Pay Beta/Alpha

I often review old posts – it is a fun way to see what I was jabbering about back over half a decade (sounds so much longer when put that way). I was reviewing some old posts when I randomly came across this one:

Introduce a New Phase in the Development Cycle

The premise of the post was to encourage a new production phase, the Commercial Beta, because that was essentially the state we were getting games in anyway. I had less issue with it for being honest and reduced in price. While it has been debated to death as of late I was just curious to found I supported the idea before it was a “thing”.

This could be a big win/win. Developers win because they can acknowledge their product is still in beta phase (albeit Commercial Beta) and it will give a little more lax room for player expectations as it is properly termed. They also will start getting a revenue stream to continue making changes. Players win because they receive a fairer value for their dollar for buying an incomplete product and pay less while changes are done, and also give a hand in shaping a game (that they obviously like, paying to beta and all) to be better positioned in the market to attract and retain a good player base after official launch. It also benefits the players because developers will have to make noteworthy changes and fixes to keep the player base after they go to “Official Launch”.

So listen, I’m not saying that the slew of pay for alpha/beta state games (and/or early access) is my fault or anything, but I did call it back in 2009. And I didn’t call it to say that this step would fix the way games are made (or even improve the current system) all it was was a call for honesty from developers. These are the fun posts when  you throw out an idea like that and it ends up coming to fruition for whatever reasons (not related to actually reading my blog posts). And while I know some people think that paying for these early game states is bad for the industry I am loving the two early access games I am currently in (and playing the most) and eyeing up a third that really suits my style.

With all the current chatter around monetization (again) for me it comes down to the personal value I get from any particular title, paid for in a way I feel comfortable with, based on the return enjoyment I am investing in. That isn’t anything a marketing department can come to easy grips with – but it works for me. And that may be in a pre-commercial release state.