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How does time dilation set Exodus apart from Mass Effect? It “supersizes all of the choices that you make"Archetype hint at the narrative implications of relativistic effects
Archetype hint at the narrative implications of relativistic effects
Image credit:Wizards of the Coast
Image credit:Wizards of the Coast
As I wrote ina very reachy piece about Starfield’s universal and local clocks, way back in August, time dilation is a fascinating concept that poses all sorts of challenges for game designers, extending from questions of plotting to the practicalities of quests and resourcing. For example: if time dilation is a factor, flying back to a solar system in a faster-than-light vessel to polish off sidequests might see thousands of years passing on the planets in question. I am a very indecisive and absent-minded player: am I going to relegate generations of NPCs to the ashes, because I can’t remember which world has the store that sells that weapon attachment I’ve been saving up for?
EXODUS Cinematic Reveal Trailer #TheGameAwards 2023Watch on YouTube
EXODUS Cinematic Reveal Trailer #TheGameAwards 2023
According to Archetype co-founder and studio head James Ohlen, whose previous credits include design lead forStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the “gameplay setting and story” are “built around the impact of Time Dilation, a concept I’ve been fascinated with since I was 12 years old.”
In a comment onthe official Exodus site, he added that “we use Time Dilation as a catalyst impacting the choices you make in-game that sets in motion events affecting your relationships with your loved ones, and your entire civilization, for generations.”
The press release explains that “decades” will indeed pass while you’re embarked on interstellar missions. It notes that “the sacrifices you make to protect your loved ones create unpredictable consequences that change your world - reshaping the future. Returning home, you confront the consequences of your choices. In Exodus, the outcome of those choices manifests at a massive level, compounding over generations.”
Ohlen hassaid a bit more to Polygonon the subject. “[Time dilation] essentially supersizes all of the choices that you make,” he said. “Instead of seeing the consequences of a choice you make in conversation or in gameplay, you know, days later, or weeks or months later, years or even decades later, you’ll see the impact. The choice you made with, say, bringing a remnant technology back with you, or how you decided to use that tech. You’re going to have all sorts of twists and turns, and family dynamics that just get really weird. You have some children, and you go off, and it’s been a month for you, but 30 years for them. And they’re like, ‘What the fuck, dad?'”
