Deus Ex: Human Revolution Demonstration Live Blog
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First task at hacking was a lot more complex. Play-tested the original concept for three months, but it was too complex for testers. "They just didn't know what was going on." The developers had everything recorded in Excel and used that to test out the paths for the hacking minigame before actually coding it into the game.
A former UI designer came up with the current representation of the network. The team at Eidos Montreal wanted to make sure it was visual and easy to understand.
All of the computers in a given level are on the same network. This is shown through e-mails as well as the security systems, where you can log into a computer in one area and take control of security cameras and robots in another area. Security cameras and sentries can be used, shut off, etc.
Every device has a specific password. If you know the password (say, from a prior playthrough) to a machine you can enter it in, even if you've not "found" it in the game during that playthrough.
Basis for the conversation with Wayne at the police station was created after Lapikas broke up with his girlfriend. He came into the office the next day and used that emotional background to generate the core of Wayne and Jensen's backstory.
When talking to characters, you get one shot for key conversations. If you piss off a character, that's it. There is no chance to try again unless you reload a prior save. Conversations have an element of randomness in them as well, so even if you reload a save, you may not get the exact same options.
"Winning" a conversation can be made easier by using the social augmentation, as that will give you direct feedback on what the AI character is feeling and thinking, making it easier for you to read them and therefore manipulate them.
Much like the hacking bits, all of the key conversation paths were prototyped in Excel with a Visual Basic front end. Gameplay testers went through the conversations in Excel before they were finalized and approved for inclusion in the game. Once approved, conversations were sent out for audio recording and programmed in.
Conversation is basically a "rock-paper-scissors" mechanic.
You can go off-script in most of the game. However there are a limited number of main characters that cannot be killed off until they are no longer needed.
You will make multiple visits to each hub in the game, but the game decides when you come back. You cannot manually move from hub to hub.
