Archetype Entertainment’s Exodus is a game that is going to require players to make some hard choices. As a ‘Traveler,’ players will search for artifacts called Remnants to protect and improve their homeworld while contending with various human and alien factions, each with their own goals and motivations. The time dilation associated with interstellar transport also means that Exodus players will get to see the far-reaching effects of their decisions across hundreds and even thousands of years.
In a conversation with Game Rant, members of the Exodus development team — Vice President and studio general manager Chad Robertson, Narrative Director Drew Karpyshyn, and Game director Chris King — emphasized the important role that choice will play in their upcoming game. They revealed that many of the game’s choices will center around “moral ambiguity,” and the need to consider short-term vs. long-term consequences given the realities of time dilation. Ultimately, the Archetype team is excited for the conversations they hope players will have about different choices they make, as well as the significant replayability offered by the many critical, far-reaching choices featured in the game.
Exodus Developers Believe In The Player As “Co-Author Of The Experience”
The idea that the player would be heavily involved in shaping Jun’s story was a key part of the Exodus team’s philosophy from the beginning of development. They wanted to ensure, as they crafted the game’s science fiction narrative, that there would be a number of key moments where the outcome would differ drastically, encouraging players to discuss their experiences with one another. King described the team’s philosophy:
“We believe strongly that great RPGs are about agency. We call them water cooler moments where, if all of us play, we come into work the next day and talk about where we got in Exodus. They’re drastically different experiences depending on the choices. One of the internal mantras we have is we want to think of the player as co-author of the experience.”
Player agency begins from the very first moment of Exodus, where they can take advantage of the game’s character customization system to play as male or female Jun. From there, they will regularly encounter choices that will set them on unique paths through the game’s story. Some choices are big, others are small, but each will shape the player’s Exodus journey and encourage them to play through the game multiple times to experience different outcomes.
Exodus’ Choices Center Around The Theme Of Moral Ambiguity And Long-Term Effects
Moral ambiguity is a major theme that players will encounter as they progress through the game. Often, Exodus’ choices will not be simply black or white, with clearly defined ‘good’ or ‘bad’ options. Instead, as King explained, players will have to weigh the “short-term versus long-term” effects of their decision, “because of time dilation, and how those things will play out.” When Jun goes on a mission, ten years or more could pass on their homeworld. When they return, they will get to see the effects of a choice they made long ago and how it still affects the world’s inhabitants. King elaborated on what that will look like:
“Because of time dilation, the manifestation of change can be really dramatic for us. The span of time that happens on some of these journeys Jun takes is really huge. You can imagine the evolution of a homeworld through technology and potentially some other things related to the way that you make choices with harvesting the pieces of Celestial technology called Remnants.”
Much of Exodus’ plot will center around Jun harvesting Remnants, highly advanced relics developed and used by the Celestials, a group who were once human before undergoing significant genetic enhancement. Robertson revealed that players, through Jun, will have a choice in how the Remnants are used, and that they can be applied to purposes both good and evil. “All of that has impact back on your home world,” he said, “both on the physical structure and the way things look, but also in terms of the way your companions interact with you…. The scope of the change [you] can impact there is really huge.”
Karpyshyn agreed with Robertson, stating that he is excited for players to share with one another the different outcomes they discover due to the time dilation phenomenon featured heavily in Exodus. “The journey doesn’t seem that long for you,” Karpyshyn explained, “but you come back 10 years [later, things] have changed. Everyone left behind has had things evolve, and there are new challenges depending on the choices you make — different challenges from what other players might have experienced.” He encouraged players to replay Exodus multiple times and try out different decisions to see the small- and large-scale changes their homeworld and companions might experience.
