Early access experiences

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I like to discuss the different gameplay experience of early access games compared to final release versions. Early access games can provide the player with a constant stream of new features, which can cause the impression of playing a completely different game.

Playing early access games (EA) is to a certain degree different from playing a release version of a computer game. In general, in both cases the player enters the virtual game world and can interact with it. However, the fact that an EA is still under development can often lead to unique experiences a release version can’t provide. The following article is mostly based on my own observations while playing early access games.

A release version of a game is finished and completed. All the features are implemented and the player should be able to explore the world without being disturbed by any bugs or balance issues. On the other hand, a finished game won’t change anymore. Of course, developers can release some additional addons or some additional content, which extent the game world a bit. Although these addons can provide some additional experiences, the game itself won’t provide a constant stream of new experiences like an EA.

Providing an early access version has also changed a bit the expectations and the approach of players towards new games. Back in the days, computer games were announced, had maybe a closed beta test and were only accessible for the majority of computer game players after the final product was finished and polished. Today, assuming an early access version is provided, players can start to experience a new game world in the current state of the development and have not to wait until it’s completely finished.

From my point of view, the most interesting thing of playing an EA comes from the fact, that these games can provide a constant stream of new experiences on a regular basis. Everytime the developers implement a new feature, the whole gameplay can change and the game can appear as a completely new game.

I already visited different celestial bodies in Kerbal Space Program (KSP)[1] before the career mode was implemented. The career mode currently relies on a tech-tree the player can unlock to gain access to more powerful rocket and plane components. Unlocking the tech-tree requires the player to do „science“ by visiting different zones of the KSP solar system and conducting different experiments in the particular zone.
In general, the solar system hasn’t really changed with the career mode – the only difference was the implementation of different biomes on some of the celestial bodies. Apart from the biomes, all the celestial bodies still look the same and still are reachable the same way as before. However, due to the fact that playing career mode restricts my approaches to the components I’ve unlocked and that I actually need to conduct some experiments, the game seems to be completely different. Still, I’m landing on the same moon as in the sandbox mode, but being able to bring back some valuable data and thinking about how to get the most science out of one mission provides me with a completely new experience of the gameplay.

The same goes for another spaceflight related EA: Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager (SPM)[2]. The first versions of the SPM came without the option to land on the Moon. Only a few missions were available and the Mercury Program was the only way to launch an astronaut into space. Over time, the Gemini and the Apollo Program were implemented and thus I was able to explore the space in more different ways. Finally, a career mode was implemented, too. The career mode in SPM challenges me with some campaign objectives I need to complete until a certain deadline or I will lose some points or even lose the complete game.

One could argue, that all these features of the game could have been available right away to really enjoy the game, but from my point of view, this is not true. The constant stream of new features gives me as a player the feeling of progression. At first, I’m only able to land on a celestial body in KSP, but I can’t really benefit from this. At this point, I have to admit that landing on a new celestial body was a really exciting moment and the biggest reward I can receive in computer games are emotional rewards. In this case just landing on a celestial body was a great reward. After I did a lot of flights to other planets, the feature of collecting science was implemented. In my case, I felt like I really made some spaceflight progress and now I’m able to perform better in the game world. I now can even bring back some data!

My experiences while playing SPM over several new versions were almost the same. I learned to play the game, I learned how to manage my space agency. This new knowledge finally helped me to extend the variety of available missions and goals I can achieve in the game.

As a conclusion, EA can reward the player in different dimensions. On the one hand, new features can change the complete gameplay and the players can get the impression, that they’re playing a different game. New options, new ways and new spaces can be explored and recharge the excitement of exploring the game world.
Additionally, as the player makes some progress in learning the game, the game itself makes some progress and provides some new features, too. If the implementation of a new feature aligns with the learning curve of the players, the players can get the impression as if they learnt something new and they’re now more powerful.

Although the learning curve dimension can be biased by the sort of new added features and the genre of the game itself, the change of the gameplay by adding new features to it will be causing all the time a new gaming experience. In the end, compared to final release games, playing an EA will be different with every new version and thus can lead to a completely new trend of enjoying computer games.