Deus Ex (2000) by Ion Storm Inc

A zeitgeist game is reflective of its corresponding social climate. Titles that gain zeitgeist status have in some way challenged the norms of their associated era and revolutionised a pre-established genre by bending traditional conventions. Thus, zeitgeist titles are also timeless. They transcend time, remaining popular and famous due to the societal standpoints they raise and the impact their innovation has on the wider gaming communities and markets. Sci-Fi cyberpunk FPS/RPG Deus Ex (2000) by Ion Storm Inc. is an example of one such title that has built upon its sociological, artistic and technical influences to create a game that resonates innovation through its unique application of emergent gameplay; driven by character interaction and choice. Through analysis of these three fundamental influences in relation to the unique emergent gameplay construction of Deus Ex and correspondingly by comparing the game with its peers gives insight into how this game achieved zeitgeist status.

Deus Ex was not the first game to challenge the norm by hybridising FPS/RPG genres. It was inspired by the gameplay of previous FPS/RPG 90’s games Ultima Underworld (1992) and System Shock (1994) by Looking Glass. (Spector, 2000). However, Spector also states he wanted to build upon the foundation laid by these games. He goes on to say his influence for the setting of the game came from his research into millennial conspiracies and his wife’s obsession with the X-Files. (2000).

The game world of Deus Ex acts as a basis for the innovative success of its emergent gameplay. Without a lively game world gameplay choices would feel uninspiring. (J. McKay, 2003. Pg.48). Each setting visited in game inculcates a consistent sense of dystopia influenced by the sociological fears surrounding the late 90’s. For instance the exploded Statue of Liberty seen in the setting of the first level plays on the contextual fear of terrorism. The fear of technology and uncontrolled scientific development associated with the atmosphere of the Y2K conspiracy in the 90’s is exaggerated in game by the use of powerful robotic enemy NPC’s. These sociological fears similarly influenced Irrational Games cyberpunk System Shock 2’s (1999) star-ship game world.

However differing from System Shock 2 artistic influences for the Deus Ex game world were derived from real world settings. Typically cities with universally recognisable features such as Hong Kong’s junk filled harbour and New York’s Liberty Island were used as core locations; altered to reflect the consistent dystopian atmosphere derived from sociological influences. Citizen NPCs roamed these lively, relatively open worlds; each with their own motives and individual thoughts and knowledge banks on the world around them. It always paid to talk to these people. News media could be picked up and read in game to discover more information about the world. (J. Mckay, 2003. Pg.49) Technically the game world was forcibly influenced by the bounds of the Unreal Engine. Warren Spector expresses that originally the Deus Ex game world was intended to let players explore larger expanses of environment; such as a complete replica of the White House. However due to hardware and software limitations of the time such a game world was unfeasible. (2000). Real world settings therefore had to be simplified and stylised to be consistent with both the technical requirements for the Unreal Engine and importantly the dystopian style derived from the game’s late 90’s social climate. This consistency in game world effectively sets the stage for player immersion.

Deus Ex is uniquely driven by character interactions and player choices and their subsequent cause and effects. (W. Spector, 2000). These are played out in the already established immersive game world. Therefore the nature of these interactions and choices is also consistent with the late 90’s sociologically influenced dystopia. After commercialisation of the Internet in 1995, (S. Harris, 1996), the seemingly unlimited bounds of technology raised ethical and moral issues. Society had divided opinions. This questioning of morals and ethics influenced Deus Ex’s to make the player assess the moral and ethical impacts of their decisions on the technologically rich world around them. The game world also watches the player, responding accordingly to their interactions with characters, so the ongoing consequences of decisions are a major aspect of Deus Ex’s narrative. Essentially violent decisions have major ramifications while non- violent, stealthy approaches are rewarding. (M. Sicart, 2009, pg.31). RPG Baulder’s Gate (1998) by BioWare utilises a similar system whereby the player is rewarded for exercising good moral choices.

Expanding upon the humanity of characters; artistically and technically Deus Ex was also influenced by Valve’s action FPS Half-Life (1998). (W. Spector, 2000). In both games, but more so in Deus Ex, there are a wide range of models for the same character class, particularly in the Civilians. This increased the believability of the game; ensuring consistency which is required for immersion in the game and narrative. The characters of Deus Ex also consistently reflect the dystopian theme of the game through their technologically augmented body parts and dialogue options. Technically, emphasis was also placed on fleshing out characters’ AI to have them respond in believable ways to situations depending on their class. For instance a civilian character would attempt to flee from an attack where they have sustained minor injuries, but a soldier would stay on and fight with minor injuries. (K. Salen. E. Zimmerman, 2004, p.437-440)

Emergent gameplay uniquely occurred in Deus Ex as a result of the vast freedom of choice the player had. Deus Ex exhibited the same RPG elements as System Shock 2; choice over weapons, skill upgrades and document collection and viewing. However what gave the Deus Ex player extra freedom of choice over System Shock 2 was in its use of a predefined FPS character. Effectively acting as a clean slate, the player could choose how their character would evolve throughout the game. (J. McKay, 2003 Pg.49). With this freedom the community found ways to exploit the game and create their own emergent gameplay functions which broke game immersion. For instance players surprised developers when they discovered that the proximity mines could be used as small ledges to climb up walls and escape predefined boundaries. (H. Smith, 2001).

Deus Ex is a clear example of a zeitgeist game. It manages to effectively reflect the spirit of the 90’s decade, inculcating coherent contextual references to its sociological, artistic and technical influences. As a title Deus Ex stands out from its peers due to the way it culminated a timeless experience that had a powerful sense of humanity. This was deeply rooted within the game world dystopia whereby the player was exercised in their ability to assess the morality and consequences of their choices. As a result of the vast freedom of choice the game community created their own emergent gameplay functions that further bent genre lines towards aspects of sandbox titles and their hybrids such as GTA 3.

Wordcount: 1025 Reference List:

Games

BioWare. (1998). Baulder’s Gate. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Black Isle Studios, Interplay Entertainment.

Ion Storm Inc. (2000). Deus Ex. Dallas, Texas, United States: Eidos Interactive.

Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios. (1999). System Shock 2. Quincy, Massachusetts, United States: Electronic Arts

Looking Glass Studios. Fmr. Blue Sky Productions (1992). Ultima Underworld. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: Origin Systems

Looking Glass Studios. (1994). System Shock. Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States: Origin Systems

Valve. (1998). Half-Life. Bellevue, Washington, United States: Sierra Entertainment

Rockstar North. Fmr. DMA Design (2001). Grand Theft Auto 3. Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom: Rockstar Games.

Sources:

Harris, S. (1996). Retiring the nsfnet backbone service: chronicling the end of an era. Retrieved from http://www.merit.edu/networkresearch/projecthistory/nsfnet/nsfnet_article.php

McKay, J.T. (2003). The evolution of first person shooters. (Honors thesis). Retrieved from http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/191592/1/M363_2003McKayJoseph.pdf

Smith, H. (2001). The future of game design: moving beyond deus ex and other dated paradigms [Presentation] Montreal. Retrieved from http://www.itu.dk/stud/speciale/worlddomination/files/pelle/The%20Future%20of%20Ga me%20Design.doc

Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: game design fundamentals massachusetts, United States: MIT Press

Sicart, M. (2009). The ethics of computer games. Massachusetts, United States: MIT Press

Spector, W (2000) . Postmoretm: ion storm’s deus ex. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131523/postmortem_ion_storms_deus_ex.php?p age=1