Square Enix doing Deus Ex 3 cinematics

By Tom Bramwell Published 25 November, 2009

Wants to help out on Thief 4 too.

Square Enix will muck in and help on Deus Ex 3's cinematics, according to Eidos Montreal's Stephane D'Astous.

"The cinematics - by which I mean any CGI pre-rendered cinematics - are going to be done in Tokyo by Square Enix, and that's going to be amazing," D'Astous told Edge.

Apparently one day after Square Enix acquired Eidos, D'Astous woke up and remembered his new corporate overlords were pretty good at the old CG, and decided to get them involved.

"The people in Tokyo are just so glad to work on it. This is the first project for them that's a non-Final Fantasy title - they even want to work on Thief 4 too, so everyone is really excited."

Not a lot is known about Deus Ex 3, but what there is you can find on our gamepage, including a debut teaser trailer, which, given the above, is presumably no longer canon.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • the_dudefather #1 2 years ago

    Wonder how long until we see JC Denton (or whoever you play as) doing this?

  • Ornithophobe #2 2 years ago

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
    Edited by 2 at 25/11/09 @ 08:56

  • c780162 #3 2 years ago

    whats with the no. squenix are pretty good at cgi as far as i know lol. chance for them to show they can do somethin different and i reckon they can. its not like they can jus plonk a chocobo in there...right?

  • matrim83 #4 2 years ago

    Yeah CGI, thats what they need to make a good sequel to Deus Ex.

    FFS! Do they even have a clue? Dues Ex wasnt about flashy cutscenes and if they think the sequel needs them.. well they are way off the track. Even more so than I imagined.

  • ZuluHero #5 2 years ago

    @xXBrombeerXx

    Yeah agreed. And they do some of the best CGI you'll ever see. They've spent ga-zillions on so much R&D developing their techniques and producing movie quality CGI, its going to be amazing. They can do stuff other then high-concept fantasy you know! :S
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 09:02

  • Ornithophobe #6 2 years ago

    "They can do stuff other then high-concept fantasy you know!"

    "This is the first project for them that's a non-Final Fantasy title"

  • c780162 #7 2 years ago

    nowhere does it say squenix has any say in the rest of the game u know. they jus doin the cgi

  • mkreku #8 2 years ago

    Denton with spiky hair and oversized.. pistols? Nooo :(

  • Shinetop #9 2 years ago

    Yes, let's change the Thief series' unique cinematic style to generic plastic Japanese dreck.

  • Azazel #10 2 years ago

    I think this is quite interesting personally. I would say that it's generally accepted that Square are The Best when it comes to CG work. A few years ago Square working on Thief or Deus Ex would have seemed a ludicrous idea. It's a smaller world these days though.

    So really the success of this venture depends on how the CG is integrated into the games. I suppose it could take the form of long overblown cut-scenes involving Moogles, but I somehow doubt it.

    Probably best to contain the knee-jerk nerd-RAGE until more is known eh?

  • RandomTerrain #11 2 years ago

    No one does CGI as well as Square, so I can't see anyone being dissapointed with the results.

  • Shinetop #12 2 years ago

    Next time round, Helquist added, the studio hopes to get more feedback prior to the game's release - "So we can ensure that we'll have an ending that you guys like." However, Gearbox hasn't started work on a Borderlands sequel yet.

    Sometimes knee-jerk nerd-rage beforehand is just what the doctor ordered to prevent some disastrous choices.

  • hiddenranbir #13 2 years ago

    Their stuff is flashy but that is all imo.

    I can't really see what benefit since I prefer being impressed by game engine cutscenes. It stops that forced sense of disbelief where one moment you have x level of quality and then all of a sudden it looks just a bit different.

    Western games don't need CGI to try and sugar coat outdated game play! Wise up SE!
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 09:55

  • Bazfrag #14 2 years ago

    I always thought the most emersive fprpg could use some emersion killing cgi.

  • ZuluHero #15 2 years ago

    @Ornithophobe

    This is the first project for them that's a non-Final Fantasy title"

    Well, They did work for the Animatrix, namely the animated short "Final Flight of the Osiris"?

    http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fligh...

  • BabyJesus #16 2 years ago

    Looks like in cutscenes our guy will look like a prepubescent kid with a whacky hairstyle. Then Cutscene ends and he has grown up to be a man again.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #17 2 years ago

    They closed the studio that produced Final Flight of the Osiris and The Spirits Within.

    But the_dudefather's scene is in-engine. Square's CG is more like this.

  • Xeopuppy #18 2 years ago

    As long as they keep the graphic style the same as the other Thief games, dark and moody and the same actor who voiced Garrett

  • Inquisitor #19 2 years ago

    I really, really don't like cutscenes that don't use the in game engine. It just takes you out of the experience completely, especially in a game like Deux Ex. I hope they're just animating the scenes rather than creating out of engine pieces.

  • Shinetop #20 2 years ago

    But the_dudefather's scene is in-engine. Square's CG is more like this.

    Ah, so androgynous characters, dudes trying hard to look badass and over the top special effects. Yes, that's exactly what I want in my Thief 4 and Deus Ex 3.

  • Evolution #21 2 years ago

    I don't really mind the CGI, Square are legendary artists in that field, I think only Blizzard are the only other developer (plenty of dedicated 3d studios however) who do it as well. It's not like I have any confidence that this game will be as good as the original, but this won't hurt it.

  • davisorle #22 2 years ago

    A game like Thief, is really counting on the gameplay, then the visuals and LASTLY and by far the CGIs... Square showed their teeth on CGIs ever since FFVIII and ever since I think they make from the best but really, games like Thief and then Deus Ex dont count at all on the CGIs and I surely hope they dont screw those games up cause lots of us have been expecting the sequels. At least we know first hand that Deus Ex and maybe Thief 4, will have great cinematics. lol

  • Quixz #23 2 years ago

    Can't wait to see what they come up with, chances are they will not disappoint.

  • ZuluHero #24 2 years ago

    @Mentalist(air)

    No, it was consolidated as a subsidiary of Square Enix.

    [link url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Pictures#Square_ Pictures
    ]http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Pict...[/link]

    It wouldn't surprise me if that department was solely responsible for all the CGI in all their games.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 12:40

  • sneetch #25 2 years ago

    I wonder if some of the people here realise that Square is capable of doing CGI scene using different styles? The tools they use don't automatically go into the "Spiking hair" and "Applying blades to guns" stages when processing scenes.

    The scripting and storyboards will presumably be worked on by both Eidos and Squeenix. The models and environments in the CGI will have to be the same (but probably more detailed) as in the Thief and DE3 games themselves. Anyone seriously suggesting that they'll have FF/anime cinematics and characters shoe-horned onto Thief or DE3 is... well, nuts, frankly.

    Whatever those games will be like is another story but handing the CGI work over to Square Enix will allow the studios to concentrate on the actual games themselves. Surely that's a good thing?

    Look at the character models in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. They set hair_spikiness = 0 there. ;)

  • Snidesworth #26 2 years ago

    A Thief game with CGI cutscenes instead of its trademark ones? This is not pleasing.

  • Shinetop #27 2 years ago

    I wonder if some of the people here realise that Square is capable of doing CGI scene using different styles? The tools they use don't automatically go into the "Spiking hair" and "Applying blades to guns" stages when processing scenes.

    Their tools will undoubtedly be capable of different styles, but I have yet to see them employ a different style than "Japanese".

    The scripting and storyboards will presumably be worked on by both Eidos and Squeenix. The models and environments in the CGI will have to be the same (but probably more detailed) as in the Thief and DE3 games themselves. Anyone seriously suggesting that they'll have FF/anime cinematics and characters shoe-horned onto Thief or DE3 is... well, nuts, frankly.

    Sure. Show me anything SE has done that even remotely resembles the unique 2D/3D/silhouette style of the Thief cinematics, and I'll concede to that point.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 12:51

  • ZuluHero #28 2 years ago

    "Show me anything SE has done that even remotely resembles the unique 2D/3D/silhouette style of the Thief cinematics, and I'll concede to that point. "

    It will most likely end being ultra realistic. The reason that they employed the styling and visual tricks you mentioned was because the studio was unable to produce film-standard quality at the time, either through hardware restraints/time restrictions/lack of skill.

    I love how people are already complaining about the standard of the CGI that Square-Enix produces, when all i can remember is the crappy CGI at the start of Deus Ex 2. Surely anything that they do will be an improvement over that?

    Reminder! [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3TwmchxWA
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3TwmchxWA
    [/link]
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 13:02

  • sneetch #29 2 years ago

    Shinetop
    Their tools will undoubtedly be capable of different styles, but I have yet to see them employ a different style than "Japanese".

    And yet the CGI in those individual games themselves have distinct and consistent styles. They are basically "Japanese" but the games themselves are basically "Japanese" so the CGI work is entirely appropriate for those games.

    Lest we forget, Square Enix are not the ones coming up with the style and look and feel this time, Eidos are.

    Sure. Show me anything SE has done that even remotely resembles the unique 2D/3D/silhouette style of the Thief cinematics, and I'll concede to that point.

    Do we want that style, I wonder? Thief III had good cinematic work but the first two were really basic, IMO, looking at them now the basic shots were good but would IMO be improved by using actual models rather than just hand drawn pictures.

