Welcome to the FM Author Spotlight, a series of interviews that provides an exclusive peek into the world of fan mission creators. In this episode, we are talking to Pookaball, the author of Nightwalk, an oldschool city mission designed for the One Million Units Contest in 2021.
Aemanyl: Please introduce yourself and tell us how you discovered the Thief games.
Pookaball: I first played Thief Gold as a teenager around 2012, maybe earlier. I'm not sure if I played Dishonored first, but at that time, I knew about Thief from an interview with Warren Spector in which he described his time working on Deus Ex, and I was familiar with some elements of the steampunk genre from other media. When I got Thief Gold, I was captivated by its cutscenes and worldbuilding. I played until Bonehoard or something like that and didn’t get very far. But the game stuck with me, and I revisited it a while later, getting stuck in Thieves Guild because I was bad at navigating, and it wasn’t until 2018 or 2019 when I came back to it and completed the whole game and later The Metal Age. I found fan missions at the same place where Thief was being discussed, and I downloaded a pack of some classic FMs but never got around to playing them between my bouncing off the game the first time and system changes. In 2020, however, I was hooked on the FMs. There was a lot to catch up on, and by then I think the 20th-anniversary mapping contest for TG had happened.
Aemanyl: Do you have a favourite genre, style, or theme of fan missions?
Pookaball: I prefer Thief Gold to Metal Age because of the more noticeable dark medieval themes. In terms of story, I like low-stakes slice-of-life FMs where you’re not trying to save the world and are just getting by, doing routine burglary, and maybe detective work along the way. I like exploring abandoned crypts and prowling the city streets. I like missions where you start far away from the objective and can choose to approach it in a number of ways. Tiled floors are the bane of my existence.
Aemanyl: Can you walk us through your typical workflow when creating fan missions? Where do you typically begin, and how do you approach the different stages of development?
Pookaball: To me, the ideal way to start making a mod for a game is to make some notes and sketches on paper to decide what I want to do before opening up the editor. Then I try to build the whole thing, starting to finish, in a very barebones, blocky way, and place the AIs and patrol points, objective items, and some loot, maybe lighting. It’s easier to change the flow of the mission when everything is at a large grid size. Then I would go over the brushes and add actual architecture and texture the brushes, making sure locked doors, light switches, and other mechanics work. Room brushing comes when all the architecture is done. Actual objectives, readables, and soundscapes come last. Pretty much, I follow the stepwise building method.
Aemanyl: What would be your proudest DromED achievement?
Pookaball: I haven’t made the big FM I'm proud of yet, but in order to get there, I have enjoyed learning to wrangle the editor and getting in a state of mind that lets me get to where I need to go. I don’t write scripts for Dromed, but I did customize some keybindings, and I know how to make custom textures, sounds, and models and get them in the game.
Aemanyl: What are your main sources of inspiration for your projects?
Pookaball: Classic books like Balzac, old masters’ paintings, European sci-fi comics (Moebius), fantasy and horror movies, biographies of medieval and Renaissance people, folklore and mythology, 3D renders of level designs for other games, and most importantly, other FMs.
Aemanyl: Would you ever like to collaborate with a specific fan mission author that you haven’t had the pleasure of working with yet?
Pookaball: I would like there to generally be a more alive mission-making community. Unfortunately, Thief just isn’t that popular as a game. Thief FMs deserve more eyes on them.
Aemanyl: Are you currently working on any new levels?
Pookaball: Currently working on an FM that lets you explore caves in an icy region, far outside the City.
Aemanyl: What are some of your other interests, pastimes, or hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
Pookaball: Eeking out a living doing game art. I live for pixel art and low poly modeling. Also, I love Scottish Country Dancing.
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Thank you for reading! We hope that you've enjoyed this insightful interview with Pookaball. Every Friday you can look forward to a fresh interview with fan mission authors, featuring both the rising stars and the seasoned veterans of our beloved community.
Stay tuned and see you in the next issue of FM Author Spotlight series!
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