How One Deus Ex Designer Created The Game’s Best Level

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Today, on June 23rd, 2025, Deus Ex is marking its 25-year milestone! Let’s delve into a conversation we had with designer Steve Powers, as he shares insights about the creation of one of this series’ most memorable stages.

Steve Powers has never visited Hong Kong, but he’s been there in his dreams.

For over two years straight, as a designer for the original Deus Ex game, he routinely traversed the virtual streets of the in-game city. He describes the development process as a blur of intense labor, with memories so vivid that sometimes at night, when his eyes were closed, he could still see the simulated canals and neon-lit back alleys, the hanging meat in the market, and the temple shrouded in fog in the city center.

According to Powers, the chief designer of the Hong Kong level, he aimed to create an experience that resembled a “John Woo-inspired delirium” for players. Reminiscent of the original immersive-sim game released 25 years ago, the environment he crafted still evokes the same sense of richness, openness, and grandeur. From its subterranean nightclub pulsating with strobe lights to the dizzying balconies perched atop a dozen floors, inviting players to take the leap into the grey abyss.

In Deus Ex, Hong Kong stands out among the 13 levels, yet it seems more like a central game hub on its own. It’s a labyrinth; the interconnected spaces have an intriguing blend of being utterly distinct and still belonging to the same universe, or at least originating from the same creative mind. From my conversation with Powers over video call from his home in Texas, it’s evident that the smooth transition in Hong Kong stems from his unique, personal, and somewhat unconventional vision of what the city should convey – and a strong intent to encourage players’ exploration.

Among four designers, one of them held a portion of Deus Ex, and each designer defined specific functions or aspects within it. For the storyline in Hong Kong, the protagonist, JC Denton, enters to uncover details about enigmatic adversaries Majestic 12 and Maggie Chow, locate scientist Tracer Tong, and disable a self-destruct mechanism they possess. Along this journey, the player must depart from Hong Kong with newfound knowledge about Majestic 12’s connection to a global pandemic and acquire the potent Dragon’s Tooth Sword as a key tool for the game’s second phase.

As a game developer, I was given an incredible amount of creative control within the set boundaries. Unfortunately, Ion Storm couldn’t afford a trip to Hong Kong, but my passion for action movie director John Woo and the vast library of our game’s director, Warren Spector, provided all the inspiration I needed. I would often flip through his enormous collection of Hong Kong picture books, marking pages with post-its. The ideas for the game were born from this combination: John Woo, the glamour of Hollywood, and countless stacks of books about Hong Kong.

In his mind’s eye, he pictured a bustling, smoky street under the cover of night, illuminated only by vertical neon signs – this mental image transformed into Tonnochi Road, a name derived from the actual Tonnochy Road in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. He assembled pieces together, as one might build with LEGO blocks, and his haphazard, unrestricted methodology resulted in delightful coincidences.

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The image he visualized was of a lively, smoky street at night, brightened only by neon signs standing tall – this mental image transformed into Tonnochi Road, named after the real-life Tonnochy Road in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. He put parts together, much like constructing with LEGO bricks, and his unstructured, improvisational style led to pleasant surprises.

For instance, he constructed a lofty structure and carved out a comfortable dwelling within it, specifically tailored for characters to gain insights about character Paul Denton. Powers examined the machinery and looked out from a window, mimicking a player’s perspective.

Across from him stood a towering structure, and it crossed his mind how fascinating it would be to catch a glimpse of something up there. Suddenly, fragments began emerging from that buildingah, that must be Maggie Chow’s residence. If I were Paul Denton, I could spy on her from here. Moments later, he leaped across the street and constructed what would later be discovered as Maggie Chow’s apartment, where the player eventually uncovers the Dragon’s Tooth Sword.

According to Powers, when it comes to working, I prefer to establish a focused zone and put on my ‘gamer spectacles.’ This means I won’t ponder over level design or the theoretical aspects of game creation. Instead, I simply ask myself, “What do I feel like doing at this moment?

I feel a thrill when reaching a high vantage point, and I’m tempted to jump across a gap and land on a balcony on the other side. It seems exciting. Later, I discover why that spot exists.” In the final game, players will indeed be able to jump from Maggie Chow’s building to Powers’ first apartment.