    That said I reckon they can arrange a shot in silhouette like anyone else. I believe they can do this well. I might be surprised but only time will tell. To assume that someone can only ever repeat their past performances, that they can never do anything new or differently seems basically incorrect to me.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 13:19

  • Shinetop #30 2 years ago

    And yet the CGI in those individual games themselves have distinct and consistent styles. They are basically "Japanese" but the games themselves are basically "Japanese" so the CGI work is entirely appropriate for those games.

    I know this. The problem is that I've yet to see them attempt another style.

    Lest we forget, Square Enix are not the ones coming up with the style and look and feel this time, Eidos are.

    And it's up to SE to conform to that style. The problem is that I'm not sure they can.

    Do we want that style, I wonder?

    Uhm, yes.

    Thief III had good cinematic work but the first two were really basic, IMO, looking at them now the basic shots were good but would IMO be improved by using actual models rather than just hand drawn pictures.

    We are either not talking about the same <a href="http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=tYOeHevFUKI">cinematics< /A> or we're disagreeing about how photorealism would completely destroy the soul of these cutscenes.
    Edited by 2 at 25/11/09 @ 14:51

  • mkreku #31 2 years ago

    @Zuluhero:

    The video you linked to is from Deus Ex: Invisible War, aka Deus Ex 2. I've tried to repress that memory and only think of the original Deus Ex when someone mentions.. Deus Ex.

    Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised by this CGI, who knows. It just doesn't seem like a good fit, on paper.

  • ZuluHero #32 2 years ago

    @Shinetop

    "I know this. The problem is that I've yet to see them attempt another style. "

    Does this not prove that they can?

    <a href="http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=NkRMpMLzkYs
    ">http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=NkRMpMLzkYs
    </a>

    It sure looks like the Matrix to me... and no spiky-haired protagonist in sight! ;)
    Edited by 2 at 25/11/09 @ 15:16

  • sneetch #33 2 years ago

    @Shinetop
    We are either not talking about the same cinematics or we're disagreeing about how photorealism would completely destroy the soul of these cutscenes.

    Ok, we were (as in, I was) talking about different cinematics. The ones I watched on YouTube weren't as good (might have been Thief II). Those are excellent. Can that feel be recreated? I think so. Will they? I don't know, I suspect that Thief IV could be an attempt to bring the series "up to date". Faster paced, forced confrontation and so on.

    Damn, but Thief was excellent. Have to see if I can reinstall/find it again.

  • FortysixterUK #34 2 years ago

    Squenix are the best at most things that matter in a game.
    That they are helping with the excellent Deus Ex series is a massive plus, that they are helping with the even better Thief series is truly amazing!

  • Shinetop #35 2 years ago

    Does this not prove that they can?

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=NkRMpMLzkYs


    I don't know, that link goes nowhere.

    Squenix are the best at most things that matter in a game.

    Cinematics?


    @Shinetop
    We are either not talking about the same cinematics or we're disagreeing about how photorealism would completely destroy the soul of these cutscenes.

    Ok, we were (as in, I was) talking about different cinematics. The ones I watched on YouTube weren't as good (might have been Thief II). Those are excellent.

    Gotcha. Maybe you were watching the mission briefings?

    Can that feel be recreated? I think so. Will they? I don't know, I suspect that Thief IV could be an attempt to bring the series "up to date". Faster paced, forced confrontation and so on.

    Perhaps. I suppose my biggest fear is that, when I imagine how Square Enix would have handled the cutscene I linked to, rather than keeping Victoria in the shadows and only showing her transformation either in silhouette or in partial closeups (leaving a lot to the imagination and maintaining the mystery and shadowy setting) I can only see Square Enix doing this with an overload of visual effects, rotating cameras and full, brightly lit shots showing every single detail. Would it be impressive CGI? Yes. Would it be exactly according to the script? Yes. Would it fit in with the whole feel of the Thief series? Not by a long shot.

    Damn, but Thief was excellent. Have to see if I can reinstall/find it again.

    Well, at least we agree on something. :)
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/09 @ 15:38

  • funkateer #36 2 years ago

    I bet JC Denton will have great hair

  • trooperdx3117 #37 2 years ago

    No please one of my favourite things about Thief was the handpainted artstyle used in the cutscenes please don't go all CG on them Square Enix.

  • IMD1_Pk #38 2 years ago

    Meh not sure if it should be considered good news but as long as Square doesn't influence Eidos to make spikey haired characters or dress males and females in absurd outfits. I don't want my male/female character dressing in barely-there clothiing. I want them covered neck to feet. As long as Square does that and lets Eidos handle the voice acting I could care less.