Real Talk

Props to Bentley for driving from all the way from the jungles of the Bengal region of India to Prague in Sly 2, that is an insane drive. That is crossing through 8 countries, 4 time-zones, two continents and over 8,500 km. Non-stop, it would’ve taken him almost 5 days.

And he did that all without knowing at first how to drive stick.

Like look at how far that is. I know that’s only up to Lahore but I couldn’t get a drive route that’d go into India and I assume that has to due with the nature of driving through the Indian-Pakistani border. That’s also passing through some rugged terrain and some unforgiving weather conditions too.

my thoughts upon completing Flight of Fancy for the 2648134th time

1. Penelope (under the Black Baron disguise) serves as a pretty solid combat match for Sly. Bentley over binocucom claims the Black Baron has trained for 10 years as a boxer. Why is Penelope thus regarded as so useless out on the field by herself, and only used for her RC car, when she’s actually a decent fighter, especially when you count this was all made more difficult underneath a massive costume?

2. Penelope mentions in a cutscene that she used the Black Baron disguise because of strict age requirements. The age requirement would probably be either 18 or 21, considering the ruthless and unforgiving nature of dogfighting. Does this mean she’s still a minor when Bentley is dating her? (Or, has she been using the Black Baron as a persona for a few years now?). Still…..d r a m a .

Bentley I thought you had more morals than this

Murray wasn’t kidding when he said you’ve got more devious over the years

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jenna12381

7 months ago

How to Create A Villain

The best villains? They don’t even see themselves as the bad guys. They’re 100% convinced that what they’re doing is right, even if it’s messed up. Maybe they’re trying to “save the world” by doing something super questionable, or they think enforcing strict rules is the only way to keep society in check. They truly believe they’re the hero of their own story, which makes them way more interesting and real.

And Yeah, your villain might want power, but the real question is: Why? Were they humiliated in the past and now want control? Did they grow up powerless and now crave it to avoid being vulnerable again? When you dig into their backstory and show us why they’re doing horrible things, it makes them a lot more relatable—even if they’re totally wrong.

Flat, one-note villains are boring. If your antagonist is going to stick with people, they need depth. Show us what’s going on under the surface. Maybe they lie awake at night, doubting their choices, or they’re still haunted by a massive failure that’s pushing them toward their goal. A villain with personal struggles and vulnerabilities feels way more human and way harder to fully

A great Villain doesn’t just fight the hero, they reflect them. They might have totally different goals, but at their core, they share similar traits, maybe ambition, stubbornness, or a tragic backstory. When the hero looks at the villain, they should see a bit of themselves, and that’s what makes the conflict between them so intense.

When the villain finally goes down, it should feel big. Their defeat shouldn’t just be a fight, it should hit them emotionally. Ideally, their downfall comes from their own flaws, maybe they got too arrogant or made a mistake because of their obsessive goal. The best villain defeats leave the audience feeling a little sad or conflicted, not just happy for the hero’s win.

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jenna12381

11 months ago

Only day you can rb this

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jenna12381

8 months ago

Fixing Thieves in Time Penelope

Thieves in Time was a pretty good game overall, but I am STILL pissed about what they did to Penelope. ‘She thinks Sly is a bad influence’ like excuse me? Even if that made any kind of sense (it doesn’t), am I the only one who remembers that she had a bit of a crush on Sly when she first joined the Cooper Gang? And suddenly her inventions are awful, even though they recruited her because she was as good if not better than Bentley? I call bullshit, fuck you very much.

I’ve come up with three alternate ways they could have done Penelope’s story that actually make sense and don’t feel out of character:

Option 1 Mind Control: Le Paradox has Miss Decibel hypnotize Penelope to make her give him the designs for the time machine. He decides to keep Penelope on-hand to maintain his blimp, and to serve as a hostage should the Cooper Gang uncover his plans and try to stop him. Upon their arrival in England, Sly and the Gang immediately learn that Penelope is working for Le Paradox and are devastated. During a recon mission, Sly and Bentley discover devices similar to Miss Decibel’s record players, which keep Penelope hypnotized. Bentley immediately begins drawing up plans to destroy the devices and free Penelope. The boss fight against her still happens, but with the plan being to destroy the hypnotic devices keeping Penelope under Decibel’s control. The Cooper Gang succeeds and Penelope is freed, reuniting with Bentley and rejoining the Gang for the rest of the game.

Option 2 Double Agent: Penelope catches wind of someone trying to get their hands on the designs for the time machine, and does a little investigating on her own. This leads her to Le Paradox, who offers her a position working for him. Recognizing the threat Le Paradox’s plan poses to her friends and boyfriend, Penelope agrees, and she sabotages his plans and tech every chance she gets. Throughout the game, she leaves clues for the Cooper Gang to find (such as the sheriff’s badge), trusting them to thwart Le Paradox’s operations. She’s ordered to go to England to work alongside the Black Knight, who is revealed to be Raleigh from the first game (Le Paradox arranged his escape from prison in exchange for a chance at revenge on Cooper and the Gang). In the final fight, Penelope reaffirms her allegiance to Bentley and the Cooper Gang, and she and Bentley work together to dismantle the giant robot, allowing Sly to land the final blow to take down Raleigh. As in Option 1, Penelope and Bentley reunite, and Penelope rejoins the Gang for the rest of the game.

Option 3 Dangerous Threats: Le Paradox threatens to erase Bentley from history unless Penelope gives up the designs for the time machine to save him. Terrified of losing her true love, Penelope reluctantly agrees, and Le Paradox keeps her close by as a hostage and to prevent her from tipping off Bentley and the Gang. She is sent to Medieval England and is kept prisoner in the castle by the Black Knight (who could be Raleigh as in Option 2, or a new character) and is forced to design and build the mechanical guards for him. Once in England, Sly discovers Penelope’s location and sneaks into the castle to confront her. When she reveals Le Paradox’s threats, Sly reassures her that together they can keep Bentley safe, and convinces her to escape with him and return to the Gang. Penelope and Bentley reunite at the hideout, and she gives the Gang useful information about the Black Knight’s plans and weaknesses. During the boss fight, Penelope again comes through for her friends by being the one to finish off the Black Knight and reveal the next time period they need to travel to.

In all three versions, Penelope and Bentley both serve as tech experts during the final confrontation with Le Paradox, making use of their combined talents to help achieve victory (while also being totally adorable together: finishing each other’s sentences, hugging and holding hands, kissing, all of it).

About Thieves In Time Redux's final boss fight...

I wanted to talk about the gameplay end of the fight scene. Remember how the vanilla boss fight was mostly QTEs? We'll only be seeing QTEs in the first and final phases.

The first phase, of course, has Penelope fighting Le Paradox, in an attempt to redeem herself.

As the fight progresses, the button commands increase in difficulty until they eventually become impossible for a human to complete. When that happens, Sly will join the fight and begin Phase 2.

You'll take control of Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita one after the other (in that order) as they enter the fight. No, you won't get to control the ancestors when they join in.

The final phase has you controlling Penelope again as she restarts her duel with Le Paradox. More QTEs follow, but now they're easier as our heroine gives her speech on what she learned about friendship.