Why Early Access?

“After creating a simple prototype during an internal game jam, we decided it deserved to be developed into a fully-fledged game. The Early Access period will allow us to involve the community in the process by releasing free updates, gathering their feedback, seeing what works and what doesn’t, in order to hone the experience and deliver a final game more in line with both our vision and the expectations of our community.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We’re shooting for 2026.”

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

“We’d like to start with releasing an early build with basic mechanics and make it available for free, then work towards a more complex release with more features and polish.

Among other things, we plan to add:
- a complete story mode with narrative told through items, interactions, environmental storytelling, journal entries
- dozens of new mechanics (such as power-ups), items, tables
- a free play mode where you’ll be able to use items (cue parts that affect gameplay) unlocked in the story mode
- local multiplayer
- graphical improvements (level design, new effects, animations, experimenting with specific colour palettes, look of the cues and pool balls, effects of the player’s actions on the look of the table/room etc.)
- VR support
- additional translations”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“At this point, it’s quite raw but we’re confident we have something good here - we’re having fun with the current version, steadily developing small iterations to test extensively and focus on the most interesting aspects. Features are being trimmed and added as they’re being tested immediately, and we have a vision of where we want to go (an unusual combination of Lovecraftian horror and pool, roguelike elements, and mystery,).

Please refer to the "About This" section for more details.”

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

“We want to offer Pool of Madness for free first, then make it paid after the Early Access period ends, once we have a polished product.”

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

“We’d like to release updates, see what players like about different mechanics, what ideas they come up with, and make the most fun version of the game based on this cooperation.

We have extensive experience in community building/management. We plan to mainly utilise the Steam Community Hub and our discord for this purpose. Players will be able to suggest mechanics, give critical feedback regarding the existing solutions as well as the story and the multiplayer, influence the difficulty level etc.”