Dead State - Why isn’t Dead State Done Yet

Brian Mitsoda has posted two interesting updates on the forum for Dead State where he talks about why the game isn't released yet. So here is the first post.

Why isn’t Dead State Done Yet?! Pt.1

Without a doubt, some of the most frequent comments we get at DoubleBear are about how we have been “Making this game forever” and “What’s taking so long?” and I’d like to take the time in this Design Update to talk a little about the business of game development and set the record straight about how this game in “5 years of development” could possibly not be done yet. If you’re one of the people who are frequently upset about the time it has taken for the game to be completed, please take the time to read this update.

And his second post on the topic with more infomation.

Why isn't Dead State Done Yet?! Pt.2

So, you might be wondering: “It’s 2014, and if the game was Kickstarted and put into full-swing production in 2012, why isn’t it done?” Software development imprecision aside, as I said before, the skeleton crew needed for swift(er) RPG development is about 30-ish people. After the Kickstarter, we were at about 8 full-time people, 1 part-time team member, and 2 amazing professionals who were contributing sound and music support on the side for us. Most of the staff was inexperienced and was still getting used to working on a schedule and working together remotely (inexperienced does not mean bad at their job, it means not as fast as senior staff that have worked together before.) Our first shot at a production pipeline was enough to get the ball rolling, albeit very slowly. Usually an RPG has several people just on the design side (writing, systems/combat, level leads), but we didn’t have the budget for additional seniors or the time to train up anyone on the design side, so most of that fell to me. By late 2012, we were starting to get the game in shape, but it was obvious that we needed a few more people and a more efficient system to coordinate departments and keep track of finished assets.

So, you might wonder why I’m telling you this, and the truth is: it flat-out sucks to hear that our game is “taking too long” or starting an interview off with questions like “So your game has been in the works for a while now…” I know I’ve said it before, but I promise you, no one wants Dead State out more than us. The truth is, games don’t manifest out of thin air the moment they’re announced. Concept art, ideas, and mockups are not a game. If you’re hearing about an original game for the first time at E3 or PAX, chances are it was being developed 2-3 years before it was ever mentioned to the public (remember, we announced DoubleBear the week we formed a company with no budget and with a handful of people.)