Is This Game Really Pre-Alpha
I recall Alpha meaning not even close to finished and Beta being close to finished. So Pre-Alpha makes it sound like its barely even a game yet. But the game seems finished...
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- Yes it is, there are a lot of systems not in place yet (friends, microtransactions, the matchmaking update) that will be for release, beta tends to imply feature complete in software development (even if game companies occasionally ignore this :P) also the number and severity of bugs we're seeing indicate its pretty early.
With games these days it often feels like the terminology has all shifted backwards one step. We have "beta" games that are basically final products all the way to selling DLC and microtransactions with the promise of "no wipe". This game feels like an Alpha to me, but in today's game dev cycle I guess pre-Alpha is the terminology of choice.
Back in the day, Alpha would mean your gameplay loop was functional - a full vertical slice of your game was playable - but you didn't have all the bells and whistles and bugs worked out yet, and likely still had a lot more content to add. Which is kinda what this feels like to me.
