Jahandar on 31/5/2004 at 08:09

---

EDIT: Removed stupid question

Wynne on 31/5/2004 at 10:40

---

I am playing through this level right now and... :wot: I've never seen such a thing since RtC! Very, very, very different ambience, feel, etc.... but it's giving me the same general emotional state, where there is SO much tension and you just have to break it somewhere. It's pure desperation and claustrophobia and... well... it's perfect. It truly is the RtC of Thief 3 (unless there's another undead level this good that I haven't seen yet.)

The knocking is scary because it all comes from the same place. And just when you think it has stopped, it starts up again. It is not persistent, like a drone; it seems spontaneous. You never know when it will start again, and it sounds believably insistent to get in. It's slight... then it gets louder... then faster and more urgent... one of the worst feelings was when I got around a corner and thought I heard the door open up.

I instantly freaked out, knocked the game case I had covering my computer lights off, dashed to my room light, and was jittering "I NEED THE LIGHTS ON... I NEED THE LIGHTS ON... I NEED THE LIGHTS ON..." *lmao* (In the game, contrarily, I did NOT WANT THE LIGHTS ON. I was afraid things would see me.)

Then, when I thought I'd passed it and it had subsided, the sudden frantic rattling as I neared the top of the attic stairs made me jump out of my skin.

Finally opening that door was so hard.

And when Garrett made a note about it, I'm like, "HOW CAN YOU BEAR TO MAKE A NOTE AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"

Hearing a fireplace crackling when there is no fire was scary, too. Gives you the feeling that something is still awake in here, something remains of EVERYTHING. Even the suffering, the torment, the paralyzing fear... it can come back today... it can have you the way it had so many unfortunate others. That's the way Shalebridge makes you feel.

Then I ended up dimming my lamp to its dimmest setting and shielding it with a blanket between it and me, for a while until I got to the next part with those freaky... things, after which I turned it off again.

The first part is actually my favorite in terms of the feel it gave me; the loneliness and dread/anticipation. The exterior and the lobby in particular are also just unbelievably beautiful. The visuals... Lauryl... oh, my was it freaky to see that ectoplasmic cloud with that little girl's shadow behind it!

I was almost sorry to actually encounter AI... but they certainly aren't just garden variety zombies! They threw me off guard, which is just what a game should use its AI to do. What's really awesome about them is that you don't know what the hell they are, or how they still exist in this form. I guess the Cradle 'remembers' them this way... faceless, genderless things in cages that aren't allowed to ever die. Urrgh. I felt so sad for them, though... the toys were a perfect touch, not just a game device but a plot device to boot, lending the level that sense of humanity which twists your emotions twice as much as if you'd just been feeling for Lauryl.

And then, on top of everything else, the delicious touch of merging with the past. Not too frustrating, and actually helpful at times; you can make strategic use of the 'safer' past to avoid the present's dangers (like to step over a fallen asylum inmate), although you have to be really careful or you'll get dropped into a present situation you DON'T want to see. The field of view is clearly altered, and the greenish lights with darkened shadow people give it that nice 'hotel hell' feel. You can see all over again how beautiful the architecture is. I always thought of asylums as sterile, boring places except for the people and instruments in them--well, Shalebridge is anything but boring, and not just because it's also an orphanage. It's just really, really well-designed, in all respects--the creatures, the visual design, the lighting, the AI, the plot, and of course, the sound.

*does a double take* Null? This mission is YOURS? Hot damn! *scrawls 'Jordan Thomas' down on very short list of favorite level designers* From the things you'd said, I expected you'd do a good job, but... I'm speechless... I never expected this. Bravo... standing ovation... and many requests for an encore at your earliest convenience. :)

That's too greedy of me, though... you and the team deserve a break after all that work, and I haven't even finished this one yet. ;) I still have that solution to find... *wanders off*

The Rogue Wolf on 31/5/2004 at 20:15

---

Null-

You scared me. That is not an easy thing to do. :sweat: In fact, there's only been a handful of gaming moments that have outright frightened me:

- Running into a Rumbler for the first time in System Shock 2
- Entering the Cathedral in RttC, Thief 1
- Entering the "Alternate World" for the first time in Silent Hill 1

This time I almost had to shut the game off. My heart was thumping... literally. Especially when I started hearing the banging on the door- I had just started up the stairs towards the lobby when I heard it, and believe you me, I was back down those stairs and in the darkest shadow I could find in an instant, dagger out and watching every possible entrance. I thought something was coming down the stairs after me. :wot:
(I can't even get into what I felt when I first saw what was still 'living' in the Cradle. It involves a lot of profanity being uttered and a distinct lack of blinking.)
Well done, good sir. Well done! :thumb:

Dookie on 31/5/2004 at 21:37

---

I recall killing one of those "things" as well... or so I thought. :tsktsk:

[SPOILER]I ran into it one by accident as I rounded a corner. Yikes. Scared the bejeezus outa me. First instinct was to run, but it caught up with me and I decided to make a stand, cuz I was cornered. So I pulled out my trusty dagger and started slashing, the whole time my heart was thumping cuz those "things" make some god-aweful sounds that make your skin crawl - especially when they've found you. Anyway, when it was all over.. I had like one or two health bars left. I left the corpse there (since you can't move 'em) and left the area. A little while later I had to pass this area again. And thinking it safe (bad idea... your never "safe" on this level) I tried walking past the corpse... when all of a sudden, it jumps up with a hiddeous sound and scared the crap out of me for the SECOND time. This time I ran like hell. [/SPOILER] Damn, that was so friggin creepy and scary. I finished the game today, but that moment (and that level) still haunts me when I think about it. Maybe I'm develping PTSD. Yikes.

Nupraptor on 1/6/2004 at 00:31

---

Hehe. Just take your time with the level. There's lots of stuff to see and explore.