A multi-month delay for Deus Ex turned into a huge payoff for one of its best characters, says designer Harvey Smith
Smith's story about the late stages of Deus Ex development takes some time to get to the point, but it's a fun ride.
A multi-month delay for Deus Ex became a significant benefit for one of its most iconic characters, according to designer Harvey Smith. In an interview with the NoClip podcast, Smith explained how a delay allowed the developers to give Gunther Hermann, a German character with a skull gun, a much more prominent role. Smith recounted how the extra development time was given to Ion Storm Austin after they asked for more time to perfect the game, which was being developed by a studio distracted by the chaos in Dallas due to the Daikatana controversy.
One of the key enhancements made during this extra time was giving Gunther a more significant role in the game, particularly in a memorable mission set in a Paris cathedral. The developers created a moment where Gunther would watch the player through a satellite, leading to a powerful and emotional confrontation. Smith emphasized the importance of post-production time, stating that giving developers a few extra months can make a game much better and potentially more successful.
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