If it seems like it’s been an eternity since Ken Levine’s last game, BioShock Infinite, it’s because 12 years feels like a lifetime in the video game industry. But it sure seems like Levine’s follow-up title as creative director, Judas, in inching closer to completion. And Levine has said he can’t wait to let fans experience the game’s “Villainy” feature.
Levine has previously teased that Judas’ villain will be one of three characters, all of whom have some control over the Mayflower, a spaceship carrying the last surviving members of humanity to their new home on another planet. Tom, his estranged wife Nefertiti, and their adoptive daughter Hope, all have different agendas. Players control a woman named Judas, and her actions will determine which of those three characters will be her allies or enemies.
“It ultimately comes down to a plate-spinning exercise that reflects relationships in real life,” Levine told Game Informer. “We’re really eager to see players experience that and see which of our characters become fan-favorites.”
Levine cautioned that players won’t be able to keep all three characters on their side forever. At some point, players will have to decide which one Judas is going to align with to save the people on the ship. Levine calls the experience “a Judas simulator.”
“When we began, we didn’t want to just make a first-person shooter,” Levine said. “We wanted to make a Judas simulator, where you not only get to decide how she proceeds through the story, but also who you should trust and how you should deal with the consequences of your choices. The most important thing is really placing the player inside the character and letting them feel a little bit of what it’s like to be on that ship as the sun is setting on the human race.”
Levine also indicated that Judas’ long development was in part due to the way it allows the story to unfold based on players’ choices, rather than a completely linear unfolding narrative.
Judas doesn’t currently have a release date.