The Story of Thief & Looking Glass Studios | Noclip Greatest Hits

Them big old school gameboxes.
These kids will never know.....

Thanks!

I think omitting the story of Thief 4 does the series, and developers, a disservice.
Eidos Montréal were passionate fans of Thief. And it's clear from some of the interviews with studio personnel that the story of that game alone deserves its own moment in the spotlight.
A classic example of East vs. West design philosophies clashing, in an environment of corporate micromanagement.

Thief 3 was awesome. I have fond memories of playing the game back in the days.

This game changed my life since 1998. I always think like Garret in public.....especially at night

perfection. the thief series recently captured my heart and this documentary came out at the perfect time and watching it again its even better then i remembered.

just learned what moss arrows are for. 😅

For my play style Thief 1 and 2 were the best games ever made and have never been topped. Thief 3 almost makes it to my list as well, but took a big hit because they had to break up those amazing levels into smaller bits, which just kills the immersion. No fault of the designers though; they didn't like to do it either.

No llok into "The Dark Mod"? :(

The only Thief I know of is the one I can play on my Xbox 🤔

Which, I do know is sequel or something. Basically not the first one. I guess this PC game is the first one then

I can finally say....I forgive you, Thief 3. I understand now.

Fantastic.

I loooove love Thief.

Thief 3 had incredible real time lighting.

The first Thief game is still the only game I've played, in 40+ years of gaming, with the perfect difficulty curve. It managed a balance where you always felt that you were being pushed and challenged; but if you got near the end and then went back and played the first few missions, you suddenly discovered you could breeze through them with no challenge at all, even if you chose to make all the noise and fight everything. I've never found another game which can do that so well.

I absolutely love the Thief trilogy:

-Thief: The Dark Project / Thief Gold
-Thief 2: The Metal Age
-Thief 3: Dark Shadows

I also love Styx, Dishonored and the Batman Arkham series.

What modern idiot companies with their so-called "stealth" game is, I don't want to play a FPS game. I don't want to HAVE to kill anyone. The game should be able to be completely played without killing a single person. Otherwise, it isn't a REAL stealth game no matter WHAT they try to label it as.

Yes, Styx and Dishonored you CAN kill. But you can for Thief as well. But the choice should be MINE to make, NOT the game developers!!

And for Thief, please don't "correct" the "trilogy" part. The 4th one is NOT worth mentioning. I did that intentionally.

My all time favourite

"When they gonna bring me my dinner, that's what I wanna know, when they gonna bring me my dinner..." We still quote from this game with my wife. And if I hear anyone doodling, I feel an urge to hit him with a blackjack... 😂 The voice acting and sounds of this game is the best, ever. I bought some 3D-capable sound card just for this game, the Sound quality hasn't been matched by any game, ever since. Too bad that technology failed, I'd love to play Dishonored with Thief 1-level of sounds. Or Assetto Corsa, where, if you drive a mid-engined car from cockpit view, you should hear the engine from behind.... So many possibilities, lost. And the level design... That was absolutely fantastic. And the maps! I loved the maps! They added soooo much to the immersion... They should make a remake from this game.... I mean Thief 1, the absolute masterpiece.

I couldn't have asked for a better game than Thief 1 to introduce me to PC gaming as a kid. It's still my favorite game and will always be, thanks to everyone involved in making it back then.

I just talk to a person in his early twenties who is now playing the thief games and he is blown away and there is still a large fan base for both game and the Looking glass studio who developed it.
I am with the group who think the dark project and thief gold is the best, another group believe thief2 is the perfect game like Razor fist, all seem to like equally the third, there is a few who loved thief4 and I can't commit for I never played it.

Thank You for this, no game even today comes close to the level of realism achieved in this game. Stealth in relation to lighting and sound is unmatched even today.

What a fantastic video, thanks so much for making it

Thief is one of the only classic games I didn’t play at release. Ever. That few year span I was just not able to play games and it’s the only few years in my life that’s been the case. And it’s sucks cause you really can’t go back to a game like this and enjoy it the way you would have.

The first three Thief games are such classics, they are definitely among the best pc games of all time. Looking Glass Studios will always be remembered for the amazing work they have done.

without thief gold we did not have the batman arkham games

I know I'm going against the grain here, but I liked the zombie levels.

I'm curious about "Jennifer Hrabota Lesser" mentioned in the google doc for interview with Terri. Is this artist related to any of the LGS games?

My favorite game of all time. Picked up at launch, with a 5.1 "sound Blaster" kit. I miss you garret.

Hearing Dan Thron speak is so unreal. You can tell it was him.

Their "love for the work and art" is what is sadly missing from most of the gaming industry today. That is why halo is not in the spot it once was long ago, the old games were being made by people are truly cared and created each part of the world they were building. Staying up late at night or sleeping in the studio to get more done, Wanting their game to be fun and making their game for not only the people, but for themselves. I hope this comes back around sometime soon. The gaming industry truly needs it.... We were truly spoiled back in the day and didn't realize it.

To this day the Thief series is still the best in the stealth genre. We need a proper reboot! Could you imagine if they made a Thief game in VR?...

❤❤

What's with the small door behind Ken Levine? Must be someting else than a door, i'm sure?

GLOOMWOOD!

I've never had a job that I've loved, that actually sounds like such a dream

the sound designe in Thief and Thief II are the best! Most of the time only ambiance and environment sounds... Most people didn't like the other two thief games and they aren't as good as the first two, but I love the the whole series! Garrett is my favourite game character period!
And the horror level in Deadly Shadows is one of the best horror levels ever created!

"Thief seems like a franchise that's destined to live in the past."

Wrong. The Black Parade, an epic 20 hour fan campaign for Thief Gold came out in 2023, and it's one of the best releases of the year as well as a very authentic Thief experience.

I'm still waiting for a stealth game, where I can play as a true THIEF who doesn't kill anyone and isn't a trained fighter (Dark Shadows on Master Difficulty, the way Thief was meant to play), instead of an assassin-warrior (Splinter Cell, Styx, Dishonored etc.). Devs nowadays don't understand stealth games.

I'd just picked up thief a couple of years ago for the first time and it's already in my top 5 greatest games I've ever played in my nearly 30 years of life. I've played a ton of games of that era when I was a kid like Half Life and Battlezone 2. I have a ton of nostalgia for them, but I really feel like I missed out with this game. My dad was never the type of guy to buy games like Thief, so I never got to experience this gem. It's so simple, yet so immersive and with a gripping story that's all told from the player's perspective, never putting you in a cutscene. Pretty much every hallmark of a masterpiece is in this game.

Which made me realize, game companies really don't make good games anymore these days. Last good AAA game I played in recent memory was Baldur's Gate 3, which was so good it made the entire gaming industry feel threatened by it, and for good reason. That's not to say that indie games aren't thriving though, there are some REAL sluggers coming out right now that aren't from AAA megacorps.

People will watch this and, somehow, not come away with the idea that all places should operate like this

I finally went back to Thief recently after a decade since first playing it, and though it remains a highly influential classic with still many unique features that make it a novel experience today, there are definitely aspects of its design that don't hold up so well in 2024!

The lighting system for one is not so intuitive, as sometimes I wandered into an area that looked dark and shadowy but was still highly visible according to the light meter, resulting in a lack of consistency about being spotted, and ditto with the sound detection system as well, though I think this problem is more due to technical limitations than anything else. Obviously the 'combat' is wonky as hell these days, but it's a stealth game - it's not really about that, and the fact Garret isn't a highly trained killer fits the story and intended experience, so fine.

The other main issue though I had was simple navigation of the levels - it's cool that the in-game maps you get are diegetic and don't reveal your position, forcing the player to pay attention to their surroundings more and learn the layout, but the simple fact is these levels are often so massive and sprawling and labyrinthine, and the graphical limitations of the time result in a very stale and samey visual design (even with a HD texture mod!), that it is all too easy to get lost and be running around in circles, a problem exacerbated by fewer hand-holdy elements when it comes to objective markers or guidance etc, which in a more modern game could at least be an accessible option. Hence it is easy to miss certain key items needed to progress through levels, even when you think you've been pretty thorough in your explorations, resulting in a much greater reliance on walkthroughs and backtracking and taking one out of the experience. There is also the fact that most missions require you to 'escape' the level, often by returning to the starting point, meaning you have to backtrack through very complex environments just to finish a mission; of all the issues listed, I'm sure this feature would be the one excised most quickly in a modern game a la more handy escape routes near the end of your final objective. Oh, and one last small point: whoever decided that bodies should have collision for the player, curse you sir!

Don’t get me wrong, I still greatly respect Thief and enjoyed the revisit overall, but I don't think it's a game I would ever return to again! Still, modern games could learn a lot from it in terms of providing the player with the means to accomplish objectives without necessarily holding their hand the entire time, and I suppose Arkane's Dishonored series is probably the closest anyone has gotten since. Still, those games are more of a stealth-action blend, and most modern games with “stealth” mechanics in them are dumbed-down considerably compared to the OG that is Thief, or even the older Splinter Cells: I really want a modern stealth game that puts the stealth front and centre again, yet one that achieves a better balance between guidance and freedom than does the original Thief, as playing it in 2024 has highlighted for me!

too bad thief reboot team did not see this. they might make better game if they did.

I honestly loved thief 2. deadly shadows was exciting and more modern but the third and first person mix made the game difficult to play.

Everyone here who appreciates Looking Glass Studios needs to go play PREY.
The most criminally overlooked game of all time.