8 Game Designers Who Hated Their Own Creations

3. Warren Spector (Deus Ex: Invisible War)

Shigeru Miyamoto Mario 3
Eidos

The black sheep in the Deus Ex chronology, Invisible War, is nowhere near as terrible as history would suggest, but it simply couldn't cradle a candle in the direction of its groundbreaking predecessor.

The conspiracequel didn't help its cause by paring down many of the original's most defining features in a bid to make it more console-friendly as it migrated to Microsoft's recently launched Xbox. Deus Ex Deux consequently became less of a systemic RPG with an entirely open-ended means of progression, and more of a clipped FPS with insubstantial role-playing elements bolted on.

In no way was it an augmentation of the first game then, and it's a state of affairs designer Warren Spector latterly regretted. Whilst promoting Epic Mickey back in 2012, having emerged out the spectre of the unedifying Daikatana debacle, Spector reflected on the missteps he made with Invisible War.

"I've never made a change in a game based on focus testing except once and it was a mistake, he recalled. “It was Deus Ex Invisible War, actually, we focus tested concepts and I was told, ‘Set the game further in the future and put the guy or the girl in a purple jumpsuit; people like purple jumpsuits."

"Why did I listen?" he groaned.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.