Wellinton

When I say Hytale is not good enough, I genuinely mean it. It's not some reverse psychology trick! Real talk: We are using a 4-year-old game build with over 300 versions (branches) of prototypes that we Frankenstein together in record time into a single branch. None of it was meant to be released this quickly and in this way. There are barely any game progression mechanics configured, and we have to implement them all in record time to make it somewhat enjoyable. Of course, I'm confident it's going to be "ok" for release. However, this is the current situation we are dealing with, on top of all the bug fixes, refactors, clean-ups and other ongoing issues that we are facing. We inherited a true hardcore engineering and design challenge, and we are on the clock to deliver early access. The exploration of the game is fun, don't get me wrong, but man, I wish we had more time to get a few more features or configurations in to enhance that experience, but no, we break the curse of release and fix later. This will come at a significant cost; some people will be permanently convinced the game is doomed to remain in this state, unaware that this is an authentic early access experience. I hope that people who share the game will explain the situation we are in and how we got here. Keep in mind, the gameplay video doesn't show much of the gameloop because, well, there isn't much of it. Combat, game vibe, and exploration are great fun, but there needs to be mechanics to keep it going over time. One thing I have learned over time is to enjoy the painful feedback. It is the most critical part of making games and improving yourself as a game designer. Of course, you have to be filtering out the ones that want to steer you in their own vision of what the game should be, so it's a balancing act. When I read negative feedback on the gameplay video, I don't get defensive or hurt. I'm literally like, "Yep, they are not wrong" or "Why do they think like this? How can I solve their problem?" This has taken me years to get to that point. Our community, over the last 14 years on MC, has not been shy about giving us their feedback. The one thing I can promise is that the game is owned by someone who cares and understands the situation, and I will do my best to empower my team to make a great game, however long it takes. This time, with all of you along for the ride, if you wish to be a part of it.