Game Analysis: Deus Ex: Invisible War, 2003, Developed by Ion Storm, Published by Eidos Interactive
Deus Ex: Invisible War was the second release in what would turn into the long-running Deus Ex series. These are video games intended to be played on either PC or game console. It is a single player game and considered an action RPG with elements of first person shooter and stealth games. Being an RPG, it contains a variety of formal objectives that present themselves as play unfolds. As the player interacts with the various non-player characters, s/he can receive different missions, some of which aren’t necessary for the plotline. Much of the game is based around exploring, but individual missions can bring up the possibility of Capture and Rescue or Escape. Missions can also sometimes involve solving puzzles in certain kinds of Alignment. Structurally, the game takes place in a 3D environment and navigating that environment is part of the challenge much of the time. The game is divided into different maps or levels. Each map is represents a different location in the world. They are rather limited in how far you can explore - which is one of the main criticisms of this game - but it does allow enough to have at least a fairly satisfying experience if one’s main enjoyment comes from exploring. Succeeding in this game doesn’t depend very much on chance, though the skill needed isn’t particularly high, as far as in comparison to most first person shooters. Players have the typical health stat that needs to be protected from being depleted, but careful choices in how situations are navigated can greatly reduce the amount of fighting needed to finish the game. The main thing that players have to worry about is what choices they make in different situations and how they manage their resources. This emphasis on managing resources and decision making is why I picked this game for my analysis, because our game, Propaganda Wars, is also about resource management and decision making. As the plot unfolds, the main objective revolves around doing what is necessary for the faction you choose to align with to succeed in its goals. The interactions the player has with the various NPCs turns out to be an important resource to manage throughout the game. Making different choices in conversations with NPCs can affect what missions the player receives, and also what factions may be friendly or hostile to the player as it reaches the end-game. Some of the consequences of interactions don’t make much difference in the actual plot line - it’s fun to rat out people to the NG Resonance AI hologram - but overall they have a big impact on the emotional investment the player can get in the play. There are four factions warring it out for control of the world and you have opportunities throughout to help or hurt any or all of them. The two main factions are the Illuminati and the Knights Templar. They represent two sides of a typical dichotomy found in today’s world. The Illuminati are the globalist, progressive, Western liberal side who would like to see the world peacefully integrated together in capitalist commerce. The Knights Templar represent the reactionary, regressive, arch-conservative luddite side that would like to see the world plunged back into a new dark age where presumably humanity can be back in touch with its natural self (ie; killing each other). The other two factions are the extremely augmented and mind-connected Omar, and the side led by JC Denton, the protagonist from the first game in the series who had since merged with an advanced AI. These two sides both represent a kind of transhumanism. The Omar are a barely-human hive mind collective of near androids whose main concerns seem to be adapting to survive in any imaginable environment and getting more people pulled into their collective. JC Denton represents a more transcendental state of connectedness that gives the impression of more individuality than the Omar. His utopia is described as being a sort of computer-enabled techno democracy. Denton’s chief apologist throughout the game is the character Tracer Tong, who himself comes off as rather anarchistic. The game has different endings depending which side the player chooses during the end game. The other more tangible resource that players much manage is augmentation upgrades. The player character is a human who has been heavily augmented with nanotechnology to greatly enhance physical abilities and gain superhuman powers. The player has several different augmentations available in each “slot” corresponding to different parts of the body. But, the player can only have one augmentation installed in each slot and therefore must choose which upgrades to have, if any. Augmentations come in two different varieties: normal and black market. The black market augmentations tend to be geared more towards offensive and lethal technologies, such as the gruesome-sounding “Health Leech,” which allows players to siphon health points from unconscious NPCs. Not only can a limited number of augmentations be installed, but a limited number of augmentation canisters, which allow the installation, are available throughout the game. The player has to carefully choose which augmentations are installed if a particular style of game play is desired. The player also has a variety of weapons which can also be upgraded in various ways, but I don’t think this is as interesting as the augmentations as far as uniqueness in game play is concerned. As well as teaching the value of resource management and decision making, Deus Ex: Invisible War raises important questions about society in the modern age. Especially important are the questions of privacy. The aforementioned NG Resonance AI hologram is a data collection (spying) program that lives in the guise of a virtual pop idol. People willingly tell NG many sensitive things just for the pleasure of the interaction. It strikes an even more powerful chord 14 years later in the time of social media and intrusive data collection run rampant. We hope to make a similar point with our Propaganda Wars game, and I think there are some meaningful parallels between the two. Propaganda Wars uses resource management and very careful decision making in an attempt to succeed, while also hopefully illustrating to people who may not be aware of the power of propaganda in their lives.
