Thief: Looking Through the Eyes of a Burglar

[@geminiradio]

When I would walk home after a long day of working on Thief, I'd find myself subconsciously crossing the path to stay in the shadows. Thanks for your cool video!

[@eurothug4000]

Thanks so much for your comment! I can't believe you saw this vid, absolutely love your work!

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

The legend himself!

[@Deadsmegma]

Oh man are you in the last day at looking glass video? It's such a bittersweet video

[@JonathanTash]

This honestly reminds me of being a kid and learning to sneak so I could get around the house without my dad knowing I was there. I practiced rolling my feet just right, I looked into the reflection of the glass of a painting on the wall so I could see who was around the corner, and I memorizing where the creaky spots in the floor were. Even as an adult, I sometimes accidentally scare people by approaching them too quietly.

[@flipkiller8521]

I can relate. Back in my childhood, our Internet router will always be turned off at 10 in the evening and it was located at the third floor of my house and my house has a weird design (particularly three sets of outdoor stairs with no indoor ones). In order to bypass this, I learned how to operate with Splinter Cell levels of sneakiness. Using the shadows to my advantage, controlling my breathing and body movements, learning how to silently walk up two loud and creaky sets of metal stairs, learning how to walk across various types of floors without making a sound and practicing the quiet way of opening and closing doors. This is already in addition to learning how to hide from my grandfather whenever I turn the PC on at a time it isn't supposed to be turned on which facilitated the further honing of my skills plus making me learn ways to mask a deception.

[@TheBeird]

It's weird how some games from twenty years ago can feel grander in scale and deeper in mechanics. That's not "back in my day" sentiment though. I mean, it kinda is BUT the era of Thief was that Goldilocks moment in games where we could imagine worlds in ways that communicated their size through impressionistic ways AND be affordable enough to make with a bit of experimentation. Now everything costs too much to take a risk, and graphical fidelity seems to shrink game worlds at the expense of detail

[@SimplyMavAgain]

Man, it's going to be so nice, watching this channel grow. Can't express enough just how much I enjoy these videos. Thank you for creating them.

[@drunkensergeant]

Another lovely video. I'm glad you appreciate Thief, though not surprised. It's a classic for a reason. If you haven't already, I recommend checking out Gloomwood. It's still in development, but there is a free demo. It's a bit more violent - the tagline is "Thief with guns" - but it's fantastic nonetheless, and in the demo at least you can do a full stealth / no-kill run.

[@DesignFrameCaseStudies]

Dang, such an emphasis on exploration and planning that respects the player's intelligence sounds quite rewarding. Can't wait to finally give it a shot!

[@Houldey]

For a different flavour of stealth, i'd definitely recommend the most recent Hitman Trilogy of games - there's a lot of beauty in hiding in plain sight as well as the sheer level of expertise & craft in their level design.

[@lukaf5]

This essay was entertaining even for someone familiar with Thief - even though one might think that the first part, explaining the mechanics, would be uninteresting for me. Never really noticed that the architecture of Thief was made specifically for the player, not for living (apart from the mansion, of course) - I would guess that speaks volumes about the games' quality, huh. When it comes to 7:36, where you talk about having no modern conveniences and it enchancing the enjoyment, I sometimes think about that topic. I play ARMA series, where sometimes it's more fun lacking some conveniences (no GPS, no map, worse weapons, etc.) to enchance the experience. Can a designer in the modern day intentionally strip their game of something convenient? When is it a good idea to force the player to experience something a given way and when it's not? How to do it without alienating some people (no journal or waypoint is very immersive, until you realise you can only play or focus in short bursts)? Thank you for your work. Also, for some reason, KZbin shows me this in "Amnesia" category instead of "Thief".

[@eurothug4000]

That makes me so happy to hear!! I was worried long time fans would find what I had to say a little boring :') Glad you enjoyed it! Not sure why YT automatically set it as that... fixed it now!

[@imanoljesusdelpozo4907]

I love when games strip away the player's comfort to make it more challenging and fresh. A very good example of a modern game doing so is MGSV. When you start the second half of the game, you already have a bunch of tools to make your infiltration way easier, which is when "subsistance" missions start appearing. These are missions which are identical to others you have already played, but with the addition that you enter the area of operations with no tools, no weapons, and no camouflage. Suddenly the game becomes way more challenging and you have to use the unsilenced weapons of soldiers you manage to stealthily knock out in order to defend yourself in case you are seen, and start having to be a hundred times more careful

[@Elemtree]

This is for sure one of your best thumbnails without a doubt. Also, the lightening in Theif with it’s low poly gothic architecture that gives me that chamber of secrets vibe to the cobbled areas in the game. A game’s atmospheric feeling to the world it invites you into is probably one of the most important aspects to make a game timeless, no matter the polygon count.

