It’s hard not to be jaded when it comes to the video game industry. Over the past two decades, gamers have seen their rights as consumers stripped away, quality and standards drop, over-monetization of games, dedicated servers removed, draconian DRM continue thriving, ability to curate our own online experience removed, $70 price gouging for inferior products, physical copies rendered worthless, and more that has eroded the experience of gamers. So hearing what developer Fun Dog Studios is saying about their game, The Forever Winter, just makes it sound too good to be true.
If you don’t know, The Forever Winter is a co-op tactical horror PvE shooter where a team of players will have to survive by scavenging the bodies of the dead in the vicinity of gigantic war machines, belonging to warring civilizations, that are locked in constant combat. The game looks like a combination of the Metro games aesthetic with Mechwarrior meets Terminator with a dash of Attack on Titan elements. You also don’t play as uber warrior soldiers, but simply people trying to survive in a harsh world – scavengers.
Not only does the game look intriguing and could be a big hit, the developer’s plans for the game give me hope for The Forever Winter and the gaming industry in general. At least, I want to feel that hope after listening to what was said about the game in its Early Access announcement video titled “Declaration of War.”
In the video, the developer talks about the current issues with the video game industry and what will be happening with The Forever Winter as each issue is touched on. The first thing discussed was pricing, with the developer pointing that no one should have to pay more than $50 for a game. Which is what The Forever Winter will retail for when it officially releases but, while in Early Access, will be available at $27. There will be a special edition with some extras, but no price was disclosed for that edition, only that players can buy it if they want to spend more than $50.
The next issue took a direct shot at the industry which has become grossly miserly when it comes to content released for games. No longer do many mainstream developers and publishers release maps, factions, weapons, characters, bosses, and anything else you can think of for free for love of the game and the player base. Everything is monetized and paywalled for a product that retains no value. The Forever Winter will not be doing that. Instead, the developer’s approach to content hearkens back to when maps, guns, additional quests, new bosses, and more were free while only cosmetic items, in this case skin packs, will be available for purchase.
Of course, what really piqued my interest was the developer talking about video game hosting; something that was one of the first things taken away from gamers during the golden age of the 90s.
In the words of Fun Dog Studios,
“Now let’s talk hosting.
Regardless of how many people play, you will always be able to play with your friends locally and via peer to peer hosting. We learned from the nightmares some of our industry colleagues have gone through this past year. So that means no infinite loop matchmaking bugs, and no flooded servers where you can’t jump into what you just bought.
We did this so that no matter what happens, when you buy our game, you can jump in and rock and roll, even if it’s solo. If you want to reach out to the dev team, hit up the Discord. There’s a ton of homies in there that love Grimdark just as much as we do. Now, on a more somber note, these past few months, we lost Spec Ops The Line, Project Boundary, and now they are shutting down the Battlefield 3 servers. The reality is, in the never ending quest for profit, they are closing the gate on some really special games that inspired us”.
It’s great that The Forever Winter will allow gamers to play locally or via peer-to-peer, though I find it disappointing that there is no mention of dedicated servers for the game. However, this is still going in the right direction for gamers and especially for solo players which Fun Dog Studios hasn’t forgotten. Being able to play the game, without always-online DRM preventing you from playing the game because official servers are down for maintenance or issues, is awesome to hear.
Finally, it’s great to see a developer that really cares about what its playerbase wants and how active the devs will be in seeking feedback. Which involves releasing work-in-progress maps early and getting feedback from their players to cultivate a better gaming experience overall.
Having seen the “AAA” games released these days, The Forever Winter has a real shot in making a huge impact on the industry. The game’s setting and concept also has the potential to become a powerhouse IP if the developers choose to take The Forever Winter in different directions with future spinoffs that could appeal to fans of other genres.
I can’t wait to see how The Forever Winter progresses and whether or not Fun Dog Studios will live up to the ideals and goals they have set for themselves.
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