v1.3.5

	TRILBY: THE ART OF THEFT
	   by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw


1991. Two years before the events of 5 Days A Stranger. The eccentric British cat burglar Trilby is at large in an American city, robbing the rich to give to himself. Distrustful of his fellow man and patiently skilled in every aspect of burglary, Trilby is on an ongoing quest to scare the ignorant rich by hitting them where it hurts - their wallets. But will his arrogance cause him to bite off more than he can chew?


THE GAME

In The Art Of Theft, the player controls Trilby in a 2D stealth adventure as he embarks upon a number of daring high-profile heists in various outposts of wealth and power across Chapow City. With an arsenal of thief skills at his disposal, he must lift the trinkets and valuables of the idle rich while making as little fuss as possible.


CONTROLS

Cursor left / cursor right: 	Creep
Cursor down: 			Crouch
Cursor up:			Use / examine / steal / enter door
X:				Wall flatten
Z:				Use tazer
Space bar:			Grolly up
Down + space bar:		Grolly down
Enter:				Skip dialogue
Tab:				View status bar
Escape:				Menu / skip cutscene


THE CODE OF THE HEIST

- In the briefing for each heist, Trilby will explain the objectives that need to be fulfilled before he can exit the scene of the crime. This will usually involve stealing a sufficient amount of loot.

- Steal loot by pressing UP while standing in front of interesting-looking objects or containers.

- Being seen, tripping laser beams or making critical errors will set off alarms. Each heist has a maximum number of alarms that can be tripped before Trilby must abort the heist and try again.

- Human enemies can be taken out of the picture by hitting them with an electric shock from the tazer. Trilby doesn't like doing this, however, and will limit himself to a certain number of shocks. Breaking that limit causes Trilby to abort the heist.

TIP: When a human guard sees you, and confirms having seen you, they will attempt to use their radios and call in an alarm. You have however long that takes to decide whether you want to lose an alarm or a tazer, so think fast.

- Trilby will usually have to make his way back to his starting position after completing his objectives, but not always. Aborting the heist even after completing the objectives does not constitute completion of a heist, if only due to Trilby's impeccable personal standards.

- At the end of each heist Trilby's performance will be graded on time taken, loot stolen, alarms tripped and guards tazed, then given an overall grade. The worst grade is C, and the best is the Trilby symbol, which denotes a perfect heist.

- At the end of all the heists, an overall score will be given for the whole game. A good enough score at this stage could result in some interesting rewards...


TRILBY'S WORKSHOP

You begin the game in the abandoned parking lot Trilby rents as a hideout-cum-workshop. You can run through a tutorial the first time you arrive to get to grips with the controls. Trilby returns here after each heist to make use of the facilities set up:

Trilby's desk

It isn't all glamour - there's a lot of paperwork in the life of a master thief. USE the desk to save the game, or load an old game. You CANNOT save the game during heists - only by finishing or aborting a heist and returning to the workshop.

Newsstand

By reading about his exploits in the paper, Trilby's confidence grows, and he becomes more skilled. Throughout his heists Trilby gathers Reputation Points (RP) for stealing loot and picking locks, which can be spent on upgrades here. These give new advantages or add new moves to Trilby's repertoire. USE the newsstand to access the upgrades screen.

Wardrobe

The wardrobe only appears after you have unlocked some additional costumes, and allows Trilby to switch between outfits.

Trilby's car

When you're finished messing around in the workshop, walk straight into the car to embark upon a heist.

Before starting a heist, you will go to the briefing screen, where Trilby gives the heist objectives and a little background on the location. Press ENTER at any time to begin the heist. You can also re-play previous heists as many times as you like; scroll through old heists by pressing the UP and DOWN cursor keys. 

Once a heist is completed, the briefing screen for the heist will also display the best grade you have achieved as well as the par time and the maximum amount of loot, in case you want to try again and improve upon your previous performance.


THE ENVIRONMENT

Heist locations contain various elements that can either help you or get in your way, depending on how you play them. At various times or another you'll come across all of the following.

Darkness

The environment has three levels of light - Full, Medium, and Dark. The light bulb indicator in the top right shows which one you are in. In darkness, you are invisible to guards and cameras. In full light, you will always be seen. In medium light, you are always visible EXCEPT when wall-flattened. Press X to flatten and unflatten yourself against walls. Please note that concealment in shadows will not fool a laser trip beam.

Platforms

Trilby can hoist himself up or drop down through thin platforms. Stand under one and press SPACE to grolly up. Alternatively, stand on top of one and press DOWN + SPACE to grolly down.

Locked Doors

The most obvious hindrance to a thief, but a minor one to a true master. Press UP in front of a locked door to attempt to pick the lock. Use the LEFT and RIGHT cursor keys to manipulate the tumbler, then press X or SPACE to push it upwards. If it slips cleanly into the slot, the door is unlocked. Otherwise, you fail. Some doors possess higher levels of difficulty, and Trilby must build up his lockpicking skill on the upgrades screen before he can use them.

Safes

Some of the best loot is kept locked away in green safes, but these are only a temporary hitch for someone like Trilby. USE the safe to start spinning the dial. The objective is to insert the tool into the mechanism just as the gap passes through the centre. This must be done twice to unlock the safe. Mis-timing the push three times will break the tool and end the attempt.

Junction boxes

Messing with the electrics can give an advantage, or it can mess things up royally. Always weigh up the odds before you gamble. Press USE to open the box, then press LEFT and RIGHT to switch between wires, and finally SPACE or X to cut one. The right wire could knock out cameras, lights, trip beams, or even open doors. The wrong one usually costs you an alarm.

Keypads

Some doors and security systems have 3-digit combination locks. Trilby has no means to hack such things but the codes are usually hidden somewhere nearby. Use the cursor keys to choose a button and X or SPACE to press them.


OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

Guards

There will be plenty of these on patrol in the world of wealth. Try to stay behind them or in shadow when they're facing you. Some guards are bound to security desks, but fall easily into daydreams, providing the opportunity to slip past.

Cameras

Security cameras are the more difficult alternative to stationary guards, lacking the weakness to tazers and boredom. If they spot you they will flash orange for a second, giving you that long to hide in shadow or directly underneath it before an alarm goes off.

TIP: If you let a camera see you and quickly run under it before it turns red, you can buy a little extra time before it turns around again.

Laser beams

Red tripbeams can sometimes criss-cross the more technologically advanced buildings, but a master thief can avoid them with practise. Most beams will not be tripped if you are wall flattened, but sooner or later you're going to have to move. 

Sleepers

Should you stumble upon sleeping residents, the best approach is to not move around too much. Make your way slowly and steadily past the bed to not make too much noise. Sleepers can be tazed if you feel it's necessary, but it's somewhat inethical.


EXTRAS

Trilby is nothing if not well-dressed, and there are a total of SIX bonus costumes to be unlocked. The criteria required to unlock them is something you'll have to figure out for yourself. Some outfits give special advantages. Some give disadvantages, if you feel like challenging yourself with a higher difficulty. 

There just might be a little secret to be found by playing a certain heist with a certain costume.


CREDITS

Nearly everything by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw
email me about bugs: yahtzee@fullyramblomatic.com
More games: www.fullyramblomatic.com

Music by Mark Lovegrove (www.screen7.co.uk)

AGS Engine by Chris Jones (www.bigbluecup.com)

Testers

Josh Rucker
Willie Z
Freak- 'Y -> daily blogging' -ums
Andrew 'Clouddark' Morrill
jgs
Chris 'Spann' Spann
Henrik Andersen
Zach Gershkoff