If you’ve been following us, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve been excited about the alpha for a long time. It’s hard to maintain excitement for that long about anything, but in our case, the first alpha release has always felt right around the corner. Even back in May, I remember us talking internally about how it’d probably be out “next week.” We had a couple more goals we wanted to get squared away, but quickly we realized that those goals demanded more time than we expected, and that time allowed us to see some other issues in the game that we wanted to address before the alpha. Over time, it got pushed further and further back so that, only now, can I actually write the following sentence: Gears of Eden Alpha 1 starts next week.
Gosh dang; what a rush!
Two major things were accomplished this week to allow for this declaration. The first is that we finally have our dialogue lines implemented! We’ve had these ready for months, but of course, it’s easy to make up goofy little lines. What’s difficult is developing the event system that would facilitate them and the tools needed to import them. Even harder? Being the developer who has to teach the dumb writers how to use it. Thanks again, Reid!
The second is the delivery system by which our testers will be receiving their Alpha Keys. Sounds simple, right? But this is game development: nothing is simple. It’s actually a pretty robust system that we’ll be using a lot in the future, and this alpha is sort of like its maiden voyage! The alpha keys for this testing period will be delivered in groups in order to ease traffic on our end, and the first group can expect to receive their Key (and the instructions on how to use it) this weekend! Here, you can thank Corentin for making this process as smooth as possible!
It’s still sinking in that people are going to be playing Gears of Eden soon. Thank you so much for sticking with us, and I can’t wait to see all your feedback on the alpha. It’s not a game, and it’s not even a demo, but strong feedback here will go a long way to make Gears of Eden great. If you want to be a part of that, there’s still time to join in! Signing up for our newsletter automatically puts you into the drawing for one the many Alpha Keys we’re giving away, or you can always make a donation for one instead! We’ll be back next week with more Gears of Eden news, so be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!
