Black Closet - in development

[hanako]

An issue for another topic I think.

There are several reasons why it's not listed there at the moment. We'll revisit that when the new art is done.

[FantasyFan]

Excited! Very excited!

Question, when Black Closet is ready for testing, will we be able to purchase the Alpha version for a discount like we could with MD and LLTQ?

[hanako]

Probably, although I'm considering whether I should do something sneaky to ensure that people doing so ACTUALLY test the game.

(Not because I want to be mean about people getting discounts, but because these games are super-complicated and really need a solid testing.)

[Spandex Faffy]

So maybe like some sort of deposit that you get returned if you are active in testing and bug reports? I wouldn't mind that too much. Personally this solution seems pretty cool as those who are just buying it just to have an early copy end up getting it with a slight markup and those who will actively test will get a nice discount and will be able to help the development of the game they are enjoying

[hanako]

Probably too much work to set up, though. We'll see.

[phoenixgirl]

I don't preorder games often but when I do, I honestly don't want to put in the work to test it. I buy it early to get the discount and then just wait until the final game is released to play it. There are most likely others who have the same thinking.

[hanako]

Yeah, and that's the problem, because then it gets released broken and everyone whines about it. And the people who didn't want to test it STILL end up facing bugs and crashes in their 'finished' game, that we didn't know about because we thought it was tested...

This is why some companies have gone the other way around and are charging *more* for the pre-release version, to ensure that only people who are invested are going to take part.

My favorite solution would be to have some sort of bonus that is only available to people who download and play the game during the testing period but then I'd have to figure out what that would be. Dunno. Got more important things to worry about at the moment!

[Ren]

And that is why professional game testers are quite valuable. :P

You don't necessarily get OCD people to test your game, make repeat play-throughs, make testing plans, art checks etc. etc. The only "valuable" thing I can think of, for those who might care, is to put people as testers in the final credits, perhaps, but I got the impression that anyone who plays the game before it's out gets that privilege anyway. The problem for a small company is that a tester doing proper testing would end up costing you quite a bit, in the end, the pro is that a real tester is quite good at hunting down bugs, providing steps to repro, feedback and suggestions and all that stuff.

[FantasyFan]

Well I can say this - should the pre-release version be available early for a discount, I PROMISE I'll make the best effort possible to thoroughly test it.

[Troyen]

One thing some of the older Mac game companies used to do (when shareware was more popular) was send out free license keys to the really active testers during the beta to encourage people to actually test the game, but that was before the pre-release purchase model.

[hanako]

It's not really a big deal, I'll probably do what we always do, although of course people who speak up during the testing period have more ability to sway the way things go, so clamoring for certain features or harem routes or whatever might get better results then. But first we have to get that far!

At the moment I'm midway through writing Mallory's story - and Spiky is flapping about in despair trying to figure out if he's been chasing down a blind alley codewise for the past few months. Cross your fingers.

[FantasyFan]

Can't wait!

[hanako]

Mallory's story is prelim-finished, will probably pick up at least one more scene at some point though.

The remaining paths are slightly more complex: both Rowan and Vonne may end up having two entirely different paths each. However, one of the versions may be quite short, it depends on how it works out in writing. May also need to throw in some more 'no path' scenes so people who ignored or broke all the possible relationships still at least see people occasionally!

Spiky also has to get some features working before any testers can be let in. When the first testing DOES start, the art will still be full of major holes (the CGs at least will be missing, and it's possible there may be other changes) and new case-content will continue to slowly pour in. This thing is SUCH a big complicated mess of noodles.

[FantasyFan]

I'm still in to help test it. Your games are awesome.

[Ren]

This thing is SUCH a big complicated mess of noodles. :)

Awesome noodles! I'm quite thrilled work has resumed on it. :D