Why Early Access?

“Scorefall is a systems-driven game with a wide range of upgrades, relics, and synergies, and I want players to be part of the process as those systems evolve. Early Access allows me to involve the community in shaping the balance, meta progression, content variety, and long-term game feel.

While the core loop is playable, the overall design is far from locked. I'm looking to expand on the number of ball, peg, and bucket types, add more relics and meta upgrades, improve pacing, and refine difficulty scaling based on real player data and feedback. Early Access will be a collaborative phase where players help guide those decisions.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Ideally just a few months and that's it. I want to keep the deadline tight to both force me to limit my scope but also put pressure on me to stay on top of it. I'm a dad of two young kids that works full time and I just have a short time this summer with some extra free time to work on this.”

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

“The full version of Scorefall is planned to expand on the core systems by introducing more content, more variety, and deeper progression. This may include additional ball, peg, bucket, and relic types, more meta upgrades, and new challenge modes to extend replayability.

One area of ongoing exploration is the use of multiple visual "themes" or art styles to give the game a fresh look and feel across runs. The idea is to collaborate with different artists to create distinct visual themes that change how the game looks while preserving the core gameplay. This will depend on how development progresses and on community interest.

Overall, the full version is intended to be a more polished and content-rich experience shaped by player feedback during Early Access. The goal is to refine balance, improve UI and UX, and add meaningful options and systems that give players more ways to engage with the game.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version of Scorefall includes the complete core gameplay loop: dropping balls, bouncing through pegs, landing in buckets, and scoring to beat a target each round. Players can currently complete full runs across 50 rounds with scaling difficulty and a variety of strategic upgrade choices between rounds.

Implemented features include:

A working upgrade system with ball, peg, and bucket upgrades of various rarities

Dozens of unique upgrade types that affect ball physics, peg behavior, bucket scoring, coin generation, and more

A relic system with global effects that can be purchased every five rounds

A full meta progression system, allowing players to spend earned Meta Balls to unlock permanent global upgrades

An in-game run info panel that tracks chosen upgrades, stats, and timers

A functioning collection and achievement system

Full audio implementation with lo-fi-inspired music and sound effects

A complete user interface with animations, run feedback, and settings options

A working settings menu with volume sliders and control toggles

While the foundation is solid, balance tuning, upgrade variety, art theme flexibility, and overall polish are still in development. The Early Access version is stable and fully playable, and players can complete full runs, experiment with strategies, and contribute feedback to shape the game’s future content and systems.”

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

“I do not plan on increasing the price after early access.”

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

“I plan on engaging with them directly on Steam, social media as well as various forums, asking for feedback on design and art decisions and notifying the community of updates/announcements. I also plan on implementing some sort of "Theme competition" in the future where I would ask the community to mockup ideas of their ideal theme and have them voted on publicly and winners are included in the game.”