Bulgarian_Taffer on 6/8/2013 at 09:03
Why don't they make nuThief for smartphones?
Just curious...
demagogue on 6/8/2013 at 09:16
Who says they won't?
Deus Ex HR had a phone version made. I think the chances of T4 getting one too isn't even that low.
henke on 6/8/2013 at 09:17
Most big titles get mobile spin-offs these days. If Thief does well it'll likely get one too eventually. It might be a good fit for an iOS game actually. The controls on an iPad/iPhone are typically too clunky for fast paced shooty-games, but games that require planning, observation and timing more than dexterity tend to work better. Apparently the sneaking is the most playable part of the recently released DX:The Fall.
Chade on 6/8/2013 at 09:24
Yeah, mobile thief makes a lot of sense. Probably not a direct port though.
henke on 6/8/2013 at 10:15
Oh heavens no, it would have to be simplified a lot. I'm not just talking about the graphics, but more importantly the controls. Thief-purists who felt the new game was too simplified would have an aneurysm if they saw what a Thief designed for mobile devices controlled like. It's a nice toughtexperiment actually. How would one go about making a mobile touch-interface version of Thief?
Here's how I'd do it:
It would be in 3rd person because that lets you view your surroundings easier, and lets you see around corners and over cover without cluttering the interface with lean-buttons. Verticality would be non-existant from a gameplay standpoint. No jumping, crouch is done automatically. Garrett only stands up when he detects that there are no guards around. Swipe the screen to rotate left/right. Click on the ground to make Garrett move there. Click on a guard to make Garrett creep up and blackjack him. You'd be able to enter a stationary first person aiming mode at any time to shoot guards or douse torches. Fighting would likely utilize an Infinity Blade-like system, not too different from the new game's already existing VATS-like system.
I've played a couple of third person games with stealth on the iPad. SC:Conviction and The Dark Knight Rises. Both felt a tad clumsy, largely because they tried doing too much and working in too many systems. But I feel that something stripped-down, along the lines I described above, could actually be playable while retaining a lot of what makes Thief fun to play: observation, planning, and having to improvise when things go wrong.
Chade on 6/8/2013 at 12:37
I think I'd prefer not to be rotating the camera to lean around walls. Feels like to much of a hack when playing IMO. I'm sure you could get away with clicking on wall edges to go up to the closest side and lean around it.
The only thing missing from your list of movement options, IMO, is something to do when you notice a guard is coming and you want to react quickly. Swiping to turn around and then pressing on the ground is going to take a long time. I wonder if you could have the option to do something like double tap to move quickly back to your last stationary "safe" position (however the game determines that, whether manual, automatic, dumb, smart, etc), as long as you hadn't moved too far away from it. An indicator on the screen could fade as you moved too far away from your "safe spot".
henke on 7/8/2013 at 05:42
Oh yeah, "the swoop"! :D As long as it wouldn't make the game too easy, that could be an option.
Renzatic on 8/8/2013 at 03:26
If it supported the upcoming controller, I'd be all over a mobile Thief game (provided it's good and lives up to the series strengths at least). But with touch screen only? No. Hell no. I couldn't finish The Fall because playing a fast paced first person/3rd person game that requires tons of buttons to perform split second actions just don't work with touch controls.
Touch screens are great for playing classic style point 'n click games. XCOM is a joy to play on my iPad, as is Baldur's Gate, Monkey Island 1 & 2, and other games with similar control schemes. Strategy, both real time and turn based, and oldschool style RPGs are practically tailor built for touch. They work beautifully. Games that require a modest amount of dexterity? Not so much.
Robert4222 on 8/8/2013 at 04:55
Quote Posted by Renzatic
and oldschool style RPGs are practically tailor built for touch. They work beautifully.
I downloaded the final fantasy 3 remake port from the DS on the app store and I'm impressed with the overall experience. The graphics, the ergonomic touch controls ; it is a joy to play it !
The only con is the expensive price of the game: 20 bucks
By the way, did you know there was a sidescroller java version of TDS on mobile phones?
