Why Early Access?

“Jasper is currently being developed by just one person, completely independent from publishers or investors. With the basic feature-set finished, after being in development for multiple years, it's time to get more feedback while I continue working on the story of Jasper.
One of the goals of Jasper is to be one of the most accessible games out there, and I need lots of feedback from players, and friends and family of players, to achieve that goal. I would love to reach people like my parents or even grandparents, who wouldn't have been in touch with video games at all without me.
Also I want to fill Myr with life, and the best way is to seek inspiration from other people and see the world come to life piece by piece :)”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“The most important goal will always be for Jasper to be a high quality game that will still be a gem in 10 years. As such, Jasper will remain in early access until I'm sure that everything that needs to be done to reach that goal has been done.
However, for now the priority will be on finishing the four chapters of Jasper's story, to build up some playtime. I hope to keep it under 4-6 months for each chapter, but I can't make any promises to that!”

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

“Apart from Jasper's full story, there is more content planned:
- Myr will grow depending on community ideas and input, there is lots of space and lore to work with.
- Myr will be something of a playground for new players, where they can experiment with various gameplay-mechanics in little mini-games that don't block the progress of Jasper's story.
- This community driven content will be places in Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 and will be continuously added even after Jasper's story has been finished.

Feature-wise I have planned a couple of improvements, based on the player feedback I receive:
- Support for various input methods (All controller types visualized, Touch input, Button remapping).
- Multiple gamemodes for varying capabilities and skillsets (i.e. camera assisted play).
- Local coop mode so experienced players can better interact and guide their less experienced friends and family through the game.
- Improvements on learning curve, tutorials and level guidance.
- Lots of more interactions and character animations.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Jasper makes use of many different features to create an atmosphere that underlines the story of Jasper and the lore of Myr, the City of Lights, as well as it's residents.
Right now all important frameworks of the game have been set up and are ready to play. Bugs might still happen and will be fixed based on player feedback. As Jasper's story is being developed more features will be added to the game and the levels, but apart from accessibility upgrades those will mostly be small additions to the game.
The game page is kept up-to-date, please take a look at the "About This" section for more information on the current features and scope of the game.”

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

“The Prologue of Jasper is completely free to play as long or as often as you like, Chapter 1-4 are purchasable as DLC through Steam from the start. All Chapters can be unlocked through an upcoming in-game mechanic without the need of purchasing, this requires more involvement than just the story playthrough and is always limited to the savegame you're playing on.
Updates to the game will include updates to the chapters as I progress, based on the chapters you bought you will be able to access those parts of the game. You will be able to skip chapters that you haven't bought and get a recap of what happened in the Chapters before, in case you are mostly interested in the City of Myr for example.
Because you are an early supporter of the project, the price of the bundle for all chapters is greatly discounted for now. I will lower the discount as content and features are being shipped. Price increases to individual chapters will likely also happen, depending on the amount of content being added.”

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

“The main platform for community-side development of Jasper is here on Steam. I am very active in the Community Hub and Forums, please feel free to ask questions or make suggestions!
Your feedback has great impact in the following areas:
- Any content in Myr that's not part of Jasper's main storyline can be greatly expanded by community ideas. That's characters and their stories, places, lore or even mini-games.
- Your experiences regarding accessibility are valued and needed, if you can, please ask friends and family who are less experienced in gaming to try out Jasper and let me know how they handled it and which parts they liked or disliked.
Thank you for everyone who has contributed to Jasper so far! <3”