TQF: the background

The Queen's Footsteps begins with Emilia Vittorini, arrived in Genoa the day before, who has to follow the transfert of the grave goods of Queen Nefertari towards the Egyptian Museum of Turin. The date at which the game starts is August 27, 1904.

First of all, the game evolves in a sort of steampunk atmosphere. Electricity appears only in a tool that plays a role in the first part of the game, but is never used for lighting nor for motors. Machineries are present in the game, mostly based on steam or compressed air. Cars are moved only by steam engines. In the reality, this technology was indeed competing at the time with internal combustion and electric engines, especially in the United States, with firms such as Stanley, White, Doble and many others. In Italy, it was not a widespread technology, but the Turin Automobile Museum displays a steam tricycle built by Enrico Pecori in 1891. In the game, public and indoor lighting is exclusively based on gas.

Ernesto Schiaparelli was really in charge of the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Egypt and the year 1904 was very successful with the discovery of the mentioned tomb (B. Moiso, "La storia del museo egizio", 2016, ed. Fondazione delle antichità del museo egizio di Torino). While working at the final stages of the game, I received a comment correcting me as the transfer has not been done in 1904, but rather in 1906, along with the goods of the tombs of Kha and Merit, exposed in Turin still today. I choose to maintain 1904 as there were two events that happened that year in Turin that I somehow exploited in the second part of the game.

I am not entirely sure that the treasures' path between the valley of the Queens and Turin passed by Genoa at the time, but it is plausible, as the railway connecting the two Italian cities was available at the time and relatively efficient.