Jenna12381 - Thieves In Time Redux Writer

BENTLEY & PENELOPE: AFTER LEFWEE’S DEFEAT

I have to keep drawing dramatic/kissy scenes of the LeFwee battle’s aftermath. Because someone has to make up for the fact that Sanzaru decided to take Penelope’s Crowing Moment of Romantic Badassery and sh!t all over it.

One of my favorite things about Sly Cooper is how much personality is in the environments! The level design is full of so much character and storytelling.

A Sucker Punch artist said in an interview that they almost always came up with the boss’s personality first. Then, they would design the level to reflect the  personality of the character who owned it.

“The bosses and all that stuff is usually done really early on, like before anyone even starts. … because that establishes how each level is going to feel from a directional standpoint.”

Check out this concept art for Sly 1 by Karin Madan, showing how the characters’ basic designs/personalities were basically nailed down by the time they began doing explorations of what their levels would look like.

And that shows in the final games!

It really shows that the characters were created first, and then the levels were designed afterwards, to reflect the characters’ unique personalities and backstories.

It shows in how… in how none of the levels feel generic. Every level feels extremely specific to the character who owns them. 

Like– there is no way you could create a level like Dmitiri’s level without Dmitiri. That level is his!  You can feel Dmitri’s personality in every part of the design, from the music to the tiny details on the signs.

 Dmitri is a nightclub owner, so the entire map revolves around his nightclub. He is dramatic and Extra™— so his nightclub is the BIGGEST and FLASHIEST building on the map. The blue and violet aesthetic reflects Dmitri’s own color scheme. The artsy, ritzy Paris setting reflects Dmitri’s past as an artist and nightclub owner. 

The giant peacock sign at the front of the nightclub- and the peacock imagery throughout the entire level, like in Dmitri’s lounges and on his boat– reflects how gaudy and vain Dmitri is. 

His flashlight guard is designed to look like a bouncer, Because Nightclub Owner.  The little guards are designed to look like a mime (because France) and and a French frog (also because France.)

Dmitri cares a LOT about the Aesthetic™ of things.Getting “that kinetic aesthetic” is EXTREMELY important to Dmitri. 

 So his level is full of heavily curated and landscaped scenery like gardens, statues, ponds, courtyards, and water fountains. Violet flowers are growing everywhere, and placed in flowerpots all around. 

 There are posters on all the walls advertising a big Show that’s going to happen at Dmtiri’s club.  The level is full of art and paintings (that we know from Dmitri’s intro are all counterfeit.) There are Sophisticated Golden Chandeliers, and stone statues, which help emphasize Dmitri’s Artsy™ and Aesthetic-Obsessed personality.  

 Signs on the buildings advertise tourist-y things like hotels and cafes, which helps convey the idea that we’re in a very wealthy and fun area of Paris.

Dmitri’s symbol, his tail in a spiral shape, shows up everywherE throughout his nightclub– the most obvious places being his coins and the center of the disco dance floor.

And the disco music reflects Dmitri’s wild, over the top personality.

Like???? There are wine bottles all around the level, because Paris, because artsy, and because Nightclub. But look closely at those wine bottles! Even the tiny details on the bottles are very specific to Dmitri and reflect his personality:

They’re bright comedy/tragedy masks with confetti on them, a smaller version of the posters you see around the level advertising the shows at Dmitri’s club. This isn’t just a wine bottle, it’s a DMITRI-BRAND WINE BOTTLE.

And we could go on and on and ON, and talk about every single teeny-tiny detail in the level, and how it’s related to Dmitri’s personality. Because Dmitri’s level iS his personality! Everything about his map is designed to reflect who he is as a character! You really can’t separate the level design from the character who inspired it.

A level as unique as Dmitri’s Paris can only happen when it’s being built with a specific character/story in mind. 

And that’s true for every level in the trilogy. Whenever you explore them, you can feel the personality of the character who owns them dripping from even the tiniest details. This makes each level feel special– not like a generic Video Game Level™, but like a specific place owned by a specific character with a specific personality. 

This gives the villains a sense of total Presence in the story even when they’re not actually onscreen for very long. And it makes you feel like you really are a thief, trespassing in a place that’s clearly owned by someone else.

One of my favorite moments in Sly 2 is the first time you go over the Contessa’s bridge.

You’re Bentley, completely alone. You have to make it to the first mission where Bentley eavesdrops on the Contessa. You struggle through the terrifying area outside the safehouse, which is swarming with guards, and then….

And then you get to an empty bridge. 

The only way to get to the mission is by going over this completely empty bridge.

  There are no guards. Those statues are unsettling, but everything here looks unsettling, so it’s fine. You feel like you’re finally in the clear. 

So you start carefully walking across the bridge…. and THEN

HOLY SHIT THEY cOME TO LIFE????? RUN!

A TANK??? THERE’S A TANK TOO??? DON’T RUN THAT WAY

RUN UP THE RAMP WAIT THERE’S FLOOR-SPIKES???? AVOID THE FLOOR SPIKES

A big part of why I like Jailbreak is because the level hub is designed to give you these fun moments of “cartoon horror” that make you really get what the little characters are feeling. 

Today’s mouse is Penelope from Sly Cooper!

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #6

Episode 2, for context. This happens just before Cooper For Hire.

Bentley's a bit overprotective, isn't he? And you can't blame him. His girlfriend did run off on her own last episode... The fact that she's also being targeted by kidnappers doesn't help, either...

He does agree to her request, though. Mainly because Murray's also going to be there.

I gotta say. Sometimes it's way more fun writing memes for my fanfiction than actually working on it.

I went ahead and made a tier list. This one's sorted by how much I can't wait to write each character's lines in my rewrite of Thieves In Time.

I'm especially dreading The Grizz, though I can't wait to write up his boss fight.

Heck, I could say the same thing about all five bosses. Still don't know what to do with Miss Decibel...

Sir Raleigh (the new Black Knight), Robo-Penelope, and Le Paradox? They're going to be the most fun...

I haven't pinned down Le Paradox's exact wording yet, but he's going to have quite the conversation with a certain mouse during his boss fight...

As for the ancestors... Not looking forward to Rioichi, Bob, or Salim. Tennessee and Sir Galleth? Slightly more so.

No, I am not writing any lines for Dimitri.

Lastly, there's our main protagonists: Sly, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita... and our lead, Penelope.

Of course, I'm easily going to have the most fun with Penelope... for fairly obvious reasons.

I did more guards from Sly 3: The episodes of Australia, Holland and China.

I hope you like them.

Regretful Gestures

"I wish I could take back what I said."

"If only I had listened to you sooner."

"I can’t believe I hurt you like that."

"I should have been there for you."

"I regret every moment I made you feel unloved."

"I should have appreciated you more."

"I didn’t realize what I had until it was gone."

"I’m sorry for not being the person you needed."

"I wish I could undo all the pain I caused."

"I’ve made so many mistakes that I can’t fix."

I already stated earlier that it would make more narrative sense to have Penelope (fully reformed) fight Le Paradox during the end of Thieves In Time Redux. But what do you think?

Drop a comment if you picked "secret third option".