<\/p>\n

When I think of the best levels in the best video games I’ve ever played, one of the first that comes to mind is the Shalebridge Cradle level from Thief: Deadly Shadows. You’ve got to play through 80% of the game before you’ll see the game’s penultimate level, but it’s worth it. I’ve seen some fairly well done haunted houses in video games – the one in Vampire: Bloodlines comes to mind – but it’s nothing compared to the Shalebridge Cradle.<\/p>\n

The Shalebridge Cradle began as an orphanage, and later became an insane asylum. Think of John Cusack’s 1408, with a little bit of The Shining, and some Thirteen Ghosts thrown in for flavor. That will get you halfway there.<\/p>\n

I don’t have the writing acumen to accurately describe how well-designed The Shalebridge Cradle truly is. But in March 2005, PC Gamer Magazine wrote a ten-page article about it. A single level of a single game. Ten pages. And the article (pdf)<\/a> should give you a good feel for what I’m trying to convey in my sonnet.<\/p>\n

And now, my ode to the Shalebridge Cradle<\/p>\n

Behind a rusted gate it looms immense
\nA sinister abandoned old estate
\nMy heart feels crushed as if beneath a weight
\nAs I peer up at stark malevolence<\/em><\/p>\n

With heightened pulse I slowly step inside
\nAnd wait in vain for crushing fear to pass
\nBeneath The Cradle’s black foreboding mass
\nI feel my trepidations amplified<\/em><\/p>\n

Forsaken children once wandered these halls
\nMingling with the criminally insane
\nThe wrongness of thy history brings pain
\nBut gems and silver treasure herein calls<\/em><\/p>\n

So long I’ve been the monster in the night
\nCrouched in shadow, knife or club in hand
\nYet these inhuman puppets you command
\nFill even this monster’s soul with fright<\/em><\/p>\n

Evil resides within these halls malign
\nCanst be no shadows deadlier than thine<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I think of the best levels in the best video games I’ve ever played, one of the first that comes to mind is the Shalebridge Cradle level from Thief: Deadly Shadows. You’ve got to play through 80% of the game before you’ll see the game’s penultimate level, but it’s worth it. I’ve seen some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,121],"tags":[118,123],"class_list":["post-1609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pc","category-stealth","tag-replay","tag-thief"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1609"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1624,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609\/revisions\/1624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greghowley.com\/lungfish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}