When 11 Bit introduces a new game, it usually stands out from the crowd. Editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski took a look at The Alters at gamescom 2023, which is why she is now reflecting on her life choices.
We all come to a point where we ask ourselves: “What if?”
This question can cause a lot of discomfort. It confronts us with the idea that we might have done something better.
Should I have chosen a different education to have a different job today? What would have happened if I had kissed the handsome man with the crystal blue eyes that night?
Even more interesting is the question: What kind of person would I be today if I had made different choices in life?
This thought experiment is the focus of a new game from 11 Bit. In The Alters, you control a simple worker named Jan, who finds himself in a difficult situation. You are stranded with Jan on a planet where life is threatened and is heading towards the sun and thus towards a catastrophe.
With multiple versions of yourself, you are not alone
But you are not alone. You collect Iridium crystals on the planet, which help you create alternative versions of Jan.
The whole concept sounded so wild that I had to check out The Alters at gamescom 2023. The two developers Tomasz Kisilewicz (Game Director) and Rafał Włosek (Lead Designer) showed me their game in a gameplay presentation. So I didn’t play myself, but made myself comfortable on the couch and let them show and explain everything.
The two are visibly nervous presenting The Alters. They are not at all sure whether the philosophical concept behind the game will be well received – it worked quite well for me.
Tomasz and Rafał guide me through their space station. By the way, you expand it yourself, as base building is part of the game. The two show a point in the game where there are already several Jans on the station. Quickly, it all feels like a psychedelic trip.
There is a Jan who is rather rational and works on board as a scientist. For him, logic and a sober view of life count. Then there is a Jan who seems impulsive and emotional. He is the mechanic on the ship and is struggling with the pressure of the situation at the moment, talking about pain in his arm.
As the original Jan, the chief Jan on the station, I have to take care of all my Jans so that they can fulfill their tasks. The mechanic Jan wants strong sedatives, which could negatively affect his work. As chief Jan, I can decide how to handle this.
It quickly feels like I am running a kindergarten. Only that the kindergarten is my own character, and you actually discuss with yourself the whole time.
Manipulating the past creates “new” people
How do you get alternative versions of yourself? I wasn’t quite clear on this, so I delved deeper into the game concept behind it with the two developers.
Imagine you have a tree with different branches. In one branch, Jan might have decided to marry a woman, after which he moves in with her and embarks on a certain career.
If you manipulate this life tree in the lab so that Jan has taken a different branch, you get a new Jan. If he doesn’t marry the woman, he doesn’t move in with her, but perhaps goes to university and focuses entirely on his career.
This means this Jan has different experiences and comes with different knowledge, different skills. Essentially, the new Jan is still Jan.
The original Jan and the alternative Jan share the same past until the point of decision. Through the new decision and the new experience, a new personality has developed, where certain traits of Jan come to the fore more strongly.
Another game where decisions can have serious consequences is Baldur’s Gate 3:
A game for philosophical days
Now I have to admit that I can’t say much about the gameplay. Because it’s actually a base-building and survival game. You gather resources on the alien planet and expand your base. A countdown runs until you meet the sun. In the race against time, you then have to prevent the catastrophe.
The other Jans help you, whom you can also manage as resources. However, these resources are quite complex.
In my conversation with Tomasz and Rafał, I was too busy talking about the alternative versions of Jan. This is of course a concept that has been explored countless times in science fiction.
But it often deals with traveling to the past or parallel worlds and experiencing an alternative version of oneself. Being confronted with alternative versions of oneself sparked my thoughts in a completely different way.
Quickly, Tomasz, Rafał, and I discussed, for example, which Jan would take out the trash if nobody felt like it, and how you actually argue against yourself.
I see myself playing The Alters on a balmy autumn day. Autumn is known as the time of transience, where one can reflect on life. Because it’s hard to engage with The Alters without also thinking a bit about one’s own life and the alternatives that could have been offered if one had taken a different path.
Here are a few key facts about The Alters for you:
- Release: 2024
- Platforms: PC (here’s the Steam page), current console generation
- Genre: Science Fiction, Survival, Base Building
- Developer: 11 Bit (including: Frostpunk, This War of Mine, The Thaumaturge)
What do you think of the concept of The Alters?
If you’re into the post-apocalyptic scenario of The Alters, you might also find this interesting: The 10 best post-apocalyptic games in 2023 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox
