Coyotegrey on 7/2/2011 at 20:42
Quote Posted by jtr7
The silence since then has been uncomfortable, with no contact but a greeting from Kyle Stallock.NOW THIS IS PERSONAL! :P Yeah, sorry about the lack of communication, but it's probably for the best. I've been ordered to put 10000% of my effort into Deus Ex. Fortunately, I never sleep so I'm slowly planning more and more Thief-related stuff. What, exactly? I can't say. And the same goes for ANYTHING relating to the next Thief... again, I really can't say anything, so please, please please PLEASE don't ask. :(
As always, thank you so much for the support. I'm genuinely looking forward to working with the Thief community in the future. I...the game...yeah I'll shut up before I get in trouble. ;)
Fafhrd on 8/2/2011 at 03:51
Quote Posted by d'Spair
And on a side note, I work in games marketing, Digi, and believe me, sometimes games are marketed for people. Especially if you work not only for the press, but for the communities as well.
Generally though, the community dealings are done in the community that the publisher and marketing can control, which is why they set up 'Official' community sites and forums. Not to immediately contradict Kyle popping back in again, but when a community has been evolving on its own for over ten years and has proven to be as hidebound and volatile as ours so often is, there probably is a standing order to minimize dealings with us. There certainly isn't going to be any sort of exclusive access like Digi and Saam got with T: DS (especially since Digi is working for the competition now. I'm still not sure how he managed to wrangle the conflict of interest in working for Zenimax and running TTLG. I'd be out on my ass if I ever started a video game related fan community). We'll get drip fed the same stuff the main sites do.
Coyotegrey on 8/2/2011 at 06:38
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
Generally though, the community dealings are done in the community that the publisher and marketing can control, which is why they set up 'Official' community sites and forums. Not to immediately contradict Kyle popping back in again, but when a community has been evolving on its own for over ten years and has proven to be as hidebound and volatile as ours so often is, there probably is a standing order to minimize dealings with us. There certainly isn't going to be any sort of exclusive access like Digi and Saam got with T: DS (especially since Digi is working for the competition now. I'm still not sure how he managed to wrangle the conflict of interest in working for Zenimax and running TTLG. I'd be out on my ass if I ever started a video game related fan community).
We'll get drip fed the same stuff the main sites do.Not necessarily.
ElizabethSterling on 8/2/2011 at 07:50
I'm willing to wait through all of this because ultimately too much speculation will lead to either prejudice or disappointment ultimately, though I will admit at the first suggestion Garrett as we know and love him is back I may come.
I'm honestly far less concerned about the silence and far more concerned with the fact that Square Enix seems to have cropped up a whole lot in the last few months in connection with REALLY BAD GAMES being released, for example Kayne and Lynch 2, Mind Jack and Final Fantasy whatever online. I don't think it's even subjective for the most part when you consider Square Enix themselves publicly apologized for the poor condition of Final Fantasy or K&L 2 has been nearly universally panned for being about four hours long and inducing sickness and headaches from dodgy cinematics. I know we've not seen what this dev team can do and that the performance of other houses under the same publisher's umbrella doesn't remotely dictate how other games will turn out but it's unsettling.
Still, just by 2c.
jtr7 on 8/2/2011 at 08:57
On an apparently related note, several Thiefy collaborative projects were put on hold shortly after, and within a couple of months of, T4 being announced. Although I don't personally see a reason for them to stop and wait for T4's release to continue, those other key individuals seem to be holding their taffin' breath for what is now an indefinite number of years. The silence has left a vacuum I don't think many here can even begin to understand, who are out of those loops, or really only have a cursory interest in Thief.
Something happened when T4 was announced that took the wind out of fans' sails, and people have actually just moved on since then, as life keeps rolling on, so I'm sure plenty reading this don't even remember what it was like here before. It was also disheartening to see so many people who had discussed the existing games one way, suddenly show their true unspoken feelings on the franchise as they dumped their wishes for T4. People who had spoken fondly of the games wanted T4 to be little like them, and more mainstream, accessible, easy, occupational (just a thief with thief tools stealing from buildings), etc. If the numbers hadn't been so high, I wouldn't see it as more than a coincidence.
The longer we wait to see if T4 will even attempt to fill the big boots, the more it will have to pay off, regardless of speculation and any media releases, 'cause the fans are holding their breath and turning blue or staying away. I'll never know what the heck he was talking about when René told me he was looking forward to "working" (?) with me for years to come. I never knew what work he was talking about. I didn't know if the years were the time leading up to the release, or if it included time afterward, as well. I don't know who René had made a Point of Contact for DX:HR, and if that person has been kept in touch with by anyone beyond forum posts.
I'm disappointed that so much has simply stopped in light of T4's announcement, and there's no known end to the wait that may or may not dictate moving forward again.
Renault on 8/2/2011 at 15:44
Quote Posted by jtr7
I'm disappointed that so much has simply stopped in light of T4's announcement, and there's no known end to the wait that may or may not dictate moving forward again.
I'm a little confused by this post - actually make that a lot - what "collaborative projects" were put on hold? Are you talking fan-based or retail/commercial?
I also don't agree that T4's announcement "took the wind out of fan's sails." There's no doubt, there's huge heaping amounts of skepticism, but I think overall people here are excited about a new Thief game. And I really don't think anyone is "staying away" either. The T4 forum here is moderately busy and the forum at Eidos is even more so. If ThiefGen or the fan mission forums have quieted down, I don't see how that's because of T4. More than anything, it's probably due to the lack of fan mission releases recently.
Also - what fans who are fond of the original games want T4 to be "more mainstream, easy, accessible?" Maybe I'm completely missing something (very possible!) but I have to say not much in this post makes sense to me. :confused:
Fafhrd on 8/2/2011 at 17:04
Quote Posted by jtr7
It was also disheartening to see so many people who had discussed the existing games one way, suddenly show their true unspoken feelings on the franchise as they dumped their wishes for T4. People who had spoken fondly of the games wanted T4 to be little like them, and more mainstream, accessible, easy, occupational (just a thief with thief tools stealing from buildings), etc. If the numbers hadn't been so high, I wouldn't see it as more than a coincidence.
jtr7 in 'People have differing opinions on what did and didn't work in the original games' shocker. Unsurprisingly, nothing short of the original games, exactly, will satisfy you, will it?
Judith on 8/2/2011 at 17:07
I'm also not sure how T4 announcement had any impact on any Thief2-related collaborative projects, although I know a few people from my own backyard who moved on, at least for now. And I don't think it was T4-related.
I guess it was more like a need for progress, or making a next step in what you do. One of these people became very talented aircraft modeler, working with several magazines and publishers. I, for example, wanted to try myself in architecture modeling, I'm making furniture, lights and decorations for interior designs. And yes, I find it more rewarding, important and useful than making levels for video games, though sometimes I miss seeing my stuff in realtime ;)
jtr7 on 8/2/2011 at 23:33
Don't read what I didn't write. I didn't say Thief 1 or 2 or 3, and I didn't say FMs, fan-fiction, movies, books, figurines, or anything you can pin down like that, did I? I will tell you that the projects I refer to...you had nothing to do with, nor your friends.
Judith on 8/2/2011 at 23:53
Didn't mean to put any words in your mouth (and I think I didn't), just presented an example. I guess Dromeding has longer tradition, better community and you don't want to leave it behind that easily.
