The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Roleplaying In 3D

People have been yearning to have the pen-and-pencil RPG experience on their computers since, well, since there were computers. Why has it been so difficult? Games like Daggerfall and Ultima Underworld, with their real-time 3D engines and RPG-like character mechanics, are the best the industry has done to provide us with interactive worlds in which to role-play. These game include such RPG elements as character creation and advancement, finding and using new equipment and magical items, and killing lots of monsters. They lack the most important element of an RPG, though- the ROLE-PLAYING!

Enter Looking Glass Studios. Through the publisher Eidos Interactive they have released Thief: The Dark Project (hereafter referred to as TTDP). This is not a computer RPG. There is no character creation, no advancing skills or abilities, not many pieces of equipment or magical items to find, and very little killing. What is the point, you ask? How about a little role-playing? Yes, believe it or not, in TTDP you get to play a role.

First let me define a role. A role is a position you are put into where your attention, perspective, and attitude come from. You have to give up your own personal attributes and replace them with that of the role. Being a wizard in a typical computer RPG, for example, is not a role. It is simply a way of providing the player with another way to kill things (a fireball wand instead of a crossbow, for example). Being a fighter is definitely not a role. Even being a thief, in and of itself, is not a role. What is? Let me give you an example of TTDP in which I was playing a role.

"I was crouched in the shadows. Bruised and battered, I knew a single slash for the guard's sword would finish me. I was afraid. The armored figure before me was whistling softly to himself, not aware of my presence… yet. I sized up the situation. All light was extinguished (I had doused the torches with water arrows). The floor was marble, not good for stealth (walking on marble makes a lot of noise), but there were carpets that provided some measure of quietness. At each wall was a gong that the guard could sound at a moment's notice, bringing other guards which would surely overwhelm me. I had to finish him quickly. Arrows were out, he would have enough time to sound the alarm. Sneaking past him was out, the hallway he was watching was well lit and even if I got past him I wouldn't make it any farther. I was stuck."

As I played through the above scenario I felt a sense of panic. I had to get past this guard. I couldn't fight him (thieves are fairly poor fighters), I couldn't sneak past. I felt many emotions: tension, apprehension, fear, excitement. These were the emotions of my ROLE, not my own! What did I do?

"Pulling my trusty blackjack out of my pocket I raised it over my head. I crept towards the soldier, crouched down, and moving very slowly. I got within a few meters. Then, suddenly, I stepped on the cold marble floor! 'What's that!' he said. Going into a hunched fighting posture he began to walk through the room. I was terrified! If he discovered me, hunkered down in the middle of the floor with a leather sap in my hand, he would cut me to ribbons. No time the think… I stepped closer to where had been standing and simply hoped. Sure enough, after a few moments, he decided the noise was just a rat and went back to his post. With me now standing just inches from him, my blackjack raised over my head, this guy was doomed."

This is completely different from any 3D first-person game I have ever played! Even Unreal, with its powerful opponents, cannot strike fear into you the way TTDPcan. I mean real, gut-wrenching fear.

I don't want to discount the fun of bashing the bad guys, though. Killing people, despite being morally wrong in real life, is a lot of fun in a game. But you have to think deeper than that in TTDP. Here's what happened next-

"Thud. The heavy lead liner landed perfectly across the guards neck. He let out a muffled 'ugh' and slumped to the floor. This made a little noise, but not nearly as much as a screaming, panicked guy running through a dark room hollering for his friends to come and save him. I picked up the body and dropped it in a dark corner, just in case any other guards happened to walk through."

Not bloody enough for you? Try out this scenario-

"I had passed through the haunted caverns below the jail. The undead can be hacked and hacked and hacked again, but only a thorough dousing in hold water (delivered via a water arrow is best) can destroy them permanently. The jail cell my friend was being held in is guarded (surprise) by this very alert archer in an alcove on the second floor, looking down on my position. I creep up a flight of stairs until I am in position. I'm hiding. He doesn't seem me draw my bow. I wait a moment until my aim is sure and then let fly. The arrow land squarely in his face. He hollers something like 'oouugghh' and slumps to the floor, dead. Killing people isn't a fun chore, but sometimes it has to be done."

