Magazines, books, datacubes, etc: In-game reading

[DXeXodus]

There has been talk about a thread like this for a while, so I will just go ahead and make one.

To quote Wikipedia:

Deus Ex features a text-reading system which allows the player to read terminals and notes, as well as excerpts from newspapers and books found in various locations within the game level. These various bits of media serve a variety of purposes, from providing the player with useful gameplay information (such as a needed keycode), to the advancement of the plot, to the creation of atmosphere and metafictional irony. It is this last aspect which is most prevalent in the novels found in Deus Ex, with excerpts usually providing reflective commentary on the player's current situation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex

Just in case the developers need some extra material to incorporate into their game lets have some suggestions regarding any of the following:

- Names for magazines
- Articles to read about in magazines
- Book titles (real or imagined):
Give names of books that can be used, just like they used The Man Who Was Thursday, The Art Of War, etc in DX1. Maybe also give a description of that book for us.
- Datacube entries:
Interesting conversations, situation analysis', messages, etc.
- Emails
-Anything else you can think of:
Just be creative and see what you can come up with to go into the game that will add to the overall experience in terms of reading material.

I'm sure the dev's will love to hear some constructive ideas coming from the community. Let's pretend it is a competition. The winner will receive a cookie and a PM from one of the mods saying "well done". Lol.

So, let's hear what you have to say. And most importantly, have fun and be nice

[SomaMech]

Fantastic idea!
Interaction with newspapers, datacubes, books, emails etc was the part of Deus Ex I believe really made the game stand out from the rest and something I fear will be simplified once again (as it was in Invisible War) to cater for the less thorough console players.

[jcp28]

Well, who even says we need datacubes? I don't know if pen-and-paper writing is extinct by the time of this game, but I'd like to see notes, ripped out pages of journals...maybe a bit of important writing on a place you wouldn't expect like say, a dollar bill.(okay, stupid example, but somebody might want to put important info in a place where people wouldn't expect to find it) But yeah, there could still be datacubes.

Also, there should be more readable signs. Not signs that you end up going to a separate screen for, but signs that advertise what's being sold in Wan Chai market for example. Also, I want to see more visible storefront signs. Paris in DX was pretty bad when it came to that. I don't believe the digital store had a name.

We could also read computer printouts of scientific reports that the layman would likely find terrible boring. However, they could add immersion in the right settings.

Also, I'd like to read some nanotech/conspiracy-type rags since so much of DX is based on such things. Maybe Nanotech Today or The Truth. I'm crappy with names, though. I think it would be amusing to read some of the more tinfoil-type stuff that's about as far-out as it gets.

As for books, we could get one about some veteran disillusioned with the current Iraq war. There could be passages speculating on where the world is going and how that's affected by our desire to improve ourselves. I can't think of any other ideas, but there could be a passage that contrasts a positive view of the world with a much more negative one in another one.

I personally think a present day 2008 outlook on the world that somehow acknowledges trends of future events as seen in a magazine would help connect to the present day. That way, the game will seem more relevant to contemporary times than it already is.

That's it. I think I covered everything, but I could see a lot more development

[El_Bel]

I'll try to write some newspaper articles, augmentation magazine article and some chapters from imaginary books when i am back from my vacations(or if i find time in my vacation time ) .

I think if anyone decides to write some staff that wishes to be used by Eidos, it would be useful to write below the text that it is released in public domain so it can be used without fear.

I also want to ask Rene if there is any chance of seeing any of our work in the game

[K^2]

I liked the e-mail system from original DX. Missed it in IW. They should certainly bring these back. Holo-recordings are great, but I don't think they'll phase out e-mail completely.

[MaxxQ1]

I have a suggestion for a magazine title and an article or two:

Popular Nanotech (a la Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, etc.)

There could be an article about new breakthroughs in augmentation technology that will dovetail nicely towards beginning of the game for info purposes on "planned" augs that might show up in the course of the game. This would work whether it's a prequel (serving as an introduction to the new aug tech) or sequel (describing the possibilities of new augs different from those in DX).

Something like this could replace copying the situation in DX where you read about augs and aug upgrades in Jaime Reyes' journal.

Can't think of anything from the books category, unless maybe they could do something along the lines of a book that is based on a previously undiscovered rough draft of a new Neuromancer novel by Gibson. Sort of a nod to the "originator" of the cyberpunk genre.

Oddly enough, today I read a story in the news about alleged descendants of the Templars have filed a $150 billion lawsuit against the Pope.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-the-Pope.html

Maybe there could be a newspaper article about whether this lawsuit was successful or not, and maybe have that as a plot point in the game.

For datacubes, I'd say keep things similar as in DX (passwords, keycodes, etc.), but maybe update it somewhat to reflect how everybody and their brother nowadays texts each other, including using text shorthand, and possibly add pics.

Meh...that's all I got...

[Augmented Cactuar]

Work a deal with book publishers to have excerpts (a couple of pages) from real books available in the game. Then associate this passage to one of the books in a bookshelf found in the game, just make it pop up as a text window like in DX1, that's all you need. You could have something like twenty books in-game, that's plenty to ensure that the player doesn't see the same one over and over again.

It sounds like a simple solution, but you've no idea how much more immersive the world will be when you can check out all the books on a shelf!

Edit: Also, in email messages, DO include typos! People make mistakes, they're human. The emails from Gunther in the first game were brilliant, it added so much credibility to his character.

[SemiAnonymous]

Book name: Secret Organizations and You: How to Prepare and Protect Yourself.

As for other titles, I wouldn't mind if DX3 did the same thing DX1 did with "The man who was Thursday", maybe with a story that mirrors the plot of the game.

Actually, I just had a thought, lets assume this game is a sequel; why not have a series of books scattered about, titled "The beginning and end of collapse society", or something of that sort, which not only gives details to the first two games, but also gives detail on the actual society, and what life was really like at that point.

anyways...
A series of magazine personal ads, ranging from normal (Help wanted, buy my service bot, stuff like that), to creepy (Large hairy man seeks petite young woman to practice massage techniques on), all the way to humorous (Wanted: Un-augmented cow, so I may gather milk from it, which I will then drink for my hu-man nutritional requirements)

Datacube entry:
1: Diary log, including several regular (possibly one of a little girl, so we can have some amusing "I <3 MikeYYYYY!!!!1!), and some not so regular (maybe a prison guards).
2: Return of the voice recordings. I loved that in DX1, even though it was only used, I think twice (Maggy Chow talking to the Red Arrow leader, cutting off his finger, and the Marine in A51, who was panicing), I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of this.
3: Shopping lists, instructions, maybe a recipe.

I think I'll stop now, I feel like I wrote too much, lol.

[DXeXodus]

Some excellent ideas so far. Please keep them coming. I have started compiling a document of all the ideas with the names of those who came up with them. After a while I will submit it to Rene for whatever it may be worth.

[El_Bel]

Semianonymous you have some prety cool ideas!! Keep em coming!! Why dont you write some more adds I would love to read them

[DXeXodus]

Originally Posted by SemiAnonymous

I think I'll stop now, I feel like I wrote too much, lol.

No, please, you can never write too much in a thread like this. The more ideas you give the better

[LatwPIAT]

While the sheer immenseness of the datacubes, books and email was incredibly impressive, the absolutley best example I can think of was the datacubes you could find in the Ocean Lab.

Save for "explosion" you're given no explanation of why the Ocean Lab is such a mess by any ingame character. However, by reading some datacubes and email, you can read some messages from one doctor to another, telling about how he becomes suspicious of a worker, followed him, saw him detonate some explosives, and as far as I know, "killed the bastard"

Datacubes that actually tell of something that isn't explained, but isn't just background info (like, say, the India/Chinese War, "The Fall of Gnishu" in Pauls apartment.) but actually tells you about why the Ocean Lab sank/the Space Station isn't in orbit/The Kremlin recently was a shootout.

