Does Early Access make devs lazy?

I think it does. Take 7D2D for example, fricking game has been in early access for going on 10 years. The deves have made 90% of the money they are going to make on the game and seem in no rush to push out a finished product. As a general rule, I won't play early access games. I didn't even play Green Hell, and I respect the hell out of Creepy Jar.

On the flipside, it gives smaller companies a much needed capital boost that allows them to make a better game, IF they are responsible.

Still, I think the negatives outweigh the positives, and we are seeing more and more damn near unplayable games coming out each year, some from AAA companies.

On modding?

I love modding. I love it provides an avenue for would be developers to hone their craft and get their name out there, and in general, they make the game better.

However, same thing I said about early access applies to modding, it makes devs lazy. Why come up with a solution to a problem when the modders will do it for us. Then, we can coopt the idea and implement it.

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Posted by LSU Coyote

Member since Sep 2007

56294 posts

Posted on 3/14/20 at 11:09 pm to PurpleandGold Motown

This is a 2012 conversation.

I believe in Early Access, it gives finding to smaller dev teams or sometimes just a single person with no resources. Some of the best games came from Early Access. Imo, lazy ppl are lazy ppl, non-creatives are always non-creatives. If you have a non-lazy creator with a good idea, giving him money early won't ruin the product. The problem here lies with the consumer.

Modding is one of the reasons I love PC gaming. Some titles I probably would have never got into if it wasn't for modding, examples being Fall-Out and Elder Scrolls.

quote:
However, same thing I said about early access applies to modding, it makes devs lazy. Why come up with a solution to a problem when the modders will do it for us. Then, we can coopt the idea and implement it.

How?

Sometimes the dev team is limited by resources. Those resources could be anything from financial to skill level/capability.

Most of the best modders get scoped up from larger devs. Sometimes it's a sourcing issue with hiring the right talent or the person just didn't know how good they are at this stuff until they mess around with it, usually for the first time.

Believe me, these larger games companies aren't leaning on the modding community to fix their game. Especially not in today's time where a bad launch week can bankrupt companies.

This post was edited on 3/14/20 at 11:24 pm

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