**EM in interview : 'It's easy to fall into the trap of trying to please everyone

New Horizon on 12/4/2013 at 03:10

Quote Posted by Renzatic

As a game designer, which kind of challenge would you prefer your players to face? The one offered up by the gameplay, or that offered up by an overly obtuse control scheme?

That's what dude guy above was talking about, and it's something I agree with 100%. A challenging game does not have to be hard to control. It needs to be quick and intuitive. You pick it up, and you know how to play. The challenge comes from what the game itself offers beyond that.

It does not mean the game is being dumbed down.

As a game designer, I would prefer to try and leave as many options up to the player as possible.

I never said anything was being dumbed down, what we're talking about is casual gaming.

I've been working as a game tester for over 2 years now, so I've seen my fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly.

To be fair, the control scheme in the Thief games had a nice degree of flexibility. The player could make it as complicated or as simple as they liked. My setup was quite simple, for me at least. I found nothing obtuse about using number keys and wasd at all. Now, I can totally understand needing to simplify things to work with the limited options of a controller but for PC the options should be left open so PC players can setup a scheme they're comfortable with, don't short change one set of players for another. That's what we're talking about.

I also wish they would stop using the DNA analogy. Humans and Chimps share 98% of the same DNA...so...y'know, it doesn't really mean what they think it means. lol

Goldmoon Dawn on 12/4/2013 at 03:16

Quote Posted by Renzatic

That's what dude guy above was talking about, and it's something I agree with 100%. A challenging game does not have to be hard to control. It needs to be quick and intuitive. You pick it up, and you know how to play. The challenge comes from what the game itself offers beyond that.

Excuse me? Wait a minute... Youre not talking about Thief I are you? I thought you played Thief: The Dark Project. In my vast experience with the history of crpg, Thief I is one of the easiest games to control, in any genre. How can you improve on the 1st person gameplay and controls of Thief I. They are not making that type of game though. They are making a "hybrid", a reboot with "nods" aplenty.

Vae on 12/4/2013 at 03:25

Of course, I agree to the obvious...T1/T2 controls allow freedom of movement with ease, and intimate control of movement, which is essential for the THIEF experience.

In truth, Renz...We're all going to wait and see how it proves itself to be, because we love THIEF too much not to...and I can assure you, that we will give an honest and fair review when available...It's just that right now, it doesn't sound very good, and I know that we all hope as time moves forward, and new information is received, that our view changes to that of a positive one...even though, as of right now, it's hard to imagine how that would be.

jtr7 on 12/4/2013 at 03:35

The Dark Mod has shown the way to take what the Dark Engine started and build on it, improve it, especially where mantling is concerned. The power in the player's hands is increased, not sheltered and guided, or removed/replaced!

New Horizon on 12/4/2013 at 03:38

Quote Posted by Renzatic

True. I made the mistake of coming down here again. It was my bad.

I mean you all had Stephen Russell post on the boards. That's incredible. Maybe he would've talked to us a little more, given us some insights into his past experience with the series. I wouldn't have expected him to go all out, but who knows. A couple of interesting posts could've come up.

I don't think he had any intention of sticking around beyond the thank you. As he said to Dia, he likes to stay in the background.

Quote:

You know. I can understand your disappointment. I really can. Russell was one of the key parts that made old Thief so memorable. The one thing you all need to learn is handling your disappointment with a little grace and poise.

Mocking people because their passions run differently from your own somewhat lacks grace too. Nobody is perfect.

Renault on 12/4/2013 at 03:43

Quote Posted by Renzatic

As a game designer, which kind of challenge would you prefer your players to face? The one offered up by the gameplay, or that offered up by an overly obtuse control scheme?

Do you think the original games had an overly obtuse control scheme? I don't. When they say they're "mainstreaming" it really means they're simplifying and/or dumbing down. C'mon, we've seen it before. Do you think new Thief will have a lean left/right option? How about lean forward? Creep? Those will all be a thing of the past. Instead we'll have SWOOP and FOCUS. And context sensitive walls. And binary stealth. Are you saying that's what you want? No one wants to make it more complicated than it was, just the same or at least similar. Or don't call it Thief.

jtr7 on 12/4/2013 at 03:48

He has no presence on the Internet. Many others post about him and for him, and have been doing so for many years, but he Keeps to himself when not on a stage or writing children's plays.

Vae on 12/4/2013 at 03:50

Quote Posted by Brethren

Yes, Brethren...I really don't see why this is difficult to grok, for anyone with a modicum of game design understanding.

cyrosis on 12/4/2013 at 04:15

Quote:

Even if you're aggressive you're not going to be running out in front of the guys like, "hey, I'm here, come kill me!" You will probably most likely die or lose a lot of health doing it, which means consuming a lot of resources. So you can't sustain that strategy for very long: eventually you will run out of resources and your health is a pretty bad one to run out of, right?

Sounds like no health regen to me, so at least that's a big plus.

Vae on 12/4/2013 at 04:21

Well, I would definitely say it's not a minus...But that's kind of sad, when normally neutral things start looking like pluses, because they're in the company of minuses.