Journey Into the Cradle, Kieron Gillen

8/3/2019 Journey Into the Cradle, Kieron Gillen

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132PCGAMERMarch 2005

THE CRADLE DOESNT HAVE A HISTORY.IT HAS A SCREAM, STRETCHED OUT

THROUGH TIME.

WARNING

READ ME FIRST

The following pagesform a journey intoone of the most brilliantand disturbing levelsever committed to PC.If youve played TheCradle Thief: DeadlyShadows centrepiecelevel, then dont hang

back. The secrets andhidden stories of thishouse of hell areexplored, analysed andconstructed intosomething that willhopefully enhanceand illuminate theexperience youve had.If youve never played

The Cradle, and have noplans to ever do so, thenrush right in, and morefool you. If youve neverplayed The Cradle, butplan to be careful.This opening spreadcontain spoilers. Themiddle pages should be

viewed in the same wayas a walkthrough for agame you haventplayed. The last twopages, an interview withJordan Null Thomas,The Cradles designer,should be safe. You have

been warned.

JOURNEYINTOTHE CRADLEBYK

IERONGILLE

N

THIEF: DEADLY SHADOWS Publisher EidosDeveloper Ion Storm Review PCG 137

Released2004

PCG146.feat_cradle 132PCG146.feat_cradle 132 2/2/05 12:18:10 pm2/2/05 12:18:10 pm


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March 2005PCGAMER 133

FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

ts too late to run. Running from The Cradle islike running from the air around you. Peoplebandy the word immersive around whendiscussing videogames, but miss the subtext ofwhat theyre really talking about. To beimmersed is to be surrounded and submerged,thrust into a new context. If The Cradle is

about anything, its immersion. Your head pushedbeneath murky waters until you choke and drown.

The Cradle is the penultimate level in last yearsThief: Deadly Shadows. Its whats known in televisionparlance as a format breaker something that subverts

many of the set expectations of the show to stir thecritical palette into new life. While The Cradle is basedon Thiefs shadow-stalking mandate, and a clearextrapolation from the firstThiefs seminal Return to theHaunted Cathedral, it hasamplified its source material tobecome something quitedifferent. Its probably thescariest level ever made, anexperiment in non-linearstorytelling methods that paysoff handsomely and is one of thetowering gaming achievementsof the past year.

Like anyone who plays The

Cradle, I was anxious before Ieven arrived. Perhaps more thanmost; in a passing email, Thiefs project lead, RandySmith, had mentioned a haunted house level which wasa deliberate extrapolation from the theories he laid out ina Fear feature in Gamers prehistory (See the DVD for acopy). I was expecting something special, so waited untilthe witching hour and played the game on a wallprojector in front of a group of unnerved peers. Even inGarretts introductory speech, he doesntsound his usual cocksure self. For the firsttime, he sounds anxious. The level startsand... there it is.

The Shalebridge Cradle. An ornategothic facade on a dilapidated mansion. Thestarting view is angled so that youre lookingup and its looming over you like a furiousparent about to discipline a child. In this firstmoment, The Cradles themes are set the relationshipbetween those with power and those without, authorityand the oppressed.

The levels genius is that it never explicitly states itspurpose. The truth is only approached tangentially, inthe non-linear method of storytelling entirely unique togames. That is, through immersion. The level doesnt tellyou a story. It gives you clues, and you tell the story toyourself. Its this process of realisation that provides someof the most disturbing moments in The Cradle. Youretold from the start that it used to be a madhouse. Youretold that before that it was an orphanage. Its only whenyoure inside, reading a childs scribbled note, that yourealise The Cradle served both purposes at the same time.

Its a horrific idea. A few years ago, one of my friendswas sectioned, believing he was either the Anti-Christ,the Son of God or MuadDib from the Dune books. Theclichs true: you have to laugh, or else you cry. But whenI visited him, in halls that stunk of disinfectant, full ofpeople who only looked at you through drugged eyes,laughter was impossible. Madness is the most frighteningthing in the world, and an asylum its church. The idea ofthe criminally insane intermixed with the stray childrenof a city is a horrendous concept, pure melodrama. If itwas just told to you, you might have rejected it as simplythat. But since the idea was hinted, and you made the

dreadful leap of logic yourself, you accept.Now, Ive played The Cradle a half dozen times

preparing this feature, and while the initial trip is stillthe one that squats in the backof my mind glaring, its never acomfortable place to be. Someof its torture-blades dull whenthe surprise is spent and youknow whats happening, othersremain permanently whetted.Theyre the incisions whichattack your guts through moodand timbre: that is, what theplace sounds like and what itlooks like. That sound andimages can disturb has long

been known: the RomanCatholic Church expressly

forbade the creation of church music featuring chordsincluding a diminished fifth (The Devils interval) dueto its profound effect upon the psyche.

Sound-man Eric Brosius? Hed have beenburned as a witch. His Thiefand System Shock 2credits make as fine a resum for horror as anyonein the business, but The Cradle is absolute career-

best work. Mostly a drunken miasmaof sound is smeared across your speakers,making you uneasy until an unexpectednoise splits asunder. Distant sounds rise up,suggesting the scuttling of unknown thingsmoving elsewhere, up to no good. Momentsof plot-revelation are provided a chillingcounterpoint by an apposite ghostly soundeffect find the ashes of a baby, still in a

crib, and expect to be haunted by its cry from beyond thegrave. The flickering of lights wouldnt be the samewithout the tiny crackle. And, most memorably, as youinch up towards the attic, the sounds of room-shakingviolence that either petrify you or send you running backthe way you came.

On the visual side, things are just as deliberatelywrong. After all there are visual tricks as disturbing asthe Devils Interval to apply. Take the Cradles inhabitants the puppets, whose movements are carefully judged toappear unnatural. They dont move like people. Theymove as if their insides are about to split or their boneshave been broken and set at off-angles. The art here is tonot be wrong (as in not correct) but Wrong (as in so

Sound-manEric Brosius?

Hed havebeen burned

as a witch

Pleased to meet you. I hope youve guessed my name.

I



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A) NOTEIt was better before. Too many rules to

remember. Dont go here. Dont touch that.Dont talk to the patients. The Doctors arejust as scary as the patients. Miss Arthur saysorphans shouldnt complain. The momentyou realise Shalebridge was an orphanage andasylum simultaneously.

B) LAURYLS PORTRAITThe second you touch this, you become awareof Lauryls ghost and able to communicatewith her. Once you free Lauryl, shedisappears from the frame The Cradle nolonger has any hold on her. Relevantquestion: who painted it?

C) LAURYLS GHOSTStill haunts the location of her murderin the attic, blood stains still visible.Despite its ovoid shape, this bubble oflight casts a human shadow. Its afantastic effect due to its impossibilitybeing more tangible than it would bein another medium, such as film. Lookclosely and you can see the soft outlineof Lauryls face on its surface. She actsas the voice-in-your-head plot guidefor most of the game. Point of interestfor fans ofSystem Shock 2 the samevoice actress, Thiefwriter TerriBrosius, also played SHODAN, whofulfilled a similar, if moreaggressive role.

D) LAURYLS BLOODIn a vial. Still warm. Yuk.

E) CASE STUDYExamines one C Pins, the patient in room 7.Claims hes decorated his cell like TheMurder Scene. Discusses his obsession withbirds. Foreshadowing of in-mate viciousnessand disturbing obsessions.

F) CASE STUDYThis ones of F Topper, in room 6, who was

found carrying an urn filled with asheswhich she claims is her child. Shetreats it exactly like a baby.

Recommended experimentalHascombes therapy.Foreshadowing of the brutality ofthe regime. Listen to the soundeffect of a baby crying after youread this, for a first example ofsound used to reinforce the impactof your discovery.

G) THE STAIRCASERattling noise as you head up thestairs, provides one of the biggestscares. Somethings going on upthere. Best guess: the ghostlyechoes of the murder.

H) THE PAUPERSWARDLow security ward. Note its

LETS START. THE GAMES AFOOT.

THEOUTERCRADLE

close to being normal... but not quite). Nomatter how long you stay, theres alwaysanother detail to shake you when youregetting too comfy, like realising the lightsin the building pulse, as if they were slowly

breathing, or... Well, when mapping asection for this feature, I physicallyscreamed when one of the inmates pulledhimself from the ground unexpectedly andlurched to attack.

And these touches unnerve on everyjourney into The Cradle. The first time youwalk down the steps into its basement,when you know nothing, its devastating.The masterstroke is that the first half of thelevel is empty. Nothings there, so youspend almost the first half of the visitinching around darkened corridors, tryingto work out what went wrong while

jumping at shadows. You hate thedarkness, as you know it could beconcealing anything. And then, onceyouve reactivated the generators, completewith the sort of rattling mechanical screamthat you just know will have alertedanything with something vaguelyanalogous to ears within a square mile,the electric lights twitch back into life andyoud do anything to have a good darkenedalcove to crouch in again. Masterfulpsychology: make you hate one thing, thentake it away in a way which makes you wishfor its speedy return.

