Preview Deus Ex 3 Lead Designer Speaks

[Edward_R_Murrow]

Tags: Deus Ex: Human Revolution; Eidos Montreal

While not much has materialized about Deus Ex 3 lately, the lead designer of the project, one Jean Francois Dugas, has <a href="http://www.nowgamer.com/news/340/deus-ex-3-to-return-to-series-roots">spoken</a> on how he plans to handle the third installment in the (in)famous franchise.<blockquote>“We ultimately decided to focus more on the first game," said Jean Francois Dugas. "...In terms of being a Deus Ex game, we keep the core gameplay essence alive, which is a hybrid of action-RPG in which the core gameplay mechanics revolve around combat, stealth, hacking, and social aspects."</blockquote>Seems intersting, although...<blockquote>Despite complaints from some hardcore Deus Ex fans over the direction of the third iteration, Dugas said that "on a lot of topics" he is on the "same page" as the fans, but added "except when they say 'just redo the first one with better textures!".</blockquote>...is eerily reminiscent of early Fallout 3 hype speak.
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Also,this apparently is only a snippet of an interview slated to appear in Total PC Gaming magazine.
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Thanks <b>Tavicroix</b>.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPGWatch</A>

 

[Fat Dragon]

"except when they say 'just redo the first one with better textures!"

What a fucking jackass. Not everybody is asking for an exact copy of Deus Ex. They just don't want DX3 to fucking suck, which this most likely will. It doesn't exactly give the fans much confidence in the developer when he says stupid BS like Deus Ex 1 being too slow and unmemorable, and whose only other credits in the gaming industry are the supremely dumbed down and shitty Far Cry console ports.

 

[Hobo Elf]

 

[Mogar]

Invisible War was a solid game, it just failed as a sequel to the original.

 

[Jinxed]

haha.

 

[IClaudius]

Invisible War was a solid game, it just failed as a sequel to the original.

It was a failure as a game and a sequel. Admittedly it received harsher reactions than any new IP would have due to its lineage, but it was still nothing but mediocrity as a stand alone game.

It had an unfinished unoptimised engine. It was poorly paced and suffered from a suffocating and constricted world design. The reward mechanics were complete borked - money had no value and explorations incentives weren't there. The characters were flat and cliched. The avatar had complete insulation from the consequences of the player's actions. Even the half-baked plot they put together was poorly executed, and opportunities which were begging for exploitation were missed despite them leaping off design book - like refusing augmentations and trying to approach the Templars. You literally couldn't do anything of consequence.

It basically tried to straddle the console action market, and ended up with a stupid compromise to both world - where the system mechanics were terrible for either emergent gameplay or immersive FPS action.

And that is to say nothing of travesties like universal ammo and nonsense of UC machines.

 

[Longshanks]

"except when they say 'just redo the first one with better textures!"

Translation - "We are making significant changes to the game to accomodate a new audience. Fans of the original are expected to accept this without complaint. Those who can't are irrational, and are to be ignored or derided."

 

[Jasede]

Not enough info to hulk out yet.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Not enough info to hulk out yet.

Oh, you are out of touch Jasede.

Plenty of info has been released. Plenty.

First of all, the lead designer does not like Deus Ex. It was not his kind of game. He found it "slow and boring".

Second of all, from what has been released so far, Deus Ex 3 will

- have autoheal (no health bars, you only die when you are under heavy fire for a long period of time)

- stats have been marginalized completely and reduced to only the weapon upgrades you can use and augmentations

- stats will no longer influence weapon accuracy, hacking, or any of that stuff

- it has ditched the cyberpunk look completely, and has gone for...a futuristic Rennaissance look, in which people in the future wear tunics, and buildings are shaped like Rennaissance buildings

Does this SOUND like Deus Ex?

This is among the earlier newsposts on it - http://www.megagames.com/news/html/pc/f ... ails.shtml

 

[Jasede]

Let me be honest, future renaissance is a neat idea and I don't think it has been done yet; I forgot that he didn't like Deus Ex - did he specify? If he just didn't like the random as fuck story that made no sense that's all right.

I remember Auto-Heal from Portal. It sucks ass - but maybe they can make it good? HAH.

Are you sure about that stats bit? Seems to contradict what this guy said.

If it's true - well, yep, hulk out time all right.

