The Cat Burglar - A Game Idea

'The Cat Burglar' (a very unimaginative title I know) is an idea for a game that I've been bouncing around in my head for quite a while now. So, in favor of getting rid of it, I'll post it to be judged (and potentially ripped apart here on the T Vtropes forums.

The general concept is you take on the role of a cat burglar seeking to steal the greatest treasures he (or she) can get his hands on. The cat burglar in question would not be acting out of necessity or hire, but out of greed and as a twisted eccentric pastime. The cat burglar, you see is himself quite wealthy. Using his own wealth, the cat burglar would stake out treasures that he desired and steal them as quickly and painlessly as humanly possible. Obviously, the main focus would be on stealth. The cat burglar, simply being an eccentric with too much time on their hands, would be very inept at combat and would be easily subdued by things such as guard dogs or security. Ideally, the environment around the target would be completely open to allow the player to approach the situation any way they please. The jobs would obviously get bigger and bigger as the game progressed, targeting even national treasures and the like in his hubris. The cat burglar would collect all of these treasures and keep them in a gallery under his mansion, as well as whatever 'knick-knacks' you grab on the side.

The game would be heavily stylized as opposed to overly realistic in appearance.

edited 16th Jan '11 9:08:21 PM by Zeromaeus

So, Thief, basically.

I'd play it, though.

I would totally play this. I've had the idea myself too, only favored a bit more towards the 'phantom thief' style, being flashy and having all sorts of overly specific situational gadgetry.

I like the idea, but it would be hard to actually execute, as quite a few standard tropes would need to be butchered, such as big climatic bossfights. Standard tropes are standard for a reason, as getting rid of them is like saying to the developers they need to save the world With This Herring.

That being said, I like the idea, especially if it is the sort of burglar that isn't always just stealthy, but tries to steal the treasure in the most flashy way possible. Which, again, would be terribly hard to actually implement in a game.

You could always have a Karma Meter with Style and Stealth on opposite ends. High Style would grant you flash, cool gadgets and Stealth would offer quick and effecient gadgets.

Or something like that.

Yes, but how would 'style' work? The stylish thief sends the guards a note on stealing when and what, steals the thing away from right under their noses while they actually watching, and gives to them an epic speech that can be summarised as "Ha, ha, screw you".

This sort of things require the sort of elaborate planning that games simply don't allow.

What if you played Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego from Carmen's perspective?