[@hotcyder]

Hey! I made the thumbnail with Maria. I’m glad you liked it ☺️

[@Elemtree]

@@hotcyder Ya’ll both make some equally amazing content 💅

[@-AAA-147]

art style >>> graphics every time

[@Fromond96]

Thief is honestly one of my favourite games. Stealth doesn't feel like an obstacle or a timing game. It feels like a puzzle. Everytime you enter a room, you observe your surroundings, spot your challanges, listen to how the enviroment sounds, and spot/understand your smaller obtsacles. Also the atmosphere. The level design. The architecture. The way its designed not around the player, but the enviroment.... Let alone Constantines Manor *chefs kiss* Awesome video! I enjoyed hearin you talk about Thief. Thank you so much!

[@WIMMine]

Hehee, so happy to hear someone else having this same experience. I played it last autumn. I'd been a big fan of Dishonored for a long time and what amazed me was just how similar Thief felt, despite being so much older. It's still just a solid stealth game even by today's standards.

[@dicewrites]

Super cool to see someone else who has played thief and read a burglar's guide what a cool coincidence. If you're looking for fiction related to this theme the duology Mountain of Daggers and Sea of Quills by Seth Skorkowsky, its about a master thief and each chapter is a heist over his life. Good stuff.

[@bengermin3104]

Loved this, originally wasn't interested in Thief but after this video I'm now interested. What made it interesting for me was just the fact that there was no waypoint and maps are mostly ambiguous, there's so much unknown that one wrong move would set you all the way back, all very intense

[@earthbound9999]

This game and Thief II are my absolute favorite games of all time! It's always nice to see more people talk about them :)

[@PunchFaceChamp9]

Great video, as always! The sound and light work in this game are pretty impressive for the time, so cool to see this stuff. Never thought I'd be first name on a big KZbinrs Patreon list! What an honor.

[@nsalegit9482]

You might like dishonored if someone else hasn't mentioned it already. It's largely the same developers and has a wonderful relationship with its architecture. Each level is about taking out a single target and for the most part the architecture and level design the character you are learning more about, while also giving you excellent opportunities for some amazing emergent gameplay.

[@-neurasthenie-]

Another Thief convert woooooo! :D The world of stealth in games is so rich, your insight into this particular one was top notch. The book pairing was just "chef kiss"

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I love when creators explore games/genres they've never tried before. That really makes one stand-out as a games enthusiast, real passion for what the medium is capable of. Fantastic video, as always.

[@secretscarlet8249]

I never played Thief, but was instead introduced to the stealth genre by the Tenchu series. It's a different kind of stealth, perhaps like the popular types nowadays, but it was wonderful for me as a kid to experience the ninja fantasy.

[@DavetheTurnip]

I love that you married the game you were playing to a book. I think it added a lot of texture towards explaining why Thief was such a unique stealth experience 😃

[@yusofplayed]

Love this channel so much, I wish all games writing was seeking to talk about why design works rather than just "reviews" and whether something is "good or bad"

[@Ravenpaw1313]

Man I grew up on Thief I and II, Deus Ex, and System Shock II. All of these are just so brilliantly designed and, as mentioned here, gave the player just so much agency in how they could tackle each challenge. All the locations and rooms felt unique so even with simpler maps, you could really get to know the layout and it gave each level a very unique personality of its own. To this day I still find myself coming back to play these again and again. And this was certainly an excellent video, for an excellent game!

[@Burrick]

I'm really glad that people are still discovering and talking about this masterpiece. I only found the games over last summer, and it's awesome to still have a community for it.

