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Ghost Story Games has devoted five years solely to research and development around Judas's central gameplay system, according to a report from Push Square. The prolonged focus on the mechanic underlines the studio's ambition to make player choices meaningfully alter the narrative's antagonist.
The feature, known internally as Villainy, governs the relationship between the protagonist and three significant characters. Attention paid to one character while neglecting another will shift which of the three becomes the principal villain in a given playthrough. The design forces players to balance interactions, with no strategy capable of pleasing all three at once.
Ken Levine and his team describe Villainy as the pivot for the game's narrative outcomes. The mechanic attracts the attention of the so-called Big 3, and those interactions shape both short‑term reactions and long‑term story consequences. The system is intended to increase replayability by producing distinct villain arcs depending on player behaviour.
The lengthy R&D period is one reason Judas remains some way from release. Ghost Story Games continues to refine how Villainy communicates changes to the player while ensuring the underlying systems remain robust across different playstyles. The studio's approach emphasises iteration and player‑facing clarity rather than rushing a final product to market.
Further details and developer commentary are available in the Push Square report. The article provides additional context on how Villainy was prototyped and tested during the game's early development phase.