Also, I'd like a few places where you have to deduce what to do based on info found on a computer system. Say, a Shangri-La e-mail telling you that they have planted a spy in The Network, and then, without being told so, you have the ability to walk right up to the fellow, and talk to/kill him, changing a minor plot point, much like the Everett Estate Mechanic and Jock. The fact that Deux Ex was so open made it brilliant. You're not told the corpse on the floor means the other Mechanic killed the real one, and you have to arrive at that conclusion yourself. To do the same in email, datacube, heck, an image of the saboteur lying arround with "saboteur" painted on would make the game even more enjoyable.

My input.

[Gizmostuff]

This is actually a really good thread. I love this part in the game. Makes it seem more real to me than any other game I've played.

I just loved in Deus Ex when you read stories about Decker Parkes, Erin and Young; even though you never see them in the game. I'd be glad to see them make an actual appearance in the game or more data cube notes at the very least.

The news bulletins were great as well. I loved how JC, Paul, and others were on the most wanted list in Paris.

Book recommendations: The Illuminatus Trilogy would be kind of an interesting to take a look at in game.

I'll think of more later....

[SemiAnonymous]

when I first looked at it, it looked like I wrote a ton more than I actually did. I was fairly sleepy, it seems.

To continue where I left off...
4: Orders and instructions, which are generally well hidden. Most of these will be fairly useless, but every now and then, you can find one that will give you a heads up about an ambush that the enemies are planning.
Emails:
Well, beyond the standard "oh hai, do this do that" that can be found if you log into your email, I figure, with the proper amount of hacking skills, of course, you should be able to find evaluation logs of yourself by the allied group, with things like strategy (the game evaluates your strategy and labels you as stealthy, tank, homocidal, etc, based off of your kill count), the overall time to complete objectives, stuff like that. Of course, it should vary depending on the faction, I don't think that the NSF would have as complicated and detailed reports as the MJ12.

I'd also want advertisments that you can respond to, allowing for online purchases of sorts. Of course, this would require a pick up place, of sorts, maybe the item would automatically spawn at the nearest mail store, which would be a reoccuring store. These could be items like new weapons, special ammo, maybe some overall useless nicknacks to decorate a house/base of sorts (assuming we even get that), maybe some special food items that fully heal you.

News Bulletins:
These have lots of potential. Imagine if you were reading a perfectly harmless public service announcement, and then you slowly notice that there are some small misspelling's here and there. You put the errors together, and you get: "jc b carful mj planin atak. 19 strt". Secret messages hidden in news posts should be implemented, and could work really well for a really secret group, one that you never meet, but you can only find if you follow the hidden clues.
Now that I think of it, I think I'll expand a touch on that later.

Wanted signs should have a new twist. Depending on your alliance, you can choose to kill certain wanted persons, and collect a bounty. Of course, killing someone who is an enemy of your enemy wouldn't be the brightest idea.

Graffiti:
No one likes graffiti, but who says it shouldn't have a purpose? Hidden messages within the graffiti should be common, even if its something like "House 17 has lots of cash" sort of thing.

Lastly, my mention of a secret order, I won't go into huge detail, but I like the idea, I might make a thread later. I'd want a secret order, even if its fairly minor, to exist that communicates primarily through secret messages. I'd want it to be fairly minor simply because I wouldn't want it to even be accessable unless you can follow the clues. Something like the Omar or some other weapons smugglers, who would simply be a group scattered around the world that can give you cheap weapons and ammo. But remember, if you can't follow the clues via books, datacubes, etc, then you completely lose out on this opportunity, although to be fair, they should have multiple times to be accessable.

[gamer0004]

I like some of your ideas, but some are just plain unrealistic. Like informative graffiti... Of course I want graffiti because it's important for the atmosphere in the game, but have you ever seen informative graffiti? It's either (nick-)names or a nice painting.

[DXeXodus]

^^ Agreed. Some of the ideas are great, but others are slightly unrealistic. Everyone please feel free to just scribble down your ideas. I will filter through the ideas to find the ones I feel are most appropriate for the game.

Don't worry about people shooting you down as this thread is just for fun really anyway.

