Jan Dolski, the main character of 11 bit studios' survival game The Alters, is tasked with maintaining a planetary base all by himself, or rather with all the rest of "himselves." Without any other workers to help him, Jan is forced to create Alters, alternate versions of himself who made different decisions, pursued different jobs, and learned different skills, at least according to complex computer simulations that bring these Alters to life. Each of these Alters has special knowledge they can impart and tasks they can perform, but players won't be able to meet all of them in a single playthrough. This benefits the game, as it encourages players to play through The Alters multiple times and forces them to tackle problems creatively rather than offering easy solutions.

Speaking to Game ZXC, The Alters director Tomasz Kisilewicz confirmed that not all Alters are available in a single playthrough. The available Alters include different types of scientists, a doctor, an engineer, and more. All are played by actor Alex Jordan, but each has their own story that the "main" Jan can learn by engaging with them between tasks.

The Alters' Branching Narrative Offers Replayability

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Although The Alters is at its core a survival game, it possesses a strong social element as well. Jan can choose not just which Alters he creates, but how he goes about trying to connect with them, whether he pries deeper into their "pasts" and what made them who they are, and ultimately if the relationship he has with them is friendly, neutral, antagonistic, or a mix of all of the above. Combined with the branching narrative of the main plot, this resulted in a story that Kisilewicz described as "very tricky" to write and a plot that took much "testing and iterating" before finally coming together.

"The charts for our storylines are the worst kind of spaghetti. There's a main storyline, which is branching, but then you have the Alters' storylines, which also have their own course that you decide on...When you talk to the Alter, each decision, each dialogue choice in a little way affects his emotions. "

Players Have To Make Strategic Decisions About Which Alters To Create

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Not being able to create every Alter at once also means that players will have to make carefully thought out, strategic decisions when choosing which Alter to create. For example, some Alters are able to solve scientific problems but cause discord among the crew of Jans, while others promote harmony but are perhaps less "skilled," ensuring players have different interactions across the board. Players will find the full gamut of personality types and skills among the various, and the result is a tricky survival game that requires a lot of thought and deliberate decision-making from players. As an example, Kisilewicz walked through the potential decision-making process from the perspective of an Alters player:

"'I have to figure out a new technology, so it would be great to have a version of me that's capable of conducting research...I can create a scientist version of me that didn't drop out of college.'"

You create this Alter, but it turns out, he's a very smart and also a very ambitious person. He soon starts to sort of undermine your ruling as a leader. 'So I actually created more problems,' you say."

11 bit studios utilized their experience developing titles like Frostpunk and This War of Mine to create a game that blends survival and base-building elements with the tricky social balancing of distinct Alters and their unique personalities and experiences. How that all shakes out remains to be seen when the game releases later this year.