Why Early Access?

“Firekeep was originally meant to be a small project that focused on a chill, light-strategy puzzle experience, but has since grown into a much larger project with tons of moving parts and procedurally-created content. It's currently totally playable and offers hours of enjoyment through the procedural maps, and early testers have already spent dozens of hours in Firekeep.

With all the core mechanics in place, we felt that Early Access was a natural fit for Firekeep - the team aims to implement a ton of new buildings, upgrades and special projects - and want to involve the Community in designing and balancing all this planned new content! Plus, since islands are procedurally generated, testing a new building in every possible context is a huge undertaking for a small team.

While we do feel that the Early Access version is a little light on content, we think it's in a good spot for players excited about Firekeep to get their hands on, and help us shape the Full Release. If you think that might be you, feel free to drop into our Discord to join the discussion!”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We're currently aiming for late 2022 to early 2023 as the current full release target, but also see a lot of potential in Firekeep, and would like to expand the scope of the project if we're received well!”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“While Firekeep's core mechanics are unlikely to change, the game is built in such a way that adding new buildings and building upgrades is modular and streamlined. We plan to add a TON of new buildings for all the biomes. We also want to give the player additional ways to shape their islands - for instance, Bridges and Platforms to reach isolated tiles - and Advisors that grant unique buildings for meeting certain criteria.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Firekeep is currently stable and playable, with a full tutorial, and players can generate a theoretically infinite number of maps. However, the current content offering is very basic and doesn't offer many different ways to play. We aim to expand the content on offer and flesh out different strategies and potential playstyles over the course of Early Access.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes, as thanks for supporting Firekeep through Early Access the price will be reduced until the Full Release!”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Firekeep has a VERY small team with only 1 full-time developer, so Community support in testing, discussing, and balancing all the different outcomes and combinations of the island generator, buildings and special projects will be essential! The team will do their best to read and respond to Community feedback and suggestions, and address points that are good fits for Firekeep. Additionally, the team may poll the Community about balance issues, feature requests, or other tricky design decisions. This will mainly happen on our Discord, though we do release Devlogs on Youtube to discuss major updates or tough development problems.”