The Devil in the Details - A Case Study on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Hades, the critically acclaimed rogue-like by star indie developer Supergiant, was a massive step forward in narrative storytelling through video games. The script, written by Greg Kasavin, stretched to over 300,000 words - but this novel-length text was not spat out at the player through paragraphs upon paragraphs of lore, but rather integrated into the game as part of its dynamically reactive narrative, through dialogue and narration. These hundreds of thousands of words are not written for every player; rather, they exist for every possibility, such that when a player experiences an event unique to them, the game will be able to recognize and acknowledge what the player has done. 

The example of this everyone has at least heard of is with the boss of the first area, Megaera. She, of course, has tons of variation in her dialogue, keeping the encounter feeling like a genuine conversation between two characters, rather than just repeated generic dialogue. But Supergiant goes even further - on top of this variety, they added reactivity. Megaera will not only have unique things to talk about with Zagreus, but she will also acknowledge and react to his actions. If Zagreus has begun using the Mirror of Night, the system through which the game allows for persistent upgrades that lasts beyond each run, Meg will react with smugness, claiming that Zagreus wouldn't be able to beat her on his own without the Mirror's assistance. Nice. But really, no one would try taking out those upgrades and then go back to Meg and fight her, just to make a point right? Well, some people apparently did, and if they do, they'll find that Meg recognizes this, and responds accordingly. 

Imagine what would happen if this hadn't exist. People who come back to Meg without their upgrades will find her completely ignoring their actions, their agency. This discourages players from exploring, as their attempts have only led to disappointment. Their disillusionment will extend to their experience of playing the game, hurting their immersion. Of course the character didn't respond, they're only an NPC in the game, they say, and move on - and next time, not bother with exploring all the potential possibilities in the game world.

Alas, this post isn't about Hades. It's about a game I just recently completed - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. As the game was released in 2016, I am aware how late I am to the party, even though I did purchase and play a bit of it a few years ago. As justification, I have just gotten myself a shiny new computer, meaning that I can finally play this game without waiting five minutes at every loading screen. But as I played through the game, I remembered that what turned me off wasn't just the terrible loading times. In Adam Jensen's apartment complex, two stories down, is a sketchy shop run out of one the rooms. The seller was a real prick, insulting me both in English and Czech for not spending enough money or wasting his time. Fine, I thought. I'll come back later with 10,000 credits for that Praxis Kit of yours, you'll see - then you won't be such an ass, huh? Well, I did indeed go back to him after a few missions, and I was indeed surprised by his reaction. And that was because he reacted as if it was my first time seeing him. He repeated the same dialogue he had when I first talked to him, with Jensen also doing the same. I rolled my eyes and bought the Praxis Kit, only to be shouted at for being a cheapskate again. Yes, spending 10,000 credits, almost the price of all the rest of your entire stock put together, is super cheap, got it. 

For an immersive sim, that moment certainly destroyed my immersion. Not great. The worst part is, many of the merchants around the city reacted much the same way. A lady running a bar asked for some Neuropozyne from me, as she was trying to get it to some people who needed it. I gave it to her, and she gave a code to access a supply cache in the basement. I came back from a mission, and talked to her. She asked for Neu-poz. I gave it to her. She gave me the code to her basement door. I came back from another mission, to a Prague in the throes of martial law. She was in the basement of her bar. I talked to her. She asked for Neu-poz. I gave it to her. She gave me a code and told me to go take a look at the cache in the basement, the floor below her. What, in the goddamn sewers? She didn't even react to the army and police taking to the streets to enforce martial law! Despite the fact that her customers had retreated into the relative safety of the basement, she did not react a jot.

There are other moments: a person I saved saying "Oh, it's you! I can't believe you're here!" every time I brushed by him. When I couldn't tell a person that someone had killed himself in the secret exit from his hideout. When I solved a hacking case, only for the person who was worried about it to keep repeating, "I'm so glad you're on the case, I hope it's nothing serious" over and over again. When I discussed a case in which I helped save someone only for the person to say that they died. 

These aren't major issues - this isn't like a major story choice being ignored or a game-breaking bug. Yet these small details are what defines each game and make its world worth exploring. My experience in Mankind Divided won't be of a living - or augmented - Prague, but rather a dead and mechanical one.