There was also what Randy describes as a "satirical shooter" called 'Better Red Than Undead', which involved killing zombies and/or communists. First, it was to be a sword fighting game called 'Dark Camelot' (where Mordred instead of King Arthur was the protagonist). However, before the team settled on the title of Thief, the original game concept went through a number of mutations. The studio had already shipped Ultima Underworld 1 & 2 and System Shock, and knew it wanted to create an immersive first-person experience. Eventually, we really worked out the subtle nuances about what really motivates him, what he's conflicted about, what he lies to himself about and how his character develops over time." Arthurian Zombie Commy-Slasherīut before Garrett had been conceived, deciding on the exact nature of the game was no easy task for the Looking Glass lads. "Later, a bunch of us were working on briefings and his personality started to emerge out of the voice we were writing in. "Garrett's original name was Palmer, and he started as a simple paragraph description about a world-weary master thief who's just trying to get by, but whose fate is intertwined with the Keeper prophecies," explains Randy. Randy also voiced the character of Murus in the game, fact fans, and is now project director on the third Thief game. Defining the exact tone and character of the game's lead figure became an important part of the development process and one that Randy Smith was quizzed on when he joined the Thief team as designer in 1997. "We wanted a tough, mysterious, jaded anti-hero, someone who was in keeping with our desire to avoid the standard hero cliches associated with the fantasy game genre," agrees the project leader on Thief, Greg LoPiccolo. He's a sneaky, devious, underhanded bastard, and it's this character that helped make Thief one of the most compelling and immersive stealth games of all time. And one of the greatest anti-heroes in gaming history has got to be Garrett from the pioneering stealth masterpiece, Thief: The Dark Project.Ī man of dubious morals and a decidedly dodgy reputation, Garrett is purely out for a quick buck, and doesn't mind knocking off a few henchmen to get his way. Their appeal comes from the fact that they're much more like us than any gung-ho, khaki-covered jock with a big gun and a bad attitude - we can relate to them. You know, that particular man or woman who gets embroiled in some ridiculous plot to save the world from evil when they'd obviously rather be looking after number one.
#Thief the dark project series#
There are even those who refuse to include it in the series as a whole, saying that Thief: The Dark Project, Thief Gold and Thief II: The Metal Age are the true Thief games.Everyone loves an anti-hero.
![thief the dark project thief the dark project](https://images.launchbox-app.com/a2e588b8-0649-4c6e-8d20-d44af6c9b4b6.jpg)
Some claimed that it was in a bid to ‘dumb down’ the game for the Xbox, and therefore dubbed it “ Thief Lite”. It wasn’t a particularly popular title among fans and purists, as many of the features that made the Thief universe what it is, were not included, and some complained that although it was generally good, it felt too different. Thief: Deadly Shadows, by Ion Storm, came out in 2004 and was once again thwarted by the hype and subsequent release of Doom 3 and later, Half-Life 2.
![thief the dark project thief the dark project](https://images.launchbox-app.com/6af31616-d1fb-43b3-89ab-c2edbe4a4ade.jpg)
It was shortly afterward that Looking Glass Studios went out of business, in fact before Thief II Gold could be released.
![thief the dark project thief the dark project](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6c/27/fe/6c27fe401a43995cca1de11b8b45c3dc.jpg)
Thief II: The Metal Age followed in 2000, less than a year and a half after Thief: The Dark Project, and used a slightly enhanced Dark engine. The DromEd editor was also included in the pack. Thief Gold was released in 1999 and included three new levels as well as bug fixes. Half-Life was released only weeks beforehand and therefore most peoples’ attention was likely focused on that. It formed a cult following and community. Thief wasn’t a mainstream title and didn’t catch on with most people, although it did receive a lot of praise for its originality and was reported to be one of Looking Glass Studios’ best sellers.