Player agency is important in any game, but like many elements of design, an exact definition is hard to pin down. It varies from developer to developer, genre to genre, game to game, and ultimately from player to player. The concept can further be complicated when discussingmeaningfulplayer agency, the degree of impact in any given story or gameplay choice, and by considering howthe illusion of choicefactors in (which, contrary to popular belief, can be important in making player agency stronger elsewhere). Player agency, as a concept, is something thatAtomfallembraces with open arms, giving players a dizzying amount of freedom.
Atomfalltakes place within a fictional quarantine zone in Northern England, five years after the real-world Windscale Incident. Players are tasked with discovering what happened in the area, all while playing an amnesiac protagonist and facing mutants, a doomsday cult, rogue military agents, and the robots of B.A.R.D. (British Atomic Research Division). In doing so, players will move from zone to zone, engaging with enemies and friendly NPCs to flesh out a spiderweb of narrative and gameplay—all designed to give players as much freedom as possible. For Game Rant Advance, we spoke with Ben Fisher, head of design at Rebellion Developments, aboutAtomfalland its various design elements. If anything was clear, it’s how much that design is pushed from the perspective of player agency and curiosity.
But to understand those design decisions, it’s important to understand how player agency is defined inAtomfall. Player agency differs from genre to genre, after all, and agency in an open-world RPG differs from a Metroidvania title.Atomfallis an action survival gamewith mystery/detective game elements. Breaking that down further means that player agency should be expressed inaction (combat and how players engage with it), insurvival (both mechanics and their implications), as part of themystery (the narrative and how it unfolds), and as the"detective"(protagonist, dialogue, and relationships with other characters). While the jury is out on how wellAtomfallaccomplishes all of this, it’s clear how the overarching game design focused on removing limitations and pushing freedom.
Protagonist Agency in Atomfall
Character perspective is important in any game, as it is the lens through which the player’s perspective is developed. If a character knows everything about the area, but the player knows nothing in real life, then it creates a certain disparity. Blank slate protagonists are common for a reason, although there are plenty of games out there that show how to make players become attached to their protagonists. Luckily, players don’t have to worry about that with theAtomfallprotagonist because they know nothing.TheAtomfallprotagonist has amnesiaand is essentially a blank slate for the player to define however they wish. This is the first and perhaps ultimate expression of agency inAtomfall, and it even fulfills the “detective” element of the game.
While players may or may not recover their memories, it makes stepping into the shoes ofAtomfall’s protagonist all the easier. It also immerses players in all the branching consequences and decision-making, because they will need and want to know everything the protagonist wants to learn too. For example, if players kill an innocent NPC, that reflects more of their choices than any limitation imposed byAtomfall. If players choose to trust an untrustworthy NPC, that is a reflection of their agency and not the game. Fisher describedAtomfall’s NPCsas “believable, rounded characters–all doing what they consider to be the “right” thing in the face of overwhelming circumstances.” Providing an example of an NPC, Fisher also highlighted how relationships with NPCs develop,
“You may come across characters who are more influential in the world of Atomfall, as well as those who may be more responsible for what happened. Who the most important are will depend on your choices. But among the first you might meet are Nat Buckshaw, who you find playing his guitar in the ruins of an old house. He is very talkative and more than happy to give away everything he knows… but you will need to decide whether he is trustworthy!”
Beyond that, dialogue withAtomfall’s characters can be important in developing Leads (which replaces its critical path/main questline). Those leads, as well as that information, come down to a matter of trust as well. Fisher explained that “two characters may have wildly different versions of events and attempt to persuade you that their version is the truth.” And if players don’t know who to choose, killing them is always a viable option as well. Because any NPC can die, there are multiple ways to develop Leads, including looting their deceased bodies. Players are also able to define their protagonist further, thanks to its dialogue system. The dialogue inAtomfallis a way to build and define the player’s agency in the world more than anything else.
Because conversations (or the lack thereof) are so central to thenarrative inAtomfall, Rebellion wants to make sure there’s no confusion in its conversation system. Most gamers have probably experienced choosing a dialogue option that doesn’t line up with what’s said at all, which can be a funny experience, but that can’t work in a game where all conversations can have large implications. As such, Rebellion ensures that a descriptive tone accompanies all dialogue choices inAtomfall. As Fisher explained,
“The tones are inspired by the fact that, in typical conversation systems, it’s possible to choose an option that triggers an unexpected reaction because the way you read the line doesn’t match the way the writer intended. Given that our conversations are high stakes, we wanted to help players make predictable choices. The tones available vary wildly from conversation to conversation – we have always tried to make sure there’s a range of available tones to adopt, but they are always relevant as responses to what the other person has said.”
