Deus Ex 3 - Inside DX3 @ Edge Online

Inside Deus Ex 3 is a preview with input from lead designer Jean-François Dugas that discusses some of the team's choices:

Setting the third game before the events of Deus Ex is, the developers say, a logical choice given how the various possible endings of the sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, seemed so absolute. Establishing a global consciousness or a totalitarian religious state doesn’t leave much in the way of wiggle-room. “Another thing was that we wanted to ground the game in an era the player would be more familiar with,” says Dugas.

“Invisible War was very sci-fi – maybe too much. We wanted to explore the era when mechanically augmented people first started to emerge.”