A Space Station Named Talos I in a Bethesda Game...

[AKB]

Prey takes place on a space station named Talos I.

Alright, who let Kirkbride back into Bethesda, but didn't tell him that he was hanging out in the Prey department?

[The SheoDovah]

It was Todd. In a bid to deflect some of their recent decisions and focus on crafting, he allowed Kirkbride back to gain nuclear heat whilst he turns TES into the biggest fantasy minecraft in gaming after doing the same with Fallout.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

MK works at TellTale games now, specifically on their new Batman game, but he does contract work for Bethesda during pre-development of ES games, mostly in the form of region specific religious and cultural norms, as well as a few books like Song of Pelinal in Oblivion.

I think this is probably an easter egg by one of the other employees. Sounds like something Kuhlmann would put in there as a wink-nod.

[Rezalon]

I really hope this is just a nice nod and not a hint at Kirkbride returning to Bethesda, or the Elder Scrolls. I know I sound like a broken record, but his lore is complete nonsense, and the day TES games start to even look at C0DA, I am jumping ship.

[AKB]

MK works at TellTale games now, specifically on their new Batman game, but he does contract work for Bethesda during pre-development of ES games, mostly in the form of region specific religious and cultural norms, as well as a few books like Song of Pelinal in Oblivion.

I think this is probably an easter egg by one of the other employees. Sounds like something Kuhlmann would put in there as a wink-nod.

It's the name of the main setting of the game. It's not like a one off, it's literally where the entire game takes place from the looks of it.

[MetaCthulhu]

Wrong Talos everybody:

"In Greek mythology, Talos (/ˈteɪlɒs/;[1] Greek: Τάλως, Talōs) or Talon (/ˈteɪlɒn, ən/; Greek: Τάλων, Talōn) was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders."

[AKB]

So as the publisher for the game, do you not think you would veto someone reusing Talos as a name, though? Ulfric Stormcloak is a technically valid name, but it's not what you'd think of if Bethesda were to release a new game starring a character named Ulfric Stormcloak.

[MetaCthulhu]

I mean they certainly have the option to change the name, but if it makes sense from an in-universe perspective I don't think they need to change it. Besides, these days Talos is most strongly identified with The Talos Principle.[1]

[AKB]

Considering Prey is a brand new universe (the old continuity has been abandoned), it would make more sense to change it to avoid confusion. And Google Analytics is hard to use for this one sense Talos Principle is the singular way to identify that game, while Talos relating to ES can come up in dozens of ways. For examples, talos skyrim, talos es, talos oblivion, talos morrowind, talos shrine, talos amulet, talos god, etc.

My only question is if they deliberately did that, or will there be a genuinely justified reason for it in the new game, or if they just didn't think about it.

[MetaCthulhu]

Google Analytics is hard to use for this one sense Talos Principle is the singular way to identify that game, while Talos relating to ES can come up in dozens of ways. For examples, talos skyrim, talos es, talos oblivion, talos morrowind, talos shrine, talos amulet, talos god, etc.

I'm pretty sure as long as the string (ooh, coder talk ) "talos" is anywhere in the search it should be counted as a hit, so all of those should be counted. But I'm digressing from the main point.

Honestly, given Bethesda's A+ communication skills, I'd be surprised if the publishers know what the devs are doing, or if the devs know what the writers are on about.

Publisher: Can we change the name of the ship?
Devs: Sure, we'll tell the writers, but you're going to need to rehire the voice-actors.
*Six months later*
Devs: Did you get the actors back?
Publisher: No... Did you tell the writers?
Devs: ...No.
Publisher and Devs: The old name was great! We'll just keep it.

[OblivionDuruza]

I really hope this is just a nice nod and not a hint at Kirkbride returning to Bethesda, or the Elder Scrolls. I know I sound like a broken record, but his lore is complete nonsense, and the day TES games start to even look at C0DA, I am jumping ship.

Glad I'm not the only one! To be honest, while he certainly did some good work on TES, I think he is given too much credit for some of the series' lore successes and heavily overrated. I don't find C0DA appealing in the slightest. Much prefer Ken Rolston's work to be honest.

[Rezalon]

snip

[Pilaf The Defiler]

MK works at TellTale games now, specifically on their new Batman game, but he does contract work for Bethesda during pre-development of ES games, mostly in the form of region specific religious and cultural norms, as well as a few books like Song of Pelinal in Oblivion.

I think this is probably an easter egg by one of the other employees. Sounds like something Kuhlmann would put in there as a wink-nod.

It's the name of the main setting of the game. It's not like a one off, it's literally where the entire game takes place from the looks of it.

