Key insights

• Creative Process and User Experience

  • 🧠 Importance of irrational confidence and failing forward in the creative process
  • 🔍 Fine-tuning of the game's pacing, narrative structure, and user experience through extensive testing
  • 📣 Role of feedback in improving the game and likelihood of post-launch tweaks
  • 🗨️ Significance of openness and honesty in revealing the game's development and receiving feedback

• Innovative Gameplay and Development Process

  • 🎮 Game development involving multiple endings, player choices, and a modern, replayable, and non-linear experience
  • 📊 Challenges in the development process due to the non-linear nature of the game
  • 💡 Passionate approach of the creator towards game development and the potential influence on a new genre of single-player games

• Gameplay and Characters

  • 🚢 Sinking ship scenario in an asteroid field orbiting Proxima with three main characters interacting as holograms
  • 🔄 Involvement of dynamic relationships with characters and navigating the ship's nonlinear experience
  • 👥 Features dynamic interactions and relationships with characters, unique motivations, and reactive storytelling experience
  • 🚀 The Mayflower setting, a massive colony ship with real and traversable districts, offering the player choice in exploration
  • ⬆️ Top-down isometric strategy map, roguelike loop system, hacking system, and combinatorial approach to encounters
  • 🎮 Blend of gameplay and narrative, unique enemy designs, and a backstory related to automation and human roles

• Narrative and Setting

  • 📖 Creation of a single-player oriented game with a unique narrative and setting
  • 🎭 Introduction of reprinting technology for characters and philosophical themes around memory and experiences

• Game Creation and Challenges

  • 🎮 Discussion of the creation and challenges of the game 'Judas' by game developers at the Game Awards 2022
  • 🛠️ Challenges faced in developing characters and world-building for the game 'Judas'
  • ⚙️ Development process involving solving technical and storytelling problems by creating modular and reactive game elements
  • 📅 The game 'Judas' evolving from its original concept and being a long and challenging project

Q&A

• What role did feedback play in the game's development, and what can players expect post-launch?

  Feedback played a crucial role in improving the game's pacing, narrative structure, and user experience through extensive testing. Post-launch tweaks are likely as the team remains open to feedback and the audience's perspective.

• How has the game's development process been, and what is the creator's vision?

  The game's development process has been challenging due to the non-linear nature of the game, but the team aims to deliver a fresh and new experience. The creator expresses a deep passion for game development and aims to influence a new genre of single-player games.

• What experience does the game aim to provide, and how does it differ in each playthrough?

  The game aims to provide a modern, replayable, and non-linear experience with substantial differences in each playthrough, achieved through creating multiple endings and storytelling while considering player choices.

• What is the game's approach to narrative and gameplay?

  The game features a blend of gameplay and narrative, unique enemy designs, complex relationships with characters, player agency, branching narratives, diverse gameplay experiences, and richly detailed experiences.

• How does the game's gameplay mechanics work?

  The game features a top-down isometric strategy map, a roguelike loop system for self-improvement between runs, a hacking system, environmental interactions, and a combinatorial approach to encounters. Players have control over the environment, and encounters can be approached in various ways.

• What is the game's setting, and how does it offer player choice?

  The game's setting is the Mayflower, a massive colony ship with real and traversable districts, offering the player choice in exploration.

• Who are the main characters in the game, and how do they interact?

  The main characters are Tom, Nefertiti, and Hope, whose physical bodies are destroyed, causing them to interact as holograms. The game involves dynamic relationships with the characters and navigating the ship's nonlinear experience.

• What are the unique aspects of the narrative and setting of the game?

  The game's unique aspects include a new world, reprinting technology for characters, and philosophical themes around memory and experiences.

• What challenges did the game developers face in creating 'Judas'?

  The game developers faced challenges in developing characters, world-building, and solving technical and storytelling problems by creating modular and reactive game elements.

• 00:00 Two game developers, Ryan McCaffrey and Jeff Keeley, discuss the long journey of creating the game 'Judas.' Ken Levine, the creative director, explains the challenges faced in developing characters and world-building for the game. The development process involved solving technical and storytelling problems by creating modular and reactive game elements.
• 10:25 A game developer discusses creating a single-player oriented game, his relationship with the company Take Two, and the unique aspects of the game's narrative and setting. The game features a new world, reprinting technology for characters, and philosophical themes around memory and experiences.
• 20:10 A sinking ship in an asteroid field orbits Proxima, with protagonist Judith as the least popular person. There are three main characters - Tom, Nefertiti, and Hope - whose physical bodies are destroyed, causing them to interact as holograms. The game involves dynamic relationships with the characters and navigating the ship's nonlinear experience.
• 30:23 The game features dynamic interactions and relationships, with characters having unique motivations and constantly vying for the player's favor. The narrative and environment are procedurally assembled, providing a reactive and dynamic storytelling experience. The game's setting, the Mayflower, is a massive colony ship with real and traversable districts, offering the player choice in exploration.
• 40:04 The game features a top-down isometric strategy map and a roguelike loop system. Players navigate through the ship, make choices, and combat enemies, while improving themselves between runs. The game includes a hacking system, environmental interactions, and a combinatorial approach to encounters. The narrative involves automation and technology on the ship. Players have control over the environment, and encounters can be approached in various ways.
• 49:36 The game features a blend of gameplay and narrative, with unique enemy designs and a backstory related to automation and human roles. The aim is to provide players with diverse gameplay experiences and explore complex relationships with characters. The game offers player agency and branching narratives, leading to different outcomes and richly detailed experiences.
• 59:01 The game development involves creating multiple endings and storytelling while considering player choices. The game aims to provide a modern, replayable, and non-linear experience with substantial differences in each playthrough. The development process has been challenging due to the non-linear nature of the game, but the team aims to deliver a fresh and new experience. The creator expresses a deep passion for game development and intends to continue making games as long as possible. The game's innovative approach has the potential to influence a new genre of single-player games.
• 01:08:09 The creative process involves irrational confidence and the ability to fail forward. Developing a game like 'Judas' had its tough moments, but the team's confidence and feedback-driven approach led to progress. The game's pacing, narrative structure, and user experience were finely tuned through extensive testing. Post-launch tweaks are likely. Revealing the game's development process openly to the audience and receiving feedback played a crucial role in the game's evolution.