Deus Ex is a long-running game and critically-acclaimed game franchise, but that doesn't mean everybody knows to how to pronounce its name.
Is it Deuce ex? Do-sex? Do eks? It's not exactly a common phrase.
Thankfully, a new trailer for the next installment in the game series, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, clears up the confusion once and for all. The video has publisher Square Enix asking random people in England how to pronounce the name. The results? Mostly wrong. Very, very wrong.
After a number of people uttered the mispronunciations mentioned above, one clever passerby manages to hit the nail on the head: it's pronounced Dey-Uhs-Ex. At long last, the mystery has been solved.
However, the video doesn't stop there. It then moves into some of the history behind the word, as well discussing what the name refers to in the context of the game series. It's actually pretty educational. The name is derived from the Greek theater phrase "Deus Ex Machina," which translates into "god from the machine." It comes from scenes in Greek theater where "gods" would swoop in to save a character from an impossible situation.
"This term is still used today, in fact, although but seen as more of a cheap trick, and can be applied to all forms of literature, not just theater," states the video's not-actually-an-expert expert. "Basically, any surprise moment that miraculously saves the key characters from certain doom could be referred to as deus ex machina." The "expert" goes on to reference moments in film like the Eagles rescuing Sam and Frodo in Lord of the Rings or the Ark of the Covenant conveniently killing all the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So, what does the phrase mean when it comes to the title of the game? The video doesn't give a definitive answer, but it could relate to a number of things. The game series is one about machines and man becoming intertwined, and the title could refer to the new, godlike powers bestowed upon mankind by mechanical augmentations and nanomachines. Or it could refer to the shadowy Illuminati that manipulates world history throughout the game series, not so different from the gods that used to intervene in the lives of mortal men in Greek theater.
No matter what the game's title actually refers to, a little history lesson never hurt anybody. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided arrives on Aug. 23 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