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The game board went through many iterations throughout the course of game's evolution. More spaces were added right away, and the spaces got numbered. As different rules were experimented with, the numbers changed, and at one point there was two sets of numbers on each space; one for the "value" of that space and a parenthetical one that denoted how much an opposing player needed to spend to "unlock" it. By the end, there was only one set of numbers to represent the unlock cost. Spaces for resource management and political influence cards changed several times as well. It several iterations to really nail down how these things would be used. I experimented with a few different fonts until settling on one that I liked and the group collectively thought was appropriate. I went for a Soviet/Constructivist sort of vibe. Stephanie provided a QR code with a link to the rules page, so I included this as part of the final design. I (and everyone else) really liked the idea of having the rules accessible in this way. I personally really enjoy integrating modern technology into a decidedly lo-tech craft object like this board. For the final board, I decided to print it on cloth. Brian had the idea that we could then bundle the other game pieces in it to give the impression of a package of contraband.
Here is a gallery showing the various designs of the board from beginning to end. I had decided early on that I would like to print the board in some way that reflected my artistic practice. Most of my work this semester has been in alternative photographic printing. Of the various methods I've been using, the obvious choice for this was cyanotype. This is one of the methods used for blueprints and lends itself well to high-contrast monochromatic designs like what I had in mind for this board. And one of the things that makes cyanotype so appealing is how well it prints on a variety of surfaces, including textiles. This is what gave me the idea to use cloth for the board. The only problem I could see with using cyanotype was that it has this very distinct deep Prussian blue color that doesn't always work for everything. But fortunately I had just recently started experimenting with toning cyanotypes to different colors. It is possible to turn the blue to various shades of brown, and even purples and blacks are possible. I mentioned this to the group and they said that toning it to some kind of brown would fit well with the visuals we want. This is the first time I have ever printed cyanotype on cloth. Here is a breakdown of the basic steps I went through to create this board. First we need the necessary chemicals in solution. The two parts are then added together to make the light sensitive emulsion for coating the material: Next, a piece of muslin cloth was cut to size and soaked thoroughly in the chemical, then hung to dry in a dark area. The chemical is only sensitive to UV, so you don't have to worry about working in complete darkness. A negative film was printed out from the Illustrator file. I needed to work from a negative image to get the end result I wanted. The board is about 18" by 18" While waiting for the cloth to dry, I made a small test print to be sure I had the correct exposure time for the image. Now it was time to expose and develop the final image. Exposure was made on the large blacklight exposure tables we have in the photo lab. Developing of cyanotypes is extremely simple: just wash in water until no more blue is coming off. Adding some hydrogen peroxide afterwards oxidizes the print quickly and gives it a more intense deep blue color, but this isn't necessary because this happens eventually anyway in the air. I used the peroxide because I wanted to make sure it was fully oxidized before toning later. The hard part is finished. Now the board hangs up to dry again. Turning the board brown is easy, but it's also highly experimental. The first step is the scariest; bleach out all the blue color using plain washing soda. It makes me nervous seeing all that work disappear into a pale yellow nothing. After bleaching, the image is then soaked in tannic acid. This is where it can get experimental, because there are many natural sources of tannic acid and they all have a different effect. I chose green tea because I think the tannins are a bit stronger than in black tea, especially when made extremely strong with boiling water. One of the keys to making excellent green tea is to be sure the water is well below boiling before adding it to the leaves. That's because the boiling water draws the tannins out much more readily and usually results in tea that is distastefully bitter. I'm taking advantage of that tendency here by intentionally using boiling water to make it as bitter as possible. The bleached image then goes in the nasty bitter tea. After thoroughly washing out the tea, we have a success! The image now has a pleasing warm shade of brown that looks exactly how I wanted. The board looks great, should prove to be quite durable (it is easy to wash if it gets dirty), and yes, the QR code works!
On November 13, we ran our first "formal" playtest during classtime with people from outside the group. Overall impressions were positive and we found using the Google polling surveys to be very useful in gathering data. Here are videos I shot of the playtest: I jumped on the opportunity to design the board for this game. Having worked with the same group on our previous game, I felt I hadn't participated much in the physical crafting of the thing. I didn't want to miss out on the fun of using my artistic skills for this project, so I felt the game board is a good element to take on as an artistic project.
After deciding against a Magic-like card game (which was a good decision), we settled on this idea of two opponents warring over "capturing" the majority of some number of pawns. The basic playing field would be an odd-numbered grid, somewhat like a football field, with a neutral starting point in the middle and a goal zone on either end. I started with a basic skeleton with the intention that we could mark it up as we playtested and the design can evolve through each iteration of the rules. I chose to use Adobe Illustrator to design the board. I decided to use Illustrator because, 1: I already had it installed as part of my Creative Cloud suite, so may as well use it, 2: It's readily available on the school's computers, so any file sharing is relatively easy, and 3: I had only limited experience using it and this gives me a good opportunity to learn it more. Despite having a degree in so-called "Digital Arts," I've never been formally taught how to use any graphic design software. The first iteration started like this: |
About MartinGrad student in the MFA program. Focused on experimental photography and how that collides with painting. Very concerned about the possible fact that reality can never be directly experienced. ArchivesCategories |