goanna on 11/4/2002 at 06:28
:idea:
I was hopin one of you here would give me a hand with a Latin research project. I'm looking at the influence of Ancient Rome on modern media, and so I am looking at how Roman mythology and heritage features in Deus Ex, ie. the title etc. Another aspect is the story of Daedalus and Icarus, who predominate for a lot of the story. Could anyone help me find a plot summary on their involvement in the game? And maybe you'll know where A.I. and Helios fit into the story line (if any connection there).
I was also thinking the since Deus Ex comes from "Deus Ex Machina" (machine of the gods), JC Denton could well be the metaphorical version.
Care to get philosophical? Contact me if you have any ideas
[email]eeyore_9_@hotmail.com[/email]:thumb:
Dragonclaw on 11/4/2002 at 17:08
Deus Ex Machine means: God out of the machine :-)
As far as I know, in theater this term is used...
When the whole situation is all f*ed up, and there's no way of things getting better in sight, then *woosh* there's the DEM, which suddenly appears and puts everything happily back together again.
Therefor: Deus ex Machina (Suddenly arriving, just when needed, afterwards everything is fine again)
X on 12/4/2002 at 19:11
Deus ex Machina is a term from Greek and Roman theatre, when a character, usually the protagonist, escapes insurmountable odds through divine intervention, hence god from machine. This was a comment on the manner in which most action games unfolded, the likes of Quake, where the player was merely a pawn but still affected the entire world, through a series of pre determined events. Deus Ex attempts to challenge this but as we all know cannot be wholey successful.
Agent Monkeysee on 12/4/2002 at 21:33
What is DX attempting to challenge? I couldn't follow that comment. The title of the game refers to J.C. who, in the span of the game, manages to undo all of these age-old conspiracy theories coming to a head. Basically a secret plot to take over the world that had been building for hundreds of years is dashed in a couple days nearly single-handedly by one man. J.C. is the Deus Ex Machina of the conspiracies.
X on 13/4/2002 at 19:19
It challenges the linearity of many other games, the fact that the player cannot influence the game, the player is the machina as opposed to the deus.
Bugs on 15/4/2002 at 12:07
Quote:
Originally posted by goanna :idea:
And maybe you'll know where A.I. and Helios fit into the story line (if any connection there) Just checked this up and Helios was the god of the sun which Icarus flew too close to... not a huge connection but there is certainly one there...
gbayles on 17/4/2002 at 15:19
The term Deus Ex works on several levels at least. It is short for Deus Ex Machina -
meaning God out of the Machine. Once that was a literal description of a fairly common
ocurrence in ancient Greek plays - an actor representing a god (or goddess) would
be lowered to the stage (the Machina) to set things straight. Today, it means anything
intorduced towards the end of a play, movie, TV show etc. used to resolve a convoluted
plot. Very frequently found in old TV sitcoms. Resorting to Deus Ex is considered poor
style.
But, wrt the game, "Deus Ex Machina" has yet another literal meaning - creating God
from the Machine. Which philsopher said that if God did not exist man would
create him? Replay the introduction - Bob Page's ambition is to become a god. Replay
the discussion with Morpheus - the thesis is that pervasive computer systems will
satisfy mankinds need for gods. JC and Helios are both man made - both are machines.
The result of their merge is god-like entity - hence Deus Ex.
Dragonclaw on 17/4/2002 at 22:26
Quote:
Originally written by Voltaire "If God did not exist it would be necessary to invent Him. But all nature cries aloud that He does exist; that there is a supreme intelligence, an immense power, an admirable order, and everything teaches us our own dependance upon it."
There you go :)
