AGDC: Deus Ex designer crafting new FPS-RPG, iPhone strategy game

by Randy Nelson { Sep 18th 2008 at 1:45PM }

During his AGDC keynote, Deus Ex lead designer (and outspoken critic of Midway's BlackSite: Area 51), Harvey Smith, revealed that he's at work on a new FPS-RPG for his current employer, Arkane Studios (Dark Messiah of Might & Magic). The studio is currently working in conjunction with Valve on The Crossing, a first-person "crossplayer" FPS, but Smith's reference to role-playing (and lack of reference to The Crossing) indicates an all-new project.

Smith said that his design focus "is very much around games like Deus Ex," although his other keynote revelation – a "casual strategy game" for iPhone – shows that he's open to dabbling. Unless, of course, it's a casual Deus Ex universe strategy title ... super-deformed art style and everything.

Tags: agdc-2008, arkane-studios, harvey-smith, iphone, ipod-touch

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Haggard (Free Mr.ESC!) @ Sep 18th 2008 2:07PM

The Crossing might be alright but it's not being made by Valve, they're simply assisting. Dark Messiah wasn't too amazing.

And Blacksite certainly wasn't, so I'm not sure how highly we should rate this guy.

waves @ Sep 18th 2008 2:09PM

I downloaded Galcon Lite (for free) last night, and I'm hooked. It's by far the best use of a touch interface for a game on the iPhone. It's like a very fast paced, space-themed RTS. Games be over in as little 20 seconds, and it's very addictive. I highly recommend it. There's also a $5 version that adds online play, but I haven't tried it.

Marty @ Sep 18th 2008 2:18PM

Reading the title, I was pretty excited... until I got to "iPhone."

Seriously - how about we consider DS / PSP, systems that have install bases magnitudes larger than the iPhone, before hopping on the bandwagon and developing a game for a group that largely remains unconcerned with games?

Kristof @ Sep 18th 2008 2:41PM

Your take is "preaching to the choir" or trying to convert the already converted. It's called a new market - have a look into it. Sometimes people like to try new things. Casual gaming is a big thing on phones and the iphone takes it wide open. You're just disappointed because you have a DS/PSP but not an iphone. Maybe you haven't been watching the stats on how many apps are being downloaded and bought for the iphone. I know people with iphones that want good games to play, they don't carry a DS or PSP wherever they go, but they ALWAYS have their phone.

Vidikron @ Sep 18th 2008 3:04PM

Thus far the iPhone games are so very underwhelming. And I think they will remain that way due to a lack of any true buttons. Games like Bejeweled are likely the be the best type of games for the iPhone. Of course, shallow crap are big sellers these days so I'm sure they'll sell plenty.

Marty @ Sep 18th 2008 3:28PM

The difference is, I have to change my phone service, pay a monthly service charge, get a new phone number, put up with Apple's heavy-handedness of the platform, and do all kinds of other shit if I want to play a game on an iPhone. Alternatively, I can play games on a DS or PSP without all that baggage, and if a game comes out for a system that I absolutely have to play, I can go out and buy that system and play it. No hassle, no problem.

On top of that, there will never be as many people with iPhones as with DS / PSP, and even if there were, most of them would not be using it for games. We don't make a big deal if a company develops games exclusively for BlackBerry, and a great deal more people own those. And we don't see big devs hopping on board with other, more well-known and well-bought phones either.

That's why it's silly to me to develop exclusively for the iPhone. Most of the world will never play your game, and doesn't even have the opportunity to. And that's disappointing.

Marty @ Sep 18th 2008 3:29PM

The above post was directed to kristof, by the way.

Anam @ Sep 18th 2008 3:53PM

I think touch-screen only could work very well for an old-fashioned JRPG or maybe point-and-click adventure game.

Unfortunately, these aren't the genres you're looking for.

ill trooper @ Sep 18th 2008 8:28PM

Well, that's your opinion. And his opinion is that making a game for the iPhone is a good idea. So everyone's happy with their ideas. Yay. Stop hating.

The DS/PSP crowd will always have games. How about you look at it the way he is - there is a new market being formed and they want quality games.

My opinion is, I have an iPhone and I want more quality games. So there's one interested person, millions own iPhones and iPod Touches, there's a lot of potential. Over $1 million in sales the first month, the AppStore for the devices is moving apps, and one of the top sellers in that month was a game. (SuperMonkey Ball).

ill trooper @ Sep 18th 2008 8:31PM

Sorry, I didn't complete that sentence when I typed that number:

It's been $1 million in sales A DAY the first month of the AppStore, not just "$1 million in a month."

FSK405K @ Sep 18th 2008 2:35PM

Unless Spector makes a new Deus Ex and eliminates The Invisible War from the canon, using the term Deus Ex in your promo materials is like saying 'this game is like Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, but mixed with (insert game here)'.

KeenCommander @ Sep 18th 2008 2:55PM

Invisible War wasn't a bad game, actually compared to your average FPS it was quite nice - but it didn't live up to the legacy, and had wicked technical problems. Still, it shouldn't be used to judge the entire franchise - because the potential is certainly there.

It really did provide kind of a lousy storyline to work from, though...

gLitterbug @ Sep 18th 2008 2:54PM

As far as I remember Harvey was the man in charge of Deus Ex 2 and we all know how that turned out. So if he says "deus ex like" he might refer to cybernetic implants and a futuristic setting rather than to what made Deus Ex as good as it was.

Is it just me or are all those "outspoken" developers those who shouldn't be outspoken so much but focus on getting their game out of mediocreville?

Calthaer @ Sep 18th 2008 11:16PM

Smith wasn't the lead designer of Deus Ex, he was the lead designer of DX: Invisible War, which is nothing less than a bastard stepchild of the original. As far as I can tell, all he did was drive Spector's masterwork into the dust.

Necros @ Sep 25th 2008 7:41AM

You're wrong, Smith was the lead designer on Deus Ex and project director on Invisible War. And the original was his masterpiece too, it wasn't only about Warren. ;) And they both worked on DX: IW too, which by the way isn't a bad game at all, in fact it's a lot better than many other games, though of course it's not nearly as good as the first one.