Thief (series)
Thief is a series of computer games where the player takes the role of Garrett, a thief in a steampunk world resembling a cross between the middle ages and the Victorian era, with some primitive technology thrown in. The series consists of Thief: The Dark Project (1998), Thief II: The Metal Age (2000) and Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004). An expanded version of Thief: The Dark Project, titled Thief Gold, was released in 2001 and features three extra maps, new enemies and several bug fixes.
The prime motivation behind Thief was to turn the first-person shooter idea on its head. Most first-person games are about killing enemy after enemy in Rambo-like fashion until the player either becomes bored or beats the game. The main tactic of Thief, however, is to avoid fights and instead sneak around the enemies. Indeed, killing an innocent will often cause the player to fail a mission; on higher difficulty levels, killing anyone, even an angry guard out for Garrett's blood, will result in mission failure. Clearly, Thief emphasizes brains over brawn. Thief is sometimes described as either a "first-person sneaker" or a "first-person looter" to emphasize this difference. Three-dimensional stealth games (Splinter Cell chief among them) are common these days, but Thief was the first.
Another innovation introduced by Thief is the careful use of sound effects as an integral part of gameplay. Sound queues not only tell the player of other characters in the vicinity, but also indicate how much noise Garrett makes when moving about an area. Too much noise can alert nearby guards, who will grow suspicious and come looking for intruders. There are a variety of tactics to avoid being heard, however, like walking gently, steering clear of noisy pavement, or using magical arrows to create a moss carpet that muffles the sound of footsteps.
Eidos Interactive published the Thief series, with Looking Glass Studios developing both Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age. When Looking Glass Studios went out of business in 2001, many former employees moved to Ion Storm Austin and began developing the long-anticipated third part of the series, Thief: Deadly Shadows. The game was finally released in May 26, 2004 and is believed to be the last in the series. Although there have been comments suggesting a continuation, they have not yet been confirmed.
With the release of Dromed, a map editor, an active community of fans began providing a wealth of home-grown missions for the first two games (see External links below). A few of these were so successful, in fact, that their creators were invited to work with Ion Storm Austin on Thief: Deadly Shadows.
Story
The Thief series follows the exploits of Garrett, a master thief living and working in a steampunk metropolis constantly being fought over by a corrupt aristocracy, an order of religious fanatics and a horde of vengeful woodland beings, all under the eye of a secret organization of Keepers.
Setting
Of particular interest is the success with which Thief creates a living, breathing steampunk world for the player. This, teamed with the attention given to sound design and the games' intricate, engrossing storylines, creates an immersive experience for the player
The games are set in what is always referred to as "The City", with occasional excursions into nearby areas like Markham's Isle.
The technology present in the game responds to an approximately Victorian level of advancement, with a few exceptions: electricity is commonplace, for example, and no firearms exist, which is actual a step back from Victorian sophistication.
Factions
There are three primary factions at work in the City. Below is a description of each.
The 'Keepers are an ancient sect of expert observers, dedicated to preserving order in the world. Garrett once belonged to the organization and still makes use of the skills learned as a Keeper for his own clandestine purposes. Even though Garrett refuses further involvement with the Keepers, they inevitably manipulate him into acting out their prophecies and obscure designs in all three games.
The Order of the Hammer is a group of technocratic religious fanatics, also known as the Hammerites. They aim to carry out the vision of the Builder, their architect god, and are the burning force of progress in the Thief world.
In Thief II, a group of Hammerite schismatics under the leadership of the charismatic (and insane) Karras, gave birth to the Mechanist sect. Even more fervent about technology than their Hammerite cousins, the Mechanists invented steam-powered robots to act as servants, and rumor has it those robots might be intended for more than just subservience... The plotline of Thief II: The Metal Age revolves entirely around this sect; they're barely mentioned, if at all, in the other games in the series.
Finally, the Pagans represent the forces of nature and retrogression in the Thief world. Needless to say, they despise the ordinary people of the City, and are completely inimical to Hammerites and Mechanists. Their demonic god, the Trickster, and the facts surrounding their resurgence are central to the plot of Thief: The Dark Project. Owing to a twist of fate, they side with Garrett against the Mechanists in Thief II.
Language
The game uses the imaginary expletive "taffer" (meaning something like scoundrel or fool), a word sometimes heard among fans.
Quotes
Memorable quotes from the series:
Thief: The Dark Project
- "Blindness is the manfools theys gathers up treasures and greeders themselves on gold rocks and fetters / The Woodsie One wreaks thems with lilacs and nettles and gathers theys bones for His porridge and feathers." --- Text Unattributed, Sumac on Parchment
- Trickster: I am The Woodsie Lord, The Trickster of legend! If you be thirsty, fleshthing, drink of me. If you be hungry, then feed for I am the honeymaker, and the jacksberry!
- Trickster: My poor Mister Garrett, you will not live to see the sprawling glory of it! Your sacrifice is not yet complete! Mine lilacs and mine thistleaids must feeds, and I? Stands He then in the greens and festered Maw and speeds He out his judgements upon the weeps and writhing manfools!
- "Danced we in joys and triumphs. With us the Woodsie Lord danced the stringsie foolsie man Rose the storms in shouty glee, the darkness in feary glooms, the fires in happy greed. Danced we away, and fed the sad stringsie manfool to their devourings for our thanks." --- Final fragment of the "Notyets" manuscript
- "The stone cannot know why the chisel cleaves it; the iron cannot know why the fire scorches it. When thy life is cleft and scorched, when death and despair leap at thee, beat not thy breast and curse thy evil fate, but thank the Builder for the trials that shape thee." --- The Hammer Book of Tenets
- Garrett: I've never robbed a god before. It'll be a challenge...
- Garrett: If you haven't noticed, I just saved the world. Yourself included. Keeper: As we knew you would. As it had to be. Garrett: Now I remember why I left the Keepers. Keeper: And I remember why we let you go.
Thief II: The Metal Age
- Garrett: This proves it. Going legit is more trouble than it's worth...
- "Strike hot iron and call forth sparks / Strike a man and call forth fury / To shape man or metal to thy will / Thou must strike with force." --- Collected sermons of Karras
- "Bricky roads they trappers grass, / Stoney walls they trappers wind, / Iron stove it trappers fire. / Trappers is we by the works of hands, / And forget us we were ever free..." --- Inked grass scroll
- "When we looked at the relics of the Precursors, / We saw the height civilization can attain. / When we looked at their ruins, / We marked the danger of that height." --- Keeper annals
- "There are those to whom knowledge is a shield, / And those to whom it is a weapon. / Neither view is balanced, but one is less unwise." --- Keeper annals
External links
Official sites
Fan sites
Fan missions
- Dark Loader, a freeware application to quickly and easily play fan missions
- Cheap Thief Missions
- The Keep of Metal and Gold
- Thief: The Circle
- T2X: Shadows of the Metal Age, a Thief II expansion