Jonric: To begin with an introductory overview, what kind of game did you intend Thief: Deadly Shadows to be? To what does the latter part of title refer? Who decided not to call it Thief III?


Warren Spector: Deadly Shadows is intended to bring Thief's unique, simulation-based gameplay into the 21st century. It had been far too long since Garrett, the thief, saw any action and when Looking Glass, which created the Thief series, went under, I jumped at the chance to continue the story it began back in the mid-'90s.

The name Deadly Shadows doesn't have any deep meaning - it just seemed like a cool way to get across the idea that you're a dangerous guy and the master of darkness. Why not call it Thief III? I guess that was mostly because we were trying to bring Thief gameplay to a larger audience than ever before - including console gamers who might never have heard of the series before. We didn't want to do anything that might imply that previous knowledge / experience of the series was necessary. Marketing and Development were both in agreement that a name would serve the game better than a number.