Hi, beautiful Serious Sam fandom. We’re back yet again with a featured mod, and this one will definitely take you back. Today, we are talking about Thebes - Karnak (Demo), a beautifully made Karnak demo adaptation that awakened so many memories at Croteam, that we just couldn’t stop playing it.
Thebes - Karnak (Demo) is just as fun as we remember the original thing, with elements of SS4 gameplay intertwined with the original formula, making for something truly spectacular. Make sure to give it a go, and share some love with Cyborg.SeriousSite. It’s well deserved after this masterpiece.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2485371036
This feature would be nothing without a new entry in the Basements Chats with Yasen series, so make sure to read below, and find out all the behind-the-scenes bits and pieces surrounding this mod.
Basement Chats with Yasen
Welcome to the new episode of the basement chat! Today we will present to you another basement victim. And the victim’s name is Cyborg!
⚪ Hello Cyborg, glad to have you here with us. I know you are a long-time member of the serious sam community and a core member of serioussite.ru, will you please share with us your journey of how and when did you decide to be an active part of the Serious Sam community?
Good day. This happened in 2011. Then I got a Serious Sam Classics TSE disc, which was previously lost. I remember watching how my father played TFE. How he walked around Hatshepsut, visited the Tomb of Ramses, which frightened me with its atmosphere and soundtrack, memorable Karnak, and The Great Pyramid with Ugh-Zan Boss. Feeling nostalgic, I registered on SeriousSite.ru, and since then, I have become part of this Serious community.
⚪ I really liked how you’ve adapted the Karnak map. It felt really fresh playing this level in Serious Sam 4 with all the new game elements which it provides. What inspired you to do Karnak as an adaptation, and why not some other level?
This is an interesting question. I remember how my father once let me play TFE by myself, and for some reason, I often liked to replay the Karnak Demo level. Moreover, when I got a disc with TSE, after a short period of time, I bought TFE and replayed the entire game. It was a great experience which was also expanded by the desire to create something. At that time, I noticed we had the Serious Editor in the bin folder, which opened the world of modding for me.
I think this is the reason. With this level, I have many memories. This level has become, for me, one of the iconic elements associated with the series.
⚪ That sounds like a really good reason to me! Can we expect more classic level adaptations from you in the nearest future and if not, what else can we expect from you as a modder?
Maybe. This is not the first time that I have received a question about whether the whole campaign will be ported to the realities of the SS4 engine. I fear it can be a kind of "white piracy" of the game because its assets are reused from the previous parts of the series. One level is one thing, but transferring the entire game is not easy work and I should make sure that I will get a positive attitude towards it from Croteam and get enough good support from people!
So yes, it is possible, but not at any time soon. I and my beloved girl Thanadrax returned to our frozen big project for Fusion, so there will be more content from us, for sure.
⚪ Thank you for this answer, I'm really looking forward to what you have in store for us!
Mentioning Thanadrax, who is another community modder, you two have made a lot of collaborations together. Which one was the most fun to work on and which one would you recommend to the community to try out and why?
I think " T&C Co-Op" for Serious Sam Fusion is a great project. It was born out of our desire to bring something new to the existing one. We had a lot of fun coming up with elite and boss versions of standard enemies. It was fun to come up with various modifiers and features that would radically change the gameplay in already existing official and community maps. So, if you haven't tried this mod, I advise you to play it. You will not regret it!
⚪ I did try it, and it's indeed a pretty refreshing mod to play. I would like to thank you for joining us in the basement for this interview Cyborg, I hope you had fun being here. For the finale, the stage is all yours! Take the time to share whatever you want with the community or give a shout-out to anyone you would like to.
Thanks for the interview and thanks to everyone who supported me in my mod-making path!
I will say finally, to the Fans of the game, do not quarrel in vain, and make sure to always support each other! Our community is not that large, especially the part that creates mods. Unity is the strength that gives life to the community and the game!
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Are you making mods yourself? We'd love to take a look and share it for everyone else to see. Reach out to our community team directly via Discord, or holler at us via Twitter - @croteam, @serioussamiam, @danny_hr, and @yasenstavrev.
Much love from Croteam!
Danny