IMO). Ofcourse, it should also be balanced for those players who go all out in disabling every security measure (to find lockpick/medkits or other rewards/easter eggs), so there's an incentive for taking your time for each mission or sidequest. They can evolve DX however they want, but I'd like some of the core gameplay aspects (such as aforementioned) to stay in some way or another.

Exactly. They already tried making a DX spinoff, with mixed results (Project Snowblind). If a game carries the title "Deus Ex", it should inevitably be tied in with the original. They should strive to take everything great about DX and evolve and adapt it to a modern day gaming experience, attempting to do what DX did for the player while also exploring new ground, that's not limiting the imagination; it's pointing one's imagination towards the 'essence' of Deus Ex (however 'Zen' that may sound).

heywood on 29/6/2007 at 23:09

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I'd like any future DX game to have the following elements:

1. Gameplay that is a mix of stealth and combat, without overly contrived options for reaching your objective.

2. Intertwining conspiracies. Mystery and an urge to find out what's really going on has to drive the plot.

3. Character development. I don't think this has to be in the form of augmentation, because IW pretty much took that idea as far as it should go.
And the player doesn't have to be an uber-badass one man army type character to save the world, just look at Gordon Freeman. A skill point system would be obvious and easy, but possibly boring. What if your skills developed according to how well and how often you used them in game?

4. Consequences for your actions. DX1 teased us with this early in the game but didn't keep it going. DX2 never really tried. I would really like to see your choices play more of a role in defining your character, which would affect your options for interacting with NPCs. If you want to knock my socks off, give me different minor plot lines or side quests depending on how I've previously acted.

5. Allies. Throughout most of DX1, you were allied with some group and had some sense of camaraderie, first with UNATCO, then the Luminous Path, then the Vandenberg scientists. You even had some close friends who stayed with you throughout the game. There was also some good group combat early in the game where you fought side by side with your allies. In DX2, you felt like a loner. There was Leo, but he wasn't really on your side until the very end.

6. Plot connections to history and/or current events. One of the things that made DX so much more immersive than IW was the way they folded current day issues, events, places, and organizations, along with history, legends etc. into the plot.

7. AI that doesn't give up the chase so easily. When you alerted an enemy to your presence in both DX and IW (but especially DX), it was too easy to retreat a few steps and wait until you enemies reverted back to routing patrol mode again.

heywood on 3/7/2007 at 22:46

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I agree 100%. Didn't Ion Storm contract with some writers to flesh out the plot of DX? A good starting point for Eidos would be to work with those same people on developing the concept for a new DX game world.

Ostriig on 24/7/2007 at 19:10

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Thanks for that.

On what Warren's saying... I don't know, just like he's "pretty sure they'll do a good job", I was pretty sure Invisible War was gonna be awesome. Heh. I'm just going to wait it out this time. I'm excited at the prospect of there being a new Deus Ex, but I'm probably not going to get me hopes too high up this time.


P.S. Besides, not to rain on anyone's parade, but the journalist at Kotaku makes a pretty good observation: