Eidos: Thief's Going To Overcome Fan Resistance

[Karloff]

Eidos: Thief's Going To Overcome Fan Resistance

There's more to come before Thief launches in February.

Thief [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125142-Thief-Gameplay-Trailer-Shows-Off-Garrett-In-Action]'s a franchise much beloved of old school stealth gamers, and Eidos' reboot has some fans of the series concerned. Does it have too much action? Will the absence of fan favorite voice actor Stephen Russell be a step too far? Eidos thinks not, but it also thinks that part of the problem with these complaints is that it hasn't yet shown you all of the great new stuff that Thief has to offer. Some of that will be dealt with in upcoming reveals, but ultimately this game will have to prove itself at launch.

"I think hopefully, our greatest sense of satisfaction will be when the game's released and that's where we'll overcome fan resistance," says Eidos' Joe Khoury. He's been keeping track of fan comments and he understands where most of them are coming from, but they're based on a lack of information that can only be dealt with when the game launches. "We haven't shown everything we have in our pockets yet," says Khoury. Come February, we all get to see for ourselves what Thief has to offer.

"There's a lot of people that remember things differently for the first Thief, and what they like about the first Thief games," says Khoury. "And hopefully 15 years from now people will be talking about what they remember about this Thief, in comparison to the first Thief!" This title launches February 25th - or 28th, in Europe and Japan - for PC, current and next generation consoles.

Source: OXM [http://www.oxm.co.uk/63871/eidos-montreal-will-overcome-fan-resistance-to-the-new-thief-with-upcoming-reveals/]


Permalink

 

[ffs-dontcare]

... okay, maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, but when he says it's going to overcome fan resistance, I can't figure out if he's being arrogant or optimistic.

But considering the immersion aspect of things, if the game is immersive enough to make me forget (while playing) that jumping is now contextual instead of a free action, then it will definitely go a long way towards winning me over.

 

[Buccura]

I'm willing to go into this with an open mind. No one I know wants this game to be good more than me.

As an aside, I just noticed that that screenshot looks like Garrett just nailed that guard in the balls.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

... okay, maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, but when he says it's going to overcome fan resistance, I can't figure out if he's being arrogant or optimistic.

But considering the immersion aspect of things, if the game is immersive enough to make me forget (while playing) that jumping is now contextual instead of a free action, then it will definitely go a long way towards winning me over.

I'm guessing that it's optimism. I mean, no one goes into a reboot thinking they're going to destroy the original. Even when it turns out badly (like SSX for example), I honestly believe they were trying their best to make a new version of the old thing they loved.

That said though, it's a bit easier for me since I have no horse in this particular race. Never having played a Thief title, it's a lot easier for me to be optimistic as well. From where I sit, this new one looks interesting. But I didn't have a PC that would run the THIEF games when they were originally coming out, so there's no nostalgia factor to consider. And if we go back to the SSX example I made earlier, I do know what it's like to have a beloved franchise be remade into something soulless. Hopefully that won't happen to THIEF.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I'm still giving it this game the benefit of the doubt.

The team that is making it, also made Deus Ex: Human Revolution and I was pleasantly surprised by that, so maybe that Koury guy is right.

Time will tell.

 

[ffs-dontcare]

That said though, it's a bit easier for me since I have no horse in this particular race. Never having played a Thief title, it's a lot easier for me to be optimistic as well. From where I sit, this new one looks interesting. But I didn't have a PC that would run the THIEF games when they were originally coming out, so there's no nostalgia factor to consider. And if we go back to the SSX example I made earlier, I do know what it's like to have a beloved franchise be remade into something soulless. Hopefully that won't happen to THIEF.

Same here. Thankfully I have no nostalgia factor to get in the way of things for me in terms of expectations, considering the fact that I only played Thief 2 for perhaps half an hour on someone else's computer when I was a kid, and I've only properly played through Thief: Deadly Shadows in very recent years. That said, however, TS was good enough to seriously impress me even long past its hey-day.

 

[synobal]

Honestly the game seems to have AAA syndrome, got to appeal to the wider audience and all.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

That said though, it's a bit easier for me since I have no horse in this particular race. Never having played a Thief title, it's a lot easier for me to be optimistic as well. From where I sit, this new one looks interesting. But I didn't have a PC that would run the THIEF games when they were originally coming out, so there's no nostalgia factor to consider. And if we go back to the SSX example I made earlier, I do know what it's like to have a beloved franchise be remade into something soulless. Hopefully that won't happen to THIEF.

