the talos principle

 

  • While it is necessary to collect all the sigils to complete the game properly, the game’s world structure, featuring three main worlds that act as hubs and a centralized area
    that connects these three, allows the player to leave puzzles for later and try other puzzles.

  • Development and marketing The Talos Principle bore out from Croteam’s work towards first-person shooter Serious Sam 4, experimenting with the use of interactive objects as
    part of the game design while creating levels that fit within the Serious Sam design style.

  • The player can also request “messengers” during puzzles, which are androids similar to themselves, (though not physically present), that once awakened can provide a one-time
    hint for the puzzle.

  • [18][19] The two were also brought on to help on the story for the expansion Road to Gehenna, though while sooner in the development process than the main game, still at a
    point where many of the puzzles had been completed.

  • [17] They sought to capture the sense of problem-solving that humans naturally do, and were able to place more of the game’s larger story in spaces that would require exploration
    to find, which Kyratzes felt the game’s level and puzzle designs strongly encouraged.

  • [10] Before the game’s release, Croteam published a free game demo for Linux, OS X and Windows on Steam, that featured four increasingly difficult complete puzzle levels as
    well as a benchmarking bot.

  • Kyratzes also explained that work on the game had been slow due to the development of Croteam’s other two games: the aforementioned Serious Sam 4, and The Hand of Merlin.

  • In addition to these puzzle elements, the player can explore the open environments to find computer terminals that include additional narrative and further puzzles, as well
    as signs from previous adventurers in the world in the form of QR codes left as graffiti on various walls, and holograms that once collected play audio recordings.

  • [9][15] The two were brought about a year into the game’s development, with about 80% of the puzzles completed, to link the puzzles together with a proper narrative.

  • [8][failed verification] Later, the player gains access to a device that can create a time recording of their actions, such that they can then interact with this recording
    to complete tasks, such as having the clone stand atop a switch to keep it activated for some time.

  • The player’s progress through the game is limited by doors or other security systems that require the collection of a number of specific sigil pieces.

  • [14] In one aspect, they recognized in the development of a puzzle game was that while puzzles could be designed with specific solutions, the process of creating the video
    game around the puzzle could create unsolvable situations or unforeseen shortcuts.

  • One researcher, Alexandra Drennan, launched a companion “Extended Lifespan” program to create a new mechanical species that would carry on humanity’s legacy, but this required
    the development of a worthy AI with great intelligence and free will for its completion, something she recognized would not occur until well after humanity’s extinction.

  • [21][11][6][22] Croteam also released a free teaser minigame for The Talos Principle called Sigils of Elohim,[23][24] that offers sets of one puzzle type with tetrominoes
    that’s found throughout The Talos Principle.

  • Overall, Croteam estimates they logged about 15,000 hours with Bot before the release of the public test version, and expect to use similar techniques in future games.

  • The virtual space serves as the testing ground for new AI entities, to solve puzzles to demonstrate intelligence, but also to show defiance and free will by disobeying Elohim,
    the program overseeing the Extended Lifespan program.

  • [47][48][42][43][49][51][50] It has been regarded by various sources as one of the greatest puzzle games of all time.

  • This led to some complicated puzzles that the team was inspired to build upon further as a separate title.

  • [16] Jubert’s previous work on The Swapper revolved around the philosophical differences between body and soul; Jubert recommended Kyratzes based on his writing for the game
    The Infinite Ocean which was about artificial intelligence.

  • As such, they were able to quickly iterate and resolve such problems when new features were introduced to the game.

  • Kyratzes explained that The Talos Principle 2’s story was “challenging” to create due to the original’s plot having “wrapped up so well”.

  • [16] The Talos Principle was shown in Sony’s E3 2014 presentation,[20] after which Time featured the game as one of its “favorite hidden gems from 2014’s show”.

  • [6][12] They also used human playtesters to validate other more aesthetic factors of the games prior to the title’s release.

  • If the player has collected enough of the extra stars in the worlds, they’re given the chance to complete another world and free Admin, but since there is only one more slot
    left for ascension, Admin and Uriel cannot both ascend.

  • [55] Arthur Gies of Polygon praised the game’s inquisitive nature into philosophy by stating: “…Croteam has built a challenging, beautiful game that serves as a wonderful
    vehicle for some very serious questions about humanity, the technology we create, our responsibilities to it and its responsibilities to us.

  • Then, as the puzzle’s environment was tuned and decorated, they would have Bot attempt to solve the puzzle, testing to make sure it did not run into any dead-ends.

  • Depending on the player’s choices, one or both of Admin and Uriel stay behind as the artificial world is destroyed.

  • [2][3] The player takes the role of a robot with a seemingly human consciousness[4] as they explore a number of environments that include over 120 puzzles.

  • If the player selects this option, then the android fails the required “independence check”, and a new iteration of its AI is created and forced to start the puzzles anew
    (effectively restarting the game for the player).

  • Alternatively, if the player leads the android to a secret entrance in the tower, the android becomes one of Elohim’s messengers, helping future generations (AI versions).

  • Depending on the player’s interactions with Milton, Milton may offer to join with the android, offering its knowledge – essentially the whole of humanity’s knowledge – during
    transcendence.

  • [12] Croteam designed the general world setting and outline of the story, and then brought two writers on board, Tom Jubert and Jonas Kyratzes, who consulted on narrative
    design and philosophy on the basis of transhumanism and other important questions about humanity.

  • “[56] Praise was also given to the variation and ingenuity of the puzzles with one critic mentioned that “The variation and imagination in these puzzles is fantastic and the
    difficulty curve is one of the most finely crafted I have ever experienced…”[57] Chris Suellentrop of the New York Times praised the writing of the game by stating it was: “…one of the most literate and thoughtful games I’ve encountered”.

  • He also stated that The Talos Principle 2 would be the company’s next focus following Serious Sam 4’s release.

  • [12] The bot, named Bot, would watch the playthrough of a puzzle by a human player in terms of broad actions such as placing boxes on a switch for the completion of a puzzle.

  • If it did encounter any, Bot reported these through an in-house bug reporting system and then used game cheats to move on and finish out testing, which took between 30 and
    60 minutes for the full game.

  • To address this, they used a bot, developed by Croteam member Nathan Brown who had previously developed bots for other games including the ones incorporated into ports of
    Serious Sam 3: BFE for consoles.

  • Special star sigils can be found by unique solutions to some puzzles, allowing the player to access additional puzzles.

  • Boxes let the player climb to higher levels or to block the path of drones, among other factors, and large fans that can launch the player or other objects across the puzzle.

  • As the android progresses, it becomes evident that these worlds exist only in virtual reality, and that it, like other androids it encounters, are separate artificial intelligence
    (AI) entities within a computer program.

  • These include computer-controlled drones that will detonate if they are too close to the player, killing them, and wall-mounted turrets that will shoot down the player if
    they get too close; if the player dies this way, they are reset to the start of the specific puzzle.

 

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Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkramer62/14009216519/’]