Deus Ex: Human Revolution Impressions

After the reveal and trailer on IGN, Eidos Montreal finally debuted Deus Ex: Human Revolution at the Game Developers Conference. This has given birth to a couple of new previews, starting with Gamasutra:

(So going back to the original, what is the art direction of DX1?)
It wasn’t really cohesive, he said. It had cyberpunk, but didn’t really have fully-realized aesthetics.

You’ve got to find your own voice. (Don’t expect anything original from an echo,) he said. (If you really pour your soul into what you’re creating, changes are if you’re successful and your team is behind you it can really turn into a work of art.)

So they went with two high-level visual values: illustration over simulation, and the idea that design distinctions create desire.

(We’re not trying to make it super photorealistic,) said Jacques-Belletete. (It’s more about making it credible, not like making it a simulation. Games that have realistic characters, you talk to them and they might stand in front of some low-fi poly) and the juxtaposition just doesn’t work. (Let’s try to illustrate the world instead of trying to simulate it,) he posed, (and make it more even through the world.)

And then Joystiq has an impressions piece as well:

During the Game Developers Conference, Eidos Montreal Art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletete revealed that Deus Ex 3 has been officially renamed Deus Ex: Human Revolution. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Square-Enix actually trademarked it last month. The title accurately reflects the game’s story, which takes place before the events of the original Deus Ex. According to Jacques-Belletete, the world in Human Revolution is on the cusp of a “transhuman revolution,” the beginning on mankind’s first real foray into cybernetics. As such, the Eidos Montreal team came up with a very unique visual style for the game, taking the common aesthetics of cyberpunk and blending them with those of the European Renaissance — think Shakespeare meets Blade Runner.