[Gizmostuff]

A few more ideas popped into my head since the last day I posted.

Account numbers in data cubes were a great idea in the first game. I missed that in Deus Ex 2. Although I doubt we will see this if Eidos wants a console version again. :sigh:

I'd like to see a data cubes of quotes from a specific persons or unknowns. Just a different quote every so often. Quotes that possibly have to do with where you are, what you are doing or what's happening to the world around you, depending on what choices you make. Are your choices affecting the world for good or bad; the quotes will give you hidden clues on how the NPCs feel about the world.

Stories from people who are augmented having to deal with life with people w/o augmentations and vice versa. Depending on which side you choose, you should be allowed to see more to one point of view than the other. That may actually increase the replay value in the game.

Include conversations in data cubes like an instant messaging system, but have them encrypted - depending on your hacking abilities - will prove or not you can read them. e.g. Updated versions of data cubes should be harder to crack than older ones.

Ditto for computer systems. What would be really interesting is to have an actual OS command line/and or a UI that should be self taught in game if the player wants. This might be a little over the top for the casual gamer but I think it would be an interesting add-on for us hardcore ones

Better access to computer systems/email. If the player decides, he or she could buy/find/steal a computer UI augmentation that enables you to check your email more frequently, see updated news bulletins rather than having to find one, etc....might need to add more abilities to this aug to make it worth while....

I'm just trying to throw as many ideas I have at a time. Feel free to give feedback or change some ideas. Hopefully, I'll think of more or improve on some from the original.

Book Recommendations:
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Catcher in the Rye
New written books

[Gizmostuff]

Originally Posted by gamer0004

I like some of your ideas, but some are just plain unrealistic. Like informative graffiti... Of course I want graffiti because it's important for the atmosphere in the game, but have you ever seen informative graffiti? It's either (nick-)names or a nice painting.

Graffiti could also be used for direction as well. i.e. clues to finding a secret location that would otherwise be "almost" impossible to find by other means.

[minus0ne]

I'd like to see a return of some of the books of DX, both fictional (like Jacob's Shadow) and real (there's lots to choose from that is long since rights-free, but you could work out deals with other real authors like Haruki Murakami or Noam Chomsky for some excerpts).

Other than that, I'd love to see more magazine covers/article excerpts, like the Popular Nanotech idea, but a whole range of different types of mags (even dirty ones, there could even be a Playborg/Playbot depending on if it's a sequel ). Just try to paint a backdrop of the DX3 gameworld (of which we still have little clue) while providing some occasional comically surreal backstory - Allusions to existing works/papers/magazines have provided me with many a laugh in a lot of different games I also wouldn't mind entire front pages of newspapers a little bit like in Hitman: Blood Money (where you'd get to read not only the article pertaining to your assasinations, but entire front pages of newspapers, although there was only one front page per mission).

But, most importantly, logs, emails, notes, datacubes must all provide some bit of backstory behind each location, not exclusively as it was done in System Shock, but as LatwPIAT mentioned, it was used to great effect in the Ocean Lab level.

Originally Posted by Gizmostuff

Ditto for computer systems. What would be really interesting is to have an actual OS command line/and or a UI that should be self taught in game if the player wants. This might be a little over the top for the casual gamer but I think it would be an interesting add-on for us hardcore ones

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines did this excellently (although not everyone can dig the oldschool DOS-like command line). Perhaps DX3 can build on that with a CL/UI that doesn't look so out-of-place but still feels somewhat genuine.

[DXeXodus]

Great ideas guys. Please, by all means, keep them coming.

[SemiAnonymous]

Originally Posted by gamer0004

I like some of your ideas, but some are just plain unrealistic. Like informative graffiti... Of course I want graffiti because it's important for the atmosphere in the game, but have you ever seen informative graffiti? It's either (nick-)names or a nice painting.

yeah, I figured that would be pointed out, since I was just throwing ideas out. Besides, Graffiti could be used for secret messages, who says your just not knowledgeable enough to know what secret messages are being sent?

Even if that isn't all that realistic, why not just basic protests or complaints? In a trip I had to Germany last year (beautiful country, made me proud to be a German), I noticed a large amount of Graffiti was actually political statements and such, so that is something that could be used in DX3, and I just didn't mention it the first time.

[gh0s7]

Originally Posted by SemiAnonymous

yeah, I figured that would be pointed out, since I was just throwing ideas out. Besides, Graffiti could be used for secret messages, who says your just not knowledgeable enough to know what secret messages are being sent?

Even if that isn't all that realistic, why not just basic protests or complaints? In a trip I had to Germany last year (beautiful country, made me proud to be a German), I noticed a large amount of Graffiti was actually political statements and such, so that is something that could be used in DX3, and I just didn't mention it the first time.

Not just in Germany; around here (Portugal), it's somewhat common to see outcries and political statements and philosophical comments painted everywhere (though the political ones usually are on streets with more movement, and typically signed "@" (Anarchy)).

[farmerbobconspiracist]

Originally Posted by SemiAnonymous

I'd also want advertisments that you can respond to, allowing for online purchases of sorts. Of course, this would require a pick up place, of sorts, maybe the item would automatically spawn at the nearest mail store, which would be a reoccuring store. These could be items like new weapons, special ammo, maybe some overall useless nicknacks to decorate a house/base of sorts (assuming we even get that), maybe some special food items that fully heal you.

I'm sorry to go off topic a little, but your idea actually gave me an idea.

Depending on what time DX3 is set in, it might be possible that the average person has access to home-based (i.e. smaller) nanoconstructors, perhaps looking like a microwave in size or rougly thereof (so as to explain why large objects couldn't be constructed).

The way it could operate is you visit a website via a personal computer and order the "rights" or "prints" to have your nanoconstructer manufacture what you want. Say you want a lockpick. You visit the website, pay a fee to have the nanoconstructer make one, and it instantly makes one in an accompanying nanoconstructer unit.

And, of course, you could hack them. Perhaps, with some illegal blueprints you might have found...


That said, this is a very good thread, and I hope to see some of this in-game. Please do not underestimate how immersing it made DX to have books, datacubes, and emails around.

And I'm glad I'm not the only one that was interested in Decker's activities. When I read Smuggler's email and found he made it out of New York alive, I was actually happy - and you never even meet him in the game!

[Voltaire]

One of the most important things I found in the DX1 in-game media was the more personal stuff. Two examples that spring to mind are the journals kept by:

1) The dead guy in the sewer
2) The "new" agent in the french tower

Both were really heartfelt and drew the gamer further into the deuniverse. I had to take a moment to say "wait, this didn't actually happen, they're fictional characters..."

[phlebas]

I like the graffiti idea. Those can be political statements, or simple aesthetic tags. Yet considering that we are talking about a nanotech age, it might be possible to make graffiti more interesting... Some how more interactive with the environment/player.

As for books, try not to include too much of sci-fi. Seriously, since the game itself is based around sci-fi premises, making it look as if the inhabitants of the world are all into sci-fi would be a serious dealbreaker in terms of immersion. I say go for writings (likely public domain) that are thought provoking as well as obscure with topics across variety of fields ranging from arts, economics, politics, to sciences. Include Latin fragments, Thomas Pynchon, E. E. Cummings, Raymond Roussel and etc. Simply dotting the game world with literatures the players would already be familiar with would be disastrous and may make the game world look shallow.

We should try to think of the general technological level as well as the political and cultural climate of the game world, and place writings that correspond to the real people who would be living in those worlds. A political activist demonstrating in a city square probably has more Chomsky than Orson Card in her private library. Same for aspriring art students in the game world and so on and so forth.

The format of the books and email or email-like derivatives should also be worked out to some extent, depending on how far in the future the game world is set in.


Hah. This just gave me an idea. Maybe in the future the conventional digital publishing routes will be so tightly sensored that people will turn to small scale paper-based publishing (or some equivalent available in the future) to propagate their ideas. Like Thomas Paines of replicating nanotechnology era.