The publishers of recent city-builder sensation Manor Lords and elderly survival sim juggernaut The Long Dark are facing a mostly gentle clash over how many major updates a game should have in early access and the fallout from possible in terms of overwork of developers and loss of interest from players. .
Yesterday, Hinterlands CEO Raphael van Lierop published a post on LinkedIn describing Manor Lords as “a rather interesting case-study in the pitfalls of Early Access development when a game with a small team (and heavily marketed as such ) strikes a starving audience.” Like RPS insider Nic Reuben, Van Lierop is keen on Manor Lords, describing it as “very high quality”, but has a knack for selected with the lack of major additions since release.
“It launched with a pretty solid core game, but without a lot of content,” van Lierop writes. “A very system-centric game needs either a variety of maps, game modes, or a dynamic amount of proc-gen to keep it fresh.
“Manor Lords has none of those things. So, after you have played 5-10 rounds of the game, there is nothing more to do. The fixed maps and simplicity of resources means that there aren’t many different early game permutations because the starting conditions are almost always the same. That’s not great for an RTS/city builder.”
Van Lierop claims that the developers of Manor Lords Slavic Magic are unable to meet the need for expansion because the studio is basically one person, Grzegorz Styczeń (he had a hand with the mutton-based soundtrack), but still thinks that Hooded Horse should have worked with Styczeń to release some juicy changes closer to launch.
“As a result of the lack of updates, the NJQKs [concurrent users worldwide] have dropped since launch (which isn’t all that unusual – it’s the current trend for many Early Access titles blowing up these days),” he writes. “But given the huge number of wishlists and buzz around it leading up to launch, this is something the developer and publisher should have been better prepared for, IMO.”
“Early Access is a marathon, and when you start, you should have the next big content expansion almost in line,” the post continues. “The game has been out for 2.5 months and has had three fairly minor patches with no new features or content.
“As such, I’ve put the game aside and don’t expect to look at it again for another 6 months, at which point I’ll probably focus on playing something else. It’s really hard to get people’s attention back once you’ve lost it.”
Van Lierop concludes by advising that developers of early access games plan “2-3 major updates with new content and features (in addition to whatever live fixes you need to unlock)” within three months of release.
That’s not how Tim Bender, CEO of Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse, sees the situation. He describes van Lierop’s post as “exactly the kind of twisted infinite growth/burden of expectations/line must rise perspective that causes so many problems in the gaming industry.” He’s also unconcerned that Manor Lords has fallen behind its initial popularity, scoffing at the “seemingly dark reality that some people, having enjoyed buying a premium, single-player title, may decide to move on and to play another game (Horror Horror!)
Bender says he has warned Styczeń not to pay attention to comments about players leaving the Manor Lords. “Before release, I had a conversation with the developer of Manor Lords. I told him that after release, he’d hear from all kinds of commentators talking about missed opportunities because he didn’t get to grow as fast as they wanted, and judging the game as a failure by some kind of expectation they created. .
“I told him to ignore all of that — to focus on his core vision for the game and to keep in mind that the road to early entry is long and that he shouldn’t feel any sense of pressure from other people’s expectations — to two. own health and stress levels over the coming years and for maintaining the calm and peaceful state of mind that supports his creative vision.
“If this industry is going to find a more sustainable way forward, we need to get away from them [van Lierop’s post]”, concludes Bender. “Success should not create an ever-increasing bar of new growth expectations. Not every game should aim to turn into an outright boom or bust of the service. And a release shouldn’t start an ever-accelerating treadmill in which developers are forced to run until their mental or physical health breaks down.”
Missing from the discussion is an understanding of how much money Slavic Magic and Hooded Horse currently need to support the continued development of Manor Lords. I think Bender is right about things, but in van Lierop’s defense, he is calling for a specific rate of new expansions to keep players coming back, not trying for “infinite” growth. Hinterland itself isn’t big on overwork in the name of guidebook fatness – The Long Dark’s opening screen includes the words “quietly made by people who care about their players in a studio that cares about its people.”
We spoke to Bender earlier in the year about how Manor Lords will change during Early Access. He described Styczeń’s approach as “collaborative” and “engaged in the community.” If you love the game and are struggling for things to do in it, maybe take a leaf out of the Reubensday Tome and chase the cattle.