Gameplay Journal Entry #8
The game of choice for the topic at hand is Deus Ex Mankind: Divided, where the human/machine relationship is put into question significantly. You are placed in a world where humanity has adapted to humans becoming more machine than human as a norm. This has cause a huge rift in society as you have pure humans who do not want to be a part of that lifestyle and vice versa. This is exploited as you have high power individuals who seek to push society into solely being one way or the other. Causing civil unrest and push back from those who feel caught in the middle and do not have their voice heard. The biggest issue however is this idea that freedom of choice is being taken away as society has become in huge favor of those with “augmentations”, which allow a divvy if upgrade unlike humanity has ever seen. People can live longer, physically do things that we could not imagine before, and control mechanical aspects of life to the point of exploitation. The underlying story of these “upgrades” are the fact you can be controlled by the developers of the technology as well as those who create software to hack into whatever upgrades you possess.
Deus Ex series does a wonderful job allowing the player to become part of thee world they are exploring and trying to maintain. You play as a solider who has to be part of missions that affect all of society, but these actions must be in secret in order to keep some idea of peace. From setting to gameplay Deus Ex lets you know this a dystopian world and it is always in an unstable place no matter what it is you do. The streets are grime, the difference in the distribution of wealth is significant as you see some buildings be huge and futuristic and others are dilapidated. Citizens NPCs on the streets look defeated and tired because they are almost like guinea pigs for those higher up trying to push their agendas. The immersion is quite surreal and it really adds to how well the game plays and how the theme of it plays out. As said in Play as Research: The Iterative Design Process by Eric Zimmerman, “It is, of course, important to understand the big picture as well: the larger conceptual, technical, and design questions that drive the project as a whole” (p. 3). Meaning as a developer you must take into account the world building you are conducting because it will allow you to successfully convey what it is you wanna show. Deus Ex did well to make sure that happens and it is a great experience for those who try it out.
