Don’t let the title fool you, there will still be an update on the game play, but with the upcoming Beta Playtesting, we wanted to give our players an insight into the development team and how we work. In addition we will also be discussing the recent scoping changes, and our focus in this next round of player testing. 

8-Bit Alchemist 

The team consists of four developers who have spent the last 3 months focused on bringing this game to life. That being said, it is not always simple. With life getting in the way, planing and task management can often be left to the dust, and as a result the game will suffer. To manage this we have kept our focus on rather than what we want, but what we can do. The team meets four days a week to discuss where each member is up to, what their upcoming timing obligations are and the biggest question of all “is this necessary for the overall player experience”. 

These three questions have helped the team to not only keep moving in the same direction, but it also sets reasonable expectations for the team to work toward. In addition, a very well kept sprint tracker in HacknPlan, and daily updates and communication on Discord have fostered a team that not only is work towards to creating a game, but more importantly about creating an environment where each of us can bring their own skills and experience in a way that will create the best player experience. 

Scoping Review 

Now on to the fun part that you are all actually after! As mentioned above, we are coming up to our Beta Playtest (woooo!). This is an exciting time but also a time that we really needed to take a step back and “trim the fat” so to speak. The teams aim for this round of testing is to give the players the ability to experience everything the game has to offer, every task, every test and for the first time, even the trial! However to ensure that this was feasible for completion by the testing, we have agreed to reduce the overall timing of the game from a two week cycle to a 10 day cycle. This has allowed for tighter planing around the players tasks, ensuring that the player is able to be constantly engaged rather than wondering around for something to do! 

What’s coming up next? 

While the next steps will be very largely influenced by the feedback from the Beta Playtest, our plan is to spend the next two weeks playing, and replaying the game over and over and cleaning up any areas that could lead to player disconnect. 

As always stay tuned for updates, and if you want to be part of this next review, keep an eye on this page for the next iteration of R.E.M.I.