The Collection Chamber: PIRI THE EXPLORER SHIP

An educational adventure game that will reveal the arcane knowledge behind the story of the great Turkish cartographer Piri Reis' map of 1513.

Some mysteries always remain...
The year of 1513, it is 21 years after the discovery of America...
A gazelle skin world map is drawn...
Green Dark Sea pushes forward a caravel...
..it's strong hull secures highly advanced mechanisms.
...ahead of it's time...
...It's your story now...

Start a quest for the secrets behind the map.

Be ready for a far and long journey with your gazelle skin map drawn by Piri Reis. Dock at ports in five continents and unveil the hidden story of the map through:
Mind bending puzzles
3D, high resolution rendered screens.
Authentic music, special sound effects.
Video scenes and interviews from the documentary film "The 1513 Map of Piri Reis: An Historical Puzzle" directed by Fehmi Gerçeker.
More than 400 illustrious pictures covering the 16th century art, social life and cartography.
Rich library with texts more than 100 pages.

~ from the back of the box

Piri, The Great Explorer Ship is a late-90s PC adventure game that's not just a product of its time but of its place. Developed by Turkish studio Sebit in 1998, it clearly sets out to do something more ambitious than most low-budget Myst-clones. It centres its historical story around the controversial 1513 map of Ottoman admiral Piri Reis, an almost mythical map that includes a landmass in Antarctica before its official discovery in 1820. Fascinating for the basis of an adventure, but Piri also posits itself as and an educational experience, and while it doesn't always succeed as either, it remains an unusual and atmospheric effort that stands apart from its contemporaries.

The historical hook is the Piri Reis map, long surrounded by pseudo-scientific conspiracies about lost knowledge and impossible accuracy. Sebit leans into the mystery without fully endorsing any single explanation, instead using the map as a narrative MacGuffin to move the plot along. You play as the captain of a carrack named Piri, summoned by an enigmatic superior referred to as "old captain" whose voice guides you in riddles and admonitions. The story is deliberately vague, set somewhere in the early 16th century, and mostly conveyed through diary fragments, commentary, and implication rather than direct exposition, but through the impressive pre-rendered graphics, there's an undeniable suggestion of depth to the game world even if you can't articulate it.

Mechanically, the game plants its flag firmly in the land of Myst-likes. You navigate in first person using discrete, node-based movement, guided by a shape-shifting cursor. There is no inventory to speak of, with any puzzles requiring you to have a good notetaking skills or an exceptional memory. All of the puzzles are about the historical context of the era which isn't your usual general knowledge. The game does give you the answers, through reams of diary entries, encyclopedias and video documentaries, but there's an entire university degree contained within making all this new information somewhat overwhelming for a casual play through. Don't get me wrong, what's here is eminently fascinating but when you need to sort through so much data to get the answer to one un-obvious question, it soon feels like schoolwork.

You'll spend most of the time exploring the high seas using the Map Monitor. Turn the boat with the

ship's wheel and crank the level to change speed. The symbol on the left indicates the region you're in.

The central interface element is the Wind Rose, a ship's wheel of a menu that gives you access to all your usual gameplay features like save, load and quit. Accessed with the right mouse button or a tap of the Space bar, you can also view an overview map of the ship, access help, or listen to the old captain's commentary by clicking on the dolphin icon in the center. His cryptic hints are delivered with enthusiasm that reminds me of the intro of Soul Blade. I kept expecting him to tell us we're "transcending history and the world...".

And that world is transcended through the Map Monitor. Viewed through a porthole below deck, it allows you to direct control over the ship using the ship's wheel and three speeds. You see where you're heading via an overhead map but beware, if you crash you will be presented with a question which, if answered incorrectly, you will begin to take on water. Take on too much, and its game over. Below the brig, you can re-answer these questions to pump out some of the brine, but not only are the surprisingly difficult for those who cannot retain information too well, they are fully typed in too. I hope you're good at spelling.

Exploring the seas is where you will get the answers. You can dock as several locations in order to learn more about the history and gather information, or make contact with other ships to get more too. The aim is to get enough information to solve a separate puzzle, the first of which has you matching images with dates. For example, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492... which one was Columbus again? Solving each puzzle not only opens up another section of the ship where another one awaits, but also another section of the world to explore and learn from.

The Sound Egg Mechanism in an encyclopedia of history texts and video clips (left).
The first region's puzzle has you find the right info to organise images in a timeline (right).

You begin in the Sea of Marmara and move on to Istanbul, Spain, Africa, and South America, but only after solving the puzzle for each region. Early on, your journey is blocked by a "strong wind" which can only be overcome by correctly operating the ship's machinery (i.e., solving these puzzles). The manual warns that the game is difficult, and this isn't an exaggeration. Your knowledge base must be vast, and mistakes are rarely forgiven gently if you use trial and error.

Visually, Piri is better than you might expect. The pre-rendered backgrounds are surprisingly crisp, drenched in warm wood tones and nautical ornamentation. FMV sequences, though sparing, only add to the experience. The ship's interior is cohesive and convincingly laid out, and the mechanical devices have a distinctive, almost steampunk design. There are no flashy effects, but for a small Turkish studio in the late 90s, the presentation is confident and consistent.

If you crash the ship, you'll be asked a question. Get it wrong and you'll take on water (left).
Fear not! Once you know the answer you can re-enter it in the brig to hold back the rising waters (right).

That ambition, however, comes at a cost. The interface is unintuitive, the puzzles often opaque, and the overall rhythm monotonous. You will spend long stretches performing similar interactions on the same few machines, merely under different contextual justifications. Those expecting a brisk narrative or a steady sense of accomplishment may find themselves adrift, consulting the help menu more often than the horizon.

As a pure adventure game, Piri, The Great Explorer Ship is awkward. The puzzles can feel repetitive and the pacing is slow to the point of monotony. But for those with a love of nautical history, it has great value. Even I enjoyed learning about a subject that's not often taught or told. The adventure and educational sides of the game are so intertwined, each aspect wouldn't work without each other, but it all too often felt like opening a over-long text book. Those with patience, an interest in the history of the high seas, and a tolerance for obscure adventure game design may find it worth exploring. I did in parts, but overall I found it to be tiringly inconsistent.

To download the PC game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DDrawCompat to run on modern systems with with IMG Drive Portable to handle CD ISOs. When the game asks you for another CD, just press "OK". Manual and Map included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 1.01 Gb. Install Size: 1.11 Gb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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