It’s been a while since it came out, but maybe it’s worth considering his comment.

Randy Smith Evergreen, the designer of Thief who also worked on System Shock 2 and Dark Messiah: Might and Magic, believes we should tone down the hype surrounding the graphics arms race. He thinks this race should have ended 16 years ago with Remedy’s first Alan Wake game, which was spectacular at the time. We’ve already achieved graphics of such high quality that they look photorealistic. But then, we decided that we needed lighting and reflections that look better than reality. These things have no practical use. Today, most AA or AAA games offer ray tracing and a level of fidelity that most people can’t appreciate without upscaling.

This ties into his belief that immersive simulators shouldn’t aim for AAA-level graphics because this misjudges the audience and its size. It simply isn’t enough to justify the development costs. However, this isn’t a concern regarding Nightdive’s Thief remaster. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it looks very similar to the original Thief.

“The fidelity curve has become outrageous. It’s become a spectacle. I remember when Alan Wake came out, I was like, ‘Okay, this is relatively photorealistic.’ I know 100% that I’m on a ferry. I see that I’m going to an island in the Pacific Northwest.’ Why do we need better graphics? Because they cost a lot.” I totally get it. I’ve got the vibe. It feels right. What else can we do in this graphics arms race? I think Alan Wake is the level of fidelity everything needs to reach. It’s the kind of game where you’re like, “I get it.” I get your vibe. I can tell what’s going on, and anything beyond that is gravy. Of course, they would prefer an immersive sim with insane spectacle and gorgeous vistas like those from Arkane Lyon. Of course they would. But is that necessary for what you came to an immersive sim for? I’m not sure it is.

You just have to invest more money in them. Create an increasingly immersive sim. It has to be a AAA game that sits right alongside Ghost of Tsushima and Grand Theft Auto VI. It has to be big enough to capture the public’s attention. However, I think that might misread the audience size of immersive sims. I’m excited to see what they do. Nightdive seems trustworthy and passionate. I like the projects they’re choosing to remaster. It’s going to be awesome to see the results. In a way, I’ll be able to play Thief for the first time ever. When I played Dishonored, I said that was the first Thief game I had ever played. When you make a game, it’s a completely different experience than playing it. However, I feel like enough time has passed since I played Thief: The Dark Project, so playing a remaster will probably feel very fresh to me. I’m excited about that,” Evergreen said.

We’re still waiting for the release date of Thief: The Dark Project Remastered. Evergreen is currently working on a project that we’ll hear about soon.

Source: PCGamer