[@joshy-noha]

Thank you for this Thief recognition! For me it is still one of, if not THE best stealth game out there. The way it puts you into the shoes of a burglar, sneaking into a building, how underpowered you are against the guards, the silence and the dark ambience tracks. It's like being transported somewhere else. These maps feel real, you can learn the layouts, where's the dorms, the kitchen, the garden, the boiler rooms, you find the safe's code hidden in the masters secret chamber in like, the basement or something, and is all believable. The amount of visual storytelling the levels have too. It reaches a peak in The Sword level, where it tells you without words, that this Constantine guy is definetely not a normal man and dables in dark forbidden magic, just through how imposible some of the rooms are in this mansion that looked so normal from the outside. Amazing video, I love your content and how you focus on those little vibes from games that sometimes are the best parts. Looking forward to maybe Thief 2 and.... did I hear some Vampire The masquerade Bloodlines tunes in the backround? o.O

[@MuteCircle]

Still blows my mind that my first exposure to the series was the fact that, bizarrely, Thief Gold was offered as a prize on a BBC Saturday morning kids' show in the late 90s

[@callumrobertson7541]

I played snippets of Thief 1 and 2 for about 8 hours two years ago - and honestly, I haven't had a week since where I've not been thinking about them. Astonishingly beautiful and strange games- the only reason I haven't returned is because I want to give them long long streches of free time that I don't have atm. There's book called Nightwalking by Matthew Beaumont which you might get a kick out of? It's a history of the vagrants, sex workers and Romantic writers who used to trawl through medieval/early modern London at night (back when that was proscribed), and the different relationship that these lonely, illegal wanderings gave them to the city. I read it while playing Thief and for obvious reasons it massively enhanced my experience. Thank you for the video, it was a lovely reminder to return to these games!

[@baronjutter]

Just found your channel and love it! Thief is such a special game, no one else has really captured the vibe of Thief 1 and 2. What really made the games special were the open ended level design. If you take a map of a thief level you can draw countless loops that the player can traverse through the level, while modern games are much more linear. The loops-within-loops level design always gave the player a wide variety of paths to take through a level.

[@TheOneHistoryGuy]

Great video as always! I'm excited to see this channel grow! I always feel a little misty-eyed for Thief which I LOVED playing when I was younger. It really was a stealth game like no other, especially at the time, and I'd argue that few games have really captured that spirit like Thief did. I'm glad you got to enjoy Thief!

[@problematicllama9623]

Im so glad i found this channel , i am enjoying myself SO much just binge watching . Keep at it !

[@ItsJabo]

One of my favourite games for stealth mechanics has always been Dishonored. Watching this video, I cant help but feel it was hugely influenced by Thief.

[@raidenswordman9337]

Your videos are always so interesting to watch, love them!

[@mbe102]

Oh crap, I saw this in my notifications and the tiny thumbnail, I thought someone like robbed your house and it was like a camera or something. I was like, "Oh no, thats horrible." Glad its just another top tier thematic analysis from Thugette 4000! Keep it up, you're killing it!

[@HeavyEyed]

killin it as always

[@JimFaindel]

This was an absolutely brilliant deep-dive. Really makes me want to install the game!

[@gamesfortourists]

Not only entertaining, but hugely helpful for amateur game devs like me. Thief is one of my favorite games and I love hearing people explain why it works so well.

[@reallycool]

Very cool stuff, really enjoyed this

[@flipkiller8521]

Your essay on Thief sums up my reasons for loving Thief, Deus Ex and Tenchu. I've always felt like Tenchu and Deus Ex took big inspiration from Thief when it comes to their stealth mechanics.

[@squalled90]

This reminded me I really need to play Thief. Killer video as always!

[@nick2781]

thief’s story with all the religious and magical themes is just something so special I haven’t gotten again yet

[@oliviercoppens6246]

I love that you used music from Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, I was surprised you haven't made a video about that game yet! Amazing content nevertheless, instant subscribe!

[@richardwilliams877]

Such a great video! I'm glad you got to have some fun with this dead series... I have such fond memories of playing the first game on dimly-lit CRTs in my pitch-black room in the middle of the night... Game was soooo unnerving. I still remember some of the mumbles and whistles the guards would make and they randomly pop into my head to this day...

[@artless3438]

Great essay and delivery! Can't wait for more

[@mateusmatsdorf9777]

Listening to the song Disturbed and Twisted in this video made me really want a video about Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines.

[@gbacl]

It makes me incredibly happy that people new to the thief games can still understand their brilliance in 2022 and enjoy so much playing them. Your breakdown is really good and insightful, and I'll definitely check that book recommendation.

[@onnotasler5548]

Oh, Thief brings back memories. I enjoyed that game very much back when I played it. Still love the genre.

[@KansaiCool]

Yes. Another one. Thank you!

[@anatoliasmercenary.]

Your channel is honestly so underrated, your videos are always very high quality and informative!

