Deus Ex: HR/MD art director joins Rogue Factor (Mordheim devs) as creative director on new project

[Infinitron]

Visionary Art Director of ‘Deus Ex’ Joins Rogue Factor as Creative Director
Jonathan Jacques-Belletête takes on new role at veteran Montréal video game development studio

March 18, 2019 – Montréal, Canada//… Rogue Factor, the video game development studio behind Games Workshop adaptations Mordheim: City of the Damned and the forthcoming Necromunda: Underhive Wars, is excited to announce that Jonathan Jacques-Belletête has joined the team as Creative Director.

Best known as the Art Director at Eidos Montréal for the past 12 years – overseeing the visual development of such acclaimed titles as Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Jonathan has taken on a new challenge as Creative Director for a new and unannounced Rogue Factor project, whilst the rest of the studio continues its work on the highly-anticipated Necromunda: Underhive Wars.

​

Yves Bordeleau, General Manager, Rogue Factor said:
“Having known JJB for many years as a friend as well as an industry peer, it is genuinely exciting to have him onboard as we enter a new phase in the studio’s life, one which we are affectionally calling Rogue Factor 2.0.”

Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director, Rogue Factor said:
“This year marks my 20th anniversary in the video game industry, and my passion and enthusiasm for creating compelling interactive entertainment experiences has only grown. The new position at Rogue Factor is one that I am thrilled to take on, and the wealth of talent that’s so evident amongst the studio team has me excited at the creative possibilities ahead at Rogue Factor. Whilst I will not be taking an active role in the development of Necromunda: Underhive Wars, I will be focusing on future projects for the studio.”

Based in Montréal, Rogue Factor was recently purchased by Bigben Interactive, and is currently looking to recruit talented developers to help expand the studio team. For current vacancies, please click here: https://www.rogue-factor.com/jobs.html

 

[normie]

the legend behind the piss filter

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Finally, we can have a future Deus Ex that looks like a proper Deus Ex game again.

Good riddance.

 

[Cross]

Visionary Art Director of ‘Deus Ex’ Joins Rogue Factor as Creative Director

'Visionary' is certainly one word for it.

 

[Space Nugget]

Finally, we can have a future Deus Ex that looks like a proper Deus Ex game again.

Good riddance.

If only Arkane Austin got their hands on the IP...

Spoiler

inb4 THQ Nordic buys the rights to the DX franchise.

 

[ghostdog]

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Finally, we can have a future Deus Ex that looks like a proper Deus Ex game again.

Good riddance.

If only Arkane Austin got their hands on the IP...

Spoiler

inb4 THQ Nordic buys the rights to the DX franchise.

Oh yeah, Harvey Smith would be delighted to make an Invisible War 2.

 

[HansDampf]

Finally, we can have a future Deus Ex that looks like a proper Deus Ex game again.

Yeah, right...

 

[taxalot]

What a coincidence, I saw this thread a couple of minutes before I started playing Deus Ex : Mankind Divided.

And uh, it's weird. As in "not good", I remember there was an impressive scene at the beginning of the game that had been seen in videos (getting out of the train, etc). While this seen is first person and realtime/in engine, you have no control over the character. it felt weird as fuck, for around 3 minutes !
Then when you finally get to start playing, past the tutorial mission and enter Prague, I have been able to break into other people's aparments in full daylight, while those people were there, steal their shit in front of their eyes and them not minding. In a current generation game, this kind of bullshit is absolutely unforgivable. And I'm only 30 minutes in the "open world" !

Not to mention that the whole theme of apartheid between augmented and normies appears to be absolutely overdone (at least it was interesting in HR, though not subtle). I guess I'll see how this game turns out, but so far it's a big "meh".

But to get back topic, the art direction is nice, I will admit that. Although I'm always amused at prequels looking more futuristic than the original.

