RPS hands-on - TTLG Forums

Vivian on 4/4/2013 at 13:38

brap brap: (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/04/first-look-thief/#more-148306)

Precis:

Good:

City is dense, large, multi-tiered and extensively navigable, non-linear etc
Still very lurky
Seems like thought has gone into developing Garrett and How He Views Things, which I know will still irk some of you, but I'm now interested.
Third Person sounds pretty minimal/avoidable if not actually optional
Garrett apparently has a pretty similar capacity for violence that he always did
Rope arrows(!)
Looks jaw dropping
Very definitely about robbing, rather than stabbing
One of the main points in focus is things like stealing the rings from peoples fingers? And for engineering escapes. To paraphrase, 'avoiding fail states'. That actually sounds pretty cool.

Bad:

To quote, the city may "lack some of its original voice and soul"
Dishonored comparisons sound like they might be being lampshaded somewhat
THEY ARE USING REAL SWEAR WORDS NOW. Might be no use of taffer at all? (seriously guys, that's extremely lame)

Outcome:

Positive! Actually sounds really good. I mean, it seems there will be a few hiccups, but I really like the sound of it.

nickie on 4/4/2013 at 13:56

Thanks for that and yes, I agree.

thiefessa on 4/4/2013 at 14:00

Thank you, Vivian.

There certainly is a lot to like there. :cool:

One of my fave parts:

Quote:

They know that I've missed firing water arrows at torches and clubbing guards on the noggin. I've missed creeping on carpets and shuddering at the sight of a hard, stone floor. I've missed being encouraged to think about a location as a challenge and a possibility, and I reckon Thief just might bring all of those things back to me.

We're getting some in-game footage soon too. Can't wait.

jay pettitt on 4/4/2013 at 14:20

Honestly, I'm disappointed by the swearing vs taffing this and that.

I'd wax lyrical, but 'gaming' needs to grow up and stop appearing as desperate to be seen as grown up.

twisty on 4/4/2013 at 14:23

The preview appeared to be written in haste and could do with some editing but its great to see such a favourable impression from someone that has obviously spent a lot of time playing the original games. The following gameplay feature caught my eye:

Quote:

Black cords of ash and soot hang in the air like an oppressive net over the Victorian skyline and, later, flashes of lightning send white light dancing across individual raindrops and puddles, casting crazy shadows across the cobbles. Fog shifts like a living thing and all of it combines to make contrasting shapes of varied darkness and light that act as an ever-shifting patchwork obstacle course for Garrett, who can use any pool of darkness or obscurity as a vanishing point. Many of the technological tricks are striving for the same impact on design as the Dark Engine’s light sources did so many years ago...

Vivian on 4/4/2013 at 14:25

Swearing in dialogue is natural, and can be very effective for invective, drama, pathos etc. It's very evocative language by it's very nature, if you handle it right. Problem is, not handling it right makes it look juvenile as hell.

NB NSFW OBVS: A masterclass in the effective and multifarious uses of naughty words

[video=youtube;SO0WW2QXIYc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO0WW2QXIYc[/video]

jay pettitt on 4/4/2013 at 14:32

TBH, as far as I can tell there's an industry paranoia/shame thing where it thinks (rightly probably) that it's seen as infantile (in a bad way). It's response seems to be to chase Mature ratings by over-using naughty words, boobies and adolescent violent power fantasies.

It's not the kind of creative wit and imagination I'd personally want to see in a Thief game.

jay pettitt on 4/4/2013 at 14:35

Quote Posted by twisty

Yeah, that sounds nice. The idea of fog drifting around and being able to use it as dynamic cover could be a sweet touch.

Renault on 4/4/2013 at 14:35

Yeah, it's weird, I'm not a prude or anything, but when The Dark Mod came out, some of the language within kind of threw me a bit, it just seemed un-Thief for some reason. Talking about "whores" and "using guts for bootstraps" (and a few other things I can't remember right now) just felt out of place. Granted, TDM is not Thief and it is supposed to be a darker world, but I still remember having a negative reaction to it.

Point being, if NewThief is dropping F-bombs left and right, that will be odd.

Vivian on 4/4/2013 at 14:39

Depends entirely on the quality of the dialogue. I'm assuming it's not going to be on the same level as The Wire (along with 99% of everything ever), but it still could be done well. Or at least appropriately. I mean, if a hooded man threw a homemade flashbang in my face and then.. uh... jumped through the mullioned glass window next to me, I think I would definitely make whatever my notion of a swearing noise is.