But instead, the stripped down sandbox became really popular, and that success in its own way shifted our priorities. We originally thought weвЂ™d get a few thousand extra playtesters and a few months of player data and then launch the game fully. вЂњWe really had no idea the game would do well on Early Access. вЂњWe had a small pool of testers from our Kickstarter,вЂќ van Lierop remembers, вЂњbut most of those players wanted to wait until the story was finished before they played anything, so we thought вЂ“ maybe we can separate the core survival mechanics of the game from the narrative layer, and just playtest that. Hinterland decided to give it a shot - a move that would prove particularly savvy. Cheng had taken his game, DonвЂ™t Starve, to Early Access that year and found a thriving playerbase of willing testers. But as he searched for a way to get greater feedback on his work, van Lierop heard about Early Access from friend and Klei Entertainment founder, Jamie Cheng.

Hinterland then set about delivering the game itвЂ™d promised. вЂњI think perhaps that Kickstarter for video games was the result of a moment in time, a transitional step between that kind of crowdfunding, and other new equity-based models such as what you see on Fig, to direct community alpha funding through platforms like Early Access and Game Preview.вЂќ вЂњEverything we read about Kickstarter in games now is that the funding and interest just isnвЂ™t there,вЂќ says van Lierop. But the heart and soul of The Long Dark was already there back in 2013.вЂќД«ut even with the lessons of hundreds of projects as a guide, Kickstarter triumph isnвЂ™t as simple as following in their footsteps. вЂњThere are some areas we havenвЂ™t quite hit the mark on (though the game isnвЂ™t finished, and I believe weвЂ™ll still get there), and other areas where we far exceeded our original scope and plans, primarily due to the gameвЂ™s success on Early Access and Game Preview.

The long dark gameplay