LarryG on 27/1/2016 at 11:00

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* You get out of it by focusing on something else. Room brushing is often hateful enough to get my juices flowing to do something else, anything else.
* Or get involved with sound design for the mission.
* Or think of a sub-plot to incorporate. Something off from the main story of the mission, but fun for the players to discover and do, but if they miss, they can still complete the mission.
* Go on object hunts in the Thief Object Repository (And other places) for little gimcracks to place in the mission to make it seem more "real" when wandering about.
* Think about the personalities of the AIs living in your space. How would each have decorated their bedroom or office? What foods would be in their kitchen? Then once you have all these little things scattered about your mission, you just may come up with cool things to do with them other than let them just lie there.
* Is your mission's movement mainly flat? Then think vertical. What can you put up or down from eye level for explorer's to find? What can you do to the architecture to encourage vertical exploration?
* Read all the LGS manuals an d tutorials over again. There are LOTS of gameplay tips and ideas buried between the lines.
* Play old favorite missions, this time paying attention to how the effects you love so much were accomplished.


The bottom line is that you do something useful for your mission in other ways. And in so doing, you'll get more ideas.

Thor on 27/1/2016 at 15:50

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What Brethren said. Also maybe if you let someone else see your mission he/she will have ideas and/or inspire you.

john9818a on 28/1/2016 at 02:58

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I did this... not the drinking part but I got some inspiration from playing Tomb Raider. I was really impressed with the landscaping and flora use in TR. Even though it would be next to impossible to duplicate in Thief I did get some of the basics into my mission.

greenie2600 on 1/2/2016 at 02:00

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I'm in the same boat. I've only dabbled with DromEd—I've certainly never finished a mission—but I'd like to give it a solid attempt. I just need a good, original idea to keep me inspired.

Random thoughts:

—Start with an architectural idea. A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat_of_Ur) ziggurat or (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_the_Moon) similar structure; a real-world building or location (I'm currently infatuated with (https://www.google.com/search?q=royce+hall&tbm=isch) Royce Hall); a specific period or style of architecture; a setting from a movie.

—Think of settings that lie outside the Thief norm. A grand university building, full of libraries, offices, lecture halls, maybe an operating theater? A building in a more modern architectural style, such as Art Deco ((http://aoshospitalityhouse.com/art-deco-architecture/art-deco-architecture-bizarre-with-cool-image-of-art-deco-looks-great-popular-on-aoshospitalityhouse-com/) example; (http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53b9abe9e4b0366641161844/t/551ca7cee4b06a2886ea83f0/1427941332937/) example), or the (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House) Ennis House? Something based on (https://www.google.com/search?q=claude+nicolas+ledoux+architecture&tbm=isch) the wacky architectural drawings of Claude Nicolas-Ledoux, or the (never-built) (http://solutions.synearth.net/a-community-dwelling-machine/) Old Man River City? Just start drilling into (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Architectural_styles) this list of architectural styles on Wikipedia, and do a Google image search for any buildings or specific styles that catch your fancy.

—Start with a dependency graph: a series of plot points, diagrammed to show what order things will happen in, and what the player must do before they can progress on a certain branch of the graph. Think of these as "gates" that restrict the player's progress until they solve them: finding a key; figuring out how to access to a particular area; learning a key fact from a readable; acquiring the rope arrow that will let them frob the thing; disabling the security camera; clearing the guards from the balconies so Garrett can pass safely through the hall below. Then you can design a mission layout that best supports the graph.

—Take a gameplay-first approach: sketch layouts and guard routes without thinking too much about what the space will be, how you'll decorate it, or what the plot will be. Try to design spaces that will be challenging and interesting for the player to navigate. Then, retrofit plot and puzzles onto that.

—Think about the history of your building or location. How old is it? Has it always served the same function, or has the space been repurposed and modified over time? Who has lived and worked there? What sort of intrigues might they have gotten into? This might give you inspiration for hidden or peripheral areas, secrets, subplots, texturing and dressing, etc.

—Start by thinking about interesting groups or factions. Members of a new (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Roman_mysteries) mystery religion? An industrial cartel who have become dependent on underground slavery or dangerous magic/technology? A ring of dubious fellows who "acquire" rare antiquities and sell them to museums and private collectors? (But of course Garrett is here to relieve them of their latest haul.) Who are their leaders, what kind of background do they come from (scion of a merchant family; disillusioned former cleric; street ruffian), and how did they get to that position? What are the conflicts and tensions within the group? How do they regard outsiders and members of other factions? What are their goals and fears? What is life like for the grunts?

—Look at imagery from (https://www.google.com/search?q=jules+verne+illustrations&tbm=isch) Victorian scientific romances or (https://www.google.com/search?q=gothic+novel+illustrations&tbm=isch) Gothic novels. Heck, just read some of those books (many of them are available for free in electronic formats)—they're full of fantastic creatures, secret passages, macabre obsessions, gloomy buildings, and everything else that a Thief mission needs. Borrow ideas liberally.