It's still an easter egg, IF it's a reference to TES at all, just a very prominent one. It could be a general D&D or Greek Mythology reference, for that matter. It's pretty likely the actual reason they named it that was because of the TES deity, but it's supposed to be set in a future-Earth type scenario, so in that context the vessel would have been named after the Greek god in-universe.

[Imbalance]

I'd wager it's fair to project that, in-universe, the christen-er of the station is a huge TES nerd.

[Starfang]

So as the publisher for the game, do you not think you would veto someone reusing Talos as a name, though? Ulfric Stormcloak is a technically valid name, but it's not what you'd think of if Bethesda were to release a new game starring a character named Ulfric Stormcloak.

This is a bad comparison. The name 'Talos' has existed outside of TES lore for hundreds of years, dating back to the days of ancient Greece. Ulfric Stormcloak is a name specifically given to a particular character, from a particular video game - at least most people with a basic understanding of Greek mythology will know that Talos did not originate from Skyrim. I think you guys are reading too much into this, I think Metacthulu is probably correct.

[LugkAgumbuk]

So as the publisher for the game, do you not think you would veto someone reusing Talos as a name, though? Ulfric Stormcloak is a technically valid name, but it's not what you'd think of if Bethesda were to release a new game starring a character named Ulfric Stormcloak.

This is a bad comparison. The name 'Talos' has existed outside of TES lore for hundreds of years, dating back to the days of ancient Greece. Ulfric Stormcloak is a name specifically given to a particular character, from a particular video game - at least most people with a basic understanding of Greek mythology will know that Talos did not originate from Skyrim. I think you guys are reading too much into this, I think Metacthulu is probably correct.

Ahhhhh ;( but us Skyrim junkies can jhope, there is always hope....and mead.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Mead will take you farther than hope, if only because it numbs the pain and disappointment.

[AKB]

So as the publisher for the game, do you not think you would veto someone reusing Talos as a name, though? Ulfric Stormcloak is a technically valid name, but it's not what you'd think of if Bethesda were to release a new game starring a character named Ulfric Stormcloak.

This is a bad comparison. The name 'Talos' has existed outside of TES lore for hundreds of years, dating back to the days of ancient Greece. Ulfric Stormcloak is a name specifically given to a particular character, from a particular video game - at least most people with a basic understanding of Greek mythology will know that Talos did not originate from Skyrim. I think you guys are reading too much into this, I think Metacthulu is probably correct.

It didn't originate from ES, yes, like the parts of Ulfric Stormcloak, which also date back hundreds of years. I'm saying the more recent references make this a bit odder.

[MetaCthulhu]

Bethesda used Raven Rock in Morrowind, and then turned around a few years later and used the exact same name in Fallout 3 (Which, while a real location, Bethesda could have just as easily used the nearby Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center instead), so I really don't think Bethesda gives a flip about reusing names, provided there's a goodish reason.

[Starfang]

So as the publisher for the game, do you not think you would veto someone reusing Talos as a name, though? Ulfric Stormcloak is a technically valid name, but it's not what you'd think of if Bethesda were to release a new game starring a character named Ulfric Stormcloak.

This is a bad comparison. The name 'Talos' has existed outside of TES lore for hundreds of years, dating back to the days of ancient Greece. Ulfric Stormcloak is a name specifically given to a particular character, from a particular video game - at least most people with a basic understanding of Greek mythology will know that Talos did not originate from Skyrim. I think you guys are reading too much into this, I think Metacthulu is probably correct.

It didn't originate from ES, yes, like the parts of Ulfric Stormcloak, which also date back hundreds of years. I'm saying the more recent references make this a bit odder.

Then I'd say the naming thing is just a nice nod to older fans of the series, and nothing too elaborate or more than that - I doubt we'll be seeing cross-franchise lore intermingling anytime soon...though deathclaws in Tamriel could be interesting.

[Minor Edits]

MK works at TellTale games now, specifically on their new Batman game,

Prediction: it will be the first Batman game where the Batsuit is molded around Bruce Wayne's phallus.

Seriously, though, Batman games are either entertaining or unplayable. I hope this one is the former, though it's impossible to tell from the trailer.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

MK works at TellTale games now, specifically on their new Batman game,

Prediction: it will be the first Batman game where the Batsuit is molded around Bruce Wayne's phallus.

Seriously, though, Batman games are either entertaining or unplayable. I hope this one is the former, though it's impossible to tell from the trailer.

People who got to play it at e3 praised it for its pacing and its focus on Bruce Wayne as a character, independent of the Batman persona.

Telltale Games' style isn't really my cup of tea either way, to be honest. They're like extended cutscenes with the occasional button mash.