Chapter 18 Early Access
Early access is not a new term.
Many games on the Steam platform will have a version of the game that is developed and sold at the same time before the official release, which is commonly known as the "early access version."
These games are all semi-finished products! To put it bluntly, some of the early access games are not even semi-finished products, but just a simple framework.
Some games don’t even have an early access version. They just make a demonstration animation and then start “player crowdfunding”.
Chen Ba doesn't need crowdfunding.
The income from [Study Simulator] was enough for him to complete the development of the new game, and maybe even have some surplus, so forget about crowdfunding.
But the early access version is available.
For a new game in development, releasing an Early Access version has two main benefits.
The first advantage is that developers do not have to work in isolation. They can collect player suggestions while developing the product and adjust the plan in a timely manner based on player feedback, which is equivalent to the "internal testing" phase of an online game.
The second benefit is that developers can recover a certain percentage of their capital investment in advance, which increases their confidence and confidence in subsequent game development.
at the same time.
The early access version can also reflect players' purchasing desire, the future market prospects of the game, and the game's quality and reputation.
After hearing this, do you think that early experience is a good thing with only benefits and no harm?
Wrong! Early access also has its drawbacks.
And this drawback is fatal, especially from the perspective of players. If you spend money to buy a game for early access, what if the game developer runs away and stops updating? Even if the developer does not run away, it does not seem worthwhile to spend money to be a guinea pig and a "paid tester" for the game manufacturer, except for enjoying certain purchase discounts and the fun of playing in advance.
Once bitten, you'll be afraid of ropes for ten years! When the early access version was first released, it received unanimous praise from players and game developers, a complete win-win situation.
As time goes by, especially after some unscrupulous developers took advantage of the early access mechanism to make money and ran away, this mechanism has gained both praise and criticism.
But for a startup like Tianba Games, early access is definitely a good mechanism that must be utilized.
A week later, [Living under Someone Else's Roof Simulator], which was created by combining the framework of the Study Simulator + the core of System 2.0 + new art resources, landed on the Steam platform and released an early access version.
Counting the time, only one month has passed since Chen Ba came up with the idea for this game, recruited employees, and released the early access version.
Incredibly fast!
If this was a new game developed from scratch, the development progress would be as slow as a ghost.
But Tianba Games had a successful predecessor after all, and a mature template framework, and even the core code was generated by the system. It wasn't that exaggerated to produce a semi-finished product in a month...
What's more, this is not a huge 3A masterpiece, it's just a small game.
"The new game is now open for early access. It is very cost-effective to buy it now. Mr. Chen has lost all his money. The price will increase when the official version is released! @All members"
After the early access version of [Living under Someone Else's Roof Simulator] was released, the first thing Chen Ba did was to inform all the players in the fan group of the good news.
Previously, with the popularity of the "Study Hard" simulator, the newly launched Tianba game also had a group of loyal fans.
At the suggestion of the core player "Qian Duoduo", Chen Ba set up a fan group to collect player feedback and suggestions, and to provide a communication platform.
"New game? So fast?"
"Brother Ba is worthy of being my Superman!"
"It's obvious that the newcomer has never been banned. You are not allowed to call the group leader Brother Ba. You have to call him Mr. Chen! Am I right, Brother Ba? @GameBugs"
[The High Priest of the Cowherd Cult was banned from speaking for one day by group owner GameBugs]
Why are there Cowherd Sect everywhere? Just as the leader of the sect was silenced, a high priest appeared right after. The Cowherd Sect was so tenacious that Chen Ba was helpless.
Are you still herding cattle? The version has been updated! Now you have to work, hurry up and work, bastard! In addition to the daily teasing of him as the group leader and the teachings of a certain herding cult, there are still many serious people in the group.
After he @ all members, some people quickly searched for [Living Under Someone Else's House Simulator] and tried playing it.
"Okay, it's my favorite simulator again!"
“Living under someone else’s roof? Brother Ba, can you tell us a little bit about the game’s plot? @GameBugs”
"The installation package is a bit large this time. 3.5G is equivalent to two years of hard study!"
"Wuhu! The faster the internet is, the faster it is! It's already downloaded. Don't worry, brothers. Let me go explore the way first..."
Some people have amazing internet speeds, so they have already completed the download and entered the game before others have finished uploading the content.
Of course, these guys didn’t forget to share the surprise with their group members. They sent screenshots one after another to the group, making it look like a live broadcast with text and pictures.
Many people have discovered it.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Compared with its predecessor [Study Hard Simulator], the biggest improvement of [Living Under Someone Else's House Simulator] is the picture quality.
What was that abstract art style before? Look at this, this is really pleasing to the eyes! We are all old players of the Simulator of Study Hard. Although the UI interface of the Simulator of Living with Others has been upgraded, the core operation logic is still the same, and everyone can get started quickly.
The initial interfaces are similar.
It simply requires players to name their characters, choose their gender, and then enter the game.
The difference is that the protagonist of Study Simulator can only be named and choose gender, but cannot personalize his face or choose other images.
However, although this time's simulator of living under someone else's roof cannot provide detailed face shaping, it can change the protagonist's face shape, hair color and hairstyle.
There will be face pinching later.
Now players can only choose their favorite one from a dozen system-preset face shapes, hair colors and hairstyles, which is already a small improvement.
After entering the game, players quickly went through the novice tutorial and began to understand the core mechanism of the game - self-esteem!
"Fuck! Don't go looking for bottles from trash cans out of curiosity. You won't get much money from selling them. Your self-esteem will be ruined..."
"What the hell? I just took a few extra pieces of meat with my meal and he still blames me. This uncle is so biased!"
"Yes! Aunt is still the best..."
Seeing that the players were chatting enthusiastically in the group and completely forgot that he, the game producer, was still peeking at the screen, Chen Ba couldn't help but shook his head.
"The game has not yet been completed, so it is normal that the plot has not been unlocked!"
“If you find a bug, please be sure to contact the administrator or group owner. If you have any suggestions during the game, you can also give feedback @GameBugs. I wish you all a happy game!”
After explaining the precautions, Chen Ba closed the chat page and started editing the game introduction and gameplay instructions of [Living Under Someone Else's House Simulator].
After writing, he sent the information to a WeChat contact with the note "Game Star Editor".
I wish you all a happy National Day! Please collect and read the new book for your support. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)