The team focused on ”defining the ambition” of the game, not ”following a pattern.” Anfossi emphasised it was crucial to ”respect the initial invention.” Feedback was brutally biased.
The Eidos Montreal developer dug deep into cyberpunk research as well as fired up the past Deus Ex games. Despite its subtitle, Deus Ex: Human Revolution wasn’t setting out to be a ‘revolution’.
”It’s not about doing an action RPG. It’s about reviving Deus Ex. It’s a different thing. So you have to respect Deus Ex,” explained David Anfossi. ”Our challenge now is to turn it into a gamers’ franchise,” he added. They had to address the flaws of the series to help it reach a whole new level of audience around the globe.
”It was very hard to receive constructive feedback,” Anfossi said. ”It’s good to listen to gamers, but there is a time to do that correctly.” When the community learnt of a new Deus Ex in the works the feedback was dismissive or vicious.
”We spent two years of our lives creating Adam Jensen,” he continued, referring to the game’s protagonist. Levels throughout the game received numerous design overhauls during pre-production. ”The point here is that honestly… I don’t believe a person can reach perfect results the first time.”
Play testing with consumers was everything to the studio. ”Listen to gamers. At the end, they are the final consumer,” stated Anfossi. Just as vital is being transparent with your publisher. ”It’s about no bullshit, to make it simple.”
”You have to tell them what’s happening during development as a producer. If I’m not comfortable with a deadline, I have to be clear with the publisher. I have to fight for the team, to make sure they have time to produce what we want to produce… So no bullshit. Very important.” Deus Ex: Human Revolution has put Eidos Montreal squarely on the map.
”I’m very proud of the team. … I think we answered the mandate,” concluded David Anfossi. Eidos Montreal is now working fully on a new instalment in the Thief franchise, having now completed their Deus Ex revival to critical acclaim and high sales. Has Human Revolution filled you with confidence about Deus Ex’s future as a franchise?