Same here. Thankfully I have no nostalgia factor to get in the way of things for me in terms of expectations, considering the fact that I only played Thief 2 for perhaps half an hour on someone else's computer when I was a kid, and I've only properly played through Thief: Deadly Shadows in very recent years. That said, however, TS was good enough to seriously impress me even long past its hey-day.

I grabbed the THIEF bundle a couple of Steam sales ago, but I haven't gotten around to actually playing any of them yet. Maybe someday.

 

[Ishigami]

Nothing I have seen thus far worries me.
Guess I have to be thankful that despite liking Thief I?m not a fan.

 

[keserak]

The problem here is always with the passive-aggressiveness of the company in the face of consumer demand.

The right answer to "Customers Want X" in a capitalist system is "Deliver X." If, however, you want to deceive customers -- in order to get in new customers who don't want X, for example, even if that means screwing over those that do -- you'll throw out doublespeak about how there's other stuff in there that you'll like!

Even if you just said you won't like it.

And out will come the trolls who, while claiming positivity, will spew negativity at everyone in the discussion who was honest (and plainly said "I'd like X").

Marketing is now a bigger part of video game development than . . . development.

 

[CriticalMiss]

He's been keeping track of fan comments and he understands where most of them are coming from, but they're based on a lack of information that can only be dealt with when the game launches

It seems weird that that information which will make fans love the game can only be talked about at launch, surely you'd want to get those info-nuggets out there earlier so people have a reason to buy it on day 1 rather than wait for news from upon high.

Hopefully said nuggets aren't about multiplayer or time-travel.

 

[IrenIvy]

I'm finding the phrase "There's a lot of people that remember things differently for the first Thief, and what they like about the first Thief games," to be more arrogant than hopeful. It is very easy to remember what first 'Thief' was about and how it played: game is playable on Win7 and I re-played it only three months ago. It still was as wonderful as when I played it first time in 2009 (when I first discovered 'Thief') and dated graphics didn't bother me even then.

Also, if the game have takedowns and any XP-shot popups and there is no option to turn them off along with all other holographical immersion-breaking nonsense like then had in Deus Ex: HR, for me it would be immediate 'bye-bye immersion'. I liked Deus Ex HR but original 'Thief' is nothing like Deus Ex: HR in gameplay and if the new 'Thief' would be like Deus Ex HR it would be just wrong kind of the game. And I think this is what they are going to release, Deus Ex HR in 'Thief' wallpapers, and I personally feel that all those promises "no, really, it is like an old 'Thief" but better!" is just dishonest marketing hype made to hide this.

The impression I got from this guy, Khoury, is that he is basically asking me to buy a game I know almost nothing about except that it already has a lot of stuff that I (personally, as a fan of original "Thief") don't like (voice changes, continuity errors, unlikable Garrett and changed gameplay along with +XP popups and too much action). He is asking me to give his game too much trust without any grounds, and without any other ways to make an informed choice or get any other information about the game. The only course of actions to see if game is good, seems to be to buy the game. Which will give him my money, thus encouraging all bad things that are in game, even if game itself consists from nothing but rusty razors and disappointments.

All he is saying, basically is this: "it would be awesome! you should buy it and see for yourself how awesome it is!" - and every, every developer says the same about their games pre-release - yes, even those, I believe, who made 'Ride to Hell Retribution' and 'Alien: Colonial Marines.' "Buy it and see for yourself, it is awesome!" is a hollow encouragement which is personally a red flag to me especially if there is no other open, detailed and honest information about the game. Maybe they'd release this information before February but personally I won't count on it.

I didn't preorder new 'Thief' and will not preorder it. I am even considering buying it.

 

[wetfart]

Why is it that the more a company trots out people to tell me that their new game is awesome, the more I think it's going to be horrible?

I'll pass on this game at launch. I'll wait for the price drop and then a steam sale.

 

[RJ Dalton]

I'll wait for Yahtzee's review. Based on his retro review of the original Thief, he and I resonate on the same frequency on the subject of the Thief games. If he enjoys it, I'll give it a look. Until then, I think I'm done checking on the news.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Whatever happened to Splinter Cell Blacklist? there was a whole pile of hype about how they were ruining it up until the game released and then... nothing. I never heard about it since. Did it disappoint, deliver, or was it just so damn forgettable that everyone just instantly purged it from their minds?

