Frustrated DayZ players are going to have to wait another two years to have the finished game in their hands, according to Brian Hicks, producer on the PC zombie-survival title from Bohemia Interactive.
The gaming community lauded DayZ when it first appeared as a mod for first-person shooter Arma II. When it hit Steam Early Access — the service that allows gamers to buy and play projects that are still in development — the standalone alpha version made $5 million in just one day. But some DayZ players are starting to lose faith, having dropped $30 on an experience that’s still far from complete.
Addressing angry fans on the DayZ forum, Hicks stressed that they’re still playing an early development build and that the game is a long way from being finished.
“DayZ is 11 months into principle [sic] development on what should be a three-year standard development cycle,” said Hicks, indicating just how far the development team still has to go.
Hicks went on to say that the team was trying to use Early Access to speed up the process by 6 or even 12 months, but that this was a “lofty goal.”
“Defining or judging what DayZ is by a build so early in its development is much akin to judging a painting within the first few brush strokes,” said Hicks. “Hell, even [painter and television host] Bob Ross’s paintings didn’t look great for the first few minutes, until you realized what it was he was making.”
Above: Bob Ross, not painting a scene from zombie survival game DayZ.
Hicks stressed that no triple-A titles look like the finished product at this stage in development and suggested that some DayZ players should maybe step away for a while. “Take a break, and come back in beta or even the full release,” he said.
Some player frustration is due to the recent announcement of DayZ as a PlayStation 4 title and a fear that diversifying platforms has slowed progress. According to DayZ creator Dean Hall, the team at Bohemia Interactive has been working on porting the game to console for the past year.
We took an in-depth look at Early Access back in June, speaking to developers of games whose production had stalled. Michael Lubker, developer of competitive arena shoot-em-up Steel Storm A.M.M.O., warned at the time that Early Access is “opening up the secrets of the underbelly that may not be so pretty.”
For many DayZ players, what they’re seeing isn’t pretty at all, and Hicks says that not everyone can handle the stress of being part of shaping the game. “For me, it’s worth it,” he said. “For some of you, it might not be. No one can fault you for that.”