Deus Ex is all about exploration and choices, and the environment is not different from this idea. What makes it so unique is that doing level art for this game requires a lot of creativity and flexibility, because the level design almost always requires multiple paths to an objective. Additionally, as the gameplay evolves during the production, it really challenged us to support and retrofit multiple new gameplay elements.

The world of Deus Ex is a mix of old and new. How hard was it find the perfect balance, making sure the new part looks organic and doesn’t spoil your scenes?

The architectural diversity of Prague was really interesting to develop. Prague is one of the only cities of Europe that hasn’t been destroyed during the 18th and 19th centuries, and especially during the two world wars. Its architectural style mainly resides around Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Having such a strong architectural history really helped us develop the foundation for the look of the Hub. Of course, being in the Deus Ex world meant that we had to add a layer of futuristic architecture on top of the existing buildings.

The foundation of the artistic direction really comes from Martin Dubeau, the artistic director, and all the very talented team of concept artists who worked with us on the game. Without the help of those guys we wouldn’t have achieved the final look that we can find in Deus Ex Mankind Divided.

The city hub is divided into 3 areas. The poor district, located south of the train tracks that separate the city, is really focused on traditional Prague architecture elements that are left mostly abandoned and not maintained. There is a really small to non-existent percentage of its architecture that is modern. In addition, the buildings are really aged and worn and tear was added.