ThePhotoshop on 23/1/2012 at 22:27
Hey guys,
It was suggested I post over here because it might catch a few more Thief fans' attention. In case you haven't seen, I've started a new stealth gaming website called (
http://sneakybastards.net/) Sneaky Bastards and I'm looking for a few hardcore Thief fans to write some articles.
Demagogue posted a (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138011&p=2108138&viewfull=1#post2108138) really interesting tidbit just about Thief II's development - this is the kind of stuff I'm after. I know there must be a whole heap of stories like this hidden away somewhere.
I'd write them myself but my experience with Thief is limited to the games themselves - I never really followed development back then, nor all the stuff on the periphery.
So, if you're interested, post a comment here or shoot an email to [email]taffer@sneakybastards.net[/email]. Would love to here more of this stuff!
demagogue on 24/1/2012 at 01:23
I think easily the single most extensive discussion of canon stuff went into the project to map The City: (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10995)
(Necessary because a full City map with all the missions placed was never released in the clearest unambiguous form, but only came in bits and pieces in the game itself.)
It's almost humbling how much work went into that project, hundreds and hundreds of posts of careful debate about every little inch of that world. In the end it drew up this map, which represents a LOT of thought put into it by a lot of people over a long time:
(
http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i106/jtr7/?action=view¤t=herewego32tt8.gif)
With this write-up explaining the basic reasoning for everything:
(
https://docs.google.com/View?docid=dfzbr8th_055db5c)
(Edit: Hmm is this down for other people too? Does anyone have a copy to get this back up?)
Edit: Some other interesting tidbits from memory.
- The City was modeled after a medieval Dutch city called Gorinchem, and many of the sites in the game have a real world counterpart in that city (The Cathedral, the bridges, the docks, SoulForge is the park, etc.)
- In Framed,
right near the start if you lob a scouting-orb over the wall you'll see 2 zombies dancing in a place you can't get to.- The Bank has a cute easteregg where
if you wait until morning in game time the vault automatically opens (the objective of the mission). And if you used a slowfall potion you could run off the roof and land outside the mission walls and walk around in the map's no-man's-land.
That reminds me something special about Thief was, because it was designed to be so non-linear, so many elements were simulated on-line (precursor to GTA-style "emergent gameplay" thinking), and open design, it was unique at the time how players were able to do things & get around the map in ways the designers couldn't predict, including getting to places they aren't "supposed" to go but the way the missions were designed it was still "okay", even encouraged(!), which generally represents one way sneaking gameplay differs so much from traditional corridor FPS gameplay.
Interestingly, rather than feeling like the game was "broken" (which is what you'd think for a corridor FPS), there was a kind of mystical essence to these "behind the scene" places and exploits which most games tried to hide but became special in Thief (people even came up with entire legends about hidden places where it was rumored you could get to but no one was sure, like the Alarus Extension), because it was so open & the world didn't care where you went but just simulated it and let you do with it as you will (which e.g. Ken Levine promised for Bioshock but didn't really deliver. Thief delivered.)
ThePhotoshop on 24/1/2012 at 02:19
Yes, absolutely! That's even the kind of thing I'd love to just republish on the site. But I'd rather, you know, not do that.
ThePhotoshop on 24/1/2012 at 02:21
Quote Posted by demagogue
Interestingly, rather than feeling like the game was "broken" (which is what you'd think for a corridor FPS), there was a kind of mystical essence to these "behind the scene" places and exploits which most games tried to hide but became special in Thief
Like the top of the Mechanist's Tower in Life of the Party. I'd love to have someone write an article about getting to the top of it.
demagogue on 24/1/2012 at 04:21
Ah, speaking of which...
(
http://www.thief-thecircle.com/guides/unusual/) Thumper's Thief: DP Guide to the Strange & Unusual
(
http://www.greywool.com/azal/) Azal's Thief:MA Guide to the Strange & Unusual
That's going to be described in the Climbing section of the Life of the Party entry.
I can't commit myself to writing articles these days. I hope someone comes forward for you.
ThePhotoshop on 24/1/2012 at 04:44
Thanks for all the links, guys!
I'm happy to write this stuff up myself. I just don't want it to seem like I'm stealing (guffaw) other's hard work, or stuff that is inherently TTLG. I mean, there'd be links and accreditations and all that - just not sure if it'd still be a problem for you guys?
NB. I'm not talking about reprinting text verbatim, but just using the stuff linked as the basis for a series of articles.
jtr7 on 24/1/2012 at 04:59
I have no problem, personally, but I know the authors, and especially the artists, would like to know when their work is mentioned on another site. Now that we know about your site, there will be links here if you don't post about it yourself. We can also help verify whether an author has stated they'd like express permission for things when it's not clear, and maybe help out with tracking down individuals who are no longer posting here for permission, when it's an issue and an article is just too good to ignore.
ThePhotoshop on 24/1/2012 at 05:10
Cheers guys. When I start writing one up I'll let you know which bits I'm referencing and you can help me get in touch with the authors and we'll sort it all out.
I seem to recall there was another climbing section for Life of the Party? Or maybe it was just the Unwelcome Guest alpha? There was quite a detailed guide on where to get each crate, etc.
