First page of Shooter design document version 3
Shooter design document version 3 is a design document for Shooter, one of the earliest precursor concepts for Deus Ex. The design document is dated October 21, 1997, according to the records of the Briscoe Center for American History of the University of Texas at Austin. An image of the first page of the document was, for a time, part of the publicly viewable records of the Briscoe Center. It is the only part of the document that has been publicly available.
Summary[]
The first page of the design document describes the game's general premise, which includes a protagonist with "biomechanically augmented abilities" and an antagonist who seeks world domination. The antagonist is also described as someone or something who "offers an end to war, poverty, hunger and disease, but at a horrible price." The antagonist is not named on the first page, but another document, Shooter executive summary version 1.0, confirms that the antagonist was intended to be Adam.
The first page of the design document also lists the alternate titles "Revelation" and "Operation: Majestic." The Shooter project was later renamed to Shooter: Majestic Revelations.
Transcript of the first page[]
Shooter[]
- Alternate titles: Revelation, Operation: Majestic
- "Paranoia means having all the facts." – William S. Burroughs
High concept[]
The 21st century world teeters on the brink of madness. Using biomechanically augmented abilities, you fight terrorists and druglords around the world, uncover the secrets of the ages-old secret society controlling them and stop the megalomanical cabalist who has manipulated you, the terrorists and the conspirators in his quest for world domination. He offers an end to war, poverty, hunger and disease, but at a horrible price. Only you can stop him, but do you even want to?...
A case of mistaken identity, an ages old conspiracy, a world on the brink of disaster. Humanity has but one hope - and you must stop him.
I don't know, that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me... Hey, I'm fighting to save the world from someone (or something, although you don't know that yet) who could potentially make it a better place? Why do I want to stop him?
You sure had me wondering about the "mistaken identity" until I read further in the doc (your little "surprise")
Game Theme[]
Fundamentally, the game is about the perils and potential of freedom and free will.
Early in the game you may find yourself under someone else's control, whether because you work for the manipulator or because they control your mind or because they've set up situations in such a way that you don't even realize you're doing someone else's bidding. You are constantly confronted with the importance of personal power and how grim it is when that power is lost. The key is that you – the player – are the one person in the game with enough power and integrity to fight for freedom...and you fight hard?
On a larger scale, the world's governments and leaders often seem to be manipulated by mysterious, hidden forces. Often the manipulators have good intentions and their manipulations may have positive effects. Still, you have to decide if the positives of manipulation outweigh the negatives – is it better to live free in a world of chaos or live safely in an ordered world of someone else's design (Needless to say, the message of our game is that the free chaotic world is the way to go – the freedom of choice available to the player and the messages delivered by NPC's should make that clear...)
We hope this theme makes the game something more than just "kill the bad guys and you win."
What's wrong with the age old struggle of Good vs. Evil? I usually get satisfaction from a game (or movie, or book, or whatever) that ends in such a way. Unless of course its wrapped up quickly in the last five minutes, as is always the case in Star Trek (and not the case on Babylon 5).
Gallery[]
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