[@VoxelPassport]

Games that make you feel and think like the portrayed character are so absolutely charming! Excellent video

[@Concord003]

The spooky music in the background - is it from Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines? Love that game and it's atmosphere. And yes, Thief is a masterpiece and an important creation in video game history. It was a pleasure to hear you talk about it.

[@RudeCanine]

Babe, wake up! Maria uploaded!!

[@emoldandriel]

Your essays are reaaally good!

[@klandu9]

It's crazy how ground breaking Thief was, it absolutely blew my mind and it's still such an atmosphere rich gem. I'd highly recommend playing the second game as well. It's not so much into supernatural-horror stuff, but most would agree it's even better in terms of missions and level design. You should check it out and make another awesome video👌

[@RyanBeardy]

Great video! Definitely a series I want to get into one day!

[@thebigbentius8979]

Just found your channel today i love it, keep it up!

[@elemangell2981]

Can't say I ever expected a video with a topic like this from you, but you tacked it so well with your usual enthralling, soft-spoken interest, it probably one of my new favorites from you now. Also why hasn't an independent developer made a spiritual successor to this yet? New Blood get on this.

[@vlogbebs8079]

such a phenomenal video. I didn't think I'd be spending my day playing a game from twenty years ago but here we are. Always love the content!

[@kira-yz6qr]

when i heard jacob geller’s voice pop in it just all made sense. two of my favorite content creators rn and on topics that are so interesting and rabbit holey :p

[@Yelrahnotremah]

What an amazing video! incredible editing, script, and use of wider knowlegde. Never been that much interested in stealth games but watching this video makes me want to play Thief, the art style, setting, sound. Awesome video, keep up the amazing work!

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Game's still a banger from what I hear. And it's true: any building can be a puzzle for any burglar to solve. And you're already halfway to 100k subs!

[@atlas_vash]

It's all of these reasons I honestly really liked the newest thief game even though its widely regarded as kind of a flop I still liked all the mechanics being more in depth and tense than other sneak games even though the story wasnt great

[@SunroseStudios]

whoa, cool to hear Jacob Geller's voice in this video! A very welcome collaboration

[@safe-keeper1042]

So happy I was recommended this channel.

[@EmmsReality]

This along with Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid are the absolute grandparents of Stealth gaming. Thank you for making this I’m at work just getting started with the video.

[@EmmsReality]

It’s important because it’s 1st person FOV. ITS INCREDIBLE MORE IMMERSIVE than the other two games I mentioned. This needs re-made in VR

[@Psycopuppy1]

I've always loved stealth games but a few years ago I decided to actually play the original thief trilogy and it changed my entire perspective on stealth games, absolutely one of my all time favorites

[@muzboz]

Great stuff. Always a pleasure to see someone enjoying and breaking down my favorite game! :)

[@angelaperrine9201]

I have been obsessed with that book for some time. Although I am pursuing a degree in graphic design, in the future, I want to be an architect. I also occasionally enjoy true crime. Since burglary is an architectural crime, this book caught my eye.

[@Error404----]

It's a shame they never made another Thief game after Thief 3 ;) It would be nice to play something with the same feel that was a bit more up to date.

[@Painkiller9015]

Vampire Bloodlines Music in the Outro :D

[@irunmik]

I think my intro to stealth games was one of the Splinter Cell series during the ps2 days and...I learned I was much too impatient for the stealth genre lol. Thanks for the book rec!

[@markm5927]

I love that story about the guy robbing McDonalds because they have a repeated pattern lol. The lighting in this game is so good, it makes this game look really good in comparison to other games of its time. Simple textures with varied lighting just holds up really well

[@ushiri2399]

I expected gameplay but this was such a deep and fantastic analysis of the game and I do really enjoyed it. If you like Thief I recommend you to look up the youtuber "The librarian" he also analysis digital architecture when he walks around in empty maps in Gmod

[@thesummerofmark]

Outstanding video! Never heard of that book, the for the recommendation. It seems right up my alley

[@civilwarfare101]

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is the only modern game that is not an indie title that actually kind of follows Thief's template of no hand holding when exploring levels to complete objectives. It was refreshing in Contracts 1 as well but that game was not good but in 2, I really appreciate it. Stealth as a genre is a weird one because gaming itself loves it but only as a way to break up the pace rather than something to be centered around. Really feels like stealth as a genre had more potential but AAA stealth stopped being innovating after Splinter Cell Chaos Theory came out.

