Page 3

FiringSquad: The generic ammunition and lack of reloading is an interesting choice. Care to elaborate why you chose not to have gun-specific ammunition and reloads, which have become so popular in many other games? How is the ammunition supposed to work in the game world?

Harvey:: We thought it was a very cool "nanotech" idea...the notion that guns of the future would be able to reconfigure inert matter into the desired caliber/shape. Deus Ex is all about self expression. Partially this is done through playstyle and weapon/tool choice. In Deus Ex (and some other action games), the player often favors a particular weapon throughout the game. However, they're also picking up the ammo for other weapons as they travel through the world. So, at the end of the game, the player realizes that they have tons and tons of ammo for all the weapons they don't use. In Deus Ex, some players would choose, say, a sniper rifle, use it throughout the game (conserving ammo and running desperately low). Then, at a certain point, players would realize, "Hey, I've got 99 shotgun shells!" We wanted to solve this problem. Nanotechnology worked well as a contextual justification.

With regard to reloading, there was a big internal debate. Some people like it a lot because it's a known game design weapon behavior...a tactical aspect of combat of which good players must stay aware. It also makes the weapons feel a little more realistic. Other people on the team just thought it was frustrating--to forget to reload and die as a result during combat. Also, some people liked the science fiction aspect of nanotech no-reload weapons.

These were not necessarily the Right Design Decisions, but they are, as you say, 'interesting.' We're comfortable experimenting...we're not so nervous about game design that we are dogmatic. We like taking some risks here and there too.

Project leader Harvey Smith

FiringSquad: What do you see as the major obstacle right now, when it comes to making a game? Processing power? Development time? Manpower? Inadequate development tools?

Harvey:: The production values of modern games, the complexity of technology and the size of the teams make game projects a nightmare to coordinate. It's very difficult to get everyone aligned with the core vision.


FiringSquad: The Omar (a cybernetic organization with a hive mind) play a significant, if tangential, role in the game. Is there a back story to them?

Harvey:: Yes. Cybernetics, though passe in science fiction right now, is still a great concept: How much of your humanity would you give away for 'improved' aspects of life? Bruce Sterling included a similar group in one of his short stories. The word Omar is Russian for lobster, I believe. The idea is that this technosect started out as a Russian black market tech cult, then spread. Through the game, the player can buy interesting black market weapons and biomods from the Omar.