By playing Thief, are you saying something about yourself?.

ercles on 22/9/2006 at 00:21

Quote Posted by theBlackman

To deal with the question:

Of course it says something about you.

What it says is subject to your own interpretation.

It may mean that you "wish" you were as free as Garrett.

It may mean that you want more control when you play a game. In most your actions are limited, and your route is straitly defined. A good example is Unreal Gold. You can never return to a prior section of the mission. Once you complete a certain sequence, you cannot back track. In THIEF if you have not completed all the objectives and forced an ending, you can return to any area at any time. You have (at least in the first three games) multiple paths to an objective, and are really limited more by your skill and imagination than by the game design.

It may mean that you are tired of the "If it moves KILL IT!" mentality displayed in most available games.

It might mean you are a free thinker and don't want to follow the crowd.

But as far as the question. Hell yes it says something about YOU.

Orrrrr it might just say that you enjoy a well constructed game. Keep the deep and meaningful stuff to yourself.

theBlackman on 22/9/2006 at 07:25

Quote Posted by ercles

Orrrrr it might just say that you enjoy a well constructed game.[...]

That too. :)

user1010 on 22/9/2006 at 14:40

I do believe that being an avid fan of this game speaks volumes about me.
But, first some backstory to how I got in contact with thief..

four or five years ago (can't rightly remember) I went to a boring sale
at a local electronics merchant in town, I couldn't find dipshit that was
interesting until I came upon one of those "cheap games" bin that always
has uninteresting crap in them. Well, this one had that aswell, and just before
I was ready to give up and walk out the store, I grab a copy of thief (the sold out version ... yuck) and look at it's cover.. it looked downright horrible to me I must confess, sure the title looked pretty damned cool, but the screenshots didn't really appeal to me at all. But hey, for a cheap price... who gives a fuck anyway? I thought to myself, and bought said game.

Fast forward to that weekend where I was home alone (girlfriend was visiting parents in her and my hometown, so she wasn't coming until sunday)
I had some time to kill, so I ask myself "what fun is there to do on a friday evening when you're broke?" and so I remembered that crappy game I bought and thought that I'd try it out.... and whammo, after two minutes listening to Keeper Artemus (oh Nathan Wells, you fucking rock) I was hooked completely.

Now, to answer the question, what does playing thief make me out to be?
Well, for starters, I've always had a bit of cleptomania in my blood, but it rarely comes out I'm afraid, this game allowed me to pretty much steal anything that wasn't nailed down :D (excellent!) But, I've also got a vivid imagination aswell, so this game stimulated that part of me aswell.
I think that if I had been born in the older days when security wasn't so tight, I could have gone the thief route aswell, I consider myself a "lawful evil" sort of person and thief gives me an outlet for my cleptomania I suppose.
Also, as a kid I too were a sneak, but I had a group of friends aswell, and we used to play "the world world is against you", which essentially was a game where the object was to avoid everybody everywhere at any time. (except of course the group itself)

I know fully well that if I look at a closed door that I can't open, that on the other side will be nothing but a closed off wall (or just the void) but really, you could pretty much ask me about ANY door in thief, or thief II and I'd be able to tell you what I imagined being behind it. So really, even if I am able to "get behind the scenes" I simply wouldn't, because my imagination makes up a world there I don't want to spoil. No other game has managed to stimulate my imagination so well, and sadly I don't think any other game will either.
So really, these enviroments make my imagination go wild, I remember being filled with awe the first time I entered the bone hoard catacombs (where the zombies roam) , I just stopped for a second and just stared at everything feeling the gargantuan size of the whole place.

So really, thief is grand story, a story I have no problems experiencing again firsthand, but .. do watch your coins lying about on that counter.. if I'm around, I just might swipe them!

~s:a:n:i:t:y~ on 22/9/2006 at 18:13

Quote Posted by Ardesco

You have no idea...

that makes two....

thelostsoul on 22/9/2006 at 19:18

Thank's for all your interesting answers, it's fascinating how you all answered the question, all in a different way. Thief is special, but special in different ways to different people. I used to buy and download many games, but i just can't be bothered anymore. All other games are like, how can i put this, it's like going to visit a lady of the night and handing over your money just for half a hours fun, then it's over and you wonder what to do next. Thief has to be the best value for money game ever. I even got bored with Oblivion after a couple of hours and that's supposed to be an open ended game.
Please keep the thief community going, i am even trying to learn this dromed thing so i can contribute and help.

Bubble-headed_Taffer on 23/9/2006 at 14:48

I think it does have something to do with personality.

I gave Thief to my dad to play, but he said he hated it and would much rather blow stuff up with a rocket launcher a la Quake/Doom/Unreal. When I play a game like those, I almost always use a sniper's one-shot-one-kill style as opposed to blowing up everything combustable.

Thief probably appeals to someone who is methodical and patient with a good sense of risk-vs-reward...and at least a fascenation for sneaking around.

Really, I like sneaking around because I feel very in-control when I'm watching someone who has no idea that I am. Granted, I don't go into people's houses and take their stuff, but when I'm bored and in a public place, I pick a person and see how long I can follow them from a distance until they notice me.

littlek on 24/9/2006 at 23:35

Ditto with what tBM said...

It makes you think..... and run in mindless terror from treebeasts and Haunts.

snowcap21 on 25/9/2006 at 16:32

The sneaking and hiding in the dark, observating and planning what to do next hooked me from the beginning (Thief1). I started playing computer games with Tomb Raider and as much as I enjoyed it, I always hated the moment when you had to expose yourself in an area with unknown enemies. I nearly never palyed alone for that reason.
Thief and it's approach on a difficult situation fitted much better my own inclinations (and abilities - I'm so bad at fighting:tsktsk: ).

BlueMage on 26/9/2006 at 21:00

For me, I've always enjoyed the fact that on Expert, you're playing as though you're the top of your field - the greatest thief. You're so good, you don't NEED to kill - your skills are such that where others may require death, you're good enough to get around without it.

For me, it's about demonstrating patience, skill and cunning - far more effective tools to use against someone (in real life too) than straight brawn.

Oh yeah, it's also made me more consciously aware of the noise I make while walking, and so I try to minimise it. Works a treat - most people don't realise I'm there until I say something. Of course, most people are so self-absorbed they wouldn't realise many things without it slapping them in the face.

Finally, I'm an old-sk00l cynic, so Garrett's attitude parallels mine in many ways.

themetalian on 27/9/2006 at 17:04

Nothing beats Thief on expert. :cheeky: