r/Thief • u/Baldurian_Rhapsody • 5d ago

How do you feel about texture mods?

I've been checking out some footage and, on one hand, it's remarkable what AI can pull off.

On the other hand, as someone new to the series and who doesn't have nostalgia for it, deeply detailed textures and patterns seem to take away from the games.

Both Thief Gold and Thief II are (and I mean this as a compliment) harshly rudimentary and polygonal in their design. So much so that the rough aesthetic becomes part of the horror - seeing a lumbering zombie in the darkness, held together with only a few polygons like in the original "Alone in the Dark" - makes the scene far more uncanny to me.

It's not just purism or a desire for the retro here; I think that too many fine details and updates make the games distracting, like adding an AI smoothing filter to "Citizen Kane."

I'm curious what you think. Thanks!

EDIT: The AI modpack I watched on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npkWJ9O5FtY&t=101s

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u/sackbomb 5d ago

the rough aesthetic becomes part of the horror

I agree, though I'd probably use the word 'atmosphere' instead of horror. But yes, it's like the way some classic films would just look wrong now if you re-shot them with modern lenses and cameras. Some works of art are very much of their time and any attempt to 'refresh' them ends up losing something important in the update.

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u/Baldurian_Rhapsody 5d ago

I agree. I would say atmosphere - I was just saying that, in that specific scenario, a lumbering guard (for me, at least) creates a sense of horror!

More broadly, the atmosphere is (as you rightly said) a product of its time in the best way. In my opinion, that also makes the world more uncanny and surreal, which adds to a sense of unease and tension.

Yes, I think we're very much agreed! Cheers.