As writers of the game, you chose to have Elohim and the world’s human makers situate the puzzles in historic places, facsimiles that approximate Rome and ancient Egypt for example, yet are not actually Rome and Egypt. We, the writers, were only brought in when quite an elaborate structure had already been created.ģ. The puzzles turned out to be fun, and some people at Croteam kept making more of them, until slowly an entire new game emerged.
Originally, it was just a series of puzzles for Serious Sam 4, which is also where some of the graphics come from. However, in terms of why things were done as they were, you have to keep in mind that The Talos Principle happened messily and unexpectedly. (My wife, who is obsessed with Pompeii, immediately recognized a ton of details.) I can’t help but think this would be a fantastic technique for creating a 3D simulation of Pompeii. The graphics were created by Croteam using photogrammetry, for which they visited the actual locations themselves. I’m also wondering why Diocletian’s Palace (Spalato/Split) did not make an appearance (or maybe it did, and I totally missed it!). Did you work with existing laser scans of these features, and if so, what was the source? I’ve played other Rome-based games (e.g., Ryse), but the photorealism of Talos actually fooled the experts. Trajan’s Market makes an appearance, too, along with mosaics and wall paintings. They were amazed at the level of detail and texturing of the plaster and brick.
I showed my archaeologist friends who work in Rome and Pompeii screengrabs and a video walkthrough of the first level of the game (and its puzzle areas).
I received a gracious reply from Jonas on behalf of the team, and I have reproduced my questions and his answers in full below:Ģ. I was curious about the integration of archaeology and philosophy into such a beautiful and engaging game, and worked up the courage to write to the game’s writers, Tom Jubert and Jonas Kyratzes.
The story also drew me in with its masterclass in Western philosophy, a re-introduction to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and a thorough debate on artificial v.
As I played, I was distracted from the puzzles by the art and architecture. As soon as I launched it, I was hooked by the most stunning visuals I had ever seen in a game set in antiquity, with the opening screen, scene, and first level of puzzles set among the plastered bricks and wall paintings of a reimagined Rome, Ostia, and Pompeii.
Although The Talos Principle was published at the end of 2014 for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, in May 2015 for Android, and in October 2015 for PlayStation 4 by Croatian game developer Croteam, developer of the Serious Sam series, I didn’t play it until March 2017. freewill, and considerable exploration of reality and the virtual. The Talos Principle combines photorealistic settings of Rome/Ostia/Pompeii (and ancient Egypt and elsewhere) with diabolical puzzles and a plot chock full of ancient and modern philosophy, a debate of fate v. An “ancient” aqueduct in The Talos Principle.