demagogue on 3/6/2006 at 04:46

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(http://igo.ampednews.com/features/201/1/) link to the interview, also on ttlg's front page.

I thought this was a pretty frank and insightful interview, also helps put the three Thief's in perspective as a whole.

I don't think there was anything really new here, but a few interesting things to note.

It was interesting to note that cross-platforming wasn't even in RS's top 10 design issues with T3 ... sort of fits in with Krypt's thoughts that one of the biggest problems was the rushed/shoddy job on the engine put them on crutches from early on. But Randy seems to take it the next step that really cross-platforming was way down the list. Makes you wonder what was closer to the top, in addition to the engine limitations...

This quote:


is particularly revealing, but I'm wondering what to make of it. It sounds at first like he's talking about feature creep, or maybe room creep, but the way he phrases it makes it sound more philosophical ... like he had a particular design agenda that was just hitting one road block after another, and not just because of the limitations of the engine (or maybe parasitic on the limitations). And I wonder if there's some connection between this and the fact that T3 was so deficient in features as it was ... sort of a funny result, or maybe I'm not really connecting the dots. Maybe it was like a gas-on-fire sort of situation, where RS was pretty assertive with a design agenda at the same time the engine was giving them roadblocks left and right, time was pressing, and the two worlds just collided. Also, the way this is worded, I wonder if he's at all blaming himself here, a little, like he thinks in retrospect he should have held back for the better of the whole project, or if this situation was just a breakdown waiting to happen. I don't know, what do others think?

It's really a shame that the series had such a bitter end for Randy, since for many of us here I think he contributed so much to the heart and soul of the series, and the disappointment he had with T3 mirrors a lot of people's here, as well. He almost sounded a little satisfied (or maybe "justified" is a better word) that T3 was a market failure, didn't he? (which also tosses away any hopes for T4, I'd think). (Although one has to admit it was better than DX:IW on that engine; it could have been worse.)

If you're out there Randy, I think you'll find a lot of people around here are on your side on this ... and the same magic you talked about with Thief: TDP and T2 you'll find a lot of sympathy here ... and I only wish, like you say, you could have experienced the magic of The Dark Project as a player like we were able to.

I'm also interested, if Krypt is out there (or anyone else from any of the Thief teams, for that matter), if he or they have any thing to say about or add to what Randy said, not to put anyone on the spot or anything, but just to have another perspective; (if it's insightful, not just to encourage gratuitous vetting or anything). But it's no big deal.

jermi on 3/6/2006 at 11:51

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These days, if you want to make games, you cannot have issues with cross-platforming.

So, nobody was working on the new groundbreaking engine that Thief3 was supposed to run on?

Vigil on 3/6/2006 at 19:55

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I hardly think that Randy Smith was downplaying the issues for the sake of politics.

It was a very intriguing interview and I'm quite angry at the interviewer for not following up on the most interesting and arguably important subjects - particularly since T:DS seemed to be a topic Randy had a lot he wanted to say about. It almost feels like it was a single email interview (set-of-questions, set-of-responses) rather than a chat or correspondence, even though there were clearly some followup questions. Hopefully he'll have other opportunities to discuss it in future.

Digital Nightfall on 3/6/2006 at 21:20

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I'm quite happy with the way things are going, with Bioshock and Dark Messiah, and have my fingers crossed that Junction Point is cooking up something fresh.

EA naturally makes me skeptical about whatever it is Doug and Randy are working on, but then again, there's <a href=http://www.ea.com/official/projectgraycompany/>this.</a> I'm not suggesting that I think Randy or Doug are working on this, but rather that maybe EA is getting a little more open minded about their games.

Goldmoon Dawn on 4/6/2006 at 02:01

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Randy Smith has always been known as one of the people who has put creative thinking on the front burner. Letting the creativity flourish in ripe conditions.

Anytime *anything* is rushed, the element of pressure enters the picture. I personally feel that he is trying as hard as he can in that interview to not throw up both middle fingers and say what he really feels! But that is why Randy Smith is who he is. And also why he will be around for a long time.

I think he is trying to say that they had so many ideas that the project wasn't supporting them all like they should. Would we the fans not wait another year or two for the proper Thief III?

Of course we would!