I thought I'd take a moment to let you all in on the grand plan on how we proceed from here.
Before you get too excited, what you are about to read is not set in stone and timing of all these things is still very loose.
What we have right now is a prototype. A promising product with a little bit of polish, but still very much a prototype. Many game systems are not complete and many game features have still yet to be properly defined before they reach a final implementation.
1. Vertical Slice
What we'd like to do next is take the prototype to the next level which is a playable demo or a "Vertical Slice". In this Vertical Slice we will implement all the game systems we think will be required for the final product. For the most part these features will work, but won't be pretty.
This will allow us to create a small playable scenario with all game systems knitted together into an "experience" and prove that we can actually deliver the final product.
This will include dialogue system, facial animation pipeline, combat system, skill system, crafting system, soul and blood sacrifice systems, audio and music systems, cut scenes, 3D character assets, 3D environment assets, etc.
2. Crowd Fund
We have already sunk a little of our funds into the project and we'll spend a little more by the time the vertical slice is done, but it won't be enough to complete the project.
We'll need help from the community to fund the remainder of the project. This will likely be a KickStarter campaign.
The vertical slice build will probably be made available for the community to play at this time.
There will be more information on this closer to the time we launch the campaign.
3. Alpha Build / Early Access
With the money raised from crowd funding we can start paying concept artists, music composers, etc. to start creating the actual game content that you can expect to play in the final product.
Through this time we'll be working with the community via the forums to refine the game features and mechanics. This way we can make a great game that the audience actually wants to play.
When we get to a point where the game is quite stable and most of the game story and levels are complete we'll push to get the Beta on Steam for Early Access
So that's the plan as it stands right now. You'll notice I did not provide any dates so nobody can blame if dates slip or milestones change :)
Leave your comments below if you want to know more or you want to request the topic of the next update.
You can follow us on Twitter or Facebook for all the latest news, pictures and updates.
You can get involved in the discussion on the Forum.
Thanks for the support
Sandbox D7 Team
