Development
Thief II began development in January 1999. During the early stages of production, the team set up regular "movie nights" for inspiration. The films they watched included The Third Man, Metropolis, M and The Phantom of the Opera.
Thief II was announced in May 1999, as part of a development agreement between Looking Glass Studios and Eidos Interactive to create four new games in the Thief series.
The game utilizes the upgraded version of the game engine, the Dark Engine, used in System Shock 2. It supports 16-bit color, more polygons in character models, larger textures, color light and weather effects. Other changes include an increase in the number of AI behaviors, some guards raise an alarm rather than try to fight, and their awareness levels will increase if they see something out of place. Items have been upgraded or introduced, such as a remote camera and flares. Supernatural enemies such as zombies were mostly removed.
Cooperative gameplay for up to four players was originally announced but this did not appear in the final game. One planned gameplay mode, dubbed "Theftmatch", saw players on opposing teams racing to steal the most in an NPC guarded building.
Read more about this topic: Thief II: The Metal Age
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“As a final instance of the force of limitations in the development of concentration, I must mention that beautiful creature, Helen Keller, whom I have known for these many years. I am filled with wonder of her knowledge, acquired because shut out from all distraction. If I could have been deaf, dumb, and blind I also might have arrived at something.”
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“Women, because of their colonial relationship to men, have to fight for their own independence. This fight for our own independence will lead to the growth and development of the revolutionary movement in this country. Only the independent woman can be truly effective in the larger revolutionary struggle.”
—Women’s Liberation Workshop, Students for a Democratic Society, Radical political/social activist organization. “Liberation of Women,” in New Left Notes (July 10, 1967)