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Tags: Deus Ex 3 (Ion Storm); Deus Ex: Insurrection; Ion Storm
Back in September, a fellow by the name of Joe Martin gave a talk at the VideoBrains conference about the history of deleted scenes and unimplemented concepts in video games, and the importance of remembering them. The talk was notable for revealing for the first that Ion Storm Austin, developers of the original Deus Ex, had plans to develop another sequel after the disappointing Deus Ex: Invisible War, a sequel which of course never saw the light of day.
Joe promised that he would write more about the unreleased Deus Ex 3 in the future, and today he fulfilled that promise, in the form of an editorial at Eurogamer entitled "Ion Storm's Lost Deus Ex Sequels". The editorial reveals that there were actually two different Deus Ex sequel projects at Ion Storm after Invisible War. The first one was called "Deus Ex: Insurrection", and was led by programmer Art Min. There were actually several concepts for Insurrection, but I'll quote the part about the one they decided to go with.
Back in September, a fellow by the name of Joe Martin gave a talk at the VideoBrains conference about the history of deleted scenes and unimplemented concepts in video games, and the importance of remembering them. The talk was notable for revealing for the first that Ion Storm Austin, developers of the original Deus Ex, had plans to develop another sequel after the disappointing Deus Ex: Invisible War, a sequel which of course never saw the light of day.
Joe promised that he would write more about the unreleased Deus Ex 3 in the future, and today he fulfilled that promise, in the form of an editorial at Eurogamer entitled "Ion Storm's Lost Deus Ex Sequels". The editorial reveals that there were actually two different Deus Ex sequel projects at Ion Storm after Invisible War. The first one was called "Deus Ex: Insurrection", and was led by programmer Art Min. There were actually several concepts for Insurrection, but I'll quote the part about the one they decided to go with.
Ultimately, Min took the project in a different direction to any of the proposals put forward. Insurrection instead became a prequel to the first game, casting you as JC Denton's father/clone, Blake. Again, you'd have been a spy for the US government.
"We wanted to get back to the roots of the original game," says Min. "I wanted real world locations that were relatable, as opposed to a futurist world where things weren't grounded like the original one."
According to Min's story documents, the first mission would begin with the discovery that Chinese forces had covertly infiltrated the US and end with a 'Roswell event' that exposed you to mysterious, human-enhancing technology. It would be unclear where the technology came from but as more events occurred you'd research their origin, gain new abilities and ally with America, China or the EU.
"Other Deus Ex games explored the science fiction of nanotechnology and its social implications," says one draft of the design document. "Insurrection brings the hard science of nanotechnology into a recognisable near-future setting where the stakes are more intuitive without being any less epic."
Positioned as the fourth Deus Ex game due to the then-on-going development of Deus Ex: Clan Wars (later released separately as Project Snowblind), Insurrection used the same engine as Invisible War but distanced itself from its mistakes. Internal documents claim a focus on larger levels and less dialogue as testament to this, alongside mentions of StarCraft: Ghost as a key influence.
The other Deus Ex sequel project was simply called "Deus Ex 3", and was led by designer Jordan Thomas, of Shalebridge Cradle and BioShock 2 fame. This one was even more non-traditional."We wanted to get back to the roots of the original game," says Min. "I wanted real world locations that were relatable, as opposed to a futurist world where things weren't grounded like the original one."
According to Min's story documents, the first mission would begin with the discovery that Chinese forces had covertly infiltrated the US and end with a 'Roswell event' that exposed you to mysterious, human-enhancing technology. It would be unclear where the technology came from but as more events occurred you'd research their origin, gain new abilities and ally with America, China or the EU.
"Other Deus Ex games explored the science fiction of nanotechnology and its social implications," says one draft of the design document. "Insurrection brings the hard science of nanotechnology into a recognisable near-future setting where the stakes are more intuitive without being any less epic."
Positioned as the fourth Deus Ex game due to the then-on-going development of Deus Ex: Clan Wars (later released separately as Project Snowblind), Insurrection used the same engine as Invisible War but distanced itself from its mistakes. Internal documents claim a focus on larger levels and less dialogue as testament to this, alongside mentions of StarCraft: Ghost as a key influence.
The first key to Thomas' vision was an entirely new way of telling stories using a generative system which created unique missions derived from your in-game actions. He compares the system to the approach eventually used in Far Cry 2, saying the aim was to create a story which was guided, rather than dictated.
Thomas' story still set the game as a prequel to the original Deus Ex and continued with the idea of casting you as JC's father. The difference was that, in Deus Ex 3, you were a biotech firm's failed experiment. Cast-off by your creators and starting on a literal scrapheap, you'd have no choice but to become a mercenary.
