* ------------------------------------------------------------------- * @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @@! @@@ @@! @@! @@@ !@@ @@! @@! !@@ !@! @!@ !@! !@! @!@ !@! !@! !@! @!! @!@ !@! @!!!:! @!@ !@! !!@@!! @!!!:! !@@!@! !@! !!! !!!!!: !@! !!! !!@!!! !!!!!: @!!! !!: !!! !!: !!: !!! !:! !!: !: :!! :!: !:! :!: :!: !:! !:! :!: :!: !:! :::: :: :: :::: ::::: :: :::: :: :: :::: :: ::: :: : : : :: :: : : : :: : : : :: :: : :: Author: lenin_party * ------------------------------------------------------------------- * N O T I C E : ------------------ These reviews are intended to be a bit of a break from the contemporary pieces you see shared on social media. If you're feeling fatigued by companies with big shiny logos trying to suck you in with clever ambiguous titles and post-gamergate cultural prods to goad you into reading their shallow reviews and arguing in their comments sections, this might be for you. The intent of this site is not to be a jaded criticism of game reviewers themselves - we're sympathetic to their overworked, underpaid professional existences - but like everything under capitalism over time, video game reviews have become hyper-commodified; empty husks resembling what used to be a more thoughtful, intelligent medium to discuss, dissect and analyse what really makes a game. ======================================================================= 0. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ======================================================================= 1. History 2. Story \_____ the actual 3. Gameplay / 'game review' 4. Influence ======================================================================= 1. H I S T O R Y ======================================================================= Deus Ex - 23 years old at the time of writing - is a milestone of game design. For gamers of a certain age, it was released at a time of peak nostalgia - the PS2 was only just released, PC games still came in oversized boxes with novel-sized manuals, and it felt like each passing year developers somehow managed to blow away limitations of what could be achieved through the video game medium - in 1997 we had Blood, MDK and Fallout, in 1998 we had Unreal, Thief and Starcraft, in 1999 we had Unreal Tournament, Planescape Torment and System Shock 2, and in 2000, among other stellar leaps forward like Metal Gear Solid and Thief 2 - we got Deus Ex. Ion Storm, a company technically lasting from 96-05, was an especially hilarious example of the dot-com-bubble video game developers of the time. Effectively working as two halves, the first seemingly only consisting of founder John Romero's personal projects, ego, excess, questionable advertising choices and multi-million dollar office facility builds - but the second - a more subdued (and successful) studio headed by Warren Spector. 'Troubleshooter' - the idea that would initially go on to be Deus Ex - was initially conceived by Spector in 1994. Unsuccessfully pitched to Origin, and met with funding challenges at Looking Glass, it remained as an idea. Business teams weren't interested in the high risk nature of the basic gameplay loop - too many unknown technological requirements by allowing multiple methods of achieving goals, tracking decisions, and accounting for a multitude of outcomes - let alone the marketing infeasibility of a game that couldn't quite be pinned down to a specific genre. This changed when Romero approached Spector about heading his own branch of the ill-fated Ion Storm, giving him the keys to the kingdom to make his dream game. Staggeringly - especially compared to the size of modern dev teams - the Spector-led Ion Storm Austin developed Deus Ex in 34 months with a team of ~20 people. The official preproduction began in August 1997, in which a team of 6 focused solely on the setting, story and thematic elements - for an entire 6 month period prior to even beginning development. Despite the critical, financial and cultural success the game would go on to be, the development itself was not without challenges. The team was split in two, dubbed the "immersive simulation group" led by Harvey Smith (System Shock) and the "traditional roleplaying group" led by Robert White (Ultima) in lieu of a single creative designer. The structural schism that seemed like a positive influence in the beginning of the project, combined with the "seductive traps" of limitless budget, marketing, creative freedom and zero time restraints provided by Romero in his initial offer - were detrimental to the process as a whole. Technical challenges and scope-creep plagued the development until a specific milestone in May 1999. Iterative proto-missions were used to uncover blindspots during development prior to this, but after a playable demo (in which they forgot to include any enemy AI) was given to Gabe Newell, his feedback comments led Spector to nickname it the "Wow, these missions suck" Milestone - prompting a huge cutdown of their design manual from 500, to 270, pages - and cut hugely ambitious locale ideas like a to-scale map of downtown Austin, satellite-photo-recreated Area 51, the Moon and the White House from scope to focus on the core game. Despite the interpersonal, technical, and conceptual challenges - Deus Ex went on to win 30 'best of' awards in 2001, dispelled any long shadows of failure cast by their sister studio's Daikatana, sold a million copies by 2009, and for I assume a lot of you reading like myself, a cultural event that kicked off a love for for not only what video games are, but what they could be. ======================================================================= 2. S T O R Y ======================================================================= ======================================================================= 3. G A M E P L A Y ======================================================================= ======================================================================= 4. I N F L U E N C E =======================================================================