I submit to you that this is more exciting than running up to a monster and using your machinegun to blast him into pieces.

Playing The Game

OK, enough of my ramblings. Suffice it to say that in TTDP you get to play the ROLE of a thief, and this brings with it all of the adrenaline and excitement that a thief feels. Now I'll comment on the game itself.

Sneaking

At the bottom center of the screen is a crystal. When you are standing in full light (from a torch, lantern, magical light, etc.) the crystal is white. When you are hunkered down in the shadows of a dark room the crystal is black. Most of the game is played out at some point in between. Need to hide and wait for a guard to pass by? Find a spot where you can crouch down and turn the crystal black and you are virtually guaranteed to go unnoticed. Much of the game time is spent hidden like this, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Opposition

As I've said, the opposition in TTDP is much, much tougher than you are. If you get caught you are almost certainly doomed. One guard is bad enough, but at times you can face two or more soldiers who are absolutely unstoppable. You simply cannot fight through this game. Splitting them up is a good tactic, as offing them individually is much easier. Things like noise arrows or jumping up and down to make some racket will alert them and get them to move around some, which can often allow you to sneak by unnoticed. Finally, don't be afraid to nock and arrow and let'er rip from time to time.

One interesting thing about the bad guys in TTDP is the difficulty in killing them. When a guard is standing unawares, whistling or talking to himself, a single arrow or blackjack strike can often put him down. However once he is alerted to your presence he will enter a lowered battle position. In these cases it takes much, much more damage to kill him. He gets a sort of armor bonus when he is paying attention to his combat posture. Thus, killing before you are noticed is paramount.

Equipment

With traditional computer RPGs giving you lots of equipment to find and use makes you feel like you are playing a pencil-and-paper RPG. TTDP has an adequate supply of toys, but nothing in the range that other 3D action games provide. You get a blackjack for knocking out people (quietly, and with no blood), a bow for shooting arrows, and a sword for dire situations in which you must fight. As for arrows there are the normal broadhead variety for killing people with, water arrows that will put out torches and clean up blood, moss arrows that create a quiet walking surface wherever they hit, noise arrows that make sound when they strike something (good for distracting soldiers), and a few others. There is also a lot of loot to find (so that you can buy more equipment). Food and keys are available, along with some other common RPG items like potions of speed and healing potions.

The Graphics

TTDP has a mediocre 3D graphics engine. This isn't Unreal folks! I dare say it isn't even LithTech or Quake II. In fairness the DirectX 6.0 support is good and the visual quality is totally adequate. You get a lot of things like guards falling over with their arms sticking through walls, but that is still pretty common in 3D engines, so I can't complain too much. I ran the game on a Pentium II 233mhz, with about 200 megs of ram, a total hard drive installation, a Riva TNT AGP graphics card, and all graphics options turned up. It was totally smooth and never slowed down. I would guess the limited graphics come from the need to model a lot of dark situations, as well as provide some better AI for the monsters than a typical game.

The Surroundings

The missions take place in a wide variety of locations. You get to travel through fancy merchants' homes, dark caves, ancient tomes, and more. All are designed well. They do a good job of not resembling each other, too. Each mission has its own terrain, opponents, architecture, etc. You won't get bored.

Audio

This game's sound effects really shine. You have to pay close attention to noise. As you walk or run your character makes noise, and guards walking their beats make sounds too. Hearing them first is important. Tactics such as distracting them with the clatter of a pot being thrown to the ground is sometimes a good way to get them away from a well defended position. The sound in TTDP is top notch.

The Bad Guys

Again, they are tough and resourceful. The drunken ones are fun. You can practically dance around them and they won't notice. The faces of enemies are rendered and look fairly good, even though their expressions never change.

Difficulty

TTDP approaches the entire idea of a 3D adventure game from a different angle, so the difficulty of the game is hard to specify. As you increase the difficulty levels you are required to find more loot and kill fewer (yes, fewer) opponents. I am having no frustration beating the game on the normal difficulty level.

Closing

Go buy this game right now. In fact you shouldn't have reached the end of this review! You should have already left to go get it!

