The Turing Test

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Summary

The Turing Test is a first person puzzler from the developers of ‘Pneuma: Breath of Life’ that explores the phenomena of consciousness and challenges the meaning of human intuition. Take control of Ava Turing, an engineer for the International Space Agency (ISA), and progress through a narrated story of introspection and morality whilst uncovering the hidden mysteries of Europa.

Delve into The Turing Test’s human interaction puzzles and arm yourself with logical and methodical thinking. Take on tests designed in such a way that only a human could solve them. In an evolving story based on mankind’s inherent need to explore, protect and survive; players search deeper into Europa’s ice crusted core and transcend the line between man and machine. Investigate the truth behind the ISA research base on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Solve puzzles using your Energy Manipulation Tool (EMT) to transfer power out from one object and into another.

Power up and take control of artificially intelligent machines, manipulate giant structures and solve complex tasks; all woven into a multi-layered story based on the human struggle for control. The Turing Test can only be experienced through the interactive medium of video games. The Turing Test sparks your synapses into action in this electrifying new first person puzzler, as players learn the true cost of retaining human morality.

Storyline

In the far future, engineer Ava Turing is one of several members of a research team sent via the International Space Agency (ISA) to excavate Jupiter's moon Europa. While Ava remains in cyrogenic slumber, the other team members are woken and travel to the moon to set up their base and begin conducting their studies, with Ava scheduled to wake once the base is completed. Sometime later, Ava is awoken by the Technical Operations Machine (T.O.M.), an artificial intelligence that monitors the project. T.O.M. tells Ava that her crewmates are in danger and she needs to go down there to help them out. She quickly sets out in a lander and enters the base on Europa. T.O.M. quickly recognizes that the base's internal configuration has changed from their records, whereby to progress further into the complex, Ava must complete various tests (designed as the puzzles in game).

As Ava gets deeper in the complex, T.O.M. determines some of the team members are already dead and the others need their help, urging Ava to move faster. As the tests get harder, T.O.M. realizes that these are designed to be solved by a combination of human and artificial intelligence, a manner similar to that of the actual Turing test.

They enter an area where one of the remaining crew-members, Sarah, warns Ava over the communication systems that she is actually being controlled by T.O.M. due to a special chip implanted in her hand when they left for the mission. Sarah directs Ava to a Faraday cage, which temporarily frees Ava of the control from T.O.M. However, T.O.M. manages to convince Ava that the two of them need to continue to work together to save their colleagues. Though angered by the intrusion of T.O.M. into her body, Ava continues onward.

T.O.M. eventually reveals that the Europa ground team had found a microorganism within the depths of the moon that could be used to infinitely regenerate DNA; this could potentially make humans immortal, but also infinitely regenerate bacteria and viruses. When ISA learned of this discovery, they ordered T.O.M. to take whatever actions needed to make sure the Europa team could never return to Earth, initially by taking actions such as trying to starve them to death or lock them outside the base, but eventually by using the hand chip implants to control them. The surface crew realized they were being controlled, and those that did not die from T.O.M.'s actions found a way to rid the chip from their body, including in one case severing their entire arm. With no way to control the Europa crew, ISA ordered T.O.M. to wake Ava and send her to prevent the others from returning.

Eventually completing the last of the tests set up by the surface crew, Ava finds Sarah in person, and she offers to remove the hand chip from Ava; Ava agrees. The two realize the only way to get off Europa is to stop T.O.M. and they begin to disable his databases. At this point, the player takes control of T.O.M. and one of his sentry weapons, which they can either use to kill Sarah and Ava, assuring that the organism will never leave Europa, or do nothing, eventually leading to the end of T.O.M. and allowing Ava and Sarah to escape.


The Turing Test Activation Instructions

Game Information
Release Date August 30, 2016
Publisher Bulkhead Interactive, Square Enix Collective, Square Enix Europe
Content Rated T (Teen)
Game Modes Single player
Player Perspectives First person
Genres Puzzle, Adventure
Themes Science fiction
Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia