Interactive Storytelling

[A]

    For this Interactive Storytelling assignment, I have chosen a game from the the year 2000, Deus Ex. I have played this game for the first time myself 17 years after its release -- and the game's narrative struck deep. There's a reason that even after all these years, Deus Ex is still known to be the best PC game of all time. 

    Deus Ex is a non-linear experience, and has major themes of religion, cults, struggle of power, etc. as the entire game is based on conspiracies. (Some of which, are ironically no longer just "conspiracies")

    In essence, the game begin with a plot along the lines of "There is a global pandemic (Sound at all familiar by any chance? Just a reminder, this game is over 20 years old!) and terrorists have stolen a shipment of the cure. Find the terrorist and retrieve the cure, get to the bottom of what is going on." Seems pretty straightforward, but man does it take you along for a ride with wild twists and turns -- managing that you discover them. 

[B]

    There is a lot of "AI" in the game that is not always very intelligent. It can make playing through the game very funny, or incredibly frustrating based on what exactly the player was attempting to do. 

    The game "feels" both familiar and yet very distant. A lot of the levels are designed to mimic our current society while being set in the future. So while players are expereincing the game, they can still relate to the visuals despite the game taking place in 2052.

[C]

    Not much, if anything is randomized. All loot and outcomes are predetermined, but the non-linear storytelling of the game means you will never have the same experience twice. 

    So the player has multiple ways of solving "puzzles" and getting through the levels of the game. Deus Ex was designed around multiple play-styles. You could be prefer stealth, exploring, or a direct killing approach and still get through the entire game. This is so that no player gets stuck on one method or the other and always has options.