KH-Vids Podcast Episode #66: Early Access & Betas

Discussion in 'Community News & Projects' started by Misty, Sep 30, 2014.

  1. Misty gimme kiss

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    Podcast is kinda late because I have a LIFE and STUFF
    Hi everyone! We've got a new episode of the podcast fresh off the grill, complete with @Misty, @libregkd, @Llave, and @Plums. This week we sit down and discuss a relatively recent development in the gaming industry: widespread access to game betas, but not before recapping some recent Kingdom Hearts news! We discuss Famitsu's recent interview with Tetsuya Nomura, Nomura's announced attendance at New York Comic Con, and our review of Project Destati's LIGHT album.

    After that we launch into our topic, talking about some of the betas we've personally participated in, who should be given beta access, what a beta means to us, and whether we'd ever pay for beta access. Finally, we answer our usual stack of user-submitted questions! @Graxe asks us to contemplate personhood with a parasite latched to our back (Doctor Who references are made), @Eric Luna asks us what worlds we'd like to see in Kingdom Hearts III, @Anixe endures the brunt of username mispronunciation while we design a video game class for school, and @Hayabusa asks us about some of our favorite video game companions.

    It's a fun-filled podcast for the masses to enjoy! Thanks everyone for listening and please comment with your thoughts below.

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    Download Episode #66 (MP3)
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    Interested in being a member guest on the podcast? Fill out our form here and we'll be in touch. Ask us a question by visiting this page or sending an email to podcast@kh-vids.net!
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2014
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Comments

Discussion in 'Community News & Projects' started by Misty, Sep 30, 2014.

    1. Amaury
      Amaury
      LOL, Misty! It's @Eric Luna.

      But I look forward to this. I'm going to listen to it first thing in the morning because I've got other things going on. :D
    2. Graxe
      Graxe
      To be honest, I don't remember asking my question. I think it was an offhand reference to the Las Plagas parasite from Resident Evil 4, 5, and Damnation.
    3. Misty
      Misty
      We've got quite a few of yours stockpiled! Trying to get to the oldest ones first... but feel free to keep 'em coming. ;)
    4. . : tale_wind
      . : tale_wind
      mISTY OH MY ARCEUS WHY HAVEN'T YOU SEEN ANY RECENT DISNEY MOVIES YOU DISGRACE

      Previously unrepresented things I want in KH:
      • Tangled
      • Up
      • Atlantis: The Lost Empire
      • Frozen
      • The Emperor's New Groove
      • Wreck-It Ralph
      • WALL-E
      ...I'd add TRON: Uprising, but it's not gonna happen... ;____;
    5. Hayabusa
      Hayabusa
      • Betas I remember that I've played are Gears of War 3, Transformers Universe, and Destiny (but I only made a character and jumped a little before I had to leave...)
      • By the way, I've been finding Destiny pretty damn lackluster personally: non-existent storytelling, bland as hell writing, monotonous campaign with no variation, lack of quality multiplayer integration, unbalanced PvP, etc.
      • I find Early Access pretty sketchy honestly, since way too often on Steam, it's basically boiled down to "Pay money to do the testing that we don't want to!"
      • OH MAN I REMEMBER PLAYSTATION UNDERGROUND. Those were so good for promoting games that I'd never have heard of otherwise.
      • I would never pay for a beta. Forget that. It's ridiculous enough paying the amount of money we already do for "full games" that have campaigns that last like, 4 hours. Why would I pay for something that is acknowledged to be incomplete and, for most cases now, temporary? Not even for Kingdom Hearts III.
      • If the parasite was like Iron Spider's legs and I could control it...I think I'd be ok with it >.>
      • Still waiting on a proper Lilo & Stitch world, and I'd also want The Princess and the Frog, Frozen, Tangled, and...in my dreams....Gargoyles.
      • OK REAL QUICK ON FROZEN: I'm just tired of hearing people talk about it, because it's almost always one or the other: "OVERRATED AND TRASH" or "PERFECT," and it's been really hard to find people lately who actually discuss what was done well or not done well in the film without taking into account other people's reception.
      • My name is actually based on Ryu Hayabusa from NInja Gaiden, so good catch EVERYONE BUT MISTY :>
      • Sorry Misty, I do not count the Omnitool. I specifically used the word "companion" to imply sentience. See me after class.
      • For reference, my answer for a companion is: Bahamut from Final Fantasy X. HE'S A GOD DAMN DRAGON WHO FLIES AND CROSSES HIS ARMS.
      • Someone please make a compilation of Misty's "blegh" sounds.
    6. libregkd
      libregkd
      I actually don't see this too often to be quite honest. It more boils down that this is what the developer has finished for right now and is selling to you with a promise that more is coming. When a game is put up on Early Access is very much something that resembles an alpha or proof of concept. It's hardly feature or content complete, so it's not simply just getting people to pay to play test a game. I can't speak for every early access game obviously, but the ones that I have participated in wasn't really just selling a buggy game and hoping that people will catch bugs that they found in it(Though of course the games do have quite a few bugs in them at times!). It was selling a very early version of that game because A) Indie developers are professional poor. Selling early access to a game (which has a whole bunch of warnings about how it is an incomplete game and could change by the time of an official release) gives them money to basically just survive as well as finance their game. B) It is a good tool to use to try and build up hype for your game. It gives the chance of people talking about it beforehand and allow that to build in time for an official release.