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Thief: The Dark Project
Author: Looking Glass Studio Category: Computer 3D Action/Adventure Company/Publisher: Eidos Interactive Cost: $30-$40 Page count: N/A ISBN: N/A Playtest Review by John DeHope on 02/13/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Espionage	Roleplaying In 3D People have been yearning to have the pen-and-pencil RPG experience on their computers since, well, since there were computers. Why has it been so difficult? Games like Daggerfall and Ultima Underworld, with their real-time 3D engines and RPG-like character mechanics, are the best the industry has done to provide us with interactive worlds in which to role-play. These game include such RPG elements as character creation and advancement, finding and using new equipment and magical items, and killing lots of monsters. They lack the most important element of an RPG, though- the ROLE-PLAYING! Enter Looking Glass Studios. Through the publisher Eidos Interactive they have released Thief: The Dark Project (hereafter referred to as TTDP). This is not a computer RPG. There is no character creation, no advancing skills or abilities, not many pieces of equipment or magical items to find, and very little killing. What is the point, you ask? How about a little role-playing? Yes, believe it or not, in TTDP you get to play a role. First let me define a role. A role is a position you are put into where your attention, perspective, and attitude come from. You have to give up your own personal attributes and replace them with that of the role. Being a wizard in a typical computer RPG, for example, is not a role. It is simply a way of providing the player with another way to kill things (a fireball wand instead of a crossbow, for example). Being a fighter is definitely not a role. Even being a thief, in and of itself, is not a role. What is? Let me give you an example of TTDP in which I was playing a role. "I was crouched in the shadows. Bruised and battered, I knew a single slash for the guard's sword would finish me. I was afraid. The armored figure before me was whistling softly to himself, not aware of my presence… yet. I sized up the situation. All light was extinguished (I had doused the torches with water arrows). The floor was marble, not good for stealth (walking on marble makes a lot of noise), but there were carpets that provided some measure of quietness. At each wall was a gong that the guard could sound at a moment's notice, bringing other guards which would surely overwhelm me. I had to finish him quickly. Arrows were out, he would have enough time to sound the alarm. Sneaking past him was out, the hallway he was watching was well lit and even if I got past him I wouldn't make it any farther. I was stuck." As I played through the above scenario I felt a sense of panic. I had to get past this guard. I couldn't fight him (thieves are fairly poor fighters), I couldn't sneak past. I felt many emotions: tension, apprehension, fear, excitement. These were the emotions of my ROLE, not my own! What did I do? "Pulling my trusty blackjack out of my pocket I raised it over my head. I crept towards the soldier, crouched down, and moving very slowly. I got within a few meters. Then, suddenly, I stepped on the cold marble floor! 'What's that!' he said. Going into a hunched fighting posture he began to walk through the room. I was terrified! If he discovered me, hunkered down in the middle of the floor with a leather sap in my hand, he would cut me to ribbons. No time the think… I stepped closer to where had been standing and simply hoped. Sure enough, after a few moments, he decided the noise was just a rat and went back to his post. With me now standing just inches from him, my blackjack raised over my head, this guy was doomed." This is completely different from any 3D first-person game I have ever played! Even Unreal, with its powerful opponents, cannot strike fear into you the way TTDPcan. I mean real, gut-wrenching fear. I don't want to discount the fun of bashing the bad guys, though. Killing people, despite being morally wrong in real life, is a lot of fun in a game. But you have to think deeper than that in TTDP. Here's what happened next- "Thud. The heavy lead liner landed perfectly across the guards neck. He let out a muffled 'ugh' and slumped to the floor. This made a little noise, but not nearly as much as a screaming, panicked guy running through a dark room hollering for his friends to come and save him. I picked up the body and dropped it in a dark corner, just in case any other guards happened to walk through." Not bloody enough for you? Try out this scenario- "I had passed through the haunted caverns below the jail. The undead can be hacked and hacked and hacked again, but only a thorough dousing in hold water (delivered via a water arrow is best) can destroy them permanently. The jail cell my friend was being held in is guarded (surprise) by this very alert archer in an alcove on the second floor, looking down on my position. I creep up a flight of stairs until I am in position. I'm hiding. He doesn't seem me draw my bow. I wait a moment until my aim is sure and then let fly. The arrow land squarely in his face. He hollers