We all know what "Deus Ex" means, right?

klutzon

klutzon

New member
I'm tempted to write up the meaning, but I'm waiting to see if someone here would be able to tell me what it means, and where it came from. :D

(Maybe a prize...? ;))
 
"god out of the ...'workings'". We translate it as "God out of the machine" but it isn't quite meant to have the conotation we place on it, I think...or, rather, it isn't restricted to that conotation. We tend to think of it purely as "god out of the Machine" as in an AI, or robot, etc., but that is just one specific meaning that happens to be one that fits the larger meaning. It is meant more like "a mysterious force that resolves a story". In the case of the game, it is most obviously fitting the narrow definition due to our modern interpretation of the phrase, but there are some hints that it may be meant in the broader sense as well.

This, atleast, is my understanding of it.
 
Deus ex by itself is a phrase fragment. Deus means god or deity. Ex is a preposition; it needs to be followed by a noun. Ex can mean of, in, on, from, and a few other things, depending on context.



Deus ex machina - originally a term used to describe the flying of a deity onto the stage of a play.

Sometime around 400 BC, the Greek playwright Aristophanes used a system of ropes and pulleys called a mechane that were used to "fly" an actor portraying a god onto the stage. This device was made famous by Euripides, and the term deus ex machina or god from the machine was coined to describe this act of the god flying into the play and rescuing the protagonist.

In current times, deus ex machina is a literary term used to describe a cheap plot device that brings about a quick resolution all difficulties with very little explanation.
 
de-us ex ma-chi-na

Pronunciation: Day-S-Eks-Ma-she-Na

Function:Noun

Etmology: New latin,a god from a machine,translation of greek Theos ek mEchanEs

Date of Orgin: 1697

1.A god introduced by a means of a crane in ancient greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome

2.A person or thing(as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a solution to and apparently insolable difficulty

:D
 
Well, I guess samiam got it first, so PM me if you've got a particular idea for a prize in mind... ;) :D

I'm glad that we know what it is. I didn't until about 2 weeks ago. I love Warren Spector. :D

(Don't you think he looks a little like Steven Spielberg? :lol: )
 
Trunks0 said:
It's on the inside cover of the damn game :p
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Is it? I can't find it in the booklet... :hmm:

Well, I'll have to look for it... Did you get your answer out of the booklet? :D

Still, samiam is the winner! :p
 
Hey, what exactly was deficient in my answer? :/ I assumed everyone knew the full phrase was Deus Ex Machina, and my answer defines its meaning...did I not qualify because I didn't include the complete phrase?
 
Well if you have a cardboard case(like I do. I understand there's a normal one with a Plastic case) and its right on the inside cover :)

I'll scan it later today and post a picture :)
 
Alright sorry about the quallity but I just couldn't get a good scan with my now aging scanner

I sharpened it up is PhotoShop and made it black and white so it's easyer to read :)
Deus-EX-Inside-cover.jpg
 
Heh, I got Deus Ex OEM with my SB Live!...my definition was purely based on literary education and sci-fi reading (if you care to differentiate the two ;) ). I think I should extra credit for that! :p
 
demalion said:
Hey, what exactly was deficient in my answer? :/ I assumed everyone knew the full phrase was Deus Ex Machina, and my answer defines its meaning...did I not qualify because I didn't include the complete phrase?
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I'm sorry, demalion. :D You're right. I meant my question, however, concerning where the expression actually came from, not what it meant or what it refers to, and although your answer was 100% correct, it's not the answer that I wanted. Don't hate me. :) Tell you what, I'll give you a runner-up prize, and there are only two prizes in this quiz... :p

And thank you, Trunks0, for the inside cover. :D Almost like cheating... ;) :p
 
Deus Ex Machina... one of the games endings, i assume the one Spector wanted most, was JC and the AI merging... JC comes out of the UC as a god hence Deus Ex Machina. g'nite everyone :D
 
thank you for ruining the game's ending for me ..|.


Then agian I almost never finish my games(MetalGearSoild 2 beging the one of the few games I completed recently. But it only took me 1 day to beat that game :))
 
Trunks0 said:
thank you for ruining the game's ending for me ..|.

Then agian I almost never finish my games(MetalGearSoild 2 beging the one of the few games I completed recently. But it only took me 1 day to beat that game :))
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Don't worry about it Trunks0, there are 4 different endings to Deus Ex, and although Rage LT MAN had told you one of them, the one that most applies to the title of the game, I thought that that ending was not only really scary, but also the least bit satisfying (in my opinion). You have two other endings, one of them which will probably be the ending that Deus Ex 2 continues off, and that one is more satisfying. :)

NO ONE TELL HIM THE OTHERS! :D

So he's spoilt just 25% of the game for you... ;) :D

(btw, that was a very good observation, Rage LT Man... I never saw that. :) Thanks! :D)
 
conscript said:
four endings? I only remember 3??? What's the fourth, you die and don't finish the game? ;)
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For Trunks0's sake, I'll not mention the three you know about, but tell you that the fourth ending is more of an Easter Egg / bonus than a real ending (the same way you find the two Iron Maidens "playing around" with the Tank Commander in the secret room at the end of Quake II... :lol: that was funny! :D)

When you'll find it, you'll enjoy it. :D
 
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