Screenshots from this mission look strange and experimental - definitely not like a regular Thief mission. Umbelina is a very unusual map where the goal is to find well-hidden items in a modern looking apartment.

The author is Pedro Quintella, better known as Cardia. If you’re even somewhat familiar with his work, you know that his missions are always original in terms of gameplay and story - but this one, for me, takes things to a whole new level. Why? Because Pedro included real photos of himself and his girlfriend in the mission. In fact, he even turned one of her photos into a texture and applied it to a 3D model, which already feels rather uncanny.

But that’s only the begining. In Umbelina, we play as the map’s creator himself, and during the mission we can read his girlfriend’s diary. Through it, we learn about her struggles with an abusive ex-boyfriend who stalked the couple, installed hidden cameras in her apartment, and even tried to turn her child against her. Other family members’ diaries describe how these events affected Pedro, his girlfriend, and her child. I have to admit - this absolutely shook me.

It raises an obvious question: is this story based on real events? If so, then this is deeply personal information that feels strange to encounter in a fan mission. On the other hand, if the story is fictional, that may be even stranger - because inventing an abusive ex-boyfriend for your very real girlfriend seems highly unsettling. The feeling of intimacy grows stronger when you realize that the houses featured in this two-mission campaign are modeled after the real homes Pedro and his family lived in (something he admitted on the Looking Glass forums).

And so I’m left with the main question: who is this mission really for? While playing, I felt as though I was intruding into someone’s private life without permission. And yet, Pedro chose to share it with the entire community. Why? What's the point?

The same questions come to mind with another unusual mission of his, FTM Life (Female to Male), which deals with transgender identity. Again I wonder: is this based on real people and real experiences, or is it entirely fictional?

Perhaps I’m overthinking it. Maybe I should just appreciate that he wanted to share something so personal and unique. Or maybe it’s a cultural difference - perhaps in Portugal there isn’t the same sense of secrecy or privacy and my Polish brain just can not comprehand this. I honestly don’t know what to make of it. No other fan mission has ever left me with so many questions.