A Philosophy Shaped By Our History
We live in an era of rapid change, and gaming especially is a field that has evolved a lot. We’ve witnessed a lot of this personally, and it has shaped our view on the game industry. We’ll go through it chronologically.
We, the developers, were born in 1993 and 1994 and started gaming from a young age. 1999-2001 saw the release of games like Rollercoaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon and The Sims. We’ve played these a lot.
The 2000s were perhaps the most transformational decade in gaming. Graphics rapidly improved from the most primitive 3D to near photorealistic. A sequel meant a new engine, advanced physics and gameplay redesigned from the ground up. The potential seemed infinite.
Games were released on physical discs. We walked from store to store, comparing prices, looking for discounts, purchasing second-hand games.
Digital Distribution
In the 2010s, more change happened. The primary method of distribution became digital, instead of physical. An online connection became a default assumption. This had many benefits, but also some drawbacks. Releasing a polished product was less important, because you could fix it later with patches. And it became possible to release endless amounts of DLC and to integrate stores in the game itself, selling you cosmetics and power-ups for real life money.
Games became some of the most profitable entertainment products in history - but AAA titles also required studios employing thousands of employees. Development became standardized, streamlined. Often, this meant less risk, yearly sequels and less complexity.
This is the period in which we started working on the project that became Colony Survival. The first prototype emerged around 2012. In 2014, we turned our project into an actual company, and Colony Survival received its current name. Three years later, in 2017, we launched the game on Steam.
We can conclude that we’re inhabiting a frontier in unexplored territory. Gaming is a new form of entertainment, and digital distribution is even newer. What’s the optimal form of development?
We could have gone the standard path. Release Colony Survival I, II and III and then develop CS IV. Publish lots of DLCs for every release, ensuring that barely anybody owns everything.
But does that still make sense in the 2020s? Does it have optimal results for the game, the public and the developer?
For our project, we think it’s best to focus all our energy on one game. A complete package that has experienced many years of growth and refinement. No infinite list of DLC, no in-game shop and slowed down progression systems that encourage you to spend your money on boosters.
This wasn’t possible in the era of physical discs. It’s probably not viable for a massive corporation that needs offices for thousands of employees, and profits to give to shareholders. But we’re just a two-man team working from our home offices.
It’s an experiment, but one that we love working on. Will you join this adventure?
One Package to Rule Them All
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