I think it would be a good gauge as to how this will play (and the most recent Hitman game) Personally I think it will be a decent enough stealth game, but with no (or very few) actual blow you away awesome moments of emergent gameplay, and just lacking the immersive tension that the absolute great stealth games brought with them.

 

[Werewolfkid]

I would like to make a point here, but to that I must ask my fellow Escapists to read the following paragraph in their heads with an extremely thick German accent, or in Emperor Palpatine's voice, or both I don't care.

"These so called game designers have forgotten what true gamers are. Where once we lived in glorious golden age of boundlessly complex games like the cyberpunk action adventure role playing game Deus Ex which was absolutely perfect in every single imaginable way with a massive tool set and huge levels to play in to our heart content. Other games from that golden age of sublime perfection included System Shock 2 which gave us the most in depth first person shooter role playing game ever made that was perfect from start to finish, Shadow Warrior which was the greatest first person shooter ever with levels as nonlinear as as the eye can see and difficulty so brutal it was like pouring hot coffee onto your eyes and it was incrediable, and finally the pinnacle of absolute mastery that was the Thief series a first person stealth game with incredibly huge levels, an amazing main character, and all around absolutely perfect gameplay. But, those day are far behind us and now we live in a dark age worse then the Great Depression and Holocaust put together. We in a age where game designers are trying to reach out to new audiences and in the process completely and utterly obliterating every that made games wonderful. The abortion known only as Deus Ex Human Revolution had the gull to put in regenerating heath and terrible boss fights that are the equivalent of ripping a woman's child from the womb and forcing her to eat it. What happened to System Shock 2 is even worse with this so called spiritual successor BioShock dumbing down the gameplay to a below childish level of insultingness, and the temptress they have crafted to fool us into thinking they have not raped us is greatest insult imaginable. Shadow Warrior has also been raped with the ability to regenerate health to a certain point and the straight line level design ruining any sense of challenge and fulfillment. And now Thief is next in line to be raped by the soulless designers that have whored themselves to the masses with a "Focus System" that murders any sense of skill and a new voice for the main character that is like a broken glass being shoved into your ears. And why has this happened? The filthy causal is to blame. These interlopers with only to rape and slaughter our glorious games and replace them with soulless garbage to torture us with forever. Well, I say no more, I say we tell them to leave, I say we tell them they have no place here, I say we tell them to go rot and die, and if they try push their way into our fold we shall bury our snouts into her chests and we shall eat their hearts."

That is what I hear whenever I see someone complaining about casuals ruining gaming. I hear a pseudo-Nazi preaching about the virtues of the gaming master race and how the casual is a pestilence that needs to be cleansed. Now, there is plenty to complain about in the current state of games. We have exploitative DLC, greedy micro-payments, DRM, and a million other things. But, one thing we should not be angry about is developers trying to make a game more appealing to new players. For years, many gamers craved to be recognized by the mainstream, to have society say that your hobby wasn't for children, that your little hobby could even be considered art, and now that gaming is mainstream gamers are too immature to deal with the reality of being something for everyone, they want to go back to when gaming was just for them and their friends kinda like when books were just for the lords and the other lords during the days of feudalism, but then the Renascence happened and everything changed. But just because games are being designed so more people can play doesn't mean they will automatically become gray and indistinguishable from each other, the new Thief looks like it will be fine and maybe it will even have new fans looking to play the old games to find out where it all began. We are in an era of massive change in the gaming industry and it is wonderful, but it is also painful and scary for those that have been here since the beginning. But we can't stop it the only thing we can do is sit and do what we can to make sure the games of the future are still amazing experiences. Some things will change the worse, but there will always be things that change for the better and we have to fight for that change. But we must not only fight to build a better future for ourselves, but for everyone that love gaming both old and new. I want to live in a world where being a casual gamer isn't a bad thing to people, where designers are praised for building a game that anyone can play instead of being accused of being a tratior to gaming, and to have a gaming community that is always looking to make things better instead of complaining about how everything is horrible forever and nothing will ever be as good as my time. I don't want old school gamers to become the equivalent of bitter old men sitting on their front porch cursing the world for changing so much and doing nothing to change it for the better of everyone. I want us to face the future in open arms and fight to make gaming as great as it can be without running back into the past to escape.

Thief will be a good game, maybe even a great game, a masterpiece even. I just want us to stop being so cynical about the future and instead look at it with cautious optimism, instead of letting some guy's comment of wanting fans to like the new game convince us that the new game is already dead on arrival.