twhalen2600 on 4/4/2018 at 22:44

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Dear taffers,

As I (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148718) posted elsewhere, I have been writing "Dark Narrative" at TechRaptor, a feature series on Thief missions. I had wanted to expand it to include interviews with FM authors, and I was delighted to get a response from skacky, whom I had the privilege to interview this past week.

The interview (https://techraptor.net/content/these-dark-walls-speak-an-interview-with-thief-fan-mission-author-skacky) can be found here. skacky articulated very well points on The Dark Project's design as opposed to The Metal Age, on sound design in FMs, and on mission design in general. It was very enlightening and I encourage all of you to read it.

I am aware of past interview series TTLG users have conducted, like (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142707) Athalle's or (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125868&highlight=Behind+the+Builders) SneakyJack's, both excellent and interesting series. I hope to add to the conversation with interviews based on single missions that expand into Thief-talk and general discussion on narrative in games. I would love to interview every author here, as many as would like to.

On TR these interviews are just part of my Dark Narrative series; in this thread here I'll call them "Dark Discussions." That's what I see each as: a discussion - a discourse - on Thief design.

I would appreciate any feedback. And though I've thanked him via personal messages, I also want to say another huge thank you here to skacky for his time. It was a very enjoyable interview!

klatremus on 5/4/2018 at 03:30

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That was a real treat to read! Many educational and insightful points, especially regarding mission editing. Totally agree with both of you about Song of the Caverns. Also, I guess I'm gonna have to cave and play Disorientation soon. :p

Calibrator on 6/4/2018 at 06:34

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Very interesting read! (now that I've actually time to read it)
Skacky is one of my favorite authors, too, and I'm always curious what is making them tick.

I disagree, though, that he never reached Disorientation: I think Endless Rain is every bit as good - only different.
Both are highly complex city missions with lots of spatial gameplay, hidden caches and the player is often surprised that he could reach a certain place.
Both transport the dread of the complex Thief "society" with its different factions and the intrigues that run behind the windows and curtains very well.
While Disorientation may feel a bit more surrealistic at times (the upper part of the city has buildings with unrealistically long lower parts), Endless Rain feels more organic.
And optically it may even have a slight edge over Disorientation...

The Chalice of Souls is also fantastic, even though this is a group effort.
These are "A+" missions in my book - I can't find fault with anything in these two missions.

(While my own rating is of course purely subjective I'm still objective with it - I only rate the enjoyment I can get out of those missions.)

Between These Dark Walls & Shadow Politics are only slightly less rounded but I'd still rate them "A".

What's more important: I noticed a clear progression of talent over time: The later missions feel slightly better in every regard.
The architecture is a bit more daring, though never completely impossible.
The atmosphere is thicker, the lighting is more complex, the texturing feels more consistent and varied.
I can't await his next mission!

piesel on 6/4/2018 at 09:51

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Very interesting read, thanks.

twhalen2600 on 7/4/2018 at 02:44

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@Athalle, klatremus, Calibrator, and piesel: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@downwinder: I'm open to doing audio interviews, and would love to, but I also enjoy text interviews. Being in a chat program, they're still live (as opposed to email, which can still be "live", true, but not as live), and typing text responses allows a little more time for thought on each person's part. Additionally, for this I envisioned a written post as being the best format. But, again, I'm open to it.