Why Early Access?

“As this game is still under development, and many assets and features have yet to be developed and implemented, it is primed to have its features and game play direction steered by community input. While under development, very few things are set in stone. Tapping into the collective imaginations of the Broken Dungeon community, the game's end design will become the best game of its kind that it can be.

For now, the following are still in active development:
- Additional sound effects
- Additional particle effects
- Additional monsters and bosses
- Additional hand-crafted dungeon chunks
- Some combat mechanics (projectile deflection, melee blocking, shock debuff)
- Additional rogue loot
- Additional magic spells
- Melee weapon unique abilities
- Final boss (both human and AI controlled versions)
- Hidden secrets and discoverables

The above listed features are what I believe the game currently needs to feel "complete," and are what I am currently developing. However, as a single developer, my own view point is likely narrow and biased. I wish for everyone's help to grow Broken Dungeon into a fun and rewarding experience that I alone could not imagine.

However, should the Broken Dungeon community view my current vision for the game as what they, too, desire, then the game will be completed per my original vision.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“As the game is being developed by just one person, the creation of unique assets takes the longest amount of time. As such, it is difficult to definitively say a time frame, but I do not expect early access to last all the way until 2022.

With that being said, based on the inspirations from the community, the time-frame is subject to change, should significantly complex or relatively simple game design changes be accepted into the game's road map.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“At the time of typing this, the current state of the game has most of the core features developed and implemented. The bulleted points in the "Why Early Access" section state what is currently missing from the game's current vision.

However, one major difference that the full version will have is a more solid Dungeon Master role. At the moment, a human Dungeon Master acts more like a troll rather than an opponent to the VR Adventurer. With the help of the community, I hope to refine this role to be more balanced and fun. My current vision for the Dungeon Master is to have game-play similar to a Tower Defense game. Easy to learn, challenging to master.

As for the VR Adventurer role, its play style is currently well developed in-line with my original vision, and already offers a fun experience.

It should be noted, though, that the end vision of the game may differ significantly based on what suggestions or requests the Broken Dungeon community generates.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“At the time of typing this, the game supports both single player VR, and limited asymmetrical local multiplayer experiences. The ending of the game has not been implemented, though. As such, dungeon runs can be endlessly played with infinitely stacking loot, endlessly scaling monsters and bosses, but there is no current definitive end to the game other than quitting or dying.

The single player VR experience is most developed, in which the player can endlessly explore a procedurally generated dungeon, fight and defeat the monsters and floor bosses, collect infinitely stacking loot, achieve high scores separated by difficulty setting, accomplish challenges to unlock new loot, and have their progress on said challenges and high scores saved.

The asymmetrical Dungeon Master experience is about 50% developed. The Dungeon Master player can use mana to spawn monsters, fire ethereal skulls from an orbiting point of origin, use the dungeon wide skill when off cool-down, zoom and pan the overhead map, and purchase new monsters and skills at the dungeon store in between dungeon floors. However, the 1st person view final boss and the tower-defense like traps and resource management have not been developed and implemented, yet.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Yes. Upon the game's initial early access, it will be discounted to reflect the lack of a finished product and missing content. As the game gets closer to it's final 1.0 release, the price will rise to reflect major additions to the game's content. It will not reach full price until the 1.0 release of the game has been finalized and launched.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“As this is a game being designed to fill a few holes in the line-up of VR experiences per my own observations, I seek to create an experience that can be enjoyed well beyond the first play-through, and isn't restricted to just a single player while your friends or family have to wait for their turn to interact with the game.

As such, I desire input from the community of Broken Dungeon to make both the Adventurer (VR) and Dungeon Master (keyboard / mouse) roles fun and engaging.

I understand that I have only a narrow viewpoint on the game, as I am but a single person developing it from scratch. Thus, I know that I am likely turning a blind eye to things in the game that I have become accustomed to, but a fresh pair of eyes would realize it doesn't make sense or could be better.

I will spend time reading reviews and posts on the Broken Dungeon Steam forum, and take inspiration, or even direct guidance, to drive the direction of both roles of the game until they are both fun, balanced, and engaging regardless if you are the Adventurer or the Dungeon Master.

Early access will allow the game to be put in the hands of the community while the game is in its most malleable state. It is during this time that the desires of the players can help bring them a better game in the end.”