The Future Project Delayed to 2023
Turns out, I need a little more time.
Infinite Level game discussed: The Future Project
Hey all! Got an unfortunate special dev blog post for today. As the title makes clear, The Future Project is being delayed to 2023. The original goal of a 2022 release has proven unobtainable, and it seemed best to just go ahead and accept that truth and let you all know. It's disappointing for me too, but I hope you'll be willing to bear with me a little while longer as I make The Future Project as good as it can be. I'm sure you'll have a few questions, so I'll attempt to answer them here in this blog:
Is there a more concrete release date other than just 2023?
Unfortunately, not at this time. For now I'm sticking with just a year, and nothing more. I believe I've said this before, but I try to withhold exact release dates until I know I can deliver the game on that date. I already feel bad enough delaying the game into next year. What I don't want is to give a date now and then have to come out and say it's delayed again. All that said, I have a pretty solid idea of when a good time to release the game will be, but that's going to be heavily dependent on my progress over the remainder of this year. Rest assured that as soon as I know when I can release the game, I'll be making announcements. On top of that, I can pretty much guarantee that the release will happen next year, given the game's current state. There would have to be some freak accident to delay into even further years, so 2023 should be set in stone.
Is there a particular reason for the delay?
There's a few different reasons, but the biggest reason is that I simply underestimated the amount of work to be done. If I were to manage a 2022 release, it would be very late in 2022 (possibly even the last day), and it would either be lacking content or be extremely buggy. As I don't want to have my own personal Cyberpunk 2077 or Fallout 76, I've opted to instead delay the game so we get both the necessary content in the game and a polished, playable experience. The AAA industry would have you believe you can sacrifice one or both of these things for the sake of giving people an earlier release (and of course, more profits before their fiscal year ends), but I've found that patience is often rewarded with a better game. And it's not like I have investors to please or a lack of personal money to stay afloat with, so at that point why wouldn't I just delay the game and spare myself the stress and crunch?
So you're not gonna push to get the game out ASAP?
Nope, and I've never operated that way. All of the games I've developed have been made with the philosophy of “it's done when it's done”. It's one of the perks of being a solo indie dev...I can kinda do what I want. That has its drawbacks of course, but in general it's great for my sanity. It's also worth noting that I still work a full time job alongside doing game development, so putting in eight or more hours a day into the development of The Future Project has never really been a realistic goal to begin with. I instead just try to keep the game's scope reasonable and make the most of the development time I have.
How far along is The Future Project?
It's hard to put an exact percentage on that, but I'd estimate somewhere around 70-75% complete. The major items missing are some parts of late game maps, the entire final area, and some remaining story bits. That may not sound like a lot, but there's a lot that goes into any one of those items. The final area, for instance, still needs to be its own fleshed out map, given unique enemies and obstacles, and of course the final boss. And even that's a generalization of the work to be done. I've been saying that the game is getting close (which it is), but that doesn't change the fact that there's a lot of content to be added. There's also all the bugs that need to be found and fixed, balancing the game, and additional features that sometimes only get implemented after a playtester suggests the idea. It's getting there, but it's simply going to need a little more time in the oven to give players the experience I want them to have.
Are the dev blogs still going to be posted monthly?
Yes! Don't worry, I have no intention of suddenly going silent. The monthly dev blogs will still happen on the first of each month, same as they always have. The next dev blog post scheduled for October 1st, and will actually be a progress report that will give some insight into what's been accomplished over the past few months. That alongside this post you're reading now should bring you completely up to speed on the game's progress. I do hope you continue to read them despite the game's delay. They should at least tide you over until the game's final release.
Hopefully that addresses all the big questions you may have had. Delays aren't fun for anyone, but I appreciate your understanding on the matter. As mentioned above, I'll be back on the first of October for our usual dev blog post. In the meantime, I've got a game to make.
Until next time!
-Lance T.