      There are certain games, I feel, benefit more from an Early Access model though. I mentioned this in the podcast but Minecraft is kinda the prime example of an Early Access success story (And I believe that it's success is what sparked many other developers trying the same model) and I think games that are in that survival/sandbox genre work really well for early access because you have these features or content that gets added into the game over time. Rust, DayZ, A Long Dark, The Forest, etc. all are, I think, are good examples of it done right. But I do think other genre's benefit from it. Action Henk, Crawl, Cannon Brawl, Gang Beast, Crypt of the Necrodancer all seem to be doing well under the model (I've been following the latter two for quite a long time now and seeing them evolve has been really cool to see). There are the occasional release that feel like Early Access really isn't benefiting the game much, like Black the Fall. In those cases it really feels like just a demo with it giving you access to the first level or two and that's it. (Because that is probably all that is finished at this point) Of course that is my opinion on it, but I feel like that would be a type of game where it would be better to just put out when done because the Early Access isn't really giving much to look forward too besides just new levels. There are of course risks involved with putting in money for an incomplete game, which if people aren't comfortable with that I totally understand. My general advice to wondering if they should buy an early access title or not is whether they would be fine parting with $10-$20 as it is NOW and be happy with what you got, knowing that you could potentially get more. For example I was completely fine throwing money down forBut I think it's a legitimate business model for the most part and I'm glad that Steam has made a section of their store dedicated to this and that MS and Sony are supporting it as well (Or well, I know at least Sony is as they've allowed games like Warframe, Blacklight, to be made available on their store despite being 'betas' and you have them talking about Loadout and DayZ hitting the PS4 as well but who knows if they will be the 'complete' game by then).

      (Also yes, I included a Steam link to all the games I listed because I personally think that people should at least check them out :v)

      EDIT: Huh, through look for links I discovered Cannon Brawl actually left Early Access and saw an official release about 2 weeks ago. Dunno how I missed that lol.
    7. Eric Luna
      Eric Luna
      I will now become a regular questioner, like @Graxe so everyone will know @Eric Luna
    8. Amaury
      Amaury
      Listening to this now.

      Misty, I would have been more than happy to be a guest if you didn't have anyone. c:
    9. Eric Luna
      Eric Luna
      I appretiate your concern. You are a kind soul. :)
    10. Ghost
      Ghost
      Best idea. 10/10 , we need to petition this.
    11. Eric Luna
      Eric Luna
      Atlantis: the Lost Empire would be a great world. I support it all the way!
    12. Misty
      Misty
      I know! It's a crime.
      I only really played a little bit of the beta but I'm not too surprised to see this sadly. It's a gorgeous game but it doesn't seem to be anything special beyond that. I'm actually kind of sad to say it because I had high hopes it would attract a lot of people into this gen of consoles but it doesn't seem to be the case!
      I have a soft spot in my heart for Kingdom Hearts heh
      I can't believe I forgot Princess & the Frog!
      I feel like it's probably waaaay late but I'd love to do an episode about Frozen. I don't hate it, but I also don't love it so I feel like I could be good in that discussion heh.
      "good catch everyone but misty" should be the new catchphrase for every podcast
      sorry mr. hayabusa sir please don't give me detention
      I have been making a lot of groans moans and bleghs all through the podcast lately lmao
    13. Anixe
      Anixe
      Looks like I'm eating these virtual cookies alone tonight...

      But anyway, curiously enough, the roster of games that my friend got in the class included Final Fantasy XIII, to which she mentioned that she and some of the class didn't react, well, positively to, lol. The class also will be exploring Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, Diablo II, Fable I&II, Knight's of the Old Republic, Skies of Arcadia, the very first Final Fantasy, and then some Japanese-only titles. I guess judging from this general list, I think it's pretty fair in terms of the balance between East and West.

      Also, I quite enjoyed the Project Destati's Light (well, at least from the few songs and samples that I had heard). I seldom am a fan of fan covers and whatnot, but I'm impressed. Makes me wanna pick up my flute again and play, haha.
    14. Misty
      Misty
      We'll have to have you on again to get the pronunciation down!

      I'm surprised a bit at Fable on the list. I suppose it does have a lot from Arthurian legend and is interesting to talk about in that context. It's a good game I suppose. Not familiar with the sequel. SHOUTOUT FOR KOTOR AYYYYYYYY y'all thought i was just being a fangirl
    15. Amaury
      Amaury
      I'm pretty sure it's Ah-neex-eh, though it's just a guess.
    16. Scarred Nobody
      Scarred Nobody
      I think for me, the companion I would want is Tinkerbell. I mean, she gives you the ability to fly and she can heal you. I think that in the real world, it would "cure" you from any illness, so that would be super for me.