Clashes are open or stealth? Lethal or non-lethal attacks? Plasma rifle or fire extinguisher? There is nothing better in a video game, that freedom of choice and, with the large variety of options for dialogue and combat expected, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided offers plenty.

In a world where biotechnology has given rise to an explosive cocktail of paranoia, segregation and racism, what the player perceives as "right" or "wrong" may reveal a more ambiguous nature: exactly the goal that Eidos Montreal aims with the game.

During an interview, the narrative Director Mary DeMarle discussed what acts give the freedom of choice to players.

" We wanted to explore the human condition as a result of the tragedy which occurred at the end of Deus Ex: Human Revolution ," says Mary DeMarle, Executive Director narrative.

" As Adam Jensen, the player is involved in action to counter terrorism and the people behind it. But are they terrorists? Once you know each other better, they can still be perceived as "bad"? And how this will affect the decisions of the player? "

Set two years after Human Revolution, in the new game starring Jensen seems to have made peace with its biotechnological enhancements, but is the player to decide whether and how to use them.

" One of our main objectives was to ensure that the choices of the player and their consequences could continue to weigh over the whole game ," explains DeMarle.

" Sometimes the player may not realize it, but there will be cases where you will come across at a crossroads. The choice made will lead him towards a final instead of another. And how will arise before the final mission will depend on all the choices made previously. This means that each player may potentially experience different from others. "

Although from the point of view of the player is nice to be able to choose whether Jensen should be a pacifist charismatic and peaceful or a violent maniac armed with a fire extinguisher, for the team of storytellers offer this choice represents a colossal undertaking.

" The author must be able to make emotionally sane every possible development stage by considering the choices available to the player ," explains DeMarle. " In a three-minute scene can therefore be a copycat of thirty pages. "

" So we created what we called the tree of life, which is a system to keep track of all the choices available in the game. To do this, we used Excel, which is probably not the most suitable program to manage a flowchart like this! "

" Every time I had to go back to that final mission to verify things back from the point of view of the script, my head wanted to explode! ".

The ability shown by the team of all the various choices to disentangle, DeMarle failed even to be included in the game a whole series of quests which, though not crucial for the purposes of the plot, exploring the themes of the game throwing new light on the main mission and offering new ideas to develop the personality of Jensen.

" Some of my favorite stories are those of the missions totally optional. Ignoring them, you would lose several details , "says DeMarle.

" Side-quests can be completed in 10 minutes, but if you take the time to explore, you can dig deeper and connect with other characters. "

" We wanted to enrich the narrative environment as already we had made in Human Revolution. Exploring the apartments, you can Intuit micro stories very interesting. Things like email and other details that have nothing to do with the objectives help to give body to the game world. "

And then there is the final choice. At the end of the game, the player bumps into new game plus option, allowing you to begin anew but with Jensen equipped exactly like the end of the game.

" We know that new game plus completely breaks up with the narrative, but the choices are central in our game and we wanted to give players the chance to explore this aspect ," says DeMarle.

" Power-ups available beginning with the new game + leverage and access items of which you don't know initially, especially considering the fact that we have designed the game, enhancing further the vertical dimension and the ability to access many buildings from almost every possible direction. " concluded DeMarle.

Regardless of the final which will meet your Adam Jensen, the future promises splendid: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released on 23 August.