And that's where the generated stories would come in, providing randomised missions that enabled you to climb from experimental reject to the super-soldier of choice for the companies responsible. Eventually, after enough missions, you could stand in the same room as the CEOs that created you - and kill them, if you wanted.
"Deus Ex so abused the immortal NPC flag that we had it so you could kill anyone in the same room as you...[But] we also had a gimmick that kept them alive," says Thomas. He explains that by 'Dixie Flatlining' enemies you could access their memories through your enhancements and force them to be your in-brain counsellor.
Dixie Flatlining - a nod to William Gibson's Neuromancer - would have been important for two reasons. Firstly, it would keep the world semi-populated even if you killed everyone you met. Secondly, it kept narrative nuance in characters other than the player. This would have been vital because Thomas wanted Deus Ex 3 to be more than a revenge fantasy. "I was - and still am - pathologically avoidant of telling players who they are," he says. "I wanted the social hierarchies around each company to be the key mechanic."
Social gameplay and generative storytelling only hints at the ways Deus Ex 3 would have differed from other open-world games. There would have been no vehicles or fast-travelling for example, under the excuse that all cars were DNA-matched to their owners. Vehicles would have been present, but your lack of ID meant they were only useful for throwing at enemies in physics-heavy combat.
Instead, movement across New Orleans would have called for stealth or speed as you hid your crude, visibly robotic enhancements. Jordan describes the stealth as similar to Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, where Nosferatu characters must move through shadows and sewers to hide their monstrous visage. Speedier tactics evoked Crackdown; lots of leaping between rooftops thanks to your augmentations.
Pretty crazy, huh? Of course, if you've seen the original design documents for the first Deus Ex, you'll know that's just how Ion Storm rolled. Who knows how it would have ended up? Jordan Thomas has a sobering view of those years, though:Thomas' story still set the game as a prequel to the original Deus Ex and continued with the idea of casting you as JC's father. The difference was that, in Deus Ex 3, you were a biotech firm's failed experiment. Cast-off by your creators and starting on a literal scrapheap, you'd have no choice but to become a mercenary.
And that's where the generated stories would come in, providing randomised missions that enabled you to climb from experimental reject to the super-soldier of choice for the companies responsible. Eventually, after enough missions, you could stand in the same room as the CEOs that created you - and kill them, if you wanted.
"Deus Ex so abused the immortal NPC flag that we had it so you could kill anyone in the same room as you...[But] we also had a gimmick that kept them alive," says Thomas. He explains that by 'Dixie Flatlining' enemies you could access their memories through your enhancements and force them to be your in-brain counsellor.
Dixie Flatlining - a nod to William Gibson's Neuromancer - would have been important for two reasons. Firstly, it would keep the world semi-populated even if you killed everyone you met. Secondly, it kept narrative nuance in characters other than the player. This would have been vital because Thomas wanted Deus Ex 3 to be more than a revenge fantasy. "I was - and still am - pathologically avoidant of telling players who they are," he says. "I wanted the social hierarchies around each company to be the key mechanic."
Social gameplay and generative storytelling only hints at the ways Deus Ex 3 would have differed from other open-world games. There would have been no vehicles or fast-travelling for example, under the excuse that all cars were DNA-matched to their owners. Vehicles would have been present, but your lack of ID meant they were only useful for throwing at enemies in physics-heavy combat.
Instead, movement across New Orleans would have called for stealth or speed as you hid your crude, visibly robotic enhancements. Jordan describes the stealth as similar to Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, where Nosferatu characters must move through shadows and sewers to hide their monstrous visage. Speedier tactics evoked Crackdown; lots of leaping between rooftops thanks to your augmentations.
"We failed. We were supposed to be the best of the best, but the best of the best had failed with [Thief: Deadly Shadows and Deus Ex: Invisible War]. Back to back failures. There's a reason the place closed and it was chiefly hubris. There are many people who will tell you that the publisher f***ed us but, no. No. The method failed. Making a smaller, more intimate Deus Ex was on nobodies mind. Including mine."
"For many years I was sad about my failure with Deus Ex 3. I was convinced I'd be the one - the one to finally slay the dragon Chris Crawford has been chasing all these years. I don't believe that now. And I don't miss it."
Ouch."For many years I was sad about my failure with Deus Ex 3. I was convinced I'd be the one - the one to finally slay the dragon Chris Crawford has been chasing all these years. I don't believe that now. And I don't miss it."
