Why Early Access?

“Kyoukai is envisioned to be community-driven and competitively focused. Early access will make it easier to communicate that the cards themselves will be subject to sweeping changes in design intent if the meta evolves to require it.

That said, the plan isn't to be making constant, targeted changes. Kyoukai's first set, and its time in Early Access, will be spent adjusting the direction and design themes of the entire game as a whole, to try and mitigate any major problems far into the future, rather than just in the moment.

Multiple planned engine features directed towards single player content will also be in progress through Early Access, as they will require more manpower than multiplayer content to develop, but also only represent a small portion of the expected value of Kyoukai.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Over 1 year. ”

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

“There are a finite number of planned features that I want to complete before leaving Early Access, including Ranked and Unranked ladders, a tournament mode, replays, an undo system, and more. Not all of these are guaranteed to be in the final release, but Kyoukai will leave Early Access before an additional set of cards is released (beyond the first 181 card Phoenix Dawn set).”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“In active development.”

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

“Price will not change when we leave early access, but future card sets may be released as DLC at a currently unspecified price.”

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

“During Early Access, this will be my full time job. I will be consistently reading all feedback, and responding here and there, with dev posts frequently, once a week at minimum. The goal is active involvement, and the development of a strong foundation for future set development. There are design factors that keep most TCGs from feeling like they listen to players, including a requirement for cards to feel exciting on release, and the difficulty of an errata for a physical card. As Kyoukai will be starting completely digital, even though it's been designed to be playable in paper, these challenges can be avoided, and the entire community can have involvement in driving balance adjustments.”