Summary
- Judas aims to be a unique experience due to its narrative LEGO design, allowing players unprecedented control over the story.
- Ken Levine's concept of "narrative LEGO" involves player decisions shaping the game's world and story brick-by-brick.
- Judas offers multiple endings with substantial differences, and with procedurally generated story changes, players are getting a level of control over the narrative unseen in other games.
Ken Levine and Ghost Story Games' upcoming title Judas is already showing its aim to be a unique experience unlike anything that has come before it. Despite Judas' striking resemblance to BioShock, it may very well set itself apart. Levine is known for his games' bizarre settings and mind-bending narratives, but Judas is upping the ante for ground that will likely feel largely unfamiliar to fans of his past work. Levine's signature design and themes are already clear as day in Judas, despite the significant differences it boasts, but what truly makes it such an ambitious game for Levine and his studio, Ghost Story Games, is what he refers to as the game's "narrative LEGO" design.
"Narrative LEGO" is a concept of Levine's that has been a decade in the making. When he first spoke of it, it was nothing more than an extremely ambitious but thought-provoking idea. Essentially, it involves a game's narrative and world being procedurally generated by every single decision the player makes. Now, he is reportedly bringing that concept to life in Judas, which he has already confirmed will put players in the driver's seat of its narrative. Until just recently, it was unclear to what degree Judas would allow players to control its story. However, Judas' "narrative LEGO" design aims to push the boundaries of player agency by giving players an unprecedented level of influence over its story.
How Judas' Narrative LEGO Design Will Factor Into Its Story
How Judas' Narrative LEGO Design Works
As the term suggests, Judas' "narrative LEGO" design revolves around the concept of building a story "brick-by-brick." As one new "brick" is added, the narrative and world evolve accordingly. Rather than these building blocks being major story bits or large worlds, they are much smaller elements of gameplay, like lines of dialogue or encounters with other characters or enemies. As players make even the smallest decisions in Judas, they'll see its world and its characters respond in kind.
This isn't to say that Judas is void of linear storytelling. After all, Levine and Ghost Story Games have a story they want to tell, and that would be impossible to do if players had complete control over its direction. Where Judas' "narrative LEGO" design truly shines is in the micro elements of its narrative as opposed to the macro.
For example, Judas' story is essentially a tug-of-war match between the three leaders of the Mayflower, a colonization city-ship that was originally on a mission to save humanity but was eventually overrun by machines. Each of these leaders wants something different, and they will hold grudges against players who side with the others. Levine brought up one instance of this in a recent interview with IGN, where he referenced one of these leaders giving away the location of a player who is attempting to remain undetected, simply because the player previously made a decision that leader didn't like. It's all part of the way Judas' "narrative LEGO" design comes together and ultimately puts the player in the driver's seat.
Judas' Narrative LEGO Design Offers an Unprecedented Degree of Control Over Its Story
There are plenty of games that entertain the concept of player freedom, but Judas seems to be on a different level entirely. Although its "narrative LEGO" design seems to also draw inspiration from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system, it remains a one-of-a-kind way for players to have direct control over the way the story plays out. Levine has confirmed that Judas has multiple endings and that they will each have "substantial differences" depending on what choices players make, but the game's "narrative LEGO" design has less to do with how it ends and more about how it unfolds. By and large, this whole system, if it works, will give players an unprecedented amount of freedom as it pushes the boundaries of player agency on a scale that has arguably never been done before.
