Apocalypse Soon: 'Nuclear Throne' Hits Steam Early Access

Nuclear Throne, the latest from Dutch indie duo Vlambeer, is now available on Steam’s Early Access program.

After the discussion of GaaSygames – games as a service – at the F2P summit yesterday, mention of Steam’s Early Access store is timely. Although it is not based on the same principles of monetization – Early Access games are bought with a one-off purchase – the philosophy of games as processes of iteration rather than finished objects is comparable.

Using the Early Access program, developers can not only give their fans an opportunity to see the development of their game as it happens, but also acquire capital for its ongoing development. Games like Kerbal Space Program have become critical successes and strong sellers without leaving the program.

In effect, Steam is embracing – and monetizing – the “paid alpha/beta” model made famous by Minecraft, the absurd success of which made its creator, Markus Persson, a millionaire several times over before the game left beta in November 2011.

Glow future for you

Vlambeer are known as the creators of Super Crate Box, Luftrausers andRidiculous Fishing, arguably the best freemium-styled game ever to eschew freemium mechanics. Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail noted that many people believed that the store in the game was broken because it did not allow real-money purchases, adding that in his opinion most free-to-play mechanics were difficult to implement without detracting from the quality of the game overall.

(Their own perceptions of the ethics of free-to-play development have also been colored, understandably, by the controversy over the alleged cloning of their online game Radical Fishing in 2011, which put the brakes on their own iOS adaptation, Ridiculous Fishing, which was eventually released in 2013.)

However, the service model has advantages for indie developers, who often experience the lumpiness of the product development and sales chain through lengthy periods of minimal earning. Early access programs are one approach to levelling out those bumps by making the product saleable earlier and for longer, as well as acting as a marketing tool. Vlambeer’s mix of public statements of integrity and novel promotional activity – currently, they are live-streaming development of Nuclear Throne on Twitch.tv - has made Vlambeer one of the better-known and more admired independent developers in Europe.

Throne berry - the first fruits of this roguelikelike are available for early access

Nuclear Throne itself – renamed from its original title, Wasteland Kings, after a cordial discussion with Brian Fargo’s inXile Entertainment over the risk of confusion with the upcoming, Kickstarter-funded Wasteland 2 – is a roguelike-like, in which the player fights for control over a post-apocalyptic, randomly generated wasteland, aided by sudden mutations. Anyone eager to get their hands, paws or pseudopodia on the initial build can do so on Steam or through the Humble store, via the game’s site.