Why Early Access?

“I would like to judge how players feel about the game's different systems such as the navigation system, item system, battle system and general game and world progression. I would also like help in finding bugs in the game as quick as possible so that I can get them fixed as quick as possible. Finally, it would also help me get players opinions early on what they want fine tuned or added to the game in the future before it fully releases.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“For approximately 1 month, I want to try and release the full release on 13 October 2023, Early Access is just to help me ensure I can polish the game to the best of my abilities for everyone in a reasonable amount of time.”

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

“With the full version I am planning to have it contain all of the keys to access all of the pathways, over 80 enemy types and 7 different enemy archetypes, 5 bosses, 4 power-ups, all tutorial and tips sequences, the full story and all the collectable items.

The Early Access version only contains the introduction of the game's story, all the basic tutorial sequences regarding navigation, combat and item pickup, 12 different enemy types and 2 different enemy archetypes, only the keys and pathways of the introductory zone of the game, no bosses to face and minimal items to pick up. The Early Access version starts at the beginning of the game but ends right before facing the 1st boss.

This is to ensure not to spoil the story, mechanics and content completely for everyone before the full game is ready for release.

As the game is a very system heavy based game, concentrating on a small chunk allows both the community and myself to hone and focus on the systems of the game itself, allowing me to easily and quickly determine what to fix and and tweak, without spoiling all of the good bits before the experience as a whole is fine tuned.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game is currently in Beta stage, Early Access is being used in order to get the necessary testing, feedback and polishing done to make the full release as great as possible.

All of the systems including navigation (movement, path changes and doors), combat (basic and advanced) and items (placement, spawning, pick up and management) have already been set up.

All of the content, including artwork, level/world design, enemies/bosses, narrative and game progression have already been created and integrated into the game.

The full game and experience is currently built up from start to finish, there are just some unconnected parts and it just needs to be rigorously tested by both myself and the community.

Then using the valuable feedback from the community, I can make sure the game is polished to the best of my ability, in order to be able to exit the Beta stage and Early Access in time for the full release.”

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

“No, the price is planned to stay the same from Early Access to Full Release.”

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

“The Community is the true reason that Early Access is great and without the community I wouldn't be able to get the feedback I need in order to polish, tweak and fine-tune the game to the best possible version it could be.

The impact of the community on ! Shakabula ¬ is immeasurable, it helps guide and inform the final parts of the development process, helping me immensely in being able to know what areas to concentrate on, where are game breaking bugs that I might be missing or if a player has any cool suggestions that they think I should implement.

Early Access is all about YOU! Where the community shines and becomes an active integral role in the development process.

If you want to chat with me about the game you can start up a discussion here on the game's hub anytime and I will try to get to your topic asap.

Want a more social setting? Then you can go over to any of the Skermunkel social media links and throw me a dm, reply or post, I'm always happy to chat.

Want even more Skermunkel goodness, well then why not join the club and hop on Skermunkel's Discord.

Lastly, if none of those options fancy you, you can
always just throw me a mail at tiaan@skermunkel.com

I would like to hear from the Community on what their general impressions are of the game, what they like and dislike and what their suggestions are.

I would also like to hear what bugs, glitches and annoyances they run into that need to be fixed.

But most importantly I would like to form a bond with my players, where I can and create a community that can help me learn on how to hone my craft further and further, to become the best developer that I can be and give you all the game experiences you deserve.”