Deus Ex: Human Revolution Mini Q&A

In a tiny Q&A on CVG, Deus Ex: Human Revolution lead writer Mary DeMarle reveals why she thinks that some video game stories are not only on par with those found in movies, but actually exceed them due to their interactivity.

I think a lot of games do aspects of story well. Story in games is very difficult thing to get right. In this industry there are definitely elements of a lot of different games that do get it… you get moments where you’re like, ‘wow, that’s really really cool’.

Most of the things I’d name are older games, because for the last three years I’ve been so immersed in [Deus Ex] that I haven’t played much. The last game I got was Fallout 3 and I still haven’t finished it.

But one thing that is often mentioned is The Darkness. It has a moment where you’re playing a scene with your girlfriend in an apartment. During that you’re like “What am I doing here? I’m watching this TV with my girlfriend, this is so different.”

It was a really interesting moment where the game pauses and gives you a chance to know your girlfriend. And then later on – I’m about to spoil something – later on, she’s killed in front of you and it is so powerful because of that moment.