#Among Thieves

[vanycat]

Hunting treasures and stealing hearts <3

[figures4fun]

14 days of love, 6/14: An uncharted romance

[zozolkurai]

*barely breaks a sweat after casually killing ten cutters in a sword fight*

[johnnycagesrightnut]

Just started playing Uncharted 2 Among Thieves and I actually love Nathan Drake and his boyfriend so much. Flynn I can’t remember his first name. Harry Flynn? He says they r tranquilizer guns but I’ve seen heathers I think he is lying

[thingsasbarcodes]

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - All Cutscenes

[joncronshawauthor]

Walk the Line of Morality: 10 Fantasy Novels with Thieving Protagonists

In the usual realm of swords, sorcery, dragons and direwolves, aren’t we all occasionally partial to a protagonist that’s a bit, well… shifty? I’m not talking about the big muscle-bound, honour-bound heroes that are as predictable as the British weather, I’m talking about the sneak-thieves, the tricksters, the rogues! There’s something devilishly enjoyable about a character that walks the line…

[an-aussie-button-masher]

Here's How it's Done - Five of the Best-Made Tutorial Levels

   What’s the most boring part of any video game, the part most players tend to skip? That’s right, the tutorial level. They’re always full of boring text box pop-ups, spelling out all the different buttons and controls and slowing the game’s opening down to a crawl - it’s almost like the game is teaching the player how to read more than how to play! At least, that’s the case with most games. Sometimes, developers try spicing it up a little, adding a bit of excitement and interest to the first level. It can come in the form of an engaging narrative intro, cool action, interesting locations and scenery, less linear pacing, and so on. There are plenty of tricks to keep that first level interesting; you could consider these games as a tutorial on how to do good tutorials! I’ve collected a handful of games that really hit the ground running with interesting and enjoyable openings - have a look for yourself!   Press [Keep reading] to continue.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2    How many games teach you how to play by immediately throwing you into a gargantuan, multi-phase boss battle? Spider-Man 2 does, and it’s equal parts tutorial and showcase of how powerful the PS5 can really be. Swinging into action, the Spider-Men cross the river besides Manhattan into Brooklyn to battle the latest villain of the week: the swirling, skyscraper-sized walking desert known as Sandman. The massive boss fight puts the opening action of the previous games to shame, as well as cleverly working in the tutorial amongst the story of the fight.   Seamlessly switching between playing as Peter Parker and Miles Morales, the game runs through the basics of combat and mobility - swing into the fight, battle sandy clones summoned by Sandman, dodge the sandy giants’ attacks, and so on. A particularly impressive moment is when Sandman grabs Miles and flings him across almost the entire horizontal length of the map, only for Miles to slingshot himself right back - all within five seconds, no loading or slow environment generation to be seen! Peter and Miles make use of plenty of new, untested gadgets throughout the fight, such as the new Web Wings to glide on the wind and Peter’s mechanical spider-limbs popping out of his suit, learning how to use them alongside the player in an epic cinematic battle between the two Spider-Men and the largest enemy seen in the series yet!

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves    The Uncharted series is known for its’ engaging narratives, but Among Thieves is a particular standout for being a great early example of how cinematic games can really get by throwing the player straight into the action. After the player presses “Start”, Nathan Drake wakes up with a bullet hole in his gut, sitting sideways in a busted-up train car dangling over a sheer cliff. In a desperate climb to safety as the train falls to pieces around Nate, the player will quickly learn the basics of parkour and movement that you’ll be using for the entire game - or plummet to their death in the beautiful albeit deadly scenery.   After a quick flashback that hints at how this adventure started out, it’s back to surviving in the frozen, flaming wreckage Nate has somehow ended up in. Finally, Nate uncovers a mysterious artefact in the wreckage, presumably the source of all this fuss for the entire adventure - and it’s time for another flashback, all the way to the beginning for the story to really get started. It’s an expert combination of cinematic storytelling and intrigue (just how did Nate get into this mess?) with intense action and control tutorials that flow naturally alongside the plot - all the way back in 2009!

