Yeah - sorry about that. Thief went Gold just before E3 in the US, and Europe followed shortly thereafter.

I'm quite proud of the game - I played it all the way through myself, even staying late to get through the final missions after I'd worked a few months of late nights and weekends.

If that doesn't tell you how much fun the game is, then I don't know what else I can say...

If you think Splinter Cel is fun, but get frustrated with playing the same bit 50 times, then you'll absolutely LOVE Thief. Play Xbox or PC, they are different in many significant ways, as is playing 3rd or 1st person. The two perspectives almost give you two totally different games, with 3rd person being more strategic/planning style and 1st more, well, visceral.

The sound design is staggeringly good - perhaps the best I've ever heard in any game. About 75% of the way through the game, you go to a place called the Shalebridge Cradle - one of the most disturbing and nervewracking missions ever put in a game.

The missions only get better from there - but I'll withhold comment because I don't want to publish spoilers.

I heard rumors of the company having a mass exodus. Is this true? Does it affect you?

I shouldn't go into detail, but yes I was affected. Recall that I had only been there as a full time employee for 5 months - although it felt more like 8!

Ion Storm still has a great development staff - lots and lots of brilliant people are already working on the next Ion title. I'm sad to go, because I felt Ion Storm was a place I could stick around for a good long time.

Well, I hope your next project is a fun one. Personally, I'd love for it be the sequel to this book, but whatever puts dinner on the table is fine with me.