Progessive Development - early access++
A new form of Early Access that enables risk-free early support for game development by gamers, keeping both developer and gamer happy
Game development is a hard, expensive, high-risk gamble. Historically, developers would spend years creating a game, and then put it out there and hope it made a profit, which most games didn't. A publisher was needed to shoulder the risk and pay for that development, tying the developer's interests to the publisher's and limiting creative freedom.
Traditional funding spends heavily and only recuperates after release, often never breaking even.
With the advent of widespread tools like Unity opening up the world of game development, thousands of new developers (like me!) could bring new ideas and experiences to gaming, but only if better funding options were available.
To address this, four years ago Valve introduced 'Early Access'. This allowed the end players of these games to pay up front, funding the development of the games they were interested in and helping shape the game during its progress. A wonderful, utopian synergy between developer and gamer! In theory...
Early Access hoped to provide developers with capital up front so they were free to make the best game they could.
Sadly, four years on, there are all too many horror stories of incomplete games, bug ridden games, and even out-right abandoned games where the developer took the money but, with no binding contract, never delivered on the final release. Early Access comes across as free, no strings money for developers, and it's generated a sour reputation similar to aborted Kickstarted projects. All this utopian ideal really achieved was moving the risk onto the gamers.
Sadly, with no binding contract, developers can and have taken the money but not delivered.
The solution, a new model I've adopted designing ionAXXIA, is what I call 'Progressive Development'. Rather than have gamers pay for unfinished games in the hopes one day they'll be developed to the promised standard, the game is rolled out in series of complete game iterations that build on the previous version. When you buy a 'Progressive Development' title, you are buying a 'finished', if small, game. Each step along the way towards 'Version 1' is delivered as a finished, working project, rather than a development build full of bugs and glitches. Think of it like buying a finished game and then buying DLC to add more content, or buying episodic content.
Progressive Development ideally only takes money from the gamer when there's something worth playing.
Unlike Early Access, Progressive Development purchases aren't made on a promise, but for the product as it currently is. Developers have to commit more up front to build the core engine and systems required for a solid game release, so you can trust they'll hang around longer to finish the thing. They also don't commit as much as waiting for a full-scale release, so there's less risk involved. If interest in the Progressive Development build isn't high enough, the game can be discontinued in its current state without incurring further losses and without leaving early investors in the lurch. The end result is reduced risk for developers and zero risk for gamers who get a working playable game for their money. Ideally funding would be as discrete purchases for each iteration allowing gamers to 'vote with their wallets' if they feel the development is worth supporting.
Adapting this to the current platforms like Steam Early Access, ionAXXIA is structured around iterations and there's a clear roadmap to provide multiple high-quality releases towards the 'version 1' release. I've invested two years in creating a core game that's fully playable, with 6 months spent on developing and refining the controls, mostly bug free, and fleshed out including tutorials and instructions so you can understand and enjoy it. This will grow with content over the coming months. The payment systems aren't in place for truly iterative funding, so instead there's just a promise that every Early Access purchase will receive these iterations for just the Early Access purchase price.
What do you think of this approach? Please comment below!
