Since the days of tabletop gaming, the appeal of role-playing games has long been tied to the opportunity to…well…play a role. Specifically, the earliest RPGs distinguished themselves by allowing you to not only play a role but help a character to grow and eventually make them your own.

Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds embraces that classic concept of letting you play a role and build a character, but it evolves the ideas of the earliest RPG experiences in some exciting ways. Not only does it allow you to play various roles and build vastly different characters within its world, but it goes so far as to let you drastically alter the path of your character as you play based on the knowledge you gain from your experiences.

So how does The Outer Worlds development team balance and account for so many possibilities?

“Well, it’s pretty hard,” says Charles Staples, lead designer for The Outer Worlds.