The sequel to the "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" video game, "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided," will be released this month. Prior to that, CNN and game company Square Enix collaborated to make a documentary film called "Human by Design."
"This documentary is meant to inform and inspire, which many may consider outside the norm for a video game," Hardcore Gamer quoted Square Enix's senior product manager Jon Grant, as saying.
"However, if you know about the Deus Ex universe, then you also know that this type of film makes perfect sense. Bionics and human augmentation are rapidly advancing, and as a result, it's time for everyone to consider the social and ethical impact that this will have on mankind."
The 30-minute documentary was inspired by the upcoming game, tackling the questions on the ethics of mechanically augmenting humans and the use of technology. It asks the question, "What is it to be human?" It features 12 experts in human augmentation, such as: Hugh Herr, a biophysics engineer at MIT Media Lab; Samantha Payne, co-founder of Open Bionics; and Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, executive art director of Deus Ex; to name a few.
"Human by Design" was produced in time for the conference Human by Design, which is scheduled on Aug. 3. The film is available exclusively on Amazon Video.
"Mankind Divided" is an action role-playing game that is presented in both first person and third person perspectives. It is set in the year 2029, two years after the "Aug Incident" that happened in "Human Revolution," wherein people who were mechanically augmented became extremely violent. These people are now considered outcasts, and the gamer plays the role of Adam Jensen who is tasked to capture the group behind the secret technology that caused the incident.
"Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" will be released on Tuesday, Aug. 23, for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC.
