benny taffer on 9/8/2019 at 15:45
There's no theory, I just made an observation that's all.
Meowdori on 10/11/2019 at 14:36
I agree, the introduction of the art-deco style mixed with steampunk in Thief 2 was one of the things that made me love the second installment of the series, and swiftly returning to the full-on medieval art style with no traces of Mechanist's influences whatsoever in T3 felt really out of place for me, aside of the fact that i found such kind of design extremely boring, compared to what we've seen in Thief 2 or even Thief 2X (with the latter striking a great balance between several styles, while the Mechanists were on their steady rise)
page on 15/1/2020 at 12:15
Answering the original question:
Yes, I also think that Mechanists architectural and decorational style resembled Art Deco to a high degree, especially in the state-of-the-art Angelwatch project. "Metropolis" is a great reference; silent movies and Pre-Code Hollywood must have other examples of LGS inspiration behind Mechanists. As such, I believe the term "deco punk" really fits.
Sidenote:
Contrary to some posters, I'm not fond of this Art Deco style in T2, though I think it was a bold move on Looking Glass part. Thief 2 was no underground project, they had to take peoples' perception into account, and I bet the most ardent fans didn't see the bots, transmitters and radiowaves coming. The problem is, TDP already was an exquisite amalgam of styles (Romanesque, Classical, touches of Gothic and Victorian), so instead of adding another layer, I'd rather have them explore already established architectural identity of The City.
There is also the suspension of disbelief. I'm willing to buy Thief as an eclectic setting with dominant Middle Ages core (clothing, wood-and-brick, stonemasonry, warfare, religiousness and society) with significant elements of other pre-Modern periods:
- Age of Discovery (establishing new trading routes, advanced ships, exotic goods i.e. "Shipping... and Receiving")
- Scientific Revolution (very isolated instances, such as the mad astronomer and his star charts in "Life of the Party")
- Industrial Revolution (steam engines, limited use of electricity, slowly emerging bourgeoisie).
It's obviously very anachronistic and "messed up" historically, probably self-contradictory even in a manufactured, alternate universe, but it's also fun, so I was always tweaking my head canon to make it all fit. And I enjoyed it thoroughly!
But the Metal Age, with all its inventions coming up in a couple of years (and then mysteriously disappearing) is a bit much. I can enjoy it and treat it as a short-lived quirk in The City's history, but it doesn't feel like a part of "canon", in my opinion.
Starker on 15/1/2020 at 12:36
Yes, it feels a bit like the Taishou era when Japan had been opened up to the West and got the significant developments and counter-developments and counter-counter-developments (and the accompanying improvement of living standards) all at once. That's part of the reason I like the second game so much. Plus the very strong film noir vibe.
