Why Early Access?

“Exquisite Trash Club is currently a one person team. I want to pack Hot Dog Reporter with the highest legally allowable amount of raw fun, which means making more of the good stuff, trimming the bad stuff, and providing a challenge for those who wish to seek it. Accessibility is also super important to me, and I'd love to learn what I can do to remove as much friction as possible for all players. Engaging with the Steam community during Early Access will help me make a better game with a finely targeted scope, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for playing.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I'm hoping to have a full release ready by the end of 2024! In addition the obvious factors like funding, changes in scope lead by community feedback, and potential publisher agreements, my day job as a graphic designer in the film industry is currently in flux due to the ongoing WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, and the timeline of the strike resolution may affect the timeline of Hot Dog Reporter's development. A shorter strike means more short term funding, while a longer strike means more time to spend on development.”

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

“Hot Dog Reporter is a fast paced platformer with a speedrun mode that will eventually turn into a metroidvania with a mystery to solve and charmingly weird characters to meet (and a speedrun mode). Once the linear levels are iterated on enough to finalize Hot Dog Reporter's mechanics, gameplay will begin to spill onto the sprawling, interconnected city streets of New Yorkshire City. I already have a pretty firm grasp of the final narrative shape and visual direction, and I can't wait to share what's inside my head (and also inside like 500 word documents and photoshop files). Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for checking out Hot Dog Reporter.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Hot Dog Reporter is still in a pretty nascent stage of development. The core movement feature set is more or less complete, and levels are being designed and added as experiments to figure out how to achieve MAXIMUM FUN. There's a lot left to do, including artwork, narrative development, sound design, and performance optimization.

Please see the ABOUT THIS GAME section for details on Hot Dog Reporter's existing features, what's currently being worked on, and what to expect in the future!

HEADS UP: As Hot Dog Reporter iterates its way through early access, expect frequent save wipes as levels get added and updated. This will happen less frequently in further stages of development.”

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

“Hot Dog Reporter is currently priced fairly low, but the price will gradually increase based on additional content and features. I'm aiming for a final release price of 2-4 times as much as the initial Early Access pricing.”

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

“Operating as a team of one means community feedback will be ENORMOUSLY helpful in terms of feature requests, bug squashing, and fine tuning mechanics. Please come join the official Exquisite Trash Club Discord and let me know what you think!”