Why Early Access?

“I've chosen to release ReturnState in early access, to get feedback from the community on what features they'd like added that I don't already have in mind. There are a number of different directions the game could go in - secondary weapons, powerups, environment changing abilities. I'm interested in what the community wants to play. I'm a single person developer with the funds to finish development on my own without any sales, but being able to sell on Steam while developing will greatly speed up productivity. For example, I'll use those added funds to get a faster computer and better art software. But, I am fully prepared to continue development even if the game doesn't sell well.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“The game should be in early access for around a year.”

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

“The plan is for the full version to contain much more content at a higher level of artistic quality. More levels, gameplay actions, enemies, boss fights, music, and secrets, including traditional game cheats. The plan is to also refine the art style over the next year to make it as beautiful as possible.

• The plan is to evolve the look of the game during development, with the 32-bit and 16-bit versions having a larger player and enemies than those in the trailer and screenshots. Also, I intend for the environments to become much more detailed and varied. I also plan to add background animations, such as, spaceship traffic flying by.
• There are 3 game modes planned. Adventure, Arcade, and Survival. Adventure allows the player to gain strength over time, and travel a world map with more story scenes. Arcade is a straightforward action platformer where enemies die with one hit. Survival is a proceedurally generated world with only one life. The current version is Arcade mode only. The plan is to finish that first, then make Adventure, and finally finish the game by adding Survival mode.
• The current version has 4 levels with 4 boss fights. I plan for the full version to have 6 zones with a few levels each, and 6 unique bosses. The current version reuses 1 boss for levels 1 - 3, with increased difficulty. The current final boss is already a unique fight of its own.
• I intend to make better cinematic story scenes. The current version includes both an intro and ending scenes.
• Warp zones are planned.
• The current version has 1 graphic tileset. All levels use it. 5 more are planned, so that each zone of the game has its own look.
• Better character animations are planned, both for the player and enemies.
• The full version is intended to have 4 game styles: 8-bit Handheld, 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit.
• I plan on adding a password feature to access game cheats like god mode.
• I intend to optimize the level design to improve speedrunning.
• I plan to make a unique background song for each zone. Currently, the same song plays in every level.
• There are several types of regular enemies reused throughout the game. The plan is to create many more, so that each zone has its own assortment of unique enemies.
• Support for the Steam Controller is intended.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The current early access version is a fully working, single player platformer game with 4 levels that use the same tileset and song. Each level ends in a boss fight. It has both intro and ending cinematics. It can be played in 3 styles: 32-bit, 8-bit, and 8-bit Handheld. 32-bit attempts to look like a Playstation 1 2D game, while 8-bit uses the NES color palette and limitations, and 8-bit Handheld is inspired by the Game Boy. The trailer shows a password option, but that is not yet finished.”

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

“I plan to gradually raise the price as I ship new content and features.”

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

“There's a number of directions the gameplay and feature list can go during development, and I'm looking forward to finding out what the players want to do in ReturnState. All reasonable suggestions will be considered.”