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Editorial Deleted Scenes of Deus Ex at Eurogamer

J1M

Arcane
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
14,741
Many of the decisions that forced compromises and concessions in DX2 were made by Warren as studio boss. Examples: console as lead SKU, shared unproven technology between DX2 and Thief, insistence on real-time lighting. All of these things lead to a drastic reduction in level size which was one of DX's primary strengths.

You can't entirely blame Harvey for DX2's failure. Although some things like universal ammo and the UI were his fault if I remember correctly.

There was probably some unsung programmer or whatever on DX1 that worked on gameplay system interaction that was the catalyst for its greatness. Someone who created test levels that showed how you could combine different game elements.

Some that I still remember:
-If you want to save your lockpicks and nobody is around to hear it, you can open a locked door/container with a LAM and a bullet.
-You can place a TNT crate on a rolling cart and give it momentum by running as you push it. The cart will slide down the hall and you can detonate the TNT with a bullet.
-You can push said rolling cart while crouching as a form of mobile cover.
-You can arm a gas grenade, and get the attention of a number of guards, then run past your own grenade, arming it so it detonates a few seconds later as the guys chasing you are in its radius.
-LAMs in general. No idea why grenades and mines were two different items in DX2.
-Hacking/scramble grenades
-Minimal HUD allowed for secret rooms, etc to have switches you could find, but only if you looked for them.
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
mine climbing is the greatest unforeseen gameplay element i've seen yet. It's wonderfully crazy.
 

Major_Blackhart

Codexia Lord Sodom
Patron
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
18,406
Location
Jersey for now
Really, I think too many of Harvey's fuck ups show thru and detract from whatever he helped create in DX1.
Take a look at DX2 with regards to augs, all that shit. It was all Harvey Smith's ideas.
 

TwinkieGorilla

does a good job.
Patron
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
5,480
Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pathfinder: Wrath
Slightly off-topic...but is there any news of any upcoming post-DE:HR stuffs?
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
6,207
Location
The island of misfit mascots
Spector had a long streak as a designer with Origin, long before Deus Ex. He also worked on games that seem to quite clearly lead to Deus Ex as a logical continuation of ideas (UO, SS).

On the other hand, it's hard to see where Smith has done well outside of working with Spector. I'm not saying that he didn't have a good contribution to the game; I'm saying that there's a difference between a good designer and a good lead.

Not that I expect Spector to ever produce a good PC game again. The guy had been working in PC game design for a long time going into DE, he's moved on since then, and why not? If the market isn't suiting the kind of games you can make on PC, moving to mobiles etc is a good business move.
 

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