Former Maxis employee and outspoken developer Chris Hecker has received a steady stream of attention since debuting his independent creation, SpyParty, at GDC a few years back. Hecker has been showing off updated versions of SpyParty at various trade shows, including some fascinating-to-watch demonstrations at PAX, but the project moved one step closer to reality today, moving into a paid beta.
The paid beta (aka the Minecraft model) will cost you $15, according to Hecker.
"This will let you play the beta as much as you want as I update it over SpyParty’s development, and also get you a copy of the finished game when it’s released on PC," he said. "I still have a lot of work to do in figuring the details out, so this stuff could change, but $15 is what you should expect when you get your invitation."
Minecraft will transition from paid beta to final game in November. SpyParty isn't anywhere near that, with Hecker noting it's a "long way from the finish line," so a release date is the furthest thing from his mind.
If you'd like to sign up for the beta, head on over to the official SpyParty website.
FYI, your link to the SpyParty website actually goes to the Minecraft page.
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Weird I saw beta signups but didn't see about it being paid. Not a bad idea really since this game I see getting way more updates than something like Minecraft. Christ Hecker is constantly thinking of new ideas, maps, game types, etc. This should work pretty well for him. Get the base product out there and improve on it over time.
@MattyFTM said:
Wow what. No.
Pretty great game actually for not even being done yet.
Klepek's on the ball again.
I first thought of mount & blade when that model was mentioned, but it's understandable why a more popular game like minecraft is used as an example
Shouldn't that be the Cortex Command model?
Buzz at a games convention doesn't mean it's going to be good. Plenty of games get a ton of talk at these events, but end up falling far short of expectations. And the uniqueness of this game only increases the chances of that being the case with this game. People have talking about the uniqueness of it, not the actual quality of the product. As I said, the concept behind it is really cool, and if it all comes together then the game will be awesome, but there is no guarantee that it's going to happen. It could fall flat on it's face and be terrible for all you or I know. I hope that doesn't happen, but I'm not going to be paying for it when it's still a very real possibility that it could happen.