Judas developer log discusses origins of main character

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Ghost Story Games recently released a new developer blog post on the PlayStation Blog about their upcoming single-player shooter, Judas. The post details the creative thinking behind the game and its main character, and includes a short clip of new gameplay footage.

Here is the full developer log:

Creating a “Judas Simulator”

A lot of people assume we begin making games with the story, but honestly, we always start with a key gameplay idea. With BioShock, it was all about the connection between the Big Daddies and Little Sisters. For Infinite, it was building around Elizabeth as a companion. Now, with Judas, it’s the way the story reacts to everything you do. We really wanted to create a world where characters genuinely respond to even the smallest choices you make as a player, in real time. It took years to figure out how to make that work as a core system, but eventually, everything came together around our main character, Judas.

Drew Mitchell, lead narrative designer for Judas, explained that the team started with a goal to create a story that wasn’t straightforward. They wanted a game where the narrative responded to the player’s choices and unfolded in a completely new way for a Ken Levine game. This meant they needed characters with strong, clashing goals who were all affected by what the player did. They spent a lot of time developing these characters, their conflicts, and the game’s setting to bring them together, along with the systems that would make it all work. Initially, there wasn’t even a defined main character – just a neutral figure the player could project themselves onto.

As the story and its world began to take shape, we started thinking about the main character. A good rule of thumb is to place your heroes in their worst possible situation. We needed someone who would really be challenged by all the complex relationships and conflicts within the story. That’s when Ken suggested a monologue that ultimately defined the character and set the whole story in motion.

So, I’m a runner, and I often get ideas while I’m out there. With Judas, I was really stuck on a character and how to define them. Then, during a particularly tough run – around mile three, actually – this whole speech just came to me. It totally nailed what I was looking for, and it ended up being key to the character’s development.

I prefer getting food from vending machines because I avoid having to deal with waiters. Restaurants feel too complicated with all the greetings and questions like, ‘Is this table alright?’ It bothers me when servers offer recommendations – they don’t know what I want! I have to bite my tongue and just endure the interaction, trying to find polite ways to express my annoyance. Honestly, I see conversations as the beginning of a frustrating experience. Vending machines are perfect because they only require a simple exchange: I put in money, and I get what I want. I wish people could be that straightforward.

—Judas Concept Art

The character’s unique way of thinking became central to everything in the game, and eventually defined the entire experience. Known as “Judas,” she has an incredible ability to understand machines, but struggles to connect with people. This became both her biggest asset and her greatest flaw. We placed her in a futuristic setting – a colony ship populated by robots – where her skills make her incredibly powerful. However, this world prioritizes conformity, and any disagreement could jeopardize the mission. This creates a compelling conflict, turning her into an outcast – a “Judas.” This core tension shaped the entire game, leading us to move beyond the idea of a simple first-person shooter and instead envision it as a “Judas Simulator.” Everything in the game revolves around experiencing the world through her perspective.

Mitchell explained that Judas sets itself apart from BioShock and BioShock Infinite primarily through its central character. Unlike Booker and Jack, who were outsiders discovering a new world, the protagonist of Judas is a native of the Mayflower, deeply connected to the events unfolding and with a complicated history within that world. Her story isn’t simply about escaping a disaster; it’s a much more personal journey, and players have significant control over how it unfolds.

Giving players a character with a strong, clear personality is always a bit of a gamble. You worry it won’t mesh with how the player wants to act. We’ve been really pleased to see testers pausing to consider, ‘What would Judas do in this situation? How would she feel?’ It means they’re connecting with the character and investing themselves in her story.

The Mayflower

Our goal is to fully immerse players in this world, both through its story and its visuals. A key challenge in designing the game’s colony ship setting is that it’s a space that has evolved over time. Unlike locations like Rapture and Columbia, which were largely unchanged since their creation, the Mayflower has been traveling for decades and has drastically changed since it first launched.

According to Nathan Phail-Liff, art director at Ghost Story Games, the starship Mayflower originally began as a functional, standard design. However, as the story progressed and conflicts arose between different groups and beliefs, the ship transformed into its current state. The team is aiming to show this evolution through the game’s environment. Just as a city reveals layers of its history when you excavate beneath the surface, the Mayflower should feel like a vessel with a deep past. Because it’s a ship designed for multiple generations, they want players to experience a sense of time, history, and realism, showing how a civilization can undergo periods of conflict and renewal. The game’s characters and architecture will reflect these different eras, creating a strong visual narrative.

As you explore the Mayflower, you’ll play the role of both a historian and an architect, piecing together the past. The more you discover, the better equipped you’ll be to make meaningful choices that shape the story and the fates of the characters along the way.

To build this immersive world, we didn’t just focus on the story and characters – the environment itself is constantly changing and evolving. Similar to how we shaped the narrative, we taught the system to create realistic and compelling environments by using detailed labeling and specific guidelines to fill the world with believable details.

According to Karen Segars, lead artist for Judas, the team designs the game’s environment – in this case, the Mayflower – by creating different types of rooms and objects. For example, they’ve developed various living quarters, ranging from luxurious VIP cabins to standard Pilgrim dormitories and even cramped spaces for ‘Violators.’ The art team builds these rooms and their contents, while the design team figures out how they fit together in believable and functional ways. The game system then uses these elements to create meaningful environments that enhance the story. More exclusive areas feature impressive details like high ceilings and large windows, while the ‘Violator’ spaces are located in the ship’s dark and gritty lower levels, accessible via a descent called the ‘Stairway to Hell,’ creating a distinct visual and physical separation.

We used to build everything manually in our games, but that limited how reactive and dynamic they could be. Now, we’ve developed a system that essentially acts as a storyteller and designer. We’ve created a set of rules that allows the game to build believable and interesting worlds, making them far more responsive than anything we’ve done before.

The action RPG Judas is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. A specific release date hasn’t been revealed yet.

Watch a new gameplay clip below.

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2025-12-02 20:33