Are burricks supposed to be an analogue to dragons in the Thiefverse ?

Yandros on 1/6/2009 at 14:07

That's cool! I hadn't made time for that FM before, I'll have to do so soon. :cheeky:

MaxDZ8 on 1/6/2009 at 15:08

Quote Posted by Dia

Analogue to dragons? Maybe. But thank God they couldn't fly because I always have trouble killing the flying beasties when they're attacking me. (Poor hand-eye coordination, which I blame on game mechanics. ;) )

... and lack of two eyes! :D
I find somewhat funny that in 2009, our games are still drawing us as one-eyed trolls.

Back to the topic: I personally never considered them dragons. Not even thief-universe-dragons. I always felt them more like a reptilean elephant (it is my understanding those will crush without remorse everything perceived as dangerous), with more attitude for active self defense.

Jilly The Taffer on 1/6/2009 at 15:32

Quote Posted by MaxDZ8

I always felt them more like a reptilean elephant

I thought of them as little fat dinosaurs. :D

But yes, the noise they make when they die sounds like an elephant.

But they also make dog panting and whines. With the occasional pig grunt.

jtr7 on 1/6/2009 at 18:17

And horses...:p

Heh. I think the point is being missed by some. No one's saying they are dragons.:sly: The key word is "analogue". Look it up!:cheeky:

van HellSing on 1/6/2009 at 18:26

Burricks are rock dinosaurs. Sort of like a missing link between a T-Rex and Ozzy.

Yandros on 1/6/2009 at 19:04

:laff::laff:

jtr7 on 1/6/2009 at 19:05

:laff::thumb:

That's a good one...!

Petike the Taffer on 1/6/2009 at 21:35

Quote Posted by Platinumoxicity

A burrick is a bipedal missing link between a mammal and an amphibian. Sort of like a giant, smelly mole-frog with long hairs on it's head, back and tail.

Not bad. :D But, actually, none of the prehistoric amphibian species evolved directly into mammals. They first evolved into reptiles - which have lots of evolutional "upgrades" for better permanent living on dry land, regardless of habitat. Only then came certain groups of reptiles, which started showing mammalian-like features. I think the umbrella term for them is therapsids or something like that... A few examples can be seen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicynodont) here and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynodont) here.

All in all, burricks also may be just a more fairy-taleish version of dinosaurs. ;) Maybe even feathered ones - the "mane" might actually be a crest of feathery material ! :eek: :D

Quote Posted by Beleg Cúthalion

I think burricks are rather anti-dragons and thus part of the not-so-shiny dystopical world of Thief. They are just dirty poisonous cowards, no honor for killing them, only discomfort.

Exactly, this is one of the points I'm trying to make with this thread : Burricks are de-glorified mythical reptiles, a subversion or deconstruction of the whole tired "giant fire-breathing carnivorous beast" cliché.

I guess the human skeletons found near their caves can be explained as the remains of explorers, who were unlucky enough to get caught inside the burrick's gas clouds. The skeletons were always complete, so the bodies probably just decomposed themselves after some time, with the burricks uninterested in munching on the bones. :P
:P

Quote Posted by nicked

I certainly think there are intentional parallels to dragons - it's reinforcing the sort of grimy anti-fantasy setting of the whole game.

Just as Garrett is the opposite of the heroic knight in shining armour, so the burricks are the dirty, underground opposite to typical noble fantasy dragons.

Following this train of thought - pagans are more down-to-Earth, grassroots (puns not intended) versions of fantasy elves - they are one with nature, but in a more real-world way. And Hammerites are Thief's dwarves - isolated, technology-obsessed miners, but with very real-life, human flaws.

I definitely think some thought was put into taking high fantasy stereotypes and giving them a dark, real-world edge - at least with the original game, not so much Thief 2, by which time the world was established in its own right.

Wonderfully summed up - that's actually one of the main pros of Thief : Picking up milked-out fantasy genre clichés and twisting them into something more original. For instance, any genre savvy person would assume, that Hammerites - according to their name - follow an analogue of old Scandinavian/Viking mythology... But no : They're a pretty clear analogue of medieval Christianity, and, bizzarely enough, their faith also includes elements similiar to the Ancient Greek myth about (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus) Prometheus (the Builder giving humanity the tools and knowledge to rise from savagery, etc.).

Thief is really what I would call "fantasy-noir"... Or maybe "hard fantasy" (as in "hard sci-fi"). ;)

jtr7 on 1/6/2009 at 21:40

The mane always looked like long, heavily greased, and matted hair.:eww:

MaxDZ8 on 2/6/2009 at 14:26

All this sounds very reasonable and well thought. Once again, I find out there's way more in this design than I originally noticed.