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Deus Ex devs say they weren't trying to make a statement when they made one of the most political games of all time (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 17 hours ago by Tychoxii@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
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You kids don't remember, but back then there was no politics in vidja gams.

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[-] Awoo@hexbear.net 68 points 14 hours ago

"I was in my mid-20s, so I definitely wasn't thinking on that level," said Deus Ex designer (and later Dishonored lead technical designer) Ricardo Bare. Instead, he was just excited to be working on Deus Ex: "It was more like 'I really like shooters, I really like RPGs, Oh my God, somebody's combining these and I get to work on one!'"

So they were copying the cooooool scifi themeeees that they had seen which were written by people who were being political, unintentionally resulting in their game being political because it was just copying all the other scifi of the period.

I can believe that.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

They also unintentionally predicted 9/11.

The Liberty Island skybox is notably missing the towers... they just took the skybox texture, halved it and mirrored it, to save space.

I think there's a single text blurb in a terminal somewhere in the game that mentions the towers were destroyed by terrorists in the early 21st century... but even that is not really that much of s broad stretch, the towers had been carbombed in 93, and the whole game of course very heavily focuses on terrorism and anti terrorism as a real world and game world framing device.

[-] VibeCoder@hexbear.net 38 points 14 hours ago

Same thing the Duffer Brothers did with 80’s films to recreate red scare propaganda in Stranger Things

[-] hexaglycogen@hexbear.net 39 points 14 hours ago

go in expecting a deconstruction of red scare propaganda from a modern lens

leave with more anticommunist slop

[-] nasezero@hexbear.net 29 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

They didn't get nearly enough shit for filming a "gulag" in a literal former Nazi prison camp. And then they tried renting it out as a Stranger Things-themed Airbnb. Fucking ghouls.

It's no surprise that the kid who plays Will grew up into a gross zionist. I'm extremely sus of that whole production and everyone involved.

Edit: How could I forget this asshole (cw: extremely cringe zionist). Someone needs to check what they're putting in the water on this show's set hitler-detector

[-] VibeCoder@hexbear.net 27 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

There’s something approaching a comical parody when the Soviet spy becomes pro capitalism because he went to a carnival

[-] newacctidk@hexbear.net 17 points 13 hours ago

Yeah I think this is the truth. I am sure they thought about politics when making it, but not with a real agenda. Just gather every conspiracy without much care, put em in there to some extent and call it a day. Politics are in the game, but there is not a singular political vision they are following. Honestly same could be said about GTA in contrast to RDR. One has political commentary thrown in haphazardly almost as set dressing with no consistent point, the other has a clear driven ideology

[-] Awoo@hexbear.net 12 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

I agree except San Andreas has a very clear and driven ideology. The game is marxist.

[-] BurgerPunk@hexbear.net 5 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

I should really replay San Andreas soon thinkin-lenin

[-] Awoo@hexbear.net 4 points 12 hours ago

This video is seriously underrated: https://youtu.be/C196sPKVYv4

[-] BurgerPunk@hexbear.net 3 points 11 hours ago

That was great stalin-approval

[-] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 12 hours ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[-] Frivolous_Beatnik@hexbear.net 9 points 13 hours ago

Who could ever be...political...in their mid-20s??

[-] CarmineCatboy2@hexbear.net 16 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

either the writer was sneaking in some high grade sci fi discourse while the director and designer were focused on systems interaction, emergent gameplay and such

or the team as a whole were just tapping into the american zeitgeist without realizing they were creating the blueprint for alex jones' career

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 hours ago

Kind of both, imo.

[-] adultswim_antifa@hexbear.net 30 points 15 hours ago

It was not political because there weren't any black characters. gamer

[-] segfault11@hexbear.net 20 points 14 hours ago

it's funny you mentioned that because I didn't realize until I looked it up just now but the character with the most overtly political dialogue is black

[-] Inui@hexbear.net 3 points 8 hours ago

The NSF guy you're supposed to interrogate in the first level is also black.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 11 hours ago

Also: Smuggler exists, and is cool, and has a fucking secret underground lair, in Hell's Kitchen.

[-] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 2 points 14 hours ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[-] axont@hexbear.net 18 points 14 hours ago

JC Denton can be black if you want though, but he's a white guy in the sequel

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago

My head canon is that the albino version of JC (and thus also Paul, your 'brother') is potentially more true to the... experimental nature of JC's origin... but that is just my head canon.

Whoops, first batch had too many expressed recessive genes, something like that.

It also works as an 'explanation' as to why the entire game manages to take place at night: JC would otherwise get sunburned and/or need a melanin/UV protection augmentation, hahaha!

[-] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 17 points 15 hours ago

Homeless person at the beginning that tells you a bit about the level layout iirc.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 hours ago

If you're talking about Harely Filben, he's pretty white.

You may be misremebering or mixing him up with Leo Gold, the NSF 'officer' you either capture or kill at the top of the Statue, who is definitely black, and basically gives JC an unironically woke, mini lecture as to how much of a corporate oligarchy the US is.

[-] insurgentrat@hexbear.net 3 points 2 hours ago

It's been like 20 years, defs had my wires crossed.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 hours ago

no problem haha, i am the person who actually lives the meme and reinstalls it (or goes back to my current slow playthrough) every time someone mentions it, lol

[-] 0__0@hexbear.net 36 points 16 hours ago

Considering the NSF soldiers yell "Fascist!" when they see you, I'd wager that at least someone was thinking about politics.

[-] axont@hexbear.net 17 points 14 hours ago

Deus Ex isn't a political game. It's a game about stick with the prod. Prod with the prod.

[-] SeitanicMechanic@hexbear.net 6 points 13 hours ago

Just in case, though, we're police.

[-] HiImThomasPynchon@hexbear.net 25 points 16 hours ago

Real Conspiracies, says so right there on the box.

[-] Hatandwatch@hexbear.net 14 points 15 hours ago

And to you conspiracies are...political?

[-] onwardknave@lemmy.ml 13 points 15 hours ago

Lucius DeBeers says he's cold.

this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
101 points (100.0% liked)

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