Why Early Access?

“Dokaebi Gate lives or dies on how each run feels, and that is something I can't judge alone, no matter how many hundreds of runs I play. A boss that feels easy to me might be a brick wall for a new player. A weapon I love might be one nobody ever picks.

The backbone is already there. You can play a full run from Round 1 all the way to the Round 20 boss. What I need now is for more people to play it and tell me where it's fun and where it's frustrating. I want to tune the weapons, amulets, bosses, and difficulty with that feedback in hand, and that's why I'm opening the gate early.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I'm expecting somewhere between six months and a year. That said, I don't want to push out a 1.0 that isn't ready just to hit a date. If acting on player feedback takes longer, Early Access may run a little longer too.”

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

“For the full version, I plan to add more to do and raise the overall level of polish. Here's the direction I have in mind right now.

- I plan to add new characters, weapons, and amulets so there are more builds to discover.
- I'd like to continue the story past Round 20 with new rounds. For now, clearing Round 20 loops you back to a tougher Round 1 so you can keep the run going.
- I plan to keep reworking boss patterns, visual effects, and sound.
- I plan to keep adjusting the difficulty curve and weapon balance based on play data and feedback.
- I plan to steadily improve the codex, achievements, quality-of-life features, performance, and language support.

What comes first will depend on what I hear from players during Early Access.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“You can play a complete run from start to finish.

- Every round from 1 to 20 has its own boss. From the Dokkaebi Flame, the Mud Jangseung, the Black Crow, and the King Dokkaebi to the final judge, Jingwang Daewang, each one fights with its own set of patterns.
- Beating Round 20 brings up the victory screen. From there, you can choose to keep going against stronger and stronger enemies.
- There are multiple characters and a wide range of weapons and passives. You can also crack open jars to spin an amulet roulette, raise pets, fill out a codex, and start from round checkpoints.
- Korean and English are supported.

It is still a game in development. Balance is uneven in places, and some effects and sounds are in the middle of being replaced. You may run into the occasional bug or frame hitch. If you do, please let me know and I'll fix it quickly.”

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

“I plan to sell the game at a lower price during Early Access than at full release. As content and features are added, the price may go up around the 1.0 launch. I want the people who join early to get the best price.”

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

“I read the Steam discussion boards and I reply myself. Bug reports are welcome, but honestly the most useful thing you can give me is a blunt one-liner like "this boss is way too hard" or "there's no reason to ever pick this weapon."

Every update will come with patch notes that explain what changed and why. For balance changes where opinions are split, I'd like to ask first and decide after. The boss patterns and difficulty curve you see today were torn up and rebuilt several times because of things testers pointed out. I intend to keep making the game that way.”