During the writing I had a guide to the period slang, the ‘cant’, which I referred to throughout. What kind of research did you do before or during the writing?įor the initial research I buried myself away in the local university’s library, spending a week writing out lists of intriguing period elements I wanted to include, like smugglers, a masquerade, and highway robbery. I thought this two-sided nature would make for a great premise of an interactive story. He got rich on the fees offered for thief-takers as well as the proceeds of crime. Behind this exterior he personally organised the gangs of London and had hanged on false charges anyone who got in his way. He even pioneered some modern policing methods like separating suspects during interrogation. He self-styled himself the Thief-Taker General and took it upon himself to publicly break up gangs and recover stolen items.

My interest was first piqued by reading about the thief-taker, Jonathan Wild. Tell me what inspired you to write this period piece. I loved the 18thC world of Thief-Taker including all the lingo and historic details in the game. Thief-Taker is out this Thursday, August 10th. I sat down with the Joey Jones, author of Choice of Games’ latest release, Trials of the Thief-Taker for a short interview.

As a thief-taker, you are paid by the court or hired by the victims of crime to recover property and, for an extra price, bring the culprit to justice. In London, 1729, before they had police, they had you: thief-takers, hunting criminals for cash! Fire a flintlock and sip gin in the age of powdered wigs.

The very organised thief