Jedi: Fallen Order    Leaping and climbing across a dangerous scrapyard full of old derelict Republic cruisers, while the Empire’s spy droids and TIE Fighters constantly drone overhead - just another day on the job for Cal Kestis. As the game opens with breathtaking vistas of a vast, grim, rainy planet littered with familiar giant ships, Cal hides his Jedi training as he picks his way across the treacherous worksite. All the jumping, climbing and parkour you’ll be doing is taught very early on - the Empire sure doesn’t seem to care about workplace safety, but Cal (and the player) easily clambers across the machinery like it was a giant playground.    Of course, the inevitable workplace hazard occurs as the ship Cal and his buddy Prauf are standing on falls apart, sending them sliding to their likely doom until Cal reaches out his hand and you get the coolest tutorial prompt in any video game: [RB] Use the Force. His Jedi powers revealed, the Empire quickly catches on and suddenly, Cal is fighting through a speeding train armed with a humming lightsaber and the power of the Force, effortlessly slicing through countless Stormtroopers in his path. After that taste of how strong Cal is against the cannon fodder, the player is pitted against a dreaded Inquisitor in a literally unwinnable fight before a mysterious new ship comes to your rescue - and the journey begins.

DOOM (2016)    As a soft reboot of the longstanding DOOM franchise, DOOM (2016)’s opening instantly tells you exactly who the Doom Slayer is. Waking up buck-naked and chained to a bloody tomb in a laboratory, surrounded by shambling demons, what does Doomguy do? Snap the chains on his wrists, grab the nearest unfortunate demon by the face and smash it to pieces, leap to his feet, snatch up a stray pistol and aim it right at the next demon - and now the player is in control. Once you’ve cleared the lab, it’s time to grab your armour and get to work doing what Doomguy does best.   Quickly, you’re shown just enough exposition to know who the important characters are and why things might be all demonic right now, but not so much that it slows down your path of annihilation. Doomguy even throws away a monitor trying to give lore, as if to say “I’m not here to listen to dialogue, I’m here to blast demons!” Through bloodstained halls and surrounded by hellish shrieking, the player sets off clearing out the first building of demons, given only the most absolutely necessary control tutorials. Finally, as the thumping main theme builds in your ears, Doomguy gives his trusty shotgun a pump as he steps onto the surface of Mars, ready to rip and tear.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild    All these openings are fairly straightforward, but how about something a little less linear? In Breath of the Wild, the tutorial “level” is a wide-open sandbox by itself, allowing the player to explore the Great Plateau they find themselves waking up on at their own pace, in more or less whatever order they like. After you’ve left the cave you awaken in with your few belongings, the first thing you see is an old man walking away in the distance; the game’s way of telling the player exactly where to go and who to speak to, all without a single “go here” arrow.   The tutorial’s open nature gives a sense of just how much freedom the player will have in the rest of the game - you can do whatever missions you like in whatever order you choose, or just wander around and enjoy the scenery at your leisure. Across the plateau, you’ll notice various shrines around you, each one granting a new power that you’ll use for the entire game, and none of them require any other shrines to be completed first. You’ll quickly learn the basics as you pick your way across the plateau - climbing trees and hills to gather resources, fighting off the handful of foes in your way, and so on with very little direct hand-holding from the game. It’s a great example of how easy it is to learn by messing around and doing things yourself, rather than reading constant button prompts and objective markers.

   There’s a thousand different ways to teach a player how to play - and of course, some ways are much more intuitive and entertaining than others. Now that you’ve learned a few different kinds of good video game tutorials, you’ll probably never look at a games’ first level the same way again. Are there any other games you’ve played that did a great job showing you the ropes? Let me know! Feedback, reblogs and likes are much appreciated!    Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[strange-relics]

Remember when Nate and Elena were in that monastery in the Himalayas and he told her he was never crossing another bridge with her again after the one they were on broke? Yeah, me too, but he definitely didn’t remember that conversation when crossing the bridge in Libertalia to reach New Devon.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

You've ruined me with that Rusty drabble, I hope you're happy.

I'm not happy

I'm ecstatic

[animentality]

[vanycat]

Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer 😔😔😔

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

How successful would Chloe Frazer…

Would you like to submit a character? Click this link if you do!

[zozolkurai]

[hedgethemaze]

One of my favorites, truthfully...I count them in Drake's Deception all the same 😛 Despite them being already married by then, they're estranged in that one.

[startreklesbian]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES 2023, dir. Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Dale

[augory]

I’ve been skimming John Francis Daley’s (director on D&D: Honor Among Thieves) twitter and I continue to be so completely blown away by the movie’s commitment to practical effects and/or minimized CGI where feasible. I mean holy shit look at all this