Line #5 Trivia/Thief2014


1	* PermanentPlaceholder: According to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ 2023 video]] on the TroubledProduction of the game, the early title treatment ([=Thi4f=]) was only meant to be used internally in design documents. Regardless, it was associated with the game as its official title for years, to the extent that it was used as the website logo.
2	* TroubledProduction: An infamous example within the stealth genre, as the game was plagued with development problems through the majority of its five-plus year development. Some online features and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ in-depth documentaries]] have shed light on the challenges the dev team faced:
3	** Prior to Eidos Montreal overseeing development of what would eventually become the final game, ION Storm Austin (producers of ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows'') planned to create a [[http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/Unfinished_Thief_sequels modern reboot]], which would take place in the present day and feature Garrett working in an urban city. The concept was only worked on for a short time before ION Storm closed its doors, though [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/6910/discussions/0/217691032440911828/ design documents]] outlining the pitch (titled "Keeper of Ways") would leak several years later online.
4	** Eidos [[http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/11/4-real-thief-4/ began development]] on ''Thief 4'' in 2008, and intended for it to be a sequel to the original series. After a teaser website and logo appeared in 2009, there was no word for years on the status of the project or where development was at. Various reports and rumors claimed that it had already been worked on for a long time prior to its announcement, that work was being outsourced to another studio, and that Eidos Montreal still hadn't decided on whether it would be a sequel or not.
5	** Work went on for so long that an incomplete leak of a CGI trailer from the game's prologue mission (later leaked in full years later) made news in 2012. After the game's release, it was revealed that Stephen Russell, the original voice actor for Garrett, had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3aD67_aZW0 provided dialogue for the unused trailer]], but he was replaced for the final version.[[note]]In a 2023 documentary by Youtuber [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ MattMcMuscles]] on the game's development, multiple anonymous dev sources confirmed that a build of the game did feature some form of audio performance by Russell, but was ultimately left unused.[[/note]]. An [[https://soundcloud.com/earcom/sets/thief-unreleased-soundtrack unused (but completed) OST]] from the game was also released by ex-audio director Paul Weir after the game's release, which featured many cues (including the one from the unused trailer) and pointed to an earlier version of the game's plot (suggesting that "Erin" was originally named "Ariel").
6	** In March 2013, [[http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/26/4269912/thief-reboot-impeded-by-office-politics-high-level-departures a damning report]] came out stating that the development team was completely fractured. Designers were coming and going constantly, and all of them had differing visions on where to take the game. Screenshots released around this time also showed a third-person gameplay perspective. The same month a Game Informer cover story came out, lead designer Dominic Fleury left the team.
7	** Later accusations (including dev comments made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ in this Youtube documentary]]) suggest that there was micromanagement and high sales expectations from publisher Square-Enix Japan, which allegedly caused the departure of Eidos Montreal's founder over the situation. The producer who was allegedly responsible for adding the third-person action elements (Mario Tracey-Aguera) was abruptly replaced by Stephan Roy during the same time period. Press reports made during development suggest that several positions on the dev team were in a constant state of flux.
8	** The dev team then spent nearly a year working on press demos instead of the game proper, with heavily modified code being shown to media outlets (which was not released to the public because the team was unhappy with the end result). That also coincided with Eidos being forced to secure additional funding for the game from a German investment firm. During the development of the press demos, the animators were tasked with animating sex scenes for the House of Blossoms level, which they were (allegedly) reportedly very uncomfortable with.
9	** Midway through development, Square-Enix orded that in adition to the Platform/Xbox360, Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/MicrosoftWindows versions, the game should be a Main/CrossGenerationVideoGame an also release on the Platform/PlayStation4 and Platform/XboxOne which cause even more headaches to the development team due to the development tools still not being fully cooked, specially on the Xbox One side where everything was so early and unercooked that there was no interface, everthing had to be done by command line.
10	** The game was eventually released in February 2014 to middling reviews. Three years later, rumors of a fifth game being in development (in tandem with a feature film supposedly being produced by Straight Up Studios, which was later removed from the studio's site) led Eidos Montreal boss David Anfossi to [[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-05-16-thief-studio-boss-mocks-report-of-series-revival mock the announcement]], claiming that fans should just "forget" any chance of seeing a ''Thief 5''.
11	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many changes and additions were proposed (and scrapped) over the course of the game's five-year development cycle:
12	** It seems that Stephen Russell was originally intended to voice Garrett again at one point in development, as he recorded new dialogue for an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3aD67_aZW0 unreleased trailer]], but was replaced by Romano Orzari for the final game. Accounts of why this occurred differ -- some claim that Russell was only brought in for test recordings and ultimately not utilized when the creative team changed directions, while others claim that Orzari was hired because the dev team wanted him to combine voicework with motion-capture footage. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ 2023 documentary]] by Youtuber Matt [=McMuscles=] cites multiple unnamed dev sources that a build of the game was made with Russell contributing voice work, but was ultimately unused.
13	** [[https://soundcloud.com/earcom/sets/thief-unreleased-soundtrack A soundtrack]] by ex-audio director Paul Weir was completed but left unused (it includes a musical cue that was used in the unreleased trailer featuring narration from Russell). Judging by the track names of the songs featured within, it speaks to a very different plot for the game (including the suggestion that Erin was originally named "Ariel", and had her own theme music to boot). The Companion App for the game also has internal files related to Erin marked with the filename "ariel", suggesting that the decision to change her name was done relatively late in development.
14	** According to developer interviews, there were plans to feature a third-person perspective through the entire game, as well as environmental climbing similar to the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series. The short climbing sections where Garrett is seen from a third-person perspective appear to be the only remnant of this.
15	** The E3 pre-release preview suggested that there were plans to make an experience system that could be used to level up Garrett's abilities. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqN-C5pWyYQ Reportedly]], this was done at the behest of game director Stephan Roy, as a placeholder UI element that had no chance of actually being included in the game. Regardless, the game still features a form of "leveling up" via Focus Points, which upgrade various aspects of Garrett's magical eye.
16	** The game files make reference to two types of arrows (Phosphorus and Hammerhead) that didn't appear in the final game, as well as a set of collectibles called "Baron Statues".
17	** One of the tutorial help files has icons indicating that Fast Travel was planned, but never implemented.
18	** An unused localization folder in the game files titled "[=QuestJobGiverQueen=]" suggests that the Queen of Beggars was originally intended to be a questgiver, just like Basso, Ector and Vittori.
19	** There was intended to be an additional conversation during the Ector sidequest chain (likely at the conclusion of the final quest) where he would complain about the Metal Man disappearing and being locked up by the City Watch. It's still present in the game files, but is inaccessible in-game.

Context Trivia / Thief2014