Pace in Stealth Games, or Hey look, I'm starting an uninformed panic! + IGN Article

The Magpie on 13/5/2009 at 19:29

I got a little depressed by reading the interview. I've sought to analyze why. Here's my uninformed panic rant.

Eidos canceled 12 projects in development in order to focus on commercial success with the establishing of Eidos Montreal for the development of DX3 and Thief 4 (and the Third Project). They need both to become good sellers, not just niche successes. Possibly even huge sellers.

And so I was contemplating the reasons none of the Thief titles were huge sellers. Thief 1 and 2 were mediocre at launch, but good sellers primarily in the long tail, AFAICT. In contrast, Thief 3 did decently at launch, but dropped off the charts a bit quicker.

This might all be because of outside factors like the competition of the day, marketing budgets, licensing deals, and what not. I think the most important factor is the word-of-mouth factor.

I believe that's also where Stéphane D'Astous might have the wrong idea. The key to expanding the market for an innovative quality title is to look beyond the "gamer" segment of the audience.

In fact, I know there are several Thief fans around TTLG who don't think of themselves as gamers at all. (Right, jtr7?) Just like there are fans of Watchmen (the comic) who normally wouldn't look twice at any comic book. I think in both examples that is because the art of Thief and Watchmen is so profound that it's media-transcending. And that's appreciated partially thanks to the pacing.

From D'Astous' remarks about RPGs I get the feeling that EM does respect the role of rich "content" in games, whatever that is supposed to mean. But does he respect the artwork that is Thief? Does EM aspire to create a game, a great game, or a work of art that also is popular? Oscar movies could possibly serve as a parallel here.

I also know for a fact that EM does respect us, the Thief fans. But do you think that the alienation of the core fanbase of previous titles in a franchise would prevent a successor title from becoming a huge seller? Or even a good seller? If not, do you think Eidos would insist on keeping the artistic integrity over cashing in?

I don't think so. I think that's why I'm depressed.

--
Larris

Kin on 13/5/2009 at 20:05

Thank God there is dark mod.

Gambit on 14/5/2009 at 12:06

Quote:

And I think if we want to do a fully stealth game, it's going to be, I hope, very innovative and bring a lot of new things to the table

+1
:thumb:

nicked on 14/5/2009 at 12:57

-1
:(

SLIEZER on 14/5/2009 at 13:08

T3 had TONS of rpg elements and it sucked hard (the game overall was nice though).

Seriously.. factions? befriending the hammerites? the pagans? Glove upgrade? Also, the pagans were made much less 'mysterious' and more... boring.

RPG elements like that will kill the game.

Beleg Cúthalion on 14/5/2009 at 13:10

Well, TDP made the stealth elements more realistic, so if those new elements refer to even more individual AI reactions and behaviour, more (un-freaky!) features concerning the whole sneaking thing, then I think this would be both something new and challenging to make even a slow-paced game a thrilling experience.

Dia on 14/5/2009 at 13:44

I agree with the Taffer who posted in another thread that T4 will be undergoing many changes over the next couple years once Eidos gets started with it.

We're all in for a rough ride.

I'm trying to gird myself against the realization that T4 will not be just like TDP & TMA. Face it; now matter how much we as a community love them, they're old games and Eidos has already stated that they'll be looking for the new & innovative. The possibilities are endless. And I'm already getting worn out speculating. I have to keep reminding myself that Eidos is a business and they're out to make money. Nothing wrong with that, but I've had to accept the fact that Eidos will be tapping into the gaming community as a whole to see what's popular and what sells. That's what bothers me, since the games that are a success financially aren't always the types of games I'd choose to play.

TDS was a serious disappointment to me; made all the worse because I (like so many other Taffers) had gotten my hopes up and was expecting a game more along the lines of TDP & TMA. I refused to read any updates on the game while it was still in development, wanting to be surprised. Even after I read some of the fan reviews here at TTLG I still had high hopes. But within minutes of starting the game, I realized that TDS just failed my hopes and expectations miserably. I won't make the same mistake again and this time I'm going to try to keep up with any T4 updates Eidos provides. This time I want to know what I'm in for.

Regardless, I know I'll stand in line (if I have to) to buy it when it's finally released, but this time I won't be wearing my rose-colored glasses.

T4 could be heaven or it could be hell. We won't know til it's released.

God I hate my mood swings!!!

Beleg Cúthalion on 14/5/2009 at 19:47

I pity you.

But just for a couple of seconds. :p

Master Taffer 512 on 14/5/2009 at 19:53

Quote Posted by Dia

T4 could be heaven or it could be hell. We won't know til it's released.

No inbetween?

Too Much Coffee on 14/5/2009 at 22:35

If EM has a problem making a Thief game with slow paced stealthing, then they have no business making it. They should just create a new IP that has nothing to do with Thief. Maybe call it "Sneaky Shooter Guy".