The survival game from Obsidian Entertainment where you are a kid shrunk to an insect size (Honey! I shrunk the kids!.. anyone?) is coming to Steam early access. Grounded is made by a small team within Obsidian, 14 or so developers, as an interesting side project. The Steam page for the game is up now.
Some information from Obsidian on the early access program:
Why Early Access?
“From our previous crowdfunding experience, we found incredible value in involving the community early in the process. Early Access provides an ability to receive and implement community feedback in a way that helps us more nimbly build a better game. Grounded is the type of experience in which community feedback will be critical, and Early Access will enable that feedback loop from the very beginning.”
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“We want to make the best experience possible and putting an exact timeline on an early-in-development game is very challenging. That said, we also want to be transparent with our community, so we will give you our best guess with the understanding that these plans may change. The current target for Grounded’s full release is sometime in 2021.
”How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“There is a ton of great content we want to deliver with Grounded, but more importantly some of the ideas and features may change dramatically based on the feedback we receive from the community. Our current plan for the full release is to have the following features:
• Complete storyline
• Steam Achievements and Cards
• More bugs! The insect kind.
• More environments and biomes
• More crafting recipes
• Additional features and updated systems to improve the entire experience”
What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“At the start of Early Access, the following features/content will be available in Grounded:
• Roughly 20% of the full storyline
• 3 major biomes – the grasslands, the hedge, and the haze
• Crafting
• Base building
• Single and online co-op play
• First two tiers of weapons and armor
• At least ten insects
• Arachnophobia mode”
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“We greatly appreciate the willingness of our community to support and engage with the development of Grounded. Therefore, early supporters will receive a benefit since we will gradually increase the price of Grounded in early access as we add more content and features.”
How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We want to create as many opportunities as possible for our community to engage with us and provide feedback. Whether it is our development blog, discord server, or monthly dev diaries, we will be listening, discussing, and incorporating your feedback from start to finish.”
The full release of Grounded is planned for 2021. Obsidian will use the time in early access to add features and polish to the game. The game can be played solo or in co-op.
Last week Obsidian announced that Grounded will be at PAX East 2020. There will be a panel hosted by Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb at the show. We’ll learn more about Grounded next week.
