Deus Ex 3

What? When? Who? It’s Deus Ex 3!

Yes, you heard right!

Deus Ex 3 is in the concept-phase. Working on the third installment of this franchise is Eidos Montreal, a branch from Eidos that will concentrate on developing upcoming follow-up games. Deus Ex 3 is one of those games. There’s very little information about the game out yet, so this is mostly just an introduction for those who are not familiar with Deus Ex. I myself think it is one of the best games out there in it’s genre.

Deus Ex is very briefly a Sci-Fi Action First/Third Person Shooter with roleplay elements (Leveling up, customization etc.) blended into it, one of the first doing that mix as good as it did. If you want to compare gameplay think “Fallout 3″ set in a live city.

Here’s a quick incrementation of the plot in Deus Ex, the first game

Set in a dystopian world during the 2050s, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat terrorist forces, which have become increasingly prevalent in a world slipping ever further into chaos. As the plot unfolds, Denton becomes entangled in a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering fictional recreations of organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati, and the Hong Kong Triads throughout his journey.

I’m sure most computer-gamers enjoyed Deus Ex when it was released in 2000 for PC, though the second release in the series was quite disappointing in comparison. Let’s hope the development team have gathered feedback and will make a worthy sequel to the Deus Ex series this time.

Eidos have confirmed that they currently are bringing out ideas and concepts for the next installment in the series. They’re aiming for a development schedule from between 18-24 months.

Here’s a small list of currently known gameplay and design ideas, brought to the community by Rene

RPG
Deus Ex 3 is an RPG. An action/RPG like the first one (Deus Ex).

FIRST PERSON OR THIRD PERSON
The game is FIRST person, but automatically switches to third person for some contextual actions.
You, as the player, do not have the ability to swap between views…it’s a first person game but there are times where we want you to see Adam doing cool things.

AUTO HEALTH
Deus Ex 3 will use auto-health regeneration. This is a departure from the original but the industry as a whole has grown up and changed quite a bit in the last eight years and the designers didn’t want people exploring levels just for health packs or having to reload to an old save game because they messed up a scenario and couldn’t advance. I know some people actually liked the exact scenario I just described but this is a decision the team made.

COVER SYSTEM
The design has been updated to utilize a cover system should you choose to engage it. As the game is still 1st person, it’s only if you press a key when up against a wall that the view changes to a 3rd person perspective. As soon as you move away from the wall, the game returns to 1st person automatically.
So it’s just an option if you want to play that way. If you like the good ‘ol DX1 style, you don’t have to engage the cover system if you don’t want to, so you’ll see even less of the contextual 3rd person elements. You can just as easily walk up to that same wall in 1st person and never see the 3rd person cover. It’s just an option if you want to see the way Adam looks with augmentations you’ve chosen throughout the game.

STEALTH SYSTEM
Stealth in DX3 is based off line-of-sight and sound propagation. You can hide everywhere you see fit as long as you’re hidden by an obstacle and you don’t produce too much noise. Think MGS1&2. In the first DX an enemy could be three feet in front of you but as long as you were in darkness he would not detect you. I mean, graphically in DX3, you still have light and shadows but the shadows are no longer used as the primary stealth element; it’s line-of-sight.

STORY/PLOTLINE
The story and conspiracy elements are every bit a Deus Ex game. It’s awesome.
The writing team at EM is made up of many talented and experienced people. And did you notice the Sheldon reference…?

MULTIPATH/NON LINEAR
It’s still based around making decisions which have consequences, selecting from a multi-path, multi-solution approach in a non-linear space (think DX1 not Invisible War), and you’re able to customize your character (Adam) as well as your weapons. DX3 is an action/RPG just like the first game.
When it comes to freedom, having space to search and roam in, and to run the streets and sewers, don’t worry – we have that.
This was just a magazine first look. That stuff will come next time.

AUGMENTATION & TIMELINE
Adam has mechanical augmentations. Paul and JC were the first of the nano augmented. That’s why it makes sense as a Prequel…remember Anna and Gunther were mechanically augmented. And with mechanical augmentations, you will actually be able to see Adam look awesome whereas JC looked pretty normal.

LOADING/LEVEL CHANGE
Our tech supports streaming of data so the transition from indoors to outdoors will be seamless.

FETUS IN TRAILER
I don’t think it’s a character in the game. I think it has hidden meaning…

HACKING
Hacking is a major pillar of gameplay and is certainly not a mini game. (Sorry Bioshock)
Hacking in Deus Ex 3 is a significant gameplay option which you can modify with augmentations if that’s the way you develop your character.
Our hacking is well beyond a “mini game” and is really freaking cool.

CHOICE & CONSEQUENCE
The social aspect of the game is extremely important. Do not fear.
Choice and consequence is a major design influence. This is still a Deus Ex game.

GLOBAL/LOCAL/SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Don’t worry – we know that traveling the world is one of the core values for Deus Ex…
You have city hubs to explore in a non-linear fashion.
There are different routes and different ways to complete an objective.
The social element is huge. There are tonnes of characters to interact with and the story is massive with a global conspiracy.

CHARACTER/AUGMENTATION DEVELOPMENT
You do gain experience points throughout the game which you can use to either upgrade yourself or your weapons. It’s a choice.
There are many augmentations in the game so like the first one, you can choose how your character (Adam) develops.

Head over to Eidos Deus Ex forum for much more information from the team itself.

Here’s a very early trailer from the game, not really explaining anything

Here, have some concept art!

Outdoor environment

Indoor environment

Characters