something like 'oouugghh' and slumps to the floor, dead. Killing people isn't a fun chore, but sometimes it has to be done." I submit to you that this is more exciting than running up to a monster and using your machinegun to blast him into pieces. Playing The Game OK, enough of my ramblings. Suffice it to say that in TTDP you get to play the ROLE of a thief, and this brings with it all of the adrenaline and excitement that a thief feels. Now I'll comment on the game itself. Sneaking At the bottom center of the screen is a crystal. When you are standing in full light (from a torch, lantern, magical light, etc.) the crystal is white. When you are hunkered down in the shadows of a dark room the crystal is black. Most of the game is played out at some point in between. Need to hide and wait for a guard to pass by? Find a spot where you can crouch down and turn the crystal black and you are virtually guaranteed to go unnoticed. Much of the game time is spent hidden like this, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Opposition As I've said, the opposition in TTDP is much, much tougher than you are. If you get caught you are almost certainly doomed. One guard is bad enough, but at times you can face two or more soldiers who are absolutely unstoppable. You simply cannot fight through this game. Splitting them up is a good tactic, as offing them individually is much easier. Things like noise arrows or jumping up and down to make some racket will alert them and get them to move around some, which can often allow you to sneak by unnoticed. Finally, don't be afraid to nock and arrow and let'er rip from time to time. One interesting thing about the bad guys in TTDP is the difficulty in killing them. When a guard is standing unawares, whistling or talking to himself, a single arrow or blackjack strike can often put him down. However once he is alerted to your presence he will enter a lowered battle position. In these cases it takes much, much more damage to kill him. He gets a sort of armor bonus when he is paying attention to his combat posture. Thus, killing before you are noticed is paramount. Equipment With traditional computer RPGs giving you lots of equipment to find and use makes you feel like you are playing a pencil-and-paper RPG. TTDP has an adequate supply of toys, but nothing in the range that other 3D action games provide. You get a blackjack for knocking out people (quietly, and with no blood), a bow for shooting arrows, and a sword for dire situations in which you must fight. As for arrows there are the normal broadhead variety for killing people with, water arrows that will put out torches and clean up blood, moss arrows that create a quiet walking surface wherever they hit, noise arrows that make sound when they strike something (good for distracting soldiers), and a few others. There is also a lot of loot to find (so that you can buy more equipment). Food and keys are available, along with some other common RPG items like potions of speed and healing potions. The Graphics TTDP has a mediocre 3D graphics engine. This isn't Unreal folks! I dare say it isn't even LithTech or Quake II. In fairness the DirectX 6.0 support is good and the visual quality is totally adequate. You get a lot of things like guards falling over with their arms sticking through walls, but that is still pretty common in 3D engines, so I can't complain too much. I ran the game on a Pentium II 233mhz, with about 200 megs of ram, a total hard drive installation, a Riva TNT AGP graphics card, and all graphics options turned up. It was totally smooth and never slowed down. I would guess the limited graphics come from the need to model a lot of dark situations, as well as provide some better AI for the monsters than a typical game. The Surroundings The missions take place in a wide variety of locations. You get to travel through fancy merchants' homes, dark caves, ancient tomes, and more. All are designed well. They do a good job of not resembling each other, too. Each mission has its own terrain, opponents, architecture, etc. You won't get bored. Audio This game's sound effects really shine. You have to pay close attention to noise. As you walk or run your character makes noise, and guards walking their beats make sounds too. Hearing them first is important. Tactics such as distracting them with the clatter of a pot being thrown to the ground is sometimes a good way to get them away from a well defended position. The sound in TTDP is top notch. The Bad Guys Again, they are tough and resourceful. The drunken ones are fun. You can practically dance around them and they won't notice. The faces of enemies are rendered and look fairly good, even though their expressions never change. Difficulty TTDP approaches the entire idea of a 3D adventure game from a different angle, so the difficulty of the game is hard to specify. As you increase the difficulty levels you are required to find more loot and kill fewer (yes, fewer) opponents. I am having no frustration beating the game on the normal difficulty level. Closing Go buy this game right now. In fact you shouldn't have reached the end of this review! You should have already left to go get it! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)