Moments later, Darrow broadcasts a modified signal that throws any augmented person with the new biochip into a murderous frenzy. Jensen evacuates the scientists and commandeers an orbital flight module to reach Panchaea. He confronts Darrow, who reveals that he wants humanity to abandon augmentation technology, believing it will destroy human identity. Jensen sets out to disable Panchaea's Hyron Project supercomputer and end the broadcast; on the way, he encounters Taggart and Sarif, who each urge him to side with them and further their agendas. At the heart of Panchaea, Jensen confronts Zhao Yun Ru, who tries to hijack the signal, and then Eliza, who offers Jensen four choices. Jensen can either broadcast the truth and distance humanity from augmentations; rig the broadcast, so it blames Humanity Front and allows the development of augmentation technology; send out a report to benefit the Illuminati; or destroy Panchea, leaving no one to "spin the story". Jensen's final narration varies depending on his choice and approach throughout the game.
Deus EX Human Revolution Game
For combat, multiple references were used. These included Rainbow Six: Vegas for the cover system and tactical combat; F.E.A.R. for the design of AI; BioShock for the interlinking of weapon and obstacle types; the Call of Duty series for the regenerating health system; and Resident Evil 4 for multiple aspects including the inventory system, game economy and contextual actions.[18] Regenerating health ended up divisive among the fanbase during the game's run-up to release, despite being seen as a necessary inclusion in the modern gaming market.[27] Combat was intended to be easy to understand and visceral, with enemy types ranging from normal humans to augmented humans to robots, all mixed and matched for different combat situations. For stealth gameplay, the team used Metal Gear Solid as a reference for the AI and alert systems and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for the general organic feel of stealth. They had similar precepts to combat, wanting to make this style's rules and rewards clear to players.[18] Interactive hacking was one of the earliest things the team had decided upon, alongside not including quick time events.[27] The Hacking mechanics were inspired by the tabletop role-playing game Shadowrun. They were designed to invoke tension and require a survey of the surroundings and the security system while simultaneously providing rewards. Social interactions followed similar patterns, becoming an extension of the general gameplay with a similar risk-reward system.[18]
The script of Human Revolution was written by Mary DeMarle, the narrative director and main writer.[29] While she acted as chief writer, DeMarle also worked with many others throughout development so that the story could be conveyed through environments and dialogue, along with handling how player choices influenced its progression.[30] Sheldon Pacotti, the main writer for the first two Deus Ex games, was a story consultant during early development and was contacted regularly through production to ensure that the storyline fitted adequately within the series chronology.[31] A total of four writers worked on the game, including author James Swallow.[32] DeMarle was brought onto the project four months into its development after it had been decided that it would be a prequel to the first game, focusing on mechanical rather than nanotechnological enhancement technology. As part of her research, DeMarle looked up multiple subjects, from speculated conspiracy theories to the current level of biotechnology: the final story was largely influenced by her reading of non-fiction and writings concerning transhumanism.[30] DeMarle compared the game's study of transhumanism through the main character, Adam, to that in the 1982 film Blade Runner while also using the video game medium to put questions surrounding the ethics and motivations surrounding transhumanism in a nuanced way. She also stated that Adam being forced to confront these issues in person was the narrative's central irony, which had previously been explored using different narrative elements in Deus Ex.[8] The ending, which was ultimately decided using a choice of buttons, was chosen because of technical and time constraints while retaining player interaction.[21] While the gameplay evolved continually through development and some elements required cutting, the story remained almost unchanged, instead being further refined and improved to work out plot holes.[33]
The world of Human Revolution was designed to parallel the Greek myth of Icarus; in the myth, Icarus was flying with artificial wings, but flew too close to the sun and destroyed his wings, causing his fatal fall. The world's new reliance on and experimentation with augmentation technology mirrored the myth, with the game's narrative taking place at a crucial tipping point, the outcome of which would be decided by the player. The general focus on technology and its effect on human society is also tied into the game's visual themes.[23] The development team used multiple sources as references while creating the world and scenario. The Children of Men was used to capture the setting and resultant chaotic drama; BioShock gave them a reference for handling mature themes, while the television series Rome showed how influential people's ambitions shaped history. The sense of tension between augmented and normal humans was inspired by the similar tension between humans and mutants in the X-Men franchise. For the conspiracy elements of the plot, the team used the novels Deception Point, The Firm, and Frank Herbert's Dune saga as inspiration. The Grand Theft Auto and Mass Effect franchises directly inspired he desired quality of cutscenes and dialogue.[18] DeMarle termed the final product as a study in contrasts, as the implementation of augmentation technology had created a new form of a divided social class system when other social barriers had fallen. Other themes used earlier in Deus Ex, such as exploring a culture of fear; the workings of a surveillance state; and the exploitation created by economic inequality, were paralleled in Human Revolution.[8] The team created supplementary written material such as emails, e-books, and cell phone-like devices called pocket secretaries to add more depth to the world and narrative.[29]
Jonathan Jacques-Belletête acted as the game's art director, being in charge of creating its look.[12] The two key visual themes were the Icarus myth and the artwork of the Renaissance: both were woven in on a narrative and visual level.[23][35] In terms of colors, the team drew inspiration from notable Renaissance artists, including Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt. The color scheme was dominated by black and gold: black represented the game's dystopian aspects, while gold represented humanity and hope for the future.[32] The Renaissance styling originally permeated everything, but they ended up with crates looking like baroque furniture, so they toned it down and blended it with modern and cyberpunk elements. During development, the team coined the term "cyber-renaissance" to define their blending of Renaissance styling, cyberpunk elements, and the Icarus myth.[35][36] An extensive amount of concept art was created for the game: while the majority was handled by artists Richard Dumont and Eric Gagnon, other contributors included Jim Murray, Brian Dugan, Theirry Doizon, Trong Nguyen and Sébastien Larroudé.[34]
The music of Human Revolution was composed by Michael McCann, who worked on the score from 2008 to 2011. McCann also handled production, performance, mixing, and arranging. Additional arrangements were done by Francois Arbour and Eric Arvisais. Vocals were provided by Andrea Revel and Courtney Wing.[37] McCann, when comparing Human Revolution with his prior work on Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, stated that the latter could be scored more like a feature film due to its linear nature, while Human Revolution's non-linear approach to both gameplay and story made composition more challenging.[38] McCann's music for Human Revolution was focused around the game's multilayered dualistic themes, which he described as "technology/nature, past/future, wealth/poverty", all of which were encompassed by the general transhumanist theme.[39] McCann and sound director Steve Szczepkowski initially started out using dark electronic scoring typical of the cyberpunk genre, but during the three-year period he worked on the game the music gradually became more "organic". He was influenced by the visuals' Renaissance styling, convincing him to blend organic and traditional cyberpunk elements.[38] The electronic elements were influenced by the film music of John Carpenter, Vangelis, and the band Tangerine Dream. The acoustic mood elements were inspired by the work of Lisa Gerrard, Ennio Morricone and Elliot Goldenthal. Outside films, he was strongly influenced by electronic bands and musicians, such as Amon Tobin and the band Massive Attack.[40]
At the start of the game, Adam Jensen is in Sarif Industries' Detroit headquarters taking care of security preparations for the company's forthcoming presence at a National Science Board hearing to discuss the need for augmentation technology regulation. Adam's ex-girlfriend Megan Reed will take the opportunity to announce a revolutionary discovery made by her and her team that will allow people to augment themselves without having to use anti-rejection drugs, though she is evasive as to the source of her discovery.
At the core of the facility Adam once again encounters Zhao who merges with the Hyron Project, a huge bioelectronic quantum supercomputer. After destroying the Project and killing Zhao, Adam makes his way to the broadcast center where he is contacted by Eliza. Eliza explains to him the various options he can take: he can broadcast Darrow's confession about augmentation and the Illuminati thus ensuring that augmentation is permanently banned, he can blame the Humanity Front for the attack thus ensuring that augmentation is developed further (Sarif's proposal), he can blame the event on tainted augmentation anti-rejection drugs thus ensuring tight regulation on augmentations (Taggart's proposal) or he can set the entire facility to self destruct, killing everyone present and letting humanity decide for itself. Depending on various moral factors over the course of the game, the dialogue over the ending can be slightly different, but most of the events remain the same. 2ff7e9595c
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