 

[LESS T_T]

Their new project will be an "ambitious" third-person action RPG based on an original IP. https://rogue-factor.com/wp/careers/

From Jonathan's Linkedin last month: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6732698679192363008/

Industry folks! As some of you already know, I've been hard at work this past year conceptualizing my new original IP and I can finally announce that we're just about to officially start pre-production!

For those of you who know me or have worked with me in the past, you know how much effort and focus I've put in creating something truly special that captures the imagination and stands out from the crowd.

I still have some open positions for game designers, programmers and artists to come join the team and be part of this exciting new adventure.

Don’t hesitate to poke me through Messenger if you have any questions!

Here are the current job openings that I have available and the link to their official postings and application procedures.

 

[DalekFlay]

the legend behind the piss filter

At least the game has a unique look, unlike 99% of other AAA games at that time.

 

[Gerrard]

He's the faggot who didn't want them killing off Jensen because he totally didn't design him as his own projection.

 

[Citizen]

Visionary Art Director of ‘Deus Ex’ Joins Rogue Factor as Creative Director

'Visionary' is certainly one word for it.

LoL a dollar store version of Adam Jensen

 

[Ash]

I get extreme satisfaction from the fact that the directors cut removed the piss filter from HR. This means he either learned from his mistake which I can respect, or someone with more authority than him called for it to be removed which is a hilarious slap to the face.
I also enjoy that the sequel has a slightly more grounded style, though it's still very monochromatic, just less so.

It's asking too much but the new Deus Ex's should have been built with the same principles as the original -- it was ugly even for the time, and this was intentional so to speak as a matter of design priorities. But that's just not an option for modern high profile publishers/devs apparently, even when minecraft - one of the ugliest games of all time - is one of the most successful.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

It's asking too much but the new Deus Ex's should have been built with the same principles as the original -- it was ugly even for the time, and this was intentional so to speak as a matter of design priorities

I agree completely. There is nothing wrong at all with using low-poly models in modern game engines.

didn't want them killing off Jensen because he totally didn't design him as his own projection.

Its funny though because he knew full well that Jensen cannot survive into Deus Ex 1 because he knew too much. MJ12 would have killed Jensen by Deus Ex 1's time.

 

[Citizen]

Its funny though because he knew full well that Jensen cannot survive into Deus Ex 1 because he knew too much. MJ12 would have killed Jensen by Deus Ex 1's time.

Bold of you to think he played through DE1

 

[RobotSquirrel]

Bold of you to think he played through DE1

that's actually a good point lol

 

[DalekFlay]

I get extreme satisfaction from the fact that the directors cut removed the piss filter from HR.

And makes the game look much worse, since right or wrong it was designed around said "piss filter."

 

[ADULF HITLOR FAN KLUB]

HR looks a lot better with the golden shower filter. It is very dull and lifeless without it.

https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2020/04/26/dxhr-dc-gold-filter/

You can also still buy the non-directors cut version in key shops.

 

[DalekFlay]

You should play the original version whether you like the gold or not, for a host of other reasons like better balancing, better graphical effects (DC is based on WiiU version) and less glitches. Also the DLC being inside the main game doesn't work well.

 

[Tacgnol]

You should play the original version whether you like the gold or not, for a host of other reasons like better balancing, better graphical effects (DC is based on WiiU version) and less glitches. Also the DLC being inside the main game doesn't work well.

The Director's Cut also has a strange stuttering issue that isn't present in the original.

 

[Terra]

Wasn't the director's cut built on an old build or some such. SquareEnix's legacy of fucking up their definitive editions continues to this day. Must be a japanese thing where the final source code and assets are destroyed in some bizarre ritual upon a project's completion.

 

[ADULF HITLOR FAN KLUB]

Wasn't the director's cut built on an old build or some such. SquareEnix's legacy of fucking up their definitive editions continues to this day. Must be a japanese thing where the final source code and assets are destroyed in some bizarre ritual upon a project's completion.

The directors cut is based on the Wii U version, which itself was based on an older build of the game, for some unexplainable reason.

I have both versions in my Steam library and the original version is superior.