In 1997, Warren Spector told us the upcoming PC classic Deus Ex was inspired by Final Fantasy, Miyamoto, and 'the console guys'

Left: Close-up of JC Denton from cover art of original Deus Ex. Right: Monochrome headshot of Deus Ex developer Warren Spector taken in the late 1990s.

Last year for Christmas, a good friend got me the best gift of all: Love The Orange Box the 1997 PC Gamer US "Holiday Extravaganza" issue, 456 pages of news, reviews, interviews, and, crucially, retro full page ads from the late '90s golden age of PC gaming.

Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta was still editor-in-chief, and the issue even has his 94% review of the classic Star Wars game Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. If I have a favorite part, though, it has to be the interview on page 66 with legendary game designer Warren Spector about his move to John Romero's Ion Storm from Looking Glass Studios, a move that would precipitate one of the all-time greats: Deus Ex.