Thieves In Time Redux Progress Meme #2

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.

PENELOPE IN HER PIRATE OUTFIT

"I know the bar is in hell (especially back in the early 2000's) but I'll always appreciate that Penelope was just allowed to be…a character. Sure she absolutely had some conventional love interest trappings but she was unambiguously brilliant to the point that she could outpace Bentley in some fields and was designed to be cute but not super sexualized. She's actually kinda scruffy (affectionate) in a way you don't see much with fictional women, she's got the battered overalls and messy hair and big clunky welder gloves and actually looks like she gets her hands dirty on the regular."

Confessed by: Anonymous

I’ve completely forgotten how to draw Penelope but dammit I’m gonna try anyway @everchangingfangirl thank you for inspiring me to revive my love for these weird games, I missed it so much

Cooper Gang members' birthdays (and Carmelita)

Sly: May 20 (Taurus)

Bentley: September 13 (Virgo)

Murray: February 26 (Pieces)

Penelope: December 30 (Capricorn)

Carmelita: October 31 (Scorpio)

Not sure what to give the others.

so seeing how Sly doesn't get stuck in Egypt, how does it end?

Well, of course our four heroes end up staying together. Beyond that, I'm not sure where to take them.

Sly and Carmelita? Sly has given up on a future with her. Does Carmelita want to make up with him? Maybe.

Bentley and Penelope? They're engaged. A very well deserved reward after she took down Le Paradox and led everyone to victory on his blimp. She's been forgiven, though she is having trouble with forgiving herself.

So, i doodled some Sly Cooper because i was super needing to be an artist and JUST AN ARTIST for one day. And i got super carried away with this and i have ZERO REGRETS Just let me make perfectly clear that Sly was one of the best parts of my childhood. Also P5 cuz it was cool. (But we know which is cooler)

2024 saw me bring these four together for the events of Thieves In Time...

I'd actually been working on it for 10+ years, but 2024 was when I finally decided to turn that story into a full length fanfiction.

important Pride content

DK House Donkey Kong 64 Rare / Nintendo Nintendo 64 1999