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE

 

[Wyrmlord]

Of course, game developers are prone to changing entire features through the course of development, but I don't think they change their ideas on game design too quickly.

As for future Rennaissance, here are the costumes from the game. I thought they were a bit too offbeat, but maybe they will work well.

 

[Fat Dragon]

I forgot that he didn't like Deus Ex - did he specify? If he just didn't like the random as fuck story that made no sense that's all right.

He didn't say that he didn't like it, he just said that he found it at some parts to be slow and that it doesn't have any memorable 'epic' moments.

In other words, it wasn't a heavy action game which turned him off some, I guess.

 

[Wyrmlord]

I like the triangles he made, as if conceding that it was possible for even highly thoughtful gamers to enjoy Invisible War.

And then the second triangle, as if hip adolescents were the highest possible standard for Deus Ex 3.

 

[Dire Roach]

“We ultimately decided to focus more on the first game," said Jean Francois Dugas.

What he meant to say is, "Fans are deluded if they expect this sequel to be at least half as good as the first game. However, we will make sure to include enough references and Easter Eggs in an attempt to reduce the monumental amounts of bitching that is expected from them once they play our game."

 

[MetalCraze]

He actually said that they are going for a totally dumbed down shooter, just like PoS IW at first.
Now he probably looked at FO3 hype and how it worked on the "hardcore" fans and copies Bethhype.

I remember Auto-Heal from Portal. It sucks ass - but maybe they can make it good? HAH.

Oh no they won't. Autoheal automatically means that you can just run ahead and shoot stuff while not worrying about dying - hey you can just hide behind some box and wait for 3 seconds and then continue your killing spree.
Oh very much like Deus Ex.

Are you sure about that stats bit? Seems to contradict what this guy said.

He is contradicting himself because it smells like there is something burning.

 

[Longshanks]

First of all, the lead designer does not like Deus Ex. It was not his kind of game. He found it "slow and boring".

He also said it's the main reference for their game. :confusion:

- have autoheal (no health bars, you only die when you are under heavy fire for a long period of time)

Sucks, but hardly has to be game breaking.

- stats have been marginalized completely and reduced to only the weapon upgrades you can use and augmentations

Who needs stats in a shooter anyway?
How have they been marginalised completely if they still effect augs and weapons upgrades. These are assumedly quite important.

- stats will no longer influence weapon accuracy, hacking, or any of that stuff

Cool. We may actually have some reasonable gunplay then.

- it has ditched the cyberpunk look completely, and has gone for...a futuristic Rennaissance look, in which people in the future wear tunics, and buildings are shaped like Rennaissance buildings

It's a prequel, maybe that explains the different clothing style? Anyway, Deus Ex looks like arse, the second game even worse. It's not like either had a consistent or distinctive look, apart from the first one being so dark. That said, the Deus Ex 3 screenshots aren't that impressive either, but the generic labs, offices are no worse than those found in the originals. Some of the outdoor concept art looks nice.

Does this SOUND like Deus Ex?

Not the specific parts you've picked out, but they're mostly irrelevant.
The developers have said they're concentrating on non-linearity, on providing shooting, sneaking, hacking and talking paths/options. This is the heart of the Deus Ex experience, and is the right area to focus on. I doubt they'll get it right, but that's my cynicism.

Deus Ex was a pretty good game because it had mostly well designed levels that you could either sneak or shoot your way through, and use hacking to make things easier. The effect of stats on aiming (as remember, character customisation is still in via augs, so equivalent with Bioshock here, and probably with the same weak affect too) didn't have a lot to do with it. Deus Ex 3 probably will suck, most games do, but it won't be because they removed this minor aspect.

 

[MetalCraze]

So answer me a simple question - which path will be better?
Fucking up with stats for hacking and lockpicking at which you suck at first (so it will be easier to just shoot everyone) or just shooting your way through because your character will always be good with gun?

Sucks, but hardly has to be game breaking.

So name me at least a single shooter with autoheal which wasn't a dumb run'n'gun because of that.

Cool. We may actually have some reasonable gunplay then.

Yes - just like the one in Call of Duty or some other piece of shit like that.

The developers have said they're concentrating on non-linearity, on providing shooting, sneaking, hacking and talking paths/options

And of course developers who now quickly backpedal from their previous words can't lie just to sell another piece of shit like Mass Effect.

