Deus Ex: Human Revolution Interview

IGN UK brings us a two-page Q&A with Deus Ex: Human Revolution art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête that’s intended to “soothe fears” and “massage expectations”, which I’d have to agree seems to do just that in more ways than one.

IGN: Well, this is what surprised me seeing Human Revolution at GamesCom. You guys are absolutely bringing Deus Ex back, right down to the grid inventory. And then there’s the new hacking minigame – this is complex stuff!

JJB: But playable. Our game actually used to be more complex.

IGN: And you’re doing this in the face of games like Bioshock stripping down System Shock’s structure, or Bioware removing the inventory from Mass Effect 2. Are you guys just crusaders?

JJB: I don’t think we’re crusaders. I think we’re fully conscious that the industry needs a game that sells well and that a wide range of people can play. And I think we’re also very conscious of what the fans of Deus Ex like and want, even though we’re making changes like the health system.

…

IGN: I keep thinking back to Bioware, and how with Dragon Age and Mass Effect they’re gradually stripping away the less intuitive elements.

JJB: Yeah… I’m not gonna tell you what I really think of them doing that. But there’s always a way to make something rather complicated work well. Our game director is a pragmatic, no-bullshit kind of guy and I’m really lucky to be working with him… one of his main skills is to ask what the reason is for something, and then make it usable and understandable.

And that’s what design is! Whether it’s game design, graphic design, industrial design, it’s the perfect marriage of complexity and usability. If you have a graphic interface that looks beautiful but nobody understands what it is or how to use it, or if an industrial designer makes a beautiful chair that hurts your back when you sit in it, that’s bad design. There’s always a way to make something work.