Barts’ Short Bursts vol. 3 – smart reading edition

Since the concept of Barts’ Short Bursts is a dynamic one and still in its infancy, I have decide to evolve its formula a bit: if possible, each of these posts should have a theme to it. Instead of being a random heap of links and information, such post would provide you with a bunch of interesting things that are not totally from different dimensions, but are somehow connected.

Today’s post will provide you with links to a lot of reading material, hence the name:

* Saracen, the Arabian Knight, has played Deus Ex and obviously likes it a lot. Read his reflections on politics, philosophy and other serious issues in one of the best games ever created in his blog post. It is a pleasure to see praise one of my favourite title written by someone coming from totally different cultural background. Also, it goes to show that truly good pieces of art and story, be it a movie, a theatre performance or a game, can be appreciated regardless of spectator’s origins.

* Trent Polack shares some thoughts on game design and emergent gameplay in this article entitled “An economy of fun”. Whether you want to create your own game one day or not, this constitutes a very interesting piece of lecture.

* Recently published game Velvet Assassin is based on the tragic events that took place during World War II, namely the heartbreaking story of Violette Szabo. Is basing a game on such real life drama an exploitation or is it not? Alec Meer from RockPaperShotgun put down his doubts in form of a short article. Be sure to check comments, too.

* Even though I haven’t blogged about it, I got to play Braid. Contrary to most folks, however, I didn’t like it, among other things because of its insane difficulty level and demonic puzzles. Krystian Majewski has written a great article on Braid’s difficulty and nasty tricks it plays on innocent, unsuspecting gamer. I really wish Jonathan Blow would have read it before publishing Braid.

* Last, but not least, Simon Ferrari deciphers some of Beyond Good & Evil themes. While I don’t necessarily agree with all that he put in the article and some of his connotations are a bit too far-stretched for my taste, it is refreshing to see other of my favourite games (I really should make a list one day) analysed from a different perspective.

As a bow to all the other true hardcore readers, I have decided to be somewhat malicious this time and not to adorn this post with any shiny images – the little letters will have to suffice, dear gamers.

High Definition Texture Pack

Deus Ex is probably one of the best games ever made for PC, if not the very best. I played it many times from the very beginning to one of three different endings. On my fourth replay I found a place and triggered events that I haven’t seen during preceding three plays – such is the amount of content and story in the game.

Currently, however, the game incredible storyline and gameplay get clouded by its already ancient engine. Essentially it is based on Unreal Tournament’s one, which means it is pretty blocky and textures are not of the highest quality. It is not a problem for me or true hardcore gamers, but many others will dismiss the game just because of the way it looks.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this and it’s called HDTP, which in fact doesn’t have anything to do with Handheld Device Transport Protocol that happens to have same abbreviation. HDTP actually stands for High Definition Texture Pack and it does more than the name suggests – not only its authors aim to totally retexture the game in high definition, but also change all models and their animations!

New version of Gunther Hermann, old model in the corner.

Also, have a look at a compilation of screenshots in a slideshow movie below :

The only downside to it is that it is not yet finished and there is still some time before it gets completed. I can barely contain my impatience!

Meanwhile, while we are waiting, I suggest to have a look at yet another rehashed version of Deus Ex. I do not mean its sequel, Invisible War, but Deus Ex : The Conspiracy, a PS2 version with renewed cutscenes.

You can see the original Deus Ex intro here (classic intro) and compare it to PS2 version here (new version).

Then have a look at all the three possible endings in the original version.

Personally, I just love those lines (“And… who are we? Who are we really?“). The quotes at the very end of each sequence are great as well. For those who have not played the game, there is the following choice of endings in function of players choices :

• fusing with artificial intelligence called Helios – basically “Ghost in the Shell” ending,
• destroying global communications network – inducing “New Dark Age”, in which people will now live free of influence of global powers,
• joining the Illuminati conspiracy – which I personally didn’t like, with its opportunistic down-to-earth scent of corruption, to be joining stronger faction, just like in real life .

Now you can have a look at all of them in alternative versions (I give them here in the respective order) :

• The barriers between us have fallen and we have become our own shadows.
• If you receive this, if you survive, then find us! Find us!
• In the end all sins are forgiven, even yours…

Feel free to share your opinions via comments.