 

[Longshanks]

Hey, Skwyay. I actually agree with you on this one. Deus Ex 3 will probably be shit. Auto heal, removal of stat effect on aiming, cover system for stealth instead of shadows, will not be the reason (though that last one sounds dumb), just a symptom.

Anyway, here's some more info on auto heal:

Now imagine that same scenario with regenerative health: A player enters a combat situation, and starts trading shots with a couple enemies. At some point, the player is going to get really shot up, and is going to duck behind cover. Now, when this happens, the player is thinking, “ , I’m almost dead and those guys are coming around to kill me!”.

By opting for a regenerative health model in DX3, the focus in combat is shifted more onto the firefight and the hostile enemies between you and your objective. It’s not as though the player can just pimp into a gunfight T2 style; if you leave yourself exposed while trading speeding projectiles with some pissed off NPCs, you’re gonna die fast. You still have to think carefully, plan out your attacks, and be sensible about managing your resources (perhaps moreso now with the more detailed inventory, even without medkits taking up space).

The details, like exactly what triggers the healing and how quickly health is replenished are still being tweaked, but it’s not like CoD 4 where the very second you stop getting shot you start converting air into the cure for bullet wounds. And as said above, combat is effectively optional; it’s only one of four approaches to the world. Somebody who only sticks to the combative side of DX3 will enjoy a nice shooter, but will miss out on a huge amount of the game, just like anybody who played DX 1 by sticking exclusively to the main path and never went exploring, missed out on the world around them.

They do at least confirm a stealth path in the above quote, even saying combat will be largely optional. I know, I know, PR lies, but at least they've made the claim.

 

[bhlaab]

Despite complaints from some hardcore Deus Ex fans over the direction of the third iteration, Dugas said that "on a lot of topics" he is on the "same page" as the fans, but added "except when they say 'just redo the first one with better textures!".

Translation: "Look at the name on the box. We already sold a million copies before we wrote our first line of C++. Making Deus Ex is pretty hard so we'll just do whatever and you open up and swallow like good little nerd obsessives, ok?"

 

[lightbane]

You know, maybe I have read it wrongly, but... WHY THE HELL YOU HAVE A DUDE WORKING FOR LEAD DESIGNER FOR A DEUS EX GAME THAT HE DOESN'T LIKE DEUS EX!!??

Apparently common sense isn't a requeriment these days

 

[MetalCraze]

They do at least confirm a stealth path in the above quote, even saying combat will be largely optional. I know, I know, PR lies, but at least they've made the claim.

He also made the claim about how "DX was slow and boring" so you know how this game will be.

Besides check the achievements list of DX3's lead designer:

Far Cry: Instincts - Evolution (2006), Ubisoft, Inc.
Far Cry: Instincts - Predator (2006), Ubisoft, Inc.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006), Ubisoft, Inc.
Far Cry: Instincts (2005), Ubisoft, Inc.
Speed Challenge: Jacques Villeneuve's Racing Vision (2002), Ubi Soft Entertainment Software
F1 Racing Championship (2000), Video System Co., Ltd.
F1 Racing Simulation (1997), Ubi Soft Entertainment Software

DX3 is doomed.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Seriously though, Deus Ex slow?

It's a 16 hour game on a first time playthrough.

A 16 hour game with nearly 30 large levels.

People talk about how endlessly long Deus Ex is, even though it is 16 hours long.

Now think about it, when was the last time there was a game with 16 hours length, but had so much content, it felt huge?

Do understand - the KotOR games can clock in at 40 hours at snailgaming pace, and they still feel short.

16 hours through so many levels is much faster and eventful than most games I have seen.

 

[Forest Dweller]

I got a little over 40 hours on my first playthrough, and around 25 on subsequent playthroughs. Not sure how some people could play it so fast.

 

[someone else]

I got a little over 40 hours on my first playthrough, and around 25 on subsequent playthroughs. Not sure how some people could play it so fast.

They aren't dicksmoking while they play?

 

[Wyrmlord]

I got a little over 40 hours on my first playthrough, and around 25 on subsequent playthroughs. Not sure how some people could play it so fast.

My end savegame showed me a 16.

So it is exclusive of reloads.

My KotOR end savegame showed me a 25 the first time. So it was also exclusive of reloads.