Streamer Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm IV recently revealed a game development studio that aimed to go about game development in an entirely new way, with a focus on including community. But the new Midnight Society’s fresh way of handling game development has received some backlash from other game studios.
The Two-Time announced a new game earlier this year that’s going by the codename of Project Moon. This new game is still largely a mystery, though it appears to be a vertical take on a battle royale. There was some initial controversy over Dr Disrespect’s decision to include NFTs in a Founders Pass for fans that want to have more say in the game’s development. Now the spotlight is on Dr Disrespect’s newly released rollout plan.
Midnight Society recently shared a roadmap for Project Moon, the vertical FPS. In the official blog post, Dr Disrