[Weapon Design Overview] - GEP Gun image - Deus Ex Machina

The Guided Explosive Projectile Gun or GEP Gun for short is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and original weapons in the game. What I found fascinating though is that through the years of playing Deus Ex I'd think as to why it was called a gun when it looks and behaves like a rocket launcher? And why does it have this weird kink in the launch tube/barrel? And did the designers even think about exhaust gasses?

In short the best answer that I could come up with is that the GEP Gun is in fact a recoilless rifle. The force of launching the projectile is equal to the force of the expelled gas thus creating no recoil when firing. Advancements in explosive power inside cartridges means that you can have less powder loads in smaller cartridges but have very powerful forces indeed. So smaller and lighter cartridges than today's standards but with very effective launch capabilities for larger and more effective projectiles of many types.

As for changes to the vanilla design, the kink will be removed so that the barrel is straight. The barrel will also rest above the shoulder of the firer. The weapon itself is quite compact and lightweight for a heavy weapon but is still classes as a heavy weapon.

As for the namesake of projectiles being guided, while the projectiles won't behave like smart missiles they do have limited guiding capabilities and the weapon does have the ability to lock on to targets. But ballistics determine the ability for the projectile to home in, all starting with where the player is pointing, gravity, wind resistance etc. This way also allows for player skill to become a contributing factor to the weapons effectiveness.

Aesthetically I can't think of any better source of inspiration than the small details you notice in all of Vitaly Bulgarov's designs and concepts. In short the GEP Gun will still look like the GEP Gun but with minor adjustments to the design to accommodate functionality as well as greater levels of detail.