Briareos H on 27/11/2007 at 09:47
Quote Posted by Slamelov
Is there any member of the original team in the project?
For the moment it doesn't appear to be the case. The lead writer (
http://eidosmontreal.com/en/testimonials.html) would seem to be Mary DeMarle, who worked on Myst III to V and Homeworld 2.
Quote Posted by Mary DeMarle
When I played the first game, I realized that so much of it is centered on the story that it automatically calls for a deep and interesting story line, and that was a big reason for me to want to be here and to work on it. Also the fact that [Eidos] games were very well recognized when they came out and built a lot of loyal fans. The development team saw opportunities to expand those games beyond their initial focus, and that's always a very interesting challenge: to create another version of something that is much loved, [a version] that will grow beyond it without upsetting the people who love it, and yet will be interesting to people who may not have liked it or may never have heard of it.
Other interesting bits from the testimonials page :
Quote Posted by Stephan Carmignani, level designer, worked on the hastily designed Dead to Rights II
We're working on an existing franchise, but that doesn't mean we're going to come out with a certified copy: gamers would see right through that! We're going to take what's good about it - after all, the first game came out several years ago, and games and gamers have changed a lot since - and develop it so that people find it even more interesting.
Quote Posted by Thierry Doizon, concept artist, worked on ET:QW
It's an ambitious type of game, and that's what I like about it. Here, we're passionate about creating video games. Before coming to Canada, I worked in England and in France, and I seldom worked on games of this calibre. It's right up my alley, so I feel very lucky! I can pour a lot much more energy into this project because it's a goal I can totally relate to. At the same time, you never forget you're developing a product for a broad spectrum of the population. It's like making a movie or any form of art: you're doing something you like, and you hope that it will appeal to other people as well. [Deus Ex] is an outstanding game because of its quality, its style, its contents. It actually was a hit with a very small audience of highly passionate players. We want to reach those people again, while also giving the game a broader appeal.
Despite the "broader appeal" aspect, I really like (
http://www.barontieri.com/galleries/) his designs, with loads of cyberpunk inspiration and more specifically Masamune Shirow's works. Definitely the right person to work on DX3.
Quote Posted by Francois Lapikas, game designer, worked on Splinter Cell : CT and DA
Deus Ex is a game I played when it came out. As soon as I heard this was happening in Montreal, I had to be part of it! This is the type of game I like to play, it's a really good challenge. What's nice is that we're not starting from scratch. We have a foundation to build on. We already know what worked and what didn't, and that's worth gold. The design stage was really great. In the first months of the project, we decided what we wanted to do, and what direction we wanted to take. Things go really smoothly with Jean-François Dugas [the lead designer]. Often, in a video game, people get lost right from the start because they haven't clearly defined what they want to do, and that can drag on for years: you see projects where people still don't know where they're going after a year and half, two years.
Quote Posted by Jonathan Cooper, lead animator, worked on NARC (?)
When I did the interview, David [Anfossi] showed me the [development] schedule. In the upper left-hand corner, it was written "Deus Ex". I always take a job based on the project. It's not so much about the money and all that, it's, “What game are we going to be working on?”. That's what got me excited: the idea of working on a sequel to one of my favorite games. Also, it was in keeping with what I did in my previous job, so it's like the next step: I can take everything I learned and use it to make this game even better. I'm really excited about the project, I'm excited about where it's going and I'm excited about my part in it. People here listen to you and it's quite easy to get them on board. If they don't like it, you know they'll say so as well.
I'll wrap up with a quote from the QA part of the website, which is a fairly comforting sign if it's not bullshit :
Quote:
We also test games from a highly creative - i.e. "entropic" - point of view, letting our brightest professionals throw around all sorts of bizarre, off-the wall ideas, sometimes simply fooling around with the games we develop.
EDIT : The lead designer Jean-François Dugas worked on all Far Cry : Instincts games.
All in all, I'd say they have a fresh and fairly competent team of seemingly passionate gamers and fans of the original game with reasonable freedom (at least the most freedom one can have when working for a big publisher).
Now shine.
