Why Early Access?

“From our internal playtests, we've discovered that House Arrest is a viscerally fun experience, and we would like to get the core game loop in players' hands as early as we can. From there, we want to listen to player feedback while adding more rooms in the haunted house, additional game modes, more character cosmetics, and more abilities for the players to incorporate into their play styles.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“6-12 months.”

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

“We have sought to create an experience that does not feel exceedingly unpolished upon early access release, but want to ensure players that we have many ideas to improve and expand the game over time.

We plan to broaden the thief's abilities beyond the original 12, implementing more voice-based shenanigans, mobs, weapons, and more. We plan to create additional game modes and additional rooms within the haunted house. We plan to improve the onboarding experience. We plan to feature an original score. We plan to have additional face designs and cosmetics for the characters. We plan to build secret passageways for the thief to hide in and for the police to discover.

We plan to roll these features out periodically as they are built, rather than waiting for larger release goals.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Please refer to House Arrest's "About This" section to learn more about the games' currently implemented features. The game includes tunable settings to help players hone in our their ideal game experience, but defaults to 10 minute rounds where the police have 6 gemstones to collect and return. The thief, on the other hand, brandishes 12 abilities to thwart their efforts, which they can swap between each life.

The haunted house includes 11 bespoke rooms that are placed in a randomly generated voxel grid each round, connected via hallways that are procedurally decorated.

Our intention is to have minimal bugs, controller support, and a highly playable experience out of the gate, but currently House Arrest lacks the depth in gameplay mechanics that we hope to achieve over time.”

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

“We plan to *slightly* increase the price of the game upon release.”

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

“We have a discord and multiple available social media channels to discuss and make improvements on the game. Player feedback will be taken into full consideration, but we will ultimately stick to our creative vision throughout that process.”