Goldmoon Dawn on 6/6/2006 at 03:34
If private investors and fans go in on the Thief rights, it doesn't mean that they/we *have* to spend a billion dollars on a future Thief title. It's quality, not quantity remember.
Anyone else notice that Might and Magic series' have earned more money than most other franchises in 20 years primarily using extremely second rate tech. *sigh* :) They stayed true to their series', for longer than most.
Strangely, they dropped the ball roughly the same time Thief died.
I honestly think that the best thing to happen presently, would be for Ubisoft to steal Thief, and get back to making some first-person-only Stealth pc games. Consoles can even get versions. Let them suffer through first person. :)
Did you also notice that Randy Smith has developed a decent working relationship with Ubisoft.
S_Hole on 9/6/2006 at 07:59
medieval splinter cell?
um, no thanks
and they already has that medieval gta/hitman/thief/princeofpersia type of game "assassins creed", which looks rather interresting
i doubt they'll let that one go for the next five years if it's successful
thief would only be invading that commercial sector
we wouldn't really NEED to buy anything
only thing we really need is an assurance that nobody gets their asses whooped by eidos lawyers
someone getting a statement from a person on a high place in eidos in an offical form that they would not hassle non-commercial projects of fan-like nature
hell, they could even pick up some of these projects as commercial products later on, like valve has done countless times
OrbWeaver on 9/6/2006 at 10:40
What possible use to the community are the rights to the Thief title? Even if you bought a licence, all this would give you is the right to call your game "Thief" - you would still have to develop the game itself.
If fundraising was an option it would be much better to use the money to pay developers to actually make the game, rather than wasting it some arbitrary right to use a certain set of names.
New Horizon on 9/6/2006 at 10:41
Ubisoft...no.....Irrational...YES. :)
Mahoney on 9/6/2006 at 10:45
Though I like Splinter Cell, Ubisoft has got tenseness and good graphics to their SC games, the problem is the level design isn't very good, and though Sam is a professional soldier, he doesn't have any real charm like Garrett. Irrational would be a better choice. Even Bethesda would be ok, if they got away from the roleplaying and did a more adventure/stealth game in a big city.
sparhawk on 9/6/2006 at 12:01
Quote Posted by Brother Renault
2) Even though there is a very dedicated fan base for the Thief games, only one commerical game sized project has ever been completed in the 7+ years Thief has been around.
Are you refering to TDM or T2X? Hammerite Imperium is still in the making though.
Quote:
Not to be a cynic, but I doubt we'll see another one again.
I would bet against you. :) At least for TDM I know that it will be finished. Of course it depends on your point of view. TDM is currently a toolset. From the scope of it, it is still commercial sized project, but from your definition it may not count as a game, because it is only a toolset at the moment. Still a toolset is also a software project nevertheless, and the development time is the same as for creating the game itself, since this is also what the TDS developer had to do before they could even start with actual TDS mapping. Modding the Unreal Engine to turn it into their idea of a game.
Quote:
This requires a large group of talented people, and most talented people are also busy people. Most real authors stick to one mission, or a short campaign.
Not very surprising, given that you have to work on the project in your spare time. It's really taking a lot, because essentialy it is a second, unpayed job.
Digital Nightfall on 10/6/2006 at 03:06
It's hard, really hard.
5 years + and only one mission out, the second with growing pains, hopefully this year, and the ones after that, I can't fathom.
It's hard making a fan mission in your spare time, but hundreds have done it, maybe even thousands. It's much harder making something that's really good.
If you're serious about game design, and want to make a game instead of a mod, I think you should be serious enough to make it YOUR game and not a copy/pseudo-sequel to someone else's game.
If you're serious about that, than start teaching yourself how to do it and then do it. Get others involved along the way. Don't show up with a bright idea and expect others to run in circles around you really fast until it happens.
If you're serious about learning how to do it, you need to also be serious about learning about more than just game design. A game is a piece of fiction, and you need to understand how to put together a piece of fiction. A game needs a setting that, no matter how fantastic, needs some basis in the real world. The real world, not someone else's game, not someone else's fiction.
If you're serious about making it your game, serious about learning how to make a game, serious about how to put together a piece of fiction, serious about dedicating 5-10 years of your life on this, then you're ready to begin.
Otherwise, wait for the professionals to do it.
This comment is not directed towards anyone in particular, simply an open topic open for discussion.
DarthMRN on 10/6/2006 at 04:38
What I don't fully get is why the franchise would be so expensive. Now, I realize that something with as impressive a track record as Thief would be costly, but when even a large part of the fanbase seems conviced that the franchise as we know it is dead, what must not Eidos think, especially with the final installment (from what I understand) not even getting close to its predecessors profit-wise?
Unless they have reason to think there will be a time for Thief to emerge again in the future, why wouldn't they laugh evilly and sell a dead franchise to a bunch of sentimental losers like us for a price, that while nowhere near big-business ratings, would still be barely within the economical power of a community to buy? You know, like selling your junk to some shmo in a yard sale in stead of leaving it to collect dust in the attic.
