No, not another "will there be thief4" thread, but...

MrBosnia on 18/4/2008 at 03:50

The main things that Thief 4 would need to accomplish are important things most people have missed out in the thread:

Atmospheric environments

T:DS has failed at this. Some would argue Robbing the Cradle has accomplished this, and it has. However, as a whole the game generally fails. For the rest of the missions in the game, I had fun playing them, rather then being immersed into them.

I believe this game principle is executed with this formula:

25% good mission design. 35% good audio that fits the mood of the mission. 40% in the lighting.

Think Return to the Cathedral and the unnerving cries of the undead and the dramatic dark lighting the abandoned buildings casted.

Think Life of the Party and dashing across the foggy rooftops.

Think Trail of Blood and the sense of fear, of walking deeper into a mysterious place.

You probably are not going to feel these sense-submerging feelings now, but everyone knows that they did at the time when the games were just released. The advanced graphics technology we are seeing like in Crysis have raised our standards for what we needs to be done to make us feel we are in the game, and have numbed the potential atmosphere of past games. However, with increasingly advancing technology comes the potential of executing this game element stronger.

Excellent mission design

A rather less complicated element to pull off, but the one that requires the most skill is simply the great design of missions. Fun objectives, random twists. To put it simply, just pack genius into a mission.

Intriguing world

One of the most important Thief element. The Thief world is one of the deepest and complex poetically dark worlds in any game I've come across. And it is undoubtedly my favorite steampunk world. (A world in which the future and the past blur)

The Keepers, the Hammers, the deep philosophy of how whether or not a city must be all-good, all-evil, or balanced is cerebrally interesting. The Thief world leaves much for developers to work on, as it is one moody poetic world.

That is basically all I have to say. My main point is that the developers should focus on Thief I and Thief II as the model for Thief 4, rather then Deadly Shadows which turned out average. Those were my highly condensed thoughts. If Thief 4 is officially announced, I'm going to do a full length "What Thief 4" should be.

The Magpie on 18/4/2008 at 04:00

Well phrased. I think your views are in agreement with the general consensus - there's a certain schism regarding the relative value of TDS, but all in all we're all suckers for immersion - that buzzword was BTW used a lot in connection with TDP discussions way back when. If anything, it's one of Thief's "core values", if you like.

Nice post.

And welcome, too.

--
Larris

El Carnemago on 18/4/2008 at 04:05

Out of curiosity Bosnia, what would your view towards the game be if the main character wasn't Garrett?

MrBosnia on 18/4/2008 at 04:25

Quote Posted by El Carnemago

Out of curiosity Bosnia, what would your view towards the game be if the main character wasn't Garrett?

I would not be too enraged if the main character of Thief 4 was not Garrett, but I would not be thrilled either if it stayed the same. I remain completely neutral about the protagonist.

Some would argue otherwise, but Garrett is not the single driving force of what makes Thief, Thief. He doesn't deliver the atmosphere of the game, the intense storyline, or anything extremely meaningful. Garrett is a thief who wishes to be left alone, but unfortunately his immense skill in crime have attracted unwanted attention of the much corrupt morality and ethics in the people of the Thief universe.

The most important thing is that the developers do not make Garrett, or the central thief in the game, the pivot to the thief universe and its mechanics. One very "Hollywood-esque" and extremely cliqued things that are happening lately in movies and novels are that characters who have remained important to that certain entertainment medium being completely transformed in corny ways. Imagine Garrett experiencing some cheesy event that all of a sudden, makes him good. He starts helping the poor, becoming moral, and hunting after other thieves. We've seen this all-too much in the current entertainment.

However, I believe finding Stephen Russell would be highly critical in delivering Garrett. What a man with a powerful but dark voice. Stephen is a good example of a video game voice actor who completely powers a certain character, and in which that character would crumble if it was not voiced by that actor.

-MrBosnia

jtr7 on 18/4/2008 at 04:57

Thanks for joining us, MrBosnia!:D

MrBosnia on 18/4/2008 at 05:45

Quote Posted by jtr7

Thanks for joining us, MrBosnia!:D

Hi!

To everyone:

I've known about this place since around 2005, but I was never really an active member. About every few months or so when I would think about Thief and check to see if there was any new news on it like a possible Thief 4 I would check The Circle and this place. Now, when I heard the news about that a Thief 4 might come into works, I've been dipped today into the Thief community once again, and I'm replaying some of the titles. My past username here was NightFalcon. (might have a 662 at the end)

My name is Dino, and I've been a die hard fan of Thief since 98' (since The Dark Project era)

jtr7 on 18/4/2008 at 05:48

Holy taft! I believe I remember the name, "NightFalcon"! I do hope you can post more like this, especially since you were there when Thief first snuck in and stole our affection.:cheeky:

Yes. Not that long ago. September 2007 was your last post as NightFalcon.

Beleg Cúthalion on 18/4/2008 at 07:10

The last Dino from California I heard of was the drummer of dredg. Well, you're not...?!

By the way, I don't know if it has been mentioned before, but I noticed that modern games (I admit I only played VTM Bloodlines and Dark Mesiah afaik since TDS) have a lot of those drastic scripted sequences like falling rocks etc.. Thinking about it, I always liked that there was nothing extraordinary like that in Thief. Yes, maybe sometimes, but now I don't have the impression that it threw me out of my concept at some point.

Gambit on 18/4/2008 at 11:27

It had dramatic scripted sequences, but they were well done in their weirdness and surprise.

An artifact that starts talking to you.
Rival archers getting into a fight.
A sparring guard to fight during training.
The death of Cutty
The lovely meeting of Basso and his maiden... "You bastard!"

Beleg Cúthalion on 18/4/2008 at 11:37

Yes, most of them were either expected (i.e. that something would happen at all, like with Cutty) or were somehow "natural", without breaking your whole concept (like the LotP archers).

However, I think we agree anyway. :)