Deus Ex 3 Interview

1UP interviewed Eidos head Stephane D'Astous about the recently unveiled Deus Ex sequel.
1UP: Going back to Warren Spector for a minute, then, if you don't mind -- obviously, as you said, Spector was extremely important to the development of the original game and he also oversaw some aspects of Invisible War. As recently as a year ago he was quoted as saying that he'd love to return to the franchise at some point. He's got his own studio now (Junction Point Studios) and is doing his own thing, but have you been in touch with him at all or do you expect to be? Even just as far as going to him for advice?

D'Astous: What I can say is that we spoke to Warren -- several people from Eidos did. Very often in life, it's a question of timing. As you mentioned, he has his own studio now that was pretty much bought up by Disney, and he's also working on personal projects. There was a lot of interest on both sides, but at the end of the day it's a question of timing. That's really all I can say.

1UP: Deus Ex has a sizable fan base, and you pointed to the forum reactions toward this announcement as proof of that. But many critics and gamers were left disappointed with Invisible War. What strengths and weaknesses from the previous games are you trying to emulate or maybe overcome with the new title?

D'Astous: Without going into specifics, what we've done the past several months with both games is read a lot of archives about how it was perceived. There's obvious features that we definitely want to continue. I think the dialogue, choice versus consequences, the depth and richness of the game is something that we will certainly conserve. There are other more specific features that we want to keep.

Everyone knows what worked well on the first one and what the second one tried, but now we're five years later, even seven years later from the first Deus Ex. I think we have the possibility to have a fresh look. I think the franchise is at a turning point in its life where new blood will be good, but also respect for the history of that great franchise. With the new technology available now, we really want to give a second wind to this franchise. Games don't last forever. Deus Ex came out in 2000, seven years ago. If we wait any longer, I don't think that's a good thing, but we don't want to rush production either. That's why we're working on a schedule that we're trying to respect as much as possible, but definitely the game will not be published until it has obtained a certain level of quality according to us.
Spotted on Blue's News.