Mojang wants your feedback for its next game before it’s complete.
Mojang has revamped the website for its next game, Scrolls, complete with a launch plan and a new gameplay trailer. In a post following the website’s relaunch, Mojang co-founder and Scrolls developer Jakob Porser explains the basic roadmap for the game’s development, including some of the planned features for each stage.
The closed alpha for the collectible card game is “rapidly approaching,” according to Porser, and will segue into an open beta sold at a discount, then finally open into the full game for the full price. Neither the alpha nor the beta of Scrolls will be feature complete, which Porser explains is Mojang’s way to solicit and implement feedback for the game before release.
The alpha will focus on the actual card game, including multiplayer and singleplayer matches and the ability to build your card deck from over 100 available scrolls. For the beta, Mojang will “look to include” a single player world for players to explore and complete battles to earn more scrolls. Porser mentioned several other features planned post-alpha, including an auction house, character customization, and even quests.
The release plan for Scrolls bears a striking, albeit unsurprising, resemblance to the launch of Minecraft, which gradually increased in price as it entered beta, then gold status. Charging for an incomplete product is not something developers usually get away with, but if any studio has enough goodwill and track record to pull it off, it’s Mojang.
Update: Mojang has announced that the Scrolls alpha has begun, and has begun randomly emailing game codes to people who’ve signed up. Alpha players will be able to build decks and fight matches against AI opponents and other players.
Source: Scrolls.com via Eurogamer
