Things are changing at a rapid pace. The ways games are being released, or at least the ways in which they can be released, are a big testament to this. Things like early access, DLC and continuous updates have changed the landscape for a number of developers. One is Supergiant Games, with their latest release, Hades. It’s in early access now, with the developer putting out updates until the “official” release. What’s interesting is the way the Creative Director looks at the process.
Speaking with OnlySP, Greg Kasavin shared his rather unique look at the process. Instead of looking at it as incremental updates over a period of time, as most people do, he says he sees it more like a serial television series with each update being like an episode of a show. Hades does this especially since each early access update comes with some narrative woven in.
“You can wait until it’s complete, see what critics and everyone are saying, and then binge on the whole thing if you hear good things. But, there’s a real pleasure in experiencing it as it unfolds.
…
Since we’re weaving narrative through the entire experience, we’re treating Early Access almost like a serial TV series.”
It’s an interesting approach to the concept. As things like early access and streaming based gaming continue, it’ll be fascinating to see exactly what kind of creative ways development goes that weren’t available before. If you want to check out Hades it’s available now in early access on PC, currently only on the Epic Games Store.
