Deus Ex: Black equals suffering, gold equals hope

F**king deep, man.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution's leads have explained the game's general colour pallete, saying the black and gold mix signifies potential escape from dystopia. Who knew?

"It's a black and gold type of thing," said director Jean-Francois Dugas, speaking to IGN. "The black aspect of the game refers to the dystopian world, cyberpunk – people in suffering, and things like that.

"The gold aspect represents a bit of hope – and society, with augmentations, a promise of better selves. It also reflects the Icarus myth and getting closer to the sun. So the black and gold type of palette is there to support those things."

"The Renaissance"

Producer David Anfossi added another layer of meaning to the black and gold theme, presumably while adjusting his smoking jacket.

"The gold is also about The Renaissance and painting," he said. "It's a great contrast – black and gold. And I think the best way to represent that is from our tagline 'It's not the end of the world—but you can see it from here.' It's still gold, you know? But you can see the darkness from here. You can see trouble approaching."

Anfossi's "Renaissance" comments reflect those made to VG247 at gamescom, when during an interview,  the producer explained to us the meaning behind the game's gold and black hues along with the inclusion of Rembrandt paintings.

Action-RPG Deus Ex: Human Revolution takes place during the year 2027, 25 years before the original Deus Ex. It's being developed by Eidos Montreal, and releases next year.