Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Mankind Divided echoes one theme at every layer of its Prague. Its Prague of oppressed augmented humans shows up in the world setting, then in segregated train cars and a slum for augs, then in anti-aug graffiti and emails about being kicked out of the capital.

Narrative works as a stack of world, places and small vignettes, and is strongest when every layer points at the same theme. On big games where different people own different levels, teams must actively share that vision. As the video puts it: "Every level is talking about the same theme".

Killing a shopkeeper changes the shop for the rest of the game. If you kill a shopkeeper in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the shop later becomes a police crime scene and is then permanently closed.

Environmental storytelling can show what the player's actions did to a space after they left, not just what happened before they arrived. The space becomes a record of the player's own choices.

Mankind Divided uses a radar to show enemy vision in 3D. It still uses a radar to show enemy vision, which the video calls a hand-wavey fix for showing senses in 3D.

Showing vision cones is harder in 3D. A radar can work, as in Metal Gear Solid and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but a diegetic cue is cleaner. Sly Cooper's torch-carrying guards cast obvious pools of light, and standing in the light gets you spotted: "Cartoony, yes. But also, immediately readable."