[@lilytorres646]

Omg!! One of my favourite KZbinrs covering one of my favourite games! Great video as always, concise, yet really deep. I loved how you talked about the surrealism of Constantine's mansion and the missions onward from that (turning) point. There's realy nothing quite like The Dark Project, not even its sequels. PD: Unrelated, but what mods did you use? I'm planning on replaying it, and I really liked the look of your footage!

[@eurothug4000]

Thanks so much!! If I remember correctly it was just these two mods I personally used: www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141621 and www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134733

[@IconicBoar097]

AHHH forgot to comment awesome video as always such a cool subject thanks for everything ^_^

[@user-po2xo8mp9p]

Every video of yours is a masterpiece

[@Mikno21]

Another great video!

[@Troest87]

YES! Awesome content about one of my favorite games ever.

[@rinothename5563]

Wow, never thought you would do Thief. Great video. While i liked Thief 2 more, its always nice to see people thoughts about the first game.

[@ramblingnonsense8030]

Great video! Glad I found you through Jacob Gellar's related channels bit. I have to ask; did you use the music from the Ocean View Hotel in VtM:B? Because that twiddly piano near the beginning sounds so familiar

[@eurothug4000]

oh god my stupid ass forgot to list out the music, but yeah from memory it’s defo from VtM:B! I think I slowed the track down a fair bit as well

[@zerocool3742]

Thank you :)

[@wolfmarian]

Unfamiliar with the game ,but your analysis its very good, hearing you talk is a pleasure, and you make every thing you talk about very interesting. (Sorry for my english). I hope you channel grows more!!

[@thefridge6558]

A great video, as someone who played this when it originally released it feels so strange to me that no other franchise has ever truly matched up when it came to stealth mechanics. The closest would be Dishonored and even that is a far cry. The less said about the new Thief game the better sadly.

[@sku11ss10]

Since you enjoyed Thief so much i' guessing you are also looking forward to Gloomwood

[@pameiuioigoutu]

very insightful! makes me want to pay more atention to stealth mechanics and game architectures

[@Yuri-fs3es]

Great analysis! I want to investigate a layout of the maps in this game.

[@chadkhl8631]

Love to hear some VTM Bloodlines music in the background. Have you played it?

[@eurothug4000]

not yet!! but after listening to the OST I want to give it a try :)

[@chadkhl8631]

@@eurothug4000 I highly recommend it! At least a patched version to alleviate the bugs

[@TheWischmop]

The analysis of spatial immersion in Thief is spot on! imo only VR games can match Thief in that regard. Which is also a good counterargument to the (sadly common) fallacy that "better graphics" is _the_ path to greater immersion. Coincidentally I recently added _A __-Taffer's-__ Burglar's Guide to the City_ to my reading list. Guess I have to buy and read it now :p

[@gustavolemos5913]

great video, big up lad!!!

[@expectproblems]

TFW you think "that book looks interesting", look it up and find it's 70% off at your usual place. It's a sign!

[@deeledee]

The black pit woth the giant spider scared me so bad as a kid

[@vanilla3464]

Great video, that's one more subscriber to the count, hope you go on to try Thief II and Deadly Shadows too!

[@suskysulky]

My Impatience didn't let me prone in shadows and walk through them slowly, so yeah the game was difficult

[@angelaperrine9201]

Sounds like a great game. Great video.

[@JediMB]

The only Thief game I've played is Deadly Shadows, which I recall having a good time with before a compatibility issue with my graphics card (?) made it impossible to progress. Feel a bit like having another look at it now...

[@cannibrel]

Since I studied defence and security, ive always desired a game that has the same level of detail that goes into real security architecture. The fact you did such impressive research for this game and essay really puts you above the rest. I do disagree with one design principle of the devs of Thief. A perfect burglary game would be for the developers not to design in literal obvious routes for the player to take, but instead give them the right tools to make their own. This is in reference to 13:03. By the way, was that quote mis labelled? The author was Geoff Manaugh, and the quote seems to pertain to game design.

[@SuneSensei]

I still replay Thief once a year, no modern game has come close to experience.

[@alexterieur8813]

Another video another gem

[@XxDruidmancerxX]

Nice analysis! Planning on playing the rest of the trilogy?

[@Argomundo]

Have you played The Escapists? Gameplay loop is fairly dependend on daily routines. As for stealth games, some of my favourites besides Thief are Deus Ex, Dishonored and Aragami

[@eurothug4000]

I haven't but that sounds really interesting, I'll have to check it out!