Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Interviews @ RPS, CVG

Dhruin

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Jim Rossignol from Rock, Paper, Shotgun has quizzed Deus Ex: HR Lead Designer Jean-François Dugas about the game. Here's an except on using the original game - not Invisible War - as template, because the RPG elements were stronger:
RPS: Something that comes up when we talk about Deus Ex is that if Invisible War hadn’t had the Deus Ex name attached, it might not have been judged so harshly. But it was also the point at which that kind of game was being attempted for consoles, which makes it interesting, and possibly relevant to you?
Dugas: Before we really started designed Deus Ex: Human Revolution we went back to the first two games and played them again. Even though the second one hadn’t been so well received, it was important to go back and see what they had done. We also had to go back to the original game, because you might not have played a game like that for years and you end up with souvenir memories of everything. Playing it again now enables you to step back and look at what is strong and what is not as strong. For me it was essential to go back to those games and try to understand what were the pillars of the franchise, what were the core values. We had to make sure that we designed within the confine of those values. It doesn’t mean that it’s the same as DX1 or DX2, but the same ideals and values are portrayed in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. That said, our game is based more on Deus Ex 1 because the more RPG aspect is stronger. The way things are used, the feature list, that is stronger. But overall it was about understanding the values across both games. We wanted to revive it for a third game, understanding the franchise through both earlier games was the best way to do that.
...and from CVG's conversation, on the console influence:
Does that mean hardcore PC gamers can call it 'consolified'?

Absolutely not. I think PC is a great platform, but I think consoles are a great platform, too. Back in the '90s, games on the two platforms were very different, but I think these days it's all about bringing things together - movies, TV, music - they're all converging in the same places for everyone to access. I see it as convergence, and it's the same for games.

We didn't think, 'Oh, it's coming to console; it has to be easy'. We can have a very deep experience, but it's important that if you want to just jump in to it, you can jump in to it. It's not about removing complexity or cutting possibilities: it's about the way the complexity is introduced.
More information.
 
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It's not about removing complexity or cutting possibilities: it's about the way the complexity is introduced.

I have a bad feeling when I read this, because it's to me an absolutely wishy-washy kind of argument. "It's about the way complexity is introduced" says in my opinion absolutely *nothing* about the complexity itself.

You can introduce "complexity" like climbing a steep ladder, or a low ladder. You can wriggle complexity so that it is hardly noticed (because it's running in the background) or so that the player is confronted with it (example : Micro-Management. It can be run in the background with not bothering the player at all, or it can be "introduced" via a screen with he player having to decide on all the tiny bits).
 
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Here's a test of my ability to predict shit in this industry:

I think this game will surprise the naysayers. Worthy of the original? Hmm, yeah, I actually think so.

Deus Ex: Human Rvolution will be a great game.

There, I said it.

Let's see if it comes back to haunt me ;)
 
Well, me, I'm always undecided - until I play it. I only regard REAL understandings to evolve through actual PLAYING.

Until then, I accumulate knowledge about a game, which included others' impressions and rumors, too, evaluating them within the given context, but when I play a game, I try to be open-minded as possible.

But this also implies that I don't buy everything. ;)
 
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I'm keeping an eye on this. Hopefully, it won't have a dreadful PC port.
 
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Having a tutorial section in the game rather than a 50 page manual is a better way to introduce complexity as far as I concern. But I believe that what makes complexity fun is that you have to let the player be creative which means giving him/her more tools than he or she actually need. Most of the time the player is given a new tool per level with the obvious puzzle that need the latest tool to solve, which is kinda like a tutorial, but with that sort of design you never really have the time to use your palette for your own painting. The whole game becomes an introduction/tutorial.
 
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Here's a test of my ability to predict shit in this industry:

I think this game will surprise the naysayers. Worthy of the original? Hmm, yeah, I actually think so.

Deus Ex: Human Rvolution will be a great game.

There, I said it.

Let's see if it comes back to haunt me ;)

From what I've read and seen, I agree. Of course the early demos of Oblivion were misleadingly promising... We'll see...
 
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The game *does* look good, no doubt. From what I've seen at the Games Com.
 
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