3 ms·

Pushing to release a "minimum viable product" over polishing games prior to launch is something more game development companies should do.

baal80spam 6y ago
God forbid.
capableweb 6y ago
That's what people asked for before and also what we got, "Early Access" games. But instead of getting games that steadily improve radically over a long period of time, you get unfinished games that get a bit of polish before "1.0" is released as a marketing update almost. Of couse, there are a few exceptions to this rule, like HNs favorite; Factorio, and Kerbal Space Program, Prison Architect, Rimworld are a few other examples. But most Early Access games released are in reality excuses for releasing something unfinished early, and only do small changes after that.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  > Factorio, and Kerbal Space Program the mvp model works well for games like this that aren't really story based. I'm always happy to start a new map in factorio to see what got added in the latest version. I'm not gonna go back and replay a 40+ hour rpg just to see what it's like with a few less bugs or a couple new cutscenes.
  - throwaway3699 6y ago
    I suppose the closest thing for story games is an episodic model.
danjac 6y ago
Didn't No Man's Sky go down that route?
- minimaxir 6y ago
  It was speculated that No Man's Sky launched in a minimal state due to meddling from Sony. The fact that the devs improved it significantly afterward for years is unusual, especially since that game in particular does not rely on microtransactions which would benefit from a strong base game.
wmf 6y ago
Almost all indie games seem to be doing early access these days and I agree that it's a good idea in many cases. In a narrative game like Cyberpunk, however, I want the game to be right at launch because that's when I'll be playing it and I'll probably only play once.
leetcrew 6y ago
how does this make sense for a single-player rpg? most videogame sales happen within one or two months of release, and most people are not going to replay this kind of game unless they really like it. this is pretty much the only release I'm looking forward to this year, and I very much appreciate that they are pushing it back until they feel it is finished.
bart_spoon 6y ago
If properly managed, sure. The problem here is that its been reported that the studio has been crunching and working 6 day weeks under the assumption that it was the final push for nearly a year now, but release keeps getting pushed back, for the third time now.
HelloNurse 6y ago
Not in this case: it's a large and complex adventure game that most people will only play once or (if obsessive) a few times with major plot and character variants, not a puzzle or strategy game that is meant to be replayed over and over again, enjoyed at launch, and enjoyed again after updates. Only the "maximum viable product", the best possible version of the game within budget and technical limitations, is relevant.

baal80spam 6y ago

God forbid.

capableweb 6y ago

That's what people asked for before and also what we got, "Early Access" games. But instead of getting games that steadily improve radically over a long period of time, you get unfinished games that get a bit of polish before "1.0" is released as a marketing update almost. Of couse, there are a few exceptions to this rule, like HNs favorite; Factorio, and Kerbal Space Program, Prison Architect, Rimworld are a few other examples. But most Early Access games released are in reality excuses for releasing something unfinished early, and only do small changes after that.

leetcrew 6y ago
> Factorio, and Kerbal Space Program the mvp model works well for games like this that aren't really story based. I'm always happy to start a new map in factorio to see what got added in the latest version. I'm not gonna go back and replay a 40+ hour rpg just to see what it's like with a few less bugs or a couple new cutscenes.
- throwaway3699 6y ago
  I suppose the closest thing for story games is an episodic model.

danjac 6y ago

Didn't No Man's Sky go down that route?

minimaxir 6y ago
It was speculated that No Man's Sky launched in a minimal state due to meddling from Sony. The fact that the devs improved it significantly afterward for years is unusual, especially since that game in particular does not rely on microtransactions which would benefit from a strong base game.

wmf 6y ago

Almost all indie games seem to be doing early access these days and I agree that it's a good idea in many cases. In a narrative game like Cyberpunk, however, I want the game to be right at launch because that's when I'll be playing it and I'll probably only play once.

leetcrew 6y ago

how does this make sense for a single-player rpg? most videogame sales happen within one or two months of release, and most people are not going to replay this kind of game unless they really like it. this is pretty much the only release I'm looking forward to this year, and I very much appreciate that they are pushing it back until they feel it is finished.

bart_spoon 6y ago

If properly managed, sure. The problem here is that its been reported that the studio has been crunching and working 6 day weeks under the assumption that it was the final push for nearly a year now, but release keeps getting pushed back, for the third time now.

HelloNurse 6y ago

Not in this case: it's a large and complex adventure game that most people will only play once or (if obsessive) a few times with major plot and character variants, not a puzzle or strategy game that is meant to be replayed over and over again, enjoyed at launch, and enjoyed again after updates. Only the "maximum viable product", the best possible version of the game within budget and technical limitations, is relevant.