Dev Update #50: Rolling Out The Alpha!

This week’s Dev Update is going to be shorter because it’s less about what we’ve been doing and more about what’s happening right now! Just last night, our Creative Director Ben Sledge was able to scratch off the final requirements for the alpha, and last weekend we sent out Alpha Keys to the first alpha group, though this group consisted of internal team members to make sure the system worked properly. Since it went off without a hitch, we’re now officially ready to start rolling out Alpha One!

So, what does this mean? Well, we’ll be sending out batches of Alpha Keys over the next few weeks in waves. We’d love to send them all at once, but we want to go easy on our servers and make sure things are working as we go. It’s a soft launch, heavy on the soft. The last thing we want is for someone interested in the alpha to try and download, only to fail because everyone in the alpha is downloading at the same time! The plan is to draw randomly from those who have signed up for our mailing list, but we’ve also given Alpha Keys to backers, and these individuals have the highest priority. That said, if you haven’t made a donation, but still want to get into the alpha? Comment here to let us know, or even let us know on Twitter or Facebook! We want the Alpha Keys to be distributed fairly, but we also want to make sure they go to people who actually want them.

If this sounds like something you’re into, that’s great! But, just to be safe, we need to remind you of one very important thing: this is not a game. It’s not even a demo. What you’ll be seeing in Alpha One is the most basic functionality of the game in its most basic form. There are even major mechanics that have yet to be implemented! What you’ll be seeing is the very foundation of Gears of Eden that everything else will be built on top of. If you want, you can be an integral part in making sure that it’s a solid foundation for a game that we hope to be truly great. More info can be found here!

This is a busy week for the Gears of Eden team, but it’s one we’ve been eager to see come to life! That’s it for this week’s Dev Update, but we’ll be back this weekend with more talk about Alpha One in this week’s Reaching Eden Podcast! Until then, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest news for Gears of Eden. Thank you for supporting us through this development process, it truly means the world to us.