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Pre-Alpha 3 Launch Event & the Road Ahead | Shards Online | MMORPG.com
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Pre-Alpha 3 Launch Event & the Road Ahead | Shards Online | MMORPG.com
Beginning on Saturday, December 12th, some big, big things will be happening with Shards Online during this weekend's Pre-Alpha 3 event. The NDA has been lifted temporarily through the weekend so that fans and potential backers can get a first-hand look at the upcoming sandbox title from Citadel Studios. We had the chance to speak with Derek Brinkmann about the Pre-Alpha 3 Event and what lies beyond.
Comments
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!
Whut ?
We now have "launch events" before Alpha even starts ? Marketing taken to the absolute limit, lol
"Pre-Alpha 3 Launch Event"
Whut ?
We now have "launch events" before Alpha even starts ? Marketing taken to the absolute limit, lol
Most ridiculous thing ever.
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거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Aside from that i also do not believe in PRE ALPHA backers lmao,wtf is that any way?WTF is a backer?You own shares or something,you get any kick back from profits?No you simply handed rich people your money,good job.
oh i see down the list ,somebody already beat me to the criticism of pre alpha events and such nonsense.
Aside from those two lame ideas that always bother me,the game is a cool idea,i like it,is it worth playing yes.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
One of those hurdles is initial impressions. Until the players get their hands on the game, and start playing the game is essentially an expression of what the developers think players will enjoy. Stuff that looks good on paper. Its not uncommon for things that look good on paper to fail miserably when put into production.
Player feedback to developers during development can be essential to correcting those things before release.
On the flip side, player feedback to players during development can put most people off the game without them even trying it. Meaning that even if it gets fixed, that initial impression has already cost the developers much of their potential audience.
Non Disclosure Agreements, (NDAs) in place while game systems are still being fleshed out are just good sense. In our own development, based specifically on player feedback the controls system alone has undergone enough changes to be unrecognizable from when we had our initial tech demo builds.
Our project is funded primarily by Kickstarter , personal savings, and continued funding from pre-purchase options/backing.
Release titles are merely a method for setting expectations for players when they get in to game. Beta indicates the game is pretty much ready for release with a few tweaks and bug fixes.
Alpha implies the major systems are in place but polish and refinement are yet to come.
Pre-alpha is essentially playing during development. This is where the nitty-gritty and dirt come to light. Gameplay breaking bugs may exist, content may be limited, this is just a shell of the final game. Going public at this stage is definitely a risk in the court of public opinion.
But, we have an amazing community who have been extremely supportive and letting in more of them earlier is placing our trust in them, as they placed in us.
Unfortunately the game development environment has some hurdles which can cripple successful releases.
One of those hurdles is initial impressions. Until the players get their hands on the game, and start playing the game is essentially an expression of what the developers think players will enjoy. Stuff that looks good on paper. Its not uncommon for things that look good on paper to fail miserably when put into production.
Player feedback to developers during development can be essential to correcting those things before release.
On the flip side, player feedback to players during development can put most people off the game without them even trying it. Meaning that even if it gets fixed, that initial impression has already cost the developers much of their potential audience.
Non Disclosure Agreements, (NDAs) in place while game systems are still being fleshed out are just good sense. In our own development, based specifically on player feedback the controls system alone has undergone enough changes to be unrecognizable from when we had our initial tech demo builds.
Our project is funded primarily by Kickstarter , personal savings, and continued funding from pre-purchase options/backing.
Release titles are merely a method for setting expectations for players when they get in to game. Beta indicates the game is pretty much ready for release with a few tweaks and bug fixes.
Alpha implies the major systems are in place but polish and refinement are yet to come.
Pre-alpha is essentially playing during development. This is where the nitty-gritty and dirt come to light. Gameplay breaking bugs may exist, content may be limited, this is just a shell of the final game. Going public at this stage is definitely a risk in the court of public opinion.
But, we have an amazing community who have been extremely supportive and letting in more of them earlier is placing our trust in them, as they placed in us.
I would ask that you now justify the use of terms like Pre-Alpha Launch? You and I both know it's a bunch of marketing B.S. designed to get our money
In general development a game isn't ready to be played until Alpha. That's when you have the core in place and running. By Beta the game is essentially in the final state, and should just require tweaking/tuning and minor bug fixes.
You typically want to ensure that the player experiences are as polished as possible prior to release since you are either looking for return of investment and profit from sales, or from ongoing play.
Game development isn't free and our game development is predominantly funded by the community.
We base our development stages on milestones for feature and functionality sets we expect to have implemented. We had prototype, demo, and pre-alpha stages up until now.
Since we are community funded, our backers essentially have a stake in the development and success of our game. How much or how early they get access, is one of the ways we can share with our backers, both in terms of allowing them to see and experience the progress, but also voice their opinions, ideas or questions in the process.
Basically everyone involved has some "skin" in the game and thus a vested interest in its success.
Each launch is an invitation for those who may be interested to get in on the experience and also add their voice to be heard. If you follow any of our threads you won't see any Buy Now sales pitch simply because we want this to be for the long haul, building a community not just a game.