Black--Snow wrote: ↑Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:54 am
I don't like "early access" on Steam, because it's not usually meant to get beta testers, it's used as an excuse to gather money on a product that is not completely finished.
And I think that development model is completely acceptable WHEN:
-its not used to cash grab to get some money back on a failed development originally financed by a large studio, and just living off the hype from a previous release (the guild 3 is an example of that)
-there are regular updates, and the money received is used for financing the team to keep adding to the game
The early access model is a way to get financing a game for a small team alternatively to the classic publisher/investor -> money -> development according to milestones -> release when marketing window is there -> try to get the money back within the first weeks of sales.
That classic model is what would have killed of many of the successful indy games. They would never have gotten the financing for it. For a publisher its safer to do an iteration of a known brand, done by an established team, basing the game around established gameplay. Especially as its a large upfront investment, that MUST make back the large chunk of money within a very short time. Thats risky, and thats why publishers have many games in parallel to spread the risk.
There are many early access games that seem to never get out of their "alpha" state. But thats misleading, as those games are not in an "alpha" compared to alphas in a classic development model.
Its more of a "perpetual alpha". The games get (ideally) regular updates to game mechanics and content -> while players can play it, and give feedback.
From a business standpoint there is little reason to "finish" the game, as this would signal that it simply would not get any more content updates. Neither the developer (revenue) nor the players (new content) would profit from that.
It actually makes more sense to finally "release" the game, once the revenue withers down. The upcoming final version can then get a final marketing push.
That would be the time to get onto a new project.
Also, it lowers the financial risk a lot for a small team. If they start out with few people, and then get a good regular revenue stream in, they can scale up the team as needed. If the revenue does not allow that, they can keep their team smaller, as scaling up development would probably overestimate their customer base. (Small games can also be profitable).
Its also a much better development model for a sandbox, strategy or PvP type game. A game with a scripted story would not work in this environment. Once the players saw the content, there isnt much new to experience.
Nevertheless, the early access model allows players to PLAY the game, and developers to get honest feedback. And thats a win-win ... as long as the the developer is actually caring for the product, that is.