It’s important to note that players are also not locked into friendly, neutral, or negative responses; they change depending on the conversation. This goes a long way for protagonist agency because players can be exactly who they want inAtomfall, using their own detective skills in and out of conversation.Rebellion developed the dialogue choices, the leads system, and the protagonist, but hands over all definitions to players.Atomfall’s protagonist is whoever the player wants them to be.
Narrative Agency in Atomfall
Atomfallplayers don’t only define their blank-slate/detective-like protagonists, but they also define how they engage with the story. It also wasn’t this way, though, as Fisher revealed that, early in development,Atomfallwas “structured in an open-but-linear way, almost like aMetroidvania” where players would be guided through the world through tools and skill unlocks. And while that was fun, Fisher and the team really wanted to push their creative pillars. They asked themselves, “What happens if we unlock the progression and let you go anywhere? What if all the characters are optional? What if you may kill anyone? What if there are no quests at all?”
Answering these questions, Fisher said, led to the creation ofAtomfall’s Leads system. Instead of map markers highlighting where players have to go, they get a blank map that fills in with areas as informed by NPCs or happenstance. Main areas do get a marker, but players are not led by the game.
Instead of quest objectives, players get “leads” or “tips” about where or what something may or may not be. And that information can be untrustworthy. This means players can arrive at the same conclusion under completely different circumstances for completely different reasons, all depending on where the information came from. It opens the door for the story and how players interact with that story. As Fisher said,
“Atomfall has Leads instead of traditional quests or missions. Leads can be picked up through conversations or finding letters and items within the quarantine zone. Discovering a new Lead will give you hints on where to go next, but they are essentially puzzles that you will need to piece together yourself. You never know where a Lead will take you, or if you are being sent in the right direction as your sources of information may have competing interests.”
Fisher continued, saying that the team “wanted to reduce the feeling that there was a ‘right’ or ‘main’ route through the game.” While traditional quest markers are common and often beneficial to the gameplay experience, they would actually take away from howAtomfallis designed and intended to be experienced. This sense ofnonlinear freedom and agency ensures thatAtomfall’s storyis always in the hands of players to the very end.Atomfallfeatures multiple endings, and players will need multiple playthroughs to experience them all. Choosing one route, for example, may close off others, giving every player’s decision weight in the game. But regardless of who lives by the end, or how players interact withAtomfall’s spiderweb-like narrative, Fisher said, “All of the leads connect to one another, giving the feeling of one flowing story from start to finish.”
Abandoning contemporary game design can seem dangerous; it stands to reason some players may be frustrated without more traditional guidance or objective systems. Of course, Rebellion has considered this and has implemented an optional, more guided objective system through its accessibility options. It’s just not the default system. When asked about this, Fisher also explained how the overarching design of the Leads system feeds into the core narrative well. It’s not that there’s one end result and one path that players are given vague hints toward achieving, but that results are open-ended and vague hints retain that open-ended aspect across the entire game. In his own words, Fisher said,
“Fundamentally, it’s about emphasizing the importance of freedom through exploration. If there was only one set way of achieving an objective, then providing vague hints would be extremely frustrating. Instead, Atomfall’s Leads are more open-ended and allow players to start their journey from different places. These Leads can also evolve in different directions, meaning there isn’t a ‘right’ way of doing things and, in some instances, invites experimentation.”
Thanks to its Leads system,Atomfallhands the development and exploration of its story to players. The story is however they engage with it.
Action Agency in Atomfall
After its prologue,Atomfallreleases players into its world with one objective, find Mother Jago in the Old Mines, yet how pressing that issue is up to the player. The rolling hills of mid-1900s Britain lay before them, and should players choose to take a wrong turn, find themselves in a village, and enjoy doing side quests, players have the agency to do just that. On the other hand, should players choose to go in a different direction and find themselves in a non-stop fight for survival, the game offers that too. The first 90 minutes ofAtomfallalone ensure that players get radically different experiences, an indication of the amount of agency available, and it continues to spiderweb out from there. While it’s not necessary for every video game, a prime example ofAtomfall’s action agency is the ability to conduct a pacifist playthrough or kill every NPC in the game. Every NPC can live or die, with players still receiving an ending to the game, showcasing how palpable an impact player actions can have onAtomfall’s world.