Its this manner of mind game thatforms the foundation on which the wholeCradle is built. Insecurity is reinstated bychanging the rules just as youve grownfamiliar with them. As you explore theOuter Cradle, it is only your own fear thattwists the knife. By the time you realiseyoure being manipulated, youve enteredthe Inner Cradle. Here the corkscrewing ofyour guts has been externalised in the formof the inmates impossibly convulsingbodies. When you grasp that particularproblem, the Cradle twists again andtransports you from its current ruinedstate into its memories of earlier times, tobe chased through a pallid, fish-eye

While most films specifically feed you the story on a drip, the best games put youin a context which you explore. The Cradle is full of clues in its sounds, intext, in graphics, in the action of its inhabitants which you piece together

inside your head then perform an act of closure upon to fill-in the gaps. You arent told the

story; a world exists, and you transform it into a coherent image through the power of yourmind. In other words, exactly the way you gather diverseinformation from the real world. Any game can do this. Manyhave. The Cradle does it particularly well, so makes a fineexample for us to examine more closely.

On the following annotated maps are marked the moresignificant clues you find when playing The Cradle, along withsome notes on their possible significance. The pages after thatare an attempt to transform them into a linear narrative. Ifyouve played The Cradle, take it as a guide to the place. If youhavent... essentially this is a videogame murder mystery,transformed to paper. We show the clues and provide what wethink is a likely and entertaining solution.

ABANDONALLHOPE

PREVIOUSLY

Before entering the Cradleyou know little about the

place. You come becauseHammerite Inspector

Drept saw the Gray Ladyhere when he was a child, asshe killed his friend Lauryl.Its your only possible link

to catching up with thismysterious figure and

uncovering what horrorsshe plans for the City.

From previous page

Chased through apallid, fish-eye world



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dry the excessive humours which are, hebelieves, a cause of madness. The heat mustbe of the dry variety he urges, and hotelements must be laid directly onto the skin.

L) THE STAFF TOWERLauryl warns you that no one is allowed to goup there. In the real time period, itsdestroyed and in rubble, making explorationimpossible. When you first venture into thepast, it exists again. When explored againafter using the Cage to transport yourself intothe past that is, to a later period than thefirst the entire place is emitting ghostlysmoke, as if on fire.

M) THE CHAIROnly present when visiting the latter of thetwo time periods, it faces the Staff Tower,casting a dramatic shadow. Suggests thatsomeone was watching it during this period.

N) THE DOORSHeavy metal doors, only capable of beingoperated from the outside. Implies that thedangerous stuff is beyond this point.

O) THE CAGEWhere they kept new prisoners entering TheCradle. Lauryl urges you not to go in, for fearof The Cradle noticing you. Eventually youreforced into doing so, in order to enter thepast for your escape which brings you to anentirely different period to previous trips.Interestingly, you can also use the cage beforeyouve been told you can.

P) THE GENERATORAll lights are off and access to the InnerCradle barred until you replace its fuse. Thisimplies that the doors to the Inner Cradlehave been shut for a considerable length oftime, and youre possibly its first visitor.

THESTAFFTOWER

TO INNER CRADLE

L

D

O

EP

H

I

J

M

N

K C B

A

LOWER LEVEL

LOBBY

TREASURERSOFFICE

PAUPERSWARD

THESTORMCELLAR

OUTDOORS

THE ATTIC

F

G

MAIN LEVEL

DERELICT IN PRESENT

TO MAIN LEVEL

FROM MAIN LEVEL

FROMMAINLEVEL

LEADS TO N

location its not behind the heavy securitygates. A note describes someone collectinggold teeth from the morgue for profit,perhaps implying workers here too.

I) NOTEI didnt want to have my picture painted, butI was too scared to say no. I guess I did it rightbecause he said I sat good and still. A note,probably written by Lauryl, since hers is theonly unmutilated portrait in the building.

J) THE LOBBYApart from looking beautiful, noteworthy fora book that gives a feel for the institutionspolicy on lobotomy: More can be learnedfrom a surgery performed incorrectly, so wellkeep the training to a minimum. Nice. Alsoclaims that this may solve the problem of anuprising at The Cradle.

K) TREASURERS OFFICEUseful to a thief for the money it contains, butplot relevant due to the notes on DrHanscombes experimental heat therapy to



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THEINNERCRADLEYEW

HOENT

ERHERE

A) THE LOUNGEContains a particularly blackened fireplace.Interesting, that.

