Starker on 21/7/2013 at 09:44

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Hello

You have worked extremely hard to completely rework and reinvent the Thief franchise to the degree that it is barely recognisable. You have surprised us with things such as third person segments to offer respite from the immersive first person perspective, contextual jumping/climbing/leaning to replace the freeform movement in the previous games, and the addition of a swoop mechanic for a faster, more action-oriented stealth gameplay. When it comes to immersion, who needs freeform movement with the addition of hands that are almost constantly in the player's view and a shroud in the corners of the screen to tell you that you are hidden for the stealth impaired? I'm sure that it more than compensates for having only a ternary light gem.

And, speaking of movement, now the players won't have to hold their breath when making a risky jump and even the rope arrows only have a few specific spots where you can attach them. Experimental gameplay and exploration beyond the confined boundaries are so 1998. To top it all off, the players will not have to worry about getting lost with a convenient minimap to rely on and they won't miss anything with the loot glint and directions provided by the protagonist. Gone are the days of having to pay attention to find all the treasure and secret places.

You have further strived to replace player skill with character skill by introducing RPG progression, equipment upgrades, and focus abilities. Such metagame elements should be enough to shift the focus away from immersive slow stealth to a more action oriented gameplay even without the addition of action sequences and QTEs, which is not to say that they aren't there. And, should the player feel that he doesn't get enough action by taking a blackjack to a sword fight, now there are also chandeliers and statues that you can drop on the unsuspecting guards and puddles of oil that you can set on fire for hilarious hijinks.


You have also worked hard to reinvent the setting and the characters. The quirky setting of the previous games that was an odd mixture of steampunk but not quite, film noir but not quite, and medieval but not quite seems to have been rebooted as a more generic gothic grimdark setting. The removal of magic has also seen to the disappearance of those silly dinosaurs, as you have so eloquently called the burricks, as well as zombies and other known fantasy creatures in the Thiefverse. There seem to still be some references to the old games hidden in the corners, but at least we now have modern swearing in the game to compensate for that.

Garrett himself has received a complete makeover as he is now sporting a corset and wearing makeup (just where has he been all this time... in prison?). The new hip and edgy Garrett* who takes a more romantic view of his profession certainly won't remind us of his pragmatic predecessor. We haven't heard about any of the other characters making a return, but luckily the modern players won't have to worry about the politics and the history of the city, as the old factions are apparently to be replaced with new ones.


You have even spared people from Eric Brosius's awesome ambient music and Stephen Russell's iconic characters. On the surface it would seem that you have done everything that you could to alienate and drive away the core Thief fans, or, as an article affectionately called them, the superpurists. However, is this truly a modern game that has been modernised enough for modern audiences to maximise market penetration? Is it really enough to deliver a cinematic semi-open experience ripe with metagame elements and scripted sequences with a passing resemblance and obscure references to the originals? I think there are still a couple of tiny steps that would make this game complete. I assume you have dropped everything and have called an emergency meeting to discuss my letter and hear my advice, so here are my modest suggestions for further improvement...


A multiplayer mode. There are people who say that having a multiplayer mode in a previously single player focused game might not really be a good idea, but consider this -- Tomb Raider** didn't need a multiplayer mode either, but it got one anyway. Thief is already copying many of Tomb Raider's gameplay mechanics, so why not this as well? A modern game wouldn't be truly modern without a needlessly tacked on multiplayer. And don't worry about the cost -- you can just throw something together on the cheap as nobody is going to play it anyway.

A vehicle section. While you already have parkour races, action-heavy escape sequences and QTEs*** to keep the player from falling asleep, what would be more modern in a modern game than a vehicle section? If you are reluctant to add steampunk cars, then perhaps a cart or a carriage would do in a pinch?

Guns. Not the modern ones, obviously -- that would be stretching it a bit --, but steampunk versions of them. If the superpurists complain too much about them, you can always remind the superpurists that it's a reboot and that using them is entirely optional. Maybe you could even work a turret section in there somewhere.

Third person gameplay. You know you want to. While the superpurists wouldn't even joke about such a thing, you have already made a demo that's fully in third person. Think of how much easier it would be to make a third person game for the console. You could proudly present it as a console title and not have to worry with the PC trappings that seem to inconvenience you to such a big degree.

Microtransactions. Sapienti sat.


Expecting an announcement with my proposed changes soon. Cheers!


* Or should I say Garr4tt?
** When I say Tomb Raider, I mean the reboot. The second reboot, that is.
*** The "press X not to die" variety, even!

Azaran on 21/7/2013 at 10:04

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For weapons, instead of a dagger and broadheads, Garrett could have a silencer gun with a laser pointer, maybe a scope. Just give it a nice steampunk look, it will fit right in.
Also Garrett should have an instant invisibility device, just in case he gets himself into trouble. I mean you shouldn't force today's players to sneak if they don't want to - they won't have to if they're invisible right?
Oh and that new voice actor is still a bit too similar to the original Garrett. They should hire some other guy, with a higher pitched younger voice. A new Garrett for a new reboot right?

Starker on 21/7/2013 at 10:23

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Well, after this letter they don't have any other choice, do they?

Dia on 21/7/2013 at 13:33

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Well said, Starker. Indeed.

However, I honestly feel that from henceforward the main protagonist in T4 should no longer be referred to as Garrett, since he isn't. NuGarrett will do just fine. I know, I know .... I'm nitpicking, but there you have it. It pains me to know that so many gamers who've never played the original Thief games will play this travesty and think the main character is representative of the original Garrett. He's not, nor will he ever be in my eyes.

At the risk of sounding cliché, there can be only one. NuGarrett is an epic fail, imo.



:laff:

Just wait, m'dear; all of that is going to be implemented in ThiVf. Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Dia on 21/7/2013 at 15:02

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I thought we already had ..... repeatedly.

-third person segments to offer respite from the immersive first person perspective
-contextual jumping/climbing/leaning to replace the freeform movement in the previous games
-the addition of a swoop mechanic for a faster, more action-oriented stealth gameplay
-the addition of hands that are almost constantly in the player's view and a shroud in the corners of the screen
-a convenient minimap
-the loot glint
-directions provided by the protagonist
-RPG progression, equipment upgrades, and focus abilities
-shift the focus away from immersive slow stealth to a more action oriented gameplay
-QTEs
-a more generic gothic grimdark setting
-The removal of magic
-the disappearance of those silly dinosaurs, as you have so eloquently called the burricks, as well as zombies and other known fantasy creatures in the Thiefverse
-some references to the old games hidden in the corners
-we now have modern swearing in the game
-The new hip and edgy Garrett (he is now sporting a corset and wearing makeup)
-Eric Brosius's awesome ambient music
-Stephen Russell's iconic characters
- a cinematic semi-open experience ripe with metagame elements and scripted sequences

All of the above have, at one point or another, been addressed, picked apart, and the pros/cons of same even discussed logically in multiple threads, and quite a few of our TTLG Taffers have even visited EM Thief forums to have logical discussions protesting the above aspects which have or have not been implemented in T4.

Face it; no one's listening over there. EM has already stated their desire to just get T4 'out the door' asap. I find Starker's post amusing and think it's great to be able to retain a sense of humor even in the face of disappointment.