Of course, the most obvious source of action inAtomfallis in combat, with players having access to a variety of melee and ranged weapons throughout the game. These can be further supplemented by new skills, but even the most basic element of its design gives the player plenty of room for expression. Sometimes, the best thing to do with a developer’s creativity is to make them work within a box, and sometimes the best thing to do to push a player’s agency is to impose limitations. That’s exactly how this works inAtomfall. Of course, there are basic melee weapons (like a cricket bat) that players can charge into combat with, should they so choose, but that agency is challenged too. Melee is not always going to be the answer, and for players to make melee the answer all the time, they’ll need to overcome these limitations. By placing limitations on how to unlock skills, how much ammo is in the world, and how much a player can carry,Atomfallensures some combat scenarios ensure players need to get a little creative.
Likewise, ranged weaponry may be the best for a given situation, but players do not scavenge enough and run out of bullets too soon. Players must balance how they approach combat with how they engage with the world, but even if they do not, they can find a way through. Freedom means not just the freedom to do whatever the player wants, but to pay the price of doing what they want. After all,Atomfallis not a war zone and bullets are not around every corner. As Fisher said,
“The weapons in Atomfall reflect how scarce resources are inside the quarantine zone. You will need to scavenge and improvise weapons – some of the most powerful weapons you can use are held together with glue! We’ve tried to ensure that melee and ranged weapons are balanced so players can choose how to approach encounters based on their preference. However, ammunition for ranged weapons is extremely scarce and so you can’t always rely on shooting your way out of a situation – it’s handy to keep a melee weapon on you at all times!”
Atomfallhands action to the player and invites them to find their own way out of the toybox of limitations they are given
Survival Agency in Atomfall
Interestingly, there’s a nice overlap with howcombat and survival mold together inAtomfall. As players must scavenge meds and bullets to survive combat, players must also explore and keep their wits about them to survive in general. How players explore the world ofAtomfallmust appeal to the action agency of the player, as well as their ability to survive in its landscape. Live or die, it’s the player’s choice. Players can be methodical, searching everything and finding every single bullet they can. Players can be scavengers, looting everything from their enemies and moving forward. Players can be barterers, who are able to appease and trade with NPCs throughoutAtomfall. Players can be murderers, who take everything they can and give nothing back. Players can be whatever they want to be in Atomfall, and the game is going to react.
Because there are also multiple ways to engage with the world, being peaceful, murderous, trusting, distrusting, or somewhere in-between are all viable ways to survive. Players, if nothing else, have to survive.Atomfall’s skills also emphasize this because players have to interact with the world around them to find manuals, which are used to unlock skills. These skills, in turn, allow players to define their playstyles even further, with Fisher explaining:
“The skill tree helps further augments people’s experience in Atomfall. These are centered around scavenging, survival, and combat. Skills can be discovered by finding training manuals that are littered across the world of Atomfall, which offers a further incentive to explore every abandoned house, cave, and bunker.”
These manuals, among other loot, encourage players to explore everything, and they reward them with enhanced combat skills, enhanced looting skills, and enhanced survival skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, expanding the radius of throwables and disarming/looting traps. Because of the agency available inAtomfall’s action and survival elements, players are able to express themselves and react to the world in ways that it does to them as well.Players are handed a world and told to survive, but how exactly they do so is up to them.
Survival Features
Players will need to craft many things during their time inAtomfall, including meds to keep themselves alive. This means there’s a constant hunt for resources, especially when it comes to the availability of ammunition, and constant pressure from the world to survive. Beyond that, players must also manage their heart rate. Some survival games focus on resources like food, rest, and water, but heart rate increases the desperate qualities of survivingAtomfall’s combat and enemies. If players do not manage their heart rate, they are going to make mistakes, and those mistakes could be costly. As Fisher explained,
“Adding a heart rate that players need to manage alongside their health bar adds to the desperate sense that every combat situation is a fight for your life. We wanted these to feel like a real struggle where you use an array of weapons, some improvised and some not, to just try to find a way to make it through the encounter. If you try and aim your gun when your heart rate is high, your aim will be impacted, and the amount of damage players (and enemies) can take is limited–so fights get scrappy quickly.”
Atomfall’s Post-Nuclear World is Yours to Behold
Rebellion devs designed the world ofAtomfallto put it into the hands of players. When it releases on March 27,Atomfallwill no longer be Rebellion’s sandbox, but the players to do whatever it is they wish. They can make their protagonist be whoever they want, they can engage with the story and the sandbox however they want, they can engage in combat and survival gameplay to their desire, and they can ultimately ensure that, whatever their experience is, it istheirAtomfallexperience.
