Bungie and Deus Ex

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Friday, August 09, 2013, 00:09 (4126 days ago) @ Cody Miller

So I really wondered why Deus Ex wasn't something Bungie would look up to, since it would seem to so perfectly fit with Bungie's desire to create a cool world that players would want to explore, tell a story, and still have a compelling game. Why is destiny focused on exp, loot, raid bosses, instead of shooting and exploring (with no reward other than information and story progression)? If everybody is supposed to be a hero, wouldn't the dizzying combinations of skills and augs Deus Ex has be a great way to make each character unique and desirable in groups?

In fact I wonder why NOBODY has really tried to make another game like Deus Ex, Bungie especially. It was built on ancient technology. The graphics were lacking. The AI was bad. I'm just surprised since with the talent and resources at Bungie, these issues wouldn't be issues.

Because as production values and production costs rise, it becomes too expensive to spend time and resources making content you're not sure people will see. This is something many developers have been saying, publicly, since before the move to HD, and why design parameters are being driven to raise completion rates and focus on multiplayer, to make titles stickier, to tie game features into network services to discourage piracy and/or sales into the used market.

That said, I do agree with just about everything you said about Deus Ex. I liked it a lot, and for many of the reasons you cite. However, I don't think it's that hard to see how all the financial incentives in the industry work against making games like that.