B) THE HALL OF RECORDSThe centre of the Inner Cradle, mostimportant for its listing of the patients, theirtreatments and their privileges. Especiallyrelevant is the patient in room 9, who wasallowed to light the fire in the lounge if shecontinued to behave. For this purpose, shewas allowed to keep her tinderbox.

C) THE OBSERVATORYHere youll find an in-mate, presumably theone from Cell 5. The room is full of portraits,

each defaced with a bloody smear over theface. Jewels are positioned where their eyesshould be. The in-mate, until disturbed,perpetually moves between them, makingsure each is positioned correctly. This impliesperfectionism was a main trait.

D) THE NURSERY TOWERIn the present day, burnt down andinaccessible. Once you travel into the past,you can locate Lauryls diary in the mainward. Information also comes to light on theGray Lady: the report on Lauryls deathwhich claims that one of the patients musthave killed the girl, because this Gray Ladyidea is clearly ludicrous. The staff blamed

H

5 4 3 2

9 8 7 6

M

J

NMAIN HALL

THE WHITE HALLL K

ELEVATORS

I

SECLUSION CHAMBER 1

world by the black silhouettes of long-deadstaff literally faceless authority figures.

Ah. The Cradles memories. Its bythis point youve realised that Shalebridgeisnt made of bricks and mortar, but

something more. The years of brutalityand institutionalised torture sublimed intosome shapeless intelligence that wantsnothing better than to keep you hereforever. While you simply view the place asa building at first, by the time you leave itsclearly an adversary its personalityexpressed in the world youve fearfullysneaked your way through. It never speaksdirectly to you. Theres none of the obvioustaunting of an entity like SHODAN in

System Shock 2, but when your every action

is thwarted its painfully obvious thatsomething wants to keep you, in the way astomach keeps a snack.

There are moments where you think,against all logic, it could actually do that.The Cradle is the longest level in the game.Before the close, I had an eye-of-the-stormmoment when I wondered if there was infact any way out of this place, or whetherthe real end ofThief IIIis to be battedaround like a mouse in the diseased paws

of some malevolent feline, forever.But, yes, eventually you do

escape. Except that isnt really true.Yes, the level ends. You do escapeThe Cradle. But, because youvebeen there, it lives on in your mindin dirty little fragments ofmemory... and so itescapes inyou.

The Cradles in me. If youveplayed it, its in you. Even if you

havent, by reading this, a shadowof my dread is cast on yourmind. So were all carrying itwith us, like a dark little secret

or black twitching egg,waiting to hatch and let itsbrood stretch your skin tobreaking point and falltwitching into the light.

Its too late to run. Butdont let that stop you. Run.

From previous page

Batted around like amouse in diseased paws

C

TREATMENT

ROOMA

F

CARRY ON SCREAMING.



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TO OUTER CRADLE

him for what happened to me, Lauryl revealsafter youve read it. They were wrong. Whois him? Theres also a note to the effect thatrules to keep patients and orphans separatemust be followed.

E) GHOSTLY STAFFThe Cradle only animates the staff when youare in the past, and even then, only as spectralmemories in silhouette. Since The Cradle isquite capable of animating the actual corpsesof the patients, you have to ask where thebodies of the staff went to prevent it fromdoing this to them. That this is how TheCradle remembers people also tells yousomething about its perspective on the world.

Ranker Lobotomy and use it on the mostdifficult cases.

H) THE WHITE HALLNine cells, in a circular formation around acentral meal hall. Each is decorated accordingto the style of its occupant, only the mostnotable of which are referenced here. Thiswhole section is heavily locked down, withheavy steel gates preventing access to the areaoutside. Lockpicking is required to getanywhere. People other than Garrett wouldneed keys.

I) SECLUSION CHAMBERHome of King No One a play on words ofNumber 1 or No. One, his patient number.Comprises an elevator, ascending to anisolated cell. You hear the Kings manic laughon the way up. Only at the top do you realiseits because theres no button for sending theelevator back down.

J) CELL 5A telescope is positioned, watching a portraitwith the face cut out. Clear l inks to what youfind in the observatory. The cell has a falseback wall where, once dismantled, you findLauryls blood-stained dress. If its the Gray

Lady who killed Lauryl, this patient must havecome into possession of it shortly afterwards.

K) CELL 6Foreshadowed in the Outer Cradle, belongingto F Topper. Tiny baby clothes hanging abovea crib. As you inch closer, it becomes obviousthat its an urn not a child that rests there.

L) CELL 7Home of C Pins, the Birdman of Shalebridge,foreshadowed in the Outer Cradle. Containswhat is presumably his re-animated form,standing, perpetually admiring his array ofbirds, nailed into the brickwork. A row ofskulls rest on the desk.

