Why Early Access?

“Taster’s Table is in a state where its core systems (dialog trees, object descriptions, game play loop, core visuals, etc.) are implemented and fully playable, but the game needs player input to become balanced. I want the user experience to focus on the “detective story” dialog with light puzzle elements, so I want to make sure the “fitting food on a plate” puzzle part is easy but not too much. I could keep tuning internally, but I am a “neophyte” 1-person team with a full-time job and a young child to care for. Also, I need to hand draw the final 70+ food item visuals, and I wanted to get player feedback before a 1.0 release and the finalization of those visual assets. I am starting in Early Access because I want the overall game experience to be shaped by actual player behavior, not just my assumptions of what might be fun for a play time. I am prepared to ship updates at regular updates (2 interim before 1.0 launch), respond to feedback, and see this through to the 1.0 release. Given the 4+ years I have put into this, I am not going to walk away from getting to a solid 1.0 release.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Within 6 months to a full 1.0 release.”

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

“It will have the final game stages, the final story ending(s), and all visual assets in place.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Fully playable, for 5 out of 8 locations in game. In the EA version, there are 5 locations to visit and 6 chefs to battle. Chef #1 is 100% done. Chef #2 thru #6 have 100% of dialog and menu items, but have placeholder images for the food items. The last two locations, the last two chefs, and the final boss fight need dialog polish and testing for bugs in the logic of how a player will interact with making final choices. My plan is to release "chef" content updates every 2 months; with 8 chefs to update (dialog and/or visuals), this will take 4 to 6 months.”

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

“No.”

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

“I will be running Steam Discussions as the main hub for bug reports, feedback, and feature discussion. If I see traction and interest in the first month, I want to establish a Discord server for real-time conversation with the community. I am specifically looking for feedback on the balance between dialog and puzzle solving in-game (pacing and reward). I plan, and think it will be exciting, to post regular update notes (once per week) covering what will be changing and why, update status of the game, and to be transparent if a call that goes against popular feedback, with our reasoning.”