Hello everyone!
💖
It’s been a while since we last wrote something to you, and for a good reason: a lot of things are happening on our side! We have a lot of topics, bad as well as good, on the agenda today!
First of all, let’s check the roadmap first: we had previously announced a playtesting session in May/June (with the Steam Next Fest demo to end this session). To be honest, we haven’t launched a first playtest session yet. Still, we got plenty of useful feedback on the June demo, so many thanks for your comments!
Of course, we’re still planning to do some playtests sessions: the first sessions should start by the end of summer. More than a hundred of you have signed up for them, which makes us very happy!
You may think, “that’s great but we want to be able to play the full game, not the playtest version. So when will we be able to play ARISEN?”
We made an important decision for the future of the game, and it was not an easy one. A while back, we asked you on Discord what would you prefer for the release. We finally decided to release the game in Early Access on Steam in the coming weeks (yes, weeks!). Even if we would have preferred to let you play the whole game from start to the end, the financial realities caught up with us. So we’ve decided to release the game into 3 pieces, Act by Act. It’s allowing us to improve the game step by step between these big releases.
Why will you release the game in Early Access?
There are several reasons behind why. Financial reasons on one hand (more than 2 years without any income) and on the other hand, the impact of the covid both on our providers and partners. Of course, our organisation itself suffered from it (almost everyone is working remotely now). There are also internal changes that had to be considered, which we will discuss in a later update.
What does this mean for backers?
As promised, for those who have a pledge with the beta reward, we will give you access to a beta version of the game (on Steam) during these next weeks. It will include the entire First Act playable, in English and French. This version will evolve through different patches to become the Early Access version. Then, we will add Act 2 or 3 later on, at no extra cost for all those who already have a key to the game (from Kickstarter or purchase on Steam).
For those who have a pledge with the game, we’ll send you a Steam key as soon as Early Access will be released.
What is the current state of the game’s development?
All the textual and visual content for the Act 1 is done. Concerning the Act 2, the script is currently being translated and the art content is almost completed. About the Act 3, the story script is almost finished while the art team is about to finish the last backgrounds and remaining characters.
The team is busy focusing on testing and integrating all the systems in ARISEN. Since we want the game to be like a gamebook, we want it to be as non-linear as possible. These game’s systems are crucial in providing the sense of freedom we want. It’s where we still have so much work to do, and that’s what we will focus on during the early access.
What’s next?
We’ll keep you updated on the next big steps (such as the early access release date). Meanwhile, please remember to fill your crowdox information, especially as we will need your emails to send your Steam keys soon! Of course if you have to change your address, it should be possible to change it.
Of course, thank you for your support and patience!
Before leaving you, here’s a little preview, a first image of the launch trailer we’re working on!
The Maratus team.