M) CELL 9A relatively bare cell. It takes a second torealise that its because the entire place isburnt out, especially towards the far side. Atinderbox lies nearby. Someone clearly likeslighting fires.

N) THE INMATESPhysical puppets of The Cradles will, in thereal material plane. While they can be takendown with a physical blow, they will only getup again. The only way to permanentlydisable them is through flashbombs and holywater. Notice the unearthly, jerky movementcribbed from Jacobs Ladder.

F) TREATMENT ROOM AHome of the asylums electric shock andwet-heat treatment room. I saw a man allwrapped up in wet bandages, Lauryl informsyou as you enter, I think he wanted me tohelp him, but I was too afraid. Tells us thatorphans and patients mixed to some degree.Also note a wax mask resting on the electricchair: someone discarded it here.

G) TREATMENT ROOM BThe lobotomy theatre, containing DrRankers specially made silver tools. Includesa note congratulating Ranker on his reporton the botched lobotomy, speculating thatin the future theyll call the procedure the

B

TREATMENT

ROOMB

G

STAIRS LEAD TOFURNACE

STAIRS LEAD TOHALL OF RECORDS

STAIRS FROMEXERCISE YARD

NURSERYTOWER

CHILDRENSWARD

E

D

DERELICTIN PRESENT

ELEVATORS

THE BALCONY

FURNACE

MORGUE

HALL OFRECORDS

LOUNGE

EXERCISE

YARD

A



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he City is used tostrangeness. Thebizarre is the mortarthat holds it together.Its people are a hardysort. In a world where

the dead wont stay buried, they haveto be. It hardly counts as superstitionwhen you know whats out there, inthe dark, waiting for a chance tomake you join it. Still, even in theCity, no-one loiters too long in theshadow of one particular building,which hangs off the east side of theOld Quarter like some facial canker.

Shalebridge Cradle. If theres a wayto cram more misery into onebuildings history, Master ThiefGarrett once said, I cant think of it.

The Cradle doesnt have history.It has a scream, stretchedout through time.

Its said Shalebridgeused to be that sadinstitute for lostchildren: an orphanage.Its also said that it wasthat sad institution forlost adults: an asylum.What most dont realise is that,during its latter days, it was both atonce. While safer in-mates were keptin the paupers ward towards thefront of the building, themurderously insane of which, atThe Cradles demise, there were nine were kept in the White Hall ward,towards the rear, with heavy metal,lock-down doors between them andcivilisation. Near them, the orphans,high in the Nursery tower. At thebuildings heart, looking over all, wasthe Staff Tower, the stronghold of thelawmakers. Children and the insane,under the lock and key of nurses anddoctors. Authority and oppression,bound together.

The tale of Shalebridge rests ontwo children a boy and a girl. Theboy, Drept, ran away, grew up, foundredemption in the order of theHammer and became known as afanatical hunter of shadows. The girl,Lauryl, didnt get the chance to growup at all.

The head doctors DrSanbridge, Dr Ranker and DrHascombe had strict rules whichMatron Miss Arthur was to follow.Obvious rules: such as homicidalpatients and the children werent tomix. But rules in a madhouse tend to

err, so it came to pass that Laurylfound herself sitting while having herportrait painted by the patient inRoom 5, known as The Watcher. Hewas brought to Shalebridge after

slaughtering hisprevious sitters becausethey moved. He thensmeared his victimsblood over eachportraits face, infrustration at the lack oflife in the final work.Lauryl was a good girl.

Lauryl didnt move at all. So, Lauryllived and The Watcher made the oneperfect picture of his life.

No one is that lucky twice.The Gray Lady of myth and

nightmare came to Shalebridge tofind a body to use for her devilishpurposes. Someone discardedalready. Someone no-one wouldmiss. That is, an orphan. If Lauryland Drept werent playing in the atticthat day, maybe the Gray Lady wouldhave chosen a different victim.Would The Cradles cry have beenstifled early? Perhaps, perhaps not.We can only speculate as to thereasons why The Watcher was closeenough to the murder scene to take

Lauryls bloody, tattered dress as akeepsake before anyone else arrived.Perhaps the murder he wouldeventually carry the blame for wouldhave occurred anyway? The Cradlesbirth is rife with such sick irony.

