Preproduction began around August 1997 and lasted about six months . The six-person team came from Looking Glass 's Austin studios . Spector , the team 's director and producer , saw their work as improving upon the foundation provided by Origin , Looking Glass , and Valve Corporation by doing what those companies did not . The game 's working title was '' Shooter : Majestic Revelations '' , with a scheduled release of Christmas 1998 . The working title was meant to be ironic because they did not want the game to be solely a first-person shooter . They worked on the setting ahead of the game mechanics , and decided on a conspiracy-style story that referenced existing conspiracy theories such as Area 51 , CIA drug trafficking , the John F. Kennedy assassination , the Majestic 12 , and a Masonic underground bunker beneath Denver International Airport . Spector said their research helped them understand how conspiracy theorists think . The team was also able to look to the real world in 1997 to find the rise of stories about terrorists and mechanically-augmented soldiers that they were able to build upon . They also used this time to work out the backstory for constancy . The team designed over 200 characters without associated in-game roles , which was both helpful when designing missions and unhelpful as they attempted to reduce their scope . In the third quarter of 1997 , Spector wrote a " manifesto " on his ideal game and the " rules of role-playing " that was later published in the February 1999 '' Game Developer '' magazine . His principles included " problems , not puzzles " , " no forced failure " , " players do ; NPCs watch " , and " areas with multiple entrance and exit points " . Reflecting , Spector felt that '' Deus Ex '' accomplished the intent of his manifesto . The '' Shooter '' design document set the player as an augmented agent working against an elite cabal in the " dangerous and chaotic " 2050s . Its subtitle was " roleplaying in a world of secrets , lies , and conspiracies " . It was written to be similar in concept to '' Half-Life '' , '' Fallout '' , '' Thief : The Dark Project '' , and '' GoldenEye 007 '' , and to mix elements of the films '' Colossus : The Forbin Project '' , '' The Manchurian Candidate '' , and '' Robocop '' in a world inspired by '' The X-Files '' and '' Men in Black '' — examples of " the millennial madness that 's gripping the world ... and a general fascination with conspiracy theories and the desire to play with high-tech espionage toys "
John F. Kennedy assassination
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Development of Deus Ex