Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director Explains Game's Symbolic Colors

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
17,672
0
0
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director Explains Game's Symbolic Colors


Eidos Montreal didn't pick the colors in Deus Ex: Human Revolution [http://www.amazon.com/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Pc/dp/B002I0HKRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1282911642&sr=8-1] because it thought they looked pretty, those colors are much more significant than you might think.

You don't have to be super-observant to notice that the Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailers have had plenty of yellow in them. That's not an accident, says the game's director, and it's not just a visual thing either.

Director Jean-Francois Dugas says that that yellow is actually gold, and is part of a dualistic color scheme that represents the game's themes. The first, and most obvious, color - the gold - represents hope and the "promise of better selves." The second color is black, which represents the cyberpunk dystopia and people suffering. He said that the color scheme also fit with the Icarus imagery that previous trailers had used, and getting closer to the sun. David Anfossi, the game's producer, added that the pallete, and the meanings assigned to the colors, neatly illustrated the game's tagline: "It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here."

Using color in this very particular way isn't a new idea - movies have been doing it for years - but it suggests that Eidos Montreal has put some real thought into the storytelling of Human Revolution. This is especially exciting when you combine it with Dugas' comments last month [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102358-Deus-Ex-3-Team-Didnt-Get-it-at-First-Says-Director] about how important it was to let the player make his or her own way through the game.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 early next year.

Source: IGN [http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/111/1116085p2.html]


Permalink
 

Jack and Calumon

Digimon are cool.
Dec 29, 2008
4,190
0
41
There Escapist. THAT is why it is gold. No stop your bellyaching about how this all looks or how the story doesn't match or whatever. You can punch through walls and break people's necks. Why? Because it's the future!

Calumon: I could sell the light for my own Bakery! :D
 

Cherry Cola

Your daddy, your Rock'n'Rolla
Jun 26, 2009
11,940
0
0
But Wall Street taught us that gold symbolizes greed!

All this conflicting symbolism makes my brain hurt
 

ENKC

New member
May 3, 2010
620
0
0
That's nice and all, but it will take more than the symbolism of using yellow to convince the world this is a worthy successor to a game so many regard as the greatest ever made.
 

Andronicus

Terror Australis
Mar 25, 2009
1,846
0
0
Yellow and black? Very original.

Seriously, I'm glad they're putting a little more effort into cohesive and interesting stories and themes, but I just hope the player's going to pick up on that, and not just see a colour palette of black and various shades of yellow. Story or no, that yellow is going to get very old very fast.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
5,630
0
0
Dosnt surprise me, after how Mirros Edge worked white in for clinical feel...I had a feeling there was something behind all the yellow lighting which was showed.

Just a different reason than what I thought
 

BenzSmoke

New member
Nov 1, 2009
760
0
0
The colors may represent something. But that doesn't change the fact that it doesn't look good.
The original was able to tell a well written story without having to drench the world in gold and black.
 

Daniel_Rosamilia

New member
Jan 17, 2008
1,110
0
0
OK, time to get some points out of my mind:
1. The black and gold thing works, but it needs something else...
2. He looks BADASS.
3. He IS badass. (Come on, tazing some guy's earpiece to make him bust a cap in his own head, then punching through a wall to break faceless nameless soldier #18573's neck?)
4. I WANT THIS
 

Dr. wonderful

New member
Dec 31, 2009
3,260
0
0
Hubilub said:
But Wall Street taught us that gold symbolizes greed!
And greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Can you see now?
 

Cynical skeptic

New member
Apr 19, 2010
799
0
0
Ugh.

God I wish I could easily expand upon that, but all thats coming to mind is "ugh." So I'll just make fun of the pretentious dick.

I guess his retarded haircut represents the oppression in Botswana, his shoulderstraps represent the desire of the common man to make his own future, and the soles of his shoes represent how the future/present exists only because of the efforts of the present/past.
 

Celtic_Kerr

New member
May 21, 2010
2,166
0
0
Hubilub said:
But Wall Street taught us that gold symbolizes greed!

All this conflicting symbolism makes my brain hurt
Psst, you're greedy for salvation and heroic action, it works

Very interesting symbolism. Not many games can pull of symbolism well
 

Fraught

New member
Aug 2, 2008
4,418
0
0
Dr. wonderful said:
Hubilub said:
But Wall Street taught us that gold symbolizes greed!
And greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Can you see now?
So that should give us all a pretty clear hint that humanity will surge upwards in this game!

Yay, happy endings!
 

Celtic_Kerr

New member
May 21, 2010
2,166
0
0
Dr. wonderful said:
Hubilub said:
But Wall Street taught us that gold symbolizes greed!
And greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Can you see now?
The fourth circle of hell might disagree with you on the "Greed is a good thing" idea
 

matrix3509

New member
Sep 24, 2008
1,372
0
0
Whoop-de-friggen-doo. I'll wait until the game comes out to make my final judgments of course, but as of now, I say its nothing but failed hipster pretension.
 

rembrandtqeinstein

New member
Sep 4, 2009
2,173
0
0
please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck

I would make an argument that Deus Ex is the best game of all time. And part of the holy trinity of Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and STALKER.

The last time they dual developed for console and PC they gave us the abortion that was Invisible War.

I'm looking for something that combines the freedom of the original, the deep customization of SS2 and the immersive atmosphere of STALKER.