Despite Drepts testimony thatsome hag-like creature butchered hislittle friend, the material evidencepointed at the man locked in cell 5.Extreme measures were called for:lobotomy. Or rather, all too commonmeasures. The staff of Shalebridge when not experimenting with theirweirder theories such as applying redhot bars to bare skin or testing theouter limits of electrocution turnedto Dr Rankers custom silver knivesthat could transmute a pest into avegetable. The result could be storedcheaply with the other trash in thepaupers ward rather than the

THEN WE WILL BEGIN.

THESHALEBRIDGECRADLE:FOLKLORESITT

INGUNCOMFO

RTABLY?

So Lauryllived.

No one isthat lucky

twice.

AN EXEGESIS

The following is anattempt to transformthe various clues and

elements of The Cradledescribed in the

previous pages into alinear narrative. It isnt

a definitive story ofWhat happened at theShalebridge Cradle. AsAlan Moore speculated

in his graphic novelFrom Hell, when

dealing with murder asolution, any solution,

is inane. Murder isnt

like books... it holdsmeaning, and shape, butno solution. This isnt

the only way you canpiece everythingtogether by any

means, and much isextrapolated from the

clues. But when placedin the heart ofsomething as

deliberately baroque asShalebridge, there aresome leaps which you

have to make oninstinct. This is mine. Ifyouve thrown yourself

out of The Cradleshighest window and

found yourself in adifferent place, Id be

interested to hearabout it.

T



8/10



expensive Whitehall. News spreadthat whatever made The Watcherhimself would be sliced away inTreatment Room 2.

These words eventually reachedthe man who hid his shatteredfeatures behind a wax mask, PatientNumber 1 or King No One as hewas known among the in-matesthanks to the script on his door. Thefact that he was contained in theisolation chamber, at the top of anelevator shaft in the White Hall,wasnt enough to separate him fromthe other patients. His poisonouswhispers leaked out, fanning theflames of dissatisfaction. TheWatcher was a popular madman. Hisfraternity owed him an attempt tostop this. After all, they could be next.Dissent sparked into a fiery riot.Before anything could be done, the

keys were with the patients. Theywere all free. The gates were sealed,but most of the children and the staffwere inside, trapped and barricadedin their towers. At least the luckyones were those on the groundfloor proved wet and scarlet sport forthe rampaging White Hall inmates.

The midwife to The Cradlestrue birth was the patient in cell nine,The Moth. A pyromaniac, she wasallowed to keep her tinderbox as partof her therapy. Now free, she had allthe fuel she could wish for. She lit thematches which reduced Shalebridgeto the skeleton of a building it is now.First, in her room. Then, under thecover of the riot and urged on byKing No One, the fires at the base ofthe Staff tower.

While the King discarded hiswax mask, finally revealing his

molten face, and led thedismemberment of the remainingstaff, The Moth pulled up her chair atthe foot of the staircase and stared

into the inferno as men and womenwere reduced to soot and screams.

Flames swept up. The Nurserytower joined its sister in misery. Thevoices of boys and girls merged in anunholy choir, a shriek to empty skies.The smoke arose to the heavens,blacking them out, forming a cloudof the remains of authority. Anythingelevated was destroyed. All thatremained was the base material.

The tortured voices were TheCradles birthing cry. The risingsmoke was its first breath. Born oftorture, oppression, authority,murder and a history of weeping,

the place was alive.It pressed down upon the

remaining in-mates, who ruled theremains of the asylum under King NoOnes malevolence. His Kingdomcouldnt last, in earthly terms. Thedoors were shut. There was no wayout. The in-mates sickened, witheredand died.

It wasnt the end.The inmates rose from death,

becoming puppets of The Cradleswill and twitching in meaninglessechoes of their past existence. Thebodies animated in a closed,spasming loop for fifty years, waitingfor someone else to enter, to catchThe Cradles attention, and so join itseternal, macabre dance.

They say its doors will openbefore you. Theyll seal behind you.And as long as youre alive, itll neverlet you leave.

Even in the City, no-one loiterstoo long in the shadow of oneparticular building, which hangs offthe east side of the Old Quarter likesome facial canker. ShalebridgeCradle. If theres a way to cram moremisery into one buildings history,Master Thief Garrett once said, Icant think of it.



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THE CRADLE DESIGNER JORDAN THOMAS SPEAKS

CANDIDLY ABOUT THE MAKING OF FEAR.

INTERVIEWRETURNTO THECRADLE

ROCKINGTHECRADLE

JORDAN THOMAS

After a tenure as ajournalist, the

gamekeeper turnedpoacher when

Psygnosis recruited himfor the writing work on

a number of titles.Interning briefly at

Surreal Software, makerof dragon-

and-semi-clad-ladygame Drakan,

Jordans first real gigwas working on of all

things Harry Potterand The PhilosophersStone (PCG 105 78%)

at the developmentstudio Amaze. While

there he learnt theintricacies of UnrealEd

from Ben cyberartistGolus, providing the

skill basis that landedhim a job on Thief:

Deadly Shadows.Originally a designer,

he climbed the ranks tothe mighty position of

Lead Designer. Whilehis official duties kept

most of his time, a

significant amount ofthe after-hours was

spent on constructingcelebrated level The

Cradle, which you mayhave read something

about somewhere. Hecites Ben Golus as hislevel-building mentor

and ThiefProject LeadRandy Smith as his

game-design mentor.Other than that, Ive

been playing PC gamesand thinking criticallyabout them since I was

about nine, grinsJordan, And Im not

done yet.

PCG Where did the conceit of TheCradle come from?The Thiefgames are in the abstract largely about exploring unfamiliar,hostile spaces. It seemed an elegantsort of conceit to take that conceptliterally, and simply feed Garrett (theultimate trespasser) to a vast buildingwhich harbours a sort of monstroussentience, along with a perverseappetite. We knew that our hauntedhouse (the internal title) would beone of the latter entries in the story

arc, and that it would pit the playeragainst the undead, in some form.

I had a series of designdiscussions with Randy Smith(Project Director on DeadlyShadows) about our intent for thespace during its infancy. We quicklyconcluded that our core objectivewas to devise the single mostterrifying first-person gameexperience ever constructed. Ill leaveit up to the fan base to decidewhether or not we achieved it. Fear isinherently subjective, after all. At thevery least, no one can claim that wewere devoid of ambition!PCG So what do you actually countas terror?In terms of the aforementionedterror, we werent bent on elicitingconstant panic, per se. Ourpoint-of-origin was the word dread.I like to define it as thatquintessential threshold sensationwhich whispers rather than shouts,warning you that youre seven stepsfrom the unspeakable.

With that emotional shape inmind, I began to draft the designequivalent of the levels blueprints.Suffice it to say, I took the processseriously. Its probably obvious by

now that the subtle manipulation ofa players darker emotions (mostnotably, fear) is an abiding interest ofmine. Which is a fancy way of sayingthat Im on a mad little crusade toimprove the quality and range ofgames in the horror genre.PCG Where do you think horror ingames goes wrong?Weve got a deficit there, and its farfrom exclusive to gaming; horror ingeneral tends to ooze along the pathof least resistance. Think back inyour entire life, how many movieshave drawn you in deeply enough tomake your guts go cold in genuinefright? They probably number lessthan ten, if youre reasonably hardy.With games, I suspect you couldcount them on one hand.

Fear is regarded as one of theeasiest emotions to stimulate withany audio-visual medium. It is trivial

to frighten a reasonably receptiveaudience. You need only shout,boo! at the optimal moment, andyour victims will find themselvesclinging to the ceiling, quivering andhissing expletives.

Our reptile brains instantlyrespond, ready to brandish theadrenals at the drop of a hat. But willthe memories last? Typically, no.They are warning signs, written in avery basic language. As the mindrights itself, these messages fadeaway, leaving it largely unblemished.

I want my scares to leave scars.PCG Well, theres the pull-outquote. So how doyou think of TheCradle?Unsurprisingly then, I regarded TheCradle as a kind of meta-project inaddition to a game level. It was to bea multi-layered experiment ininteractive horror, using players as

Its always the quiet ones.



10/10



ON THE DISCRead theoriginal Fear feature, and

see The Cradle for yourself withour saved game > Game Extras

hapless test subjects. I suppose thats not

entirely without irony, given the kind ofscience fictionally practised within its walls.

The intent was to frighten, disturb, thrill,or startle as wide an audience as possiblewithin the parameters Id been given. And, ifpossible, to leave a few of those scars. Thejaded user would, hopefully, appreciate thegrim narrative and physical tension. Thehighly imaginative or impressionable playerswould find themselves inching along through asimulated nightmare, trying not to breathe.

And, of course, I hoped to execute all ofthis without sacrificing the key intrinsicstrengths ofThiefgameplay. Stealth isinherently conducive to a feeling ofvulnerability, but typically not quite this

pronounced. The Cradle was, all in all, aholistic effort in game horror and stealth leveldesign, intended to communicate the feelingof dread in several complementary languages.PCG What do you mean when you talkabout holistic level design?The term holistic level design isnt a buzz-phrase so much as a well established creativephilosophy that is often put into practiceacross various industries, but is rarely put intowords. In plain terms, it refers to theevaluation of any self-contained game segmentas an integrated whole. The total package, as itwere. It often manifests as a series of questions,some of which look like these:Are all the missions systemic elements

gracefully woven into each other?Does the space feel believably occupied byliving, imperfect beings?How well does it fit into the experientialtopography of the entire game?Does the end result offer the player aseamless, unforgettable experience?

I attempted to effectively answer dozensof queries along these lines with The Cradle. Inhindsight, I can see plenty of room forimprovement, but thats exactly how adeveloper expands the list.PCG So what rewards do a more holisticapproach give the developer?The expected reward for this (ratherfastidious) series of trials can be summed upby one word: resonance. All of The Cradlesactors, from the malfunctioning lights to theshambling undead themselves are tied into acentral choreographer object. Its a kind ofinvisible puppet master that tells them how tobehave in the real world, and in the worldbeyond (which is comprised of the asylumsfragmented dreams of its former days).

And, although The Cradle has its share ofentirely linear scripted sequences meant toinduce the right mood, it is the purelycircumstantial moments that took the mostplanning. Each object family has a specialrelationship to the rest, which can manifestduring gameplay when they happen to collidewith each other. I cant predict exactly what

kind of horrific moments will be generated bythat ecosystem, which is ideal.PCG Im going to say the word emergencenow. Thank you.Life, which we broadly emulate and typically,

embellish upon in games, is the result of anunfathomable number of systems interactingwith each other in a kind of eternal dance.Thats pretty easy to understand,subconsciously or otherwise.

Humans are accustomed to thetransparent feeling of rightness that resultsfrom being swaddled in such a dazzling,orchestral synthesis at all times. The mentalrecordings we make of all this data carry someinherent resonance, simply because of theirunfiltered perfection. Simulations (like videogames) do not nearly make the grade yet, andwe regard them with inevitable scepticism.They simply cannot directly compete forterritory with memories of the real world.

That said, by focusing on a specific typeof target experience, and leaning heavily on thehuman instinct to fill the gaps, we are able tocheat a bit... We invite players to convincethemselves that a sequence is real enough ortight enough to be drawn into, by carefullyintegrating all the level and game components.Gamers have a discerning eye, but they want tobecome immersed.PCG All fictions reliant on a leap of faith inthat way, really.The more appropriate the systems that arealready at work in a given level, and the moreelegantly they appear to plug into each other,the easier it is for a human to become a willingparticipant in the suspension of their own

disbelief. Or, for that matter, in the suppression

of their aesthetic scepticism. This provides akind of indirect springboard into that notionof rightness.

Because, in that tiny microcosm ofsupported behaviour choices (say, stalkingthrough an abandoned building and trying notto die), the network of simulated possibilitiesis dense enough that you cease poking holes inthe world-fabric, and begin actively fillingthem yourself! Your imagination becomesinextricably intertwined with the contentyoure consuming, and you become a partialarchitect of your own reactions.

The game is then far more likely toresonate with you, carving out a permanentniche among your long-term memories. And

that, of course, is the honour for which wedevelopers strive.PCG How much reference work did youmake when preparing The Cradle?The Cradle is the synthetic offspring of dozensof actual, existing Victorian hospitals andreputedly haunted buildings. All the misery,malpractice and dementia that have beenascribed to those places are seen here througha proportionally exaggerated lens.

I read reams of patient and staffinterviews, scoured countless articles onhistorical mental-health treatment practises,compiled a huge reference archive ofphotographs taken by urban explorers whoregularly break into abandoned asylums, and

even visited a few locations myself.PCG Any particular incidents stuck in yourmemory from your research?One story involved a patient who managed toescape into the storage wings of the asylum,and because of her eroded state-of-mind, shebecame lost and succumbed to starvation. Theplace was such a teeming snake pit that shewasnt missed, and the stain from her bodyseeped permanently into the wood.

Another involved a man who wascommitted as a toddler. Decades later, whenasked to sign his own name, he drew a roughsilhouette of the hospital. The place was soomnipresent and dominant a force in his lifethat it eclipsed his identity. The Cradle wasbuilt out of that sort of cheery material.PCG And, finally, what fictional influencesshaped The Cradle?Among the films that helped inspire it wereJacobs Ladder, Session 9, and The DevilsBackbone. Books included From Hell, Houseof Leaves, and The Shining.

My game influences are innumerable, buttwo most prominent were theSilent Hillseries and the SystemShock series, to which TheCradle owes a great deal.

I want my scares toleave scars...

Documents

Journey Into the Cradle, Kieron Gillen