Deus Ex Developer Emails

[chris the cynic]

Once upon a time I wrote to some of the Deus Ex devs (and by some of I mean every one whose email I found.) They all wrote back, some simply said they couldn't help, Chris Todd and Steve Powers could.

First my computer fried, then much later, the PDX forums were, well the people who run them assure us they were upgraded, but when I was distracted and came back to typing this I found that I had written "destroyed" which seems somewhat more accurate. Point being, the archives are no more.

At some point I think Jonas suggested putting the emails on the computer in the fan fic shop. Or maybe I suggested it to him. Someone suggested it. This was clearly before the PDX forums were "upgraded" because it looks like I gathered together the parts of the emails that I had posted to the forums for that purpose.

Of the first Chris Todd email all that remains is:
I _think_ the White House mission had something to do with a clone of the President.
And
Likewise I know that the genetically engineered Grays were supposed to have a larger role in the original plot, but were more or less bumped to the sequel.

More of the second one remains. In fact, I think it is pretty much everything but quotations of questions I had asked and, presumably, hello and goodbye.

RosyCross is, in fact, a reference to the Rosicrucians, who almost always seem to find themselves somehow entangled with the Knights Templar and even Opus Dei in the various conspiracy theories. In this case, though, I didn't have a deep (or even shallow) motivation for using that as the Oracle's address, other than the fact that it fit in with the general atmosphere of the game. On the other hand, I did have a backstory for the Oracle that never really made it into the game – more explanation below.

To understand the Oracle, you need to understand that it's also something of an inside joke: in the early days of the Internet, when it was mostly nothing but Usenet postings, there was something called "the Usenet Oracle." You'd post a question, and if the Usenet Oracle deigned, you'd get an answer -- usually something humorous -- after which the Oracle would demand payment in some form. "You owe the Oracle an apple a day," or "You owe the Oracle eternal happiness."

So, I decided -- in the best William Gibson tradition -- that in the universe of DX, the Internet (or whatever its future equivalent is) had reached a critical mass of information that resulted in one or more artificial intelligences being spontaneously generated. Not wishing to draw attention to themselves, they masquerade as real people and only communicate electronically as they go about their subtle and unknowable business. The Oracle is one of these, but it's taken an interest in humanity, so it acts as an information broker in exchange for odd favors or items that help it understand people. Of course, essentially being an alien, the things it requests and what it considers a "good trade" are a little different from what actual human beings might desire.

This was something purely of my own creation and was never really integrated with the rest of the game -- though it doesn't necessarily contradict anything in the game either -- but I thought it would be a fun little thing for people to wonder about it. Unfortunately, since I haven't really been involved in DX2, it's unlikely the Oracle will be making a return.

Well, it's been so long, I'm not sure there's much else I can think of...the only thing that occurs to me is my tribute to "System Shock 2" (one of the best RPG/action games ever made). I had three characters who you never actually meet, but only read about in data cubes and e-mails: an older, grizzled vet, and a younger couple who are in love. Originally working for MJ12 as security, they escape the destruction of the airfield at the beginning of the game and realize that they're former employers probably wouldn't be happy to see them, so they go on the run.

And, of course, wherever JC goes, they just happen to be in the same city, trying to buy passports or get out of the country. You can follow their story all the way to Paris, where I was going to have them tragically killed (there's a news item about a security bot going crazy and gunning down a bunch of folks at a cafe that's a remnant of that idea), but in the end I couldn't bring myself to do it. Of course, I couldn't figure out how to end their story, either, and since it was near the end of the development cycle...they just kind of vanish in Paris. One assumes they're probably sunning themselves in Tuscany somewhere under new identities.

-
--
-

Steve Powers wrote:

Hi Chris.

Sorry for the late reply, but I just returned from a lengthy break I took after DX2 got out the door.

It is true that the original scope of DX was MUCH larger, and a great deal of it was removed during development, but very little of it would make sense in relation to what the final game turned out to be. After things like the Russo-Mexican battle in downtown Austin, the Chinese moon base and the White House were cut, the story was amended to work without them and then continued to evolve as a smaller entity. The result is that many of the cut elements make little or no sense related to the context of the final game.

A full-scale battle with many combatants in a rubble-strewn street was impossible to do in our technology, so the scene from Texas was cut. The thing I regret most about that was the loss of two NPCs. They were a buddy duo named Tillson and "The Ghoul", a pair of underground fighters who did some profiteering on the side. Sort of like Jay and Silent Bob, I guess.

Another character I hated to see cut was Jerry Wildman. A NASA astronaut who was stranded in orbit when the space program fell apart. Years of living alone on a derelict station in zero G made him a unique character, and JC would have a chance to recruit him to help infiltrate a second space station that was to be the "Titanic" of space, a massive luxury station where the most elite could live out of international law's reach. Jerry Wildman had been in orbit on a tub leaking air and falling apart while MJ12 constructed this super station just out of his reach, ignoring him all the while. Needless to say he was bitter.

Much of the lower areas of Area 51 were actually constructed as a moon base, but when the moon was cut the maps were repurposed as you see them in the final game.

The White House was an easy environment to build, but in the end there was very little to do there other than walk around, and it was decidedly un-fun to play. With that we learned that many realistic and recognizable locations don't really make for fun gameplay.

Tracer Tong originally hid his lab in the guts of an abandoned cargo freighter in Kowloon bay, and if you look at his underground lab now it still largely conforms to the curved hull of the ship it was once in. To reach him the player had to move along a floating sampan island crewed by guards trying to hold you at bay. There was also a scene where MJ12 helicopters mounted a rocket attack on his ship when you tried to leave.

Early in development Gary Savage and Howard Strong were both leaders of cultish communities in the desert that engineered deadly fighting robots and sent them against each other in an arena. The player was able to take part in designing a bot and sending it to fight.

There is so much that hit the cutting room floor it is staggering. I'm afraid Eidos would frown on me for handing out early design documents (even if I knew where they were anymore) and the bulk of the things cut were done so long ago (1997) that much of it is fading from memory.

That may be his entire email for all I know. It still has "Hi Chris," so it seems complete.

-
--
-

I thought I already reposted this, but Google tells me it is nowhere on the internet, and the local search function tells me Jerry Wildman has never been mentioned here. So anyway, those are the dev emails I have. I figure they might interest you guys.

[JizzyJeff]

Thanks, I nearly crapped myself with joy when I got to read the Deus Ex bible, so any extra tidbits are welcomed.

[Jonas]

Thanks for reposting

But no, looking at Tong's base as it shipped with the game, I really can't tell it used to be in a ship.

[justanotherfan]

I thought I had read that bit about "I had decided to kill them off, but maybe they escaped to Tuscany" before. Otherwise it seems like all new stuff to me.

Tong's lab did feel weird to me. I never really noticed the odd layout, but I seem to remember the rooms having oddly metal textures. Since I reformatted from Linux Mint, I don't have DX installed to check, but ISTR the floor in the shooting range and storage area being metal.

Thanks for posting that. Strange, how the internet can remember the color of my socks in the 90's, but it forgets Jerry Wildman (there's only one Google result, and it's Chris in 2007).

[chris the cynic]

If it weren't for that paragraph this post might not have happened, as I said I thought I'd already reposted those. It was when I was asked about that that I realized I had not.

nexus found concept art:
http://jmd3.typepad.com/photos/deus_ex/dx_lg_03.jpg

[justanotherfan]

Lol, that's hilarious. Biker Astronaut. The earring pushes it way over the top.

The name is an annoying aptronym, but I'd definitely be unhappy if I was writing/designing for that character and he was cut. Lot of freedom, and he can be both scary and endearing, a unique character.

[bobby 55]

Hey thanks Chris. Imagine if all the cut stuff had made it into the game. Deus Ex's size might have been 2 to 2.5 gig, and not because of the graphics, but all game.

[gamer0004]

More interesting concept art at that site as well: http://jmd3.typepad.com/photos/deus_ex/dx_lg_01.html and on. Was there ever any talk about a female JC

[bobby 55]

More interesting concept art at that site as well: http://jmd3.typepad.com/photos/deus_ex/dx_lg_01.html and on. Was there ever any talk about a female JC

Hehehe, they would have to give her an appropriately long, (and fashionable), black coat.

[Jonas]

Yes, that's why they chose the name JC - it's gender neutral. But I didn't realise she was supposed to look like Lara Croft

[AgentSmithereens]

Nicolai Gusarov looks like a laugh.

Interesting read; cheers for posting Chris.

[chris the cynic]

Also worth noting that it wouldn't be JCDentonMale if they had always intended for JC Denton to be male all the time.

[justanotherfan]

I'm glad Oscar wasn't included. Leo in DX2 fell flat entirely for me.

JCDentonFemale looks slightly more everyday than Laura Croft, but the proportions are similarly unreal. I can see why she was dropped. That concept is a little too shallow and standard for DX.

Nikolai could have been good. Imagine Jaime's wisecracking surfer mechanic, "I've been teaching him some English. He's not always all there, but he's some kind of mechanical savant. Gunther can bend his legs behind his neck now."

Looking at DX concept art with a stronger background in movies, I'm really glad Gunther didn't look like Roy Batty.

[Hassat Hunter]

But no, looking at Tong's base as it shipped with the game, I really can't tell it used to be in a ship.

You couldn't? Pretty much what I though, with the steering wheels, the oddly shaped kitchen and living rooms.

Didn't knew it was supposed to be a ship originally, but definitely seemed ship-build shaped for me.

[Jonas]

But the room don't really conform to a hull shape and individually they're all pretty much as boxy as most other levels in the game.