Why Early Access?

“Escape From Meat City has been an almost entirely solo project I developed in my spare time. It has a solid base of fun, engaging game mechanics and a substantial amount of content already, but there are many different directions the game could go and I am keen to see which elements resonate most with players so I can steer the project in the right direction.

I was formerly a developer on Black Mesa, one of the earliest Steam Early Access titles, so I have seen firsthand how invaluable community involvement in development can be. As someone with a background in the modding community, I want to enable and encourage anyone who enjoys the game to contribute ideas and feedback to its development; after all, the players are who the game is for!”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“The project has been in active development (by me alone) for approximately 12 months, and I estimate that completing the Early Access phase will take about another 12-18 months. However, if the Early Access release is very successful, I would consider extending that period in order to implement some additional stretch goals which are currently beyond my projected scope.

The game's content is highly flexible by design, so it is unlikely any content delays would affect the release schedule, as anything not finished in time can easily be cut and/or added in at a later date.”

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

“The full version will have a significantly expanded range of content, including new enemies, weapons, stages, and game modes. Many art assets, especially enemies and weapons which are currently static sprites, will receive proper animations. The game's UI will be brought up to professional standards and the underlying code will be rewritten and optimized in order to provide a more stable, better-performing experience. I will be adding in systems for "infinite" difficulty scaling as well as more elaborate procedural generation systems to increase the variety and depth of the gameplay.

There are a number of optional features which I would like to include but which are considerably difficult and/or expensive to implement, including cooperative multiplayer support and a level editor. These features may or may not make it into the final release, depending on how development progresses and how much funding is raised from Early Access sales.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current version features a

• Over 30 unique weapons!
• Over a dozen different enemies, plus elite variants!
• 9 unique stages
• Randomized enemy and item spawns for infinite replayability

”

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

“I want to keep the price low, and even lower during early access, in order to encourage as wide an audience as possible to try out the game. The price will probably increase somewhat after the Early Access phase is completed, but the price will depend on the amount of content and features that are included in that release.”

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

“I got my start in game development in the modding community, and I would love to cultivate that type of community around this game. I want to involve the community as much as possible in the game's development, from feedback and playtesting to content creation if people are willing to contribute. I will be posting and streaming development progress constantly on the game's Discord server, and will be updating the Early Access build as frequently as is feasible. I am primarily a level designer by trade, so I intend to distribute an enormous quantity of maps for testing, using community feedback to refine the map selection.”