According to him, his design wasn’t haphazard at all, as it was influenced by the storyline – requiring visits to a market, a club, a triad hideout, and a secret VersaLife lab – as well as a longing for variations in pace. However, the outcome seems quite coincidental. You get that sense of anticipation when you round a corner, knowing that the music, colors, and ambiance will change, and you’ll discover something intriguing.

While revisiting the game, I find myself exploring the canals of Hong Kong and getting disoriented on its elevated walkways. Along the way, I pass by barges and rowing boats. I stumble upon a narrow alleyway that leads me into a chilly room filled with meat hanging from hooks and a mysterious figure lurking in the dim corners. Powers designed this space, a freezer room for the Old China Hand waterside bar, to create a stark contrast against the vibrant neon hues of Hong Kong with cool, icy blues, he explains.

The complexity of accommodating diverse player choices in Deus Ex, due to his preference for an expansive, multifaceted game environment, was amplified. Players are intended to encounter Maggie Chow prior to locating the Dragon Tooth’s Sword, a crucial artifact that reveals her involvement in a significant conspiracy. However, her apartment offers multiple entry points, such as through a skylight, and players can bypass her entirely by breaking in to find the sword. In this scenario, she will reprimand the player at a later stage for their “rude behavior”.

As a gamer, I’d put it like this: “Every time I let players mess with the game sequence, it makes the coding process way more intricate,” says Powers. “So if I were you, and you’ve got a sword on your first encounter with Maggie Chow, she might just give you a puzzled look.

To numerous gamers and influential entities alike, the thrill of Deus Ex lies in its ability to offer a multitude of choices, ensuring that any actions taken prior to the current moment are considered and factored into the gameplay. This results in an immersive experience where the game world feels dynamic and authentic.

In simpler terms, Powers explains, “The story may have some inconsistencies, but it’s put together well enough that empathetic characters can fill in the gaps. If a player trusts that everything is explained, when they encounter something that doesn’t fit with their understanding, they’ll figure it out on their own – effectively helping us by solving the puzzle.

In Hong Kong, it’s effortless to empathize with players who are willing to overlook logical inconsistencies. You even start inventing stories in your mind to explain visual discrepancies and vacant areas, like why a canal boat is near a freezer room. As Powers puts it, “The authenticity in Hong Kong is lacking, but the intention is to display how this world operates genuinely. A barge arrives from the bay via the canal and docks here, unloading all these frozen goods. This is where they are kept for the kitchen. I wanted it to appear as a realistic living space.

Not every part of Hong Kong has aged well.

Initially, the local accents seemed overly dramatic caricatures to some. However, following the game’s release, Powers faced criticism regarding these accents. It’s important to note that many of the characters had local voices, but they weren’t trained actors. This is why the accents might have sounded unnatural or strange. “I recall comments like, ‘The accents are so unrealistic,’ and I would respond, ‘Those were real people from Hong Kong reading those lines.’ They were simply inexperienced actors, which made their delivery appear stiff and peculiar.

In this production, certain characters were given voices by Western actors, among them Maggie Chow and Tracer Tong. Powers mentioned he wasn’t part of the casting or recording process, but he acknowledged that for a significant number of team members, it was their first experience working on a fully voiced game.

He asserts that given another chance, numerous aspects would likely be handled differently in the present, he explains. In productions like Prey and Redfall, they selected actors who matched the ethnic and cultural profiles of their characters. When it came to scripting dialog for cultures outside of a writer’s personal experience, they sought out consultants to examine and provide feedback on the content to ensure authenticity. He is confident that if they were creating Deus Ex now, they would share similar values.

The speaker notes that what one encounters in Hong Kong is not representative of the genuine experience. He acknowledges that he may have been mindful of depicting a distinct culture, and perhaps those from Hong Kong might engage with his work, but his intention has always been to present it respectfully. This was his aspiration.

This is Steve Powers’ version of Hong Kong, his own “John Woo fever dream”, his vision of a city.

To drive home the idea, Powers actually modeled one of his physical features into the game, after the developers demonstrated to him how to create intricate designs, as he explains.

The object stands atop a pedestal within the VersaLife headquarters’ lobby, casting reflections on the red marble floor beneath it. It then retracts to uncover an underground lab, where the deadly Gray Death, a global pandemic, is produced.

It is a giant hand, reaching towards the player, grasping at a globe, a metaphor for power.

On our call, Powers stretches his fingers towards his webcam.

“That’s this hand.”

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2025-06-23 19:10