The Thaumaturge Will Require Over Two Playthroughs For 100% Completion

Hi! Artur Loska – Lead Gameplay Designer; Dawid Bargiel – Lead Cinematic Designer; and Karolina Kuzia – Design Director here.

Dawid: We tried to show a more street fighting style than a series of punches like in Hollywood movies. The initial challenge was to record believable reactions to Salutor attacks, but the final design helped us imagine how people should react to them. The session recording animations for combat was a great adventure, the first versions of the animation were not fully satisfactory, but with each subsequent session, we got better and better, and the final effect after implementing them in the game was very noticeable.

Artur: We wanted to give the feeling of a dynamic encounter despite the turn-based gameplay. Additionally, we had to combine brutal combat with the influence of the Salutors in a way that would retain its physical aspect but with the influence of terror from beyond the world.

Karolina: We would like for players to choose their own playstyle. It is often possible to avoid combat by using manipulation or pride to get yourself out of trouble, but if you’d like to go for a warpath, you surely should be able to. We’ve equipped Wiktor with various tools to approach and solve conflicts, and it is up to players how they will use them. Besides manipulation and general help from Salutors outside combat, Wiktor, like many people in this world, carries a flaw – an imperfection of character that, if nurtured, could be both a blessing and a curse. Wiktor’s inherent flaw is pride.

Dawid: Yes! We actually did. It was still Warsaw, in the Russian partition, but at first, we considered a bit earlier period, that is 1888. Rasputin was younger back then, and times were different, but after investigating the topic and many hours of talks regarding it, we decided to move the action of the game a bit further to 1905. We assumed that 1905 was going to be a much richer period in terms of political and social unrest, changes incoming from the East, and shifting political landscape, but also new, fantastic inventions, such as the telephone (Wiktor uses it quite a lot), electrical trams, and others.

Karolina: “Thaumaturgy” is a spacious concept, as it means “miracle-working”; it could be anything you imagine. So, we imagined a world like ours, but with these “magicians” possessing vague powers, living daily routines among ordinary people. The beauty of this concept, for us, is that there is no proof it never happened. In the world of the game, thaumaturgy is considered a myth, an unbelievable tale, and an immeasurable curiosity. We’ve tried to weave “a beautiful lie” into a reality we all know from media, books, and literature. A grim twist is just something we wanted to pursue. We wanted to portray the lives of people of the past as truthfully as possible and create an experience of living in a world that is no longer there but was very real once.

Still, on the topic of keeping it real, we imagined that imperfections of human characters could be actually seen by the thaumaturges and used to their benefit. We all carry our flaws within us, right? Imperfections are created under the pressure of bad habits, painful experiences, or lucky moments. What if there were people among us who could actually read us like an open book? That is, among some other things, what thaumaturgy is in our game.

Karolina: I’d say this game is based on personal choices. It is what you want (for yourself, from others) and if you’re brave (or proud enough) to reach for it. There are, of course, other minor decisions in the game, but the major ones affect relations with others, leading to various solutions later.

Artur: The average single playthrough is 20+ hours long. To experience everything there is in the game, with all the endings we’ve prepared for you, you will need more than two playthroughs. There are also hidden endings, that would unlock under certain circumstances.

Karolina: We shall see. We’re always ready and would love to tell more stories of the Thaumaturge, and we already have quite a bunch of ideas.

Karolina: The game stands as a complete story, yet it likely sparks questions or wonder about the world and what the future holds. The story never dies; it can continue on in multiple ways further, offering endless possibilities for exploration and expansion.

Karolina: Only that we hope you enjoy experiencing the story of Wiktor Szulski as much as we loved designing it for you. It is a story about finding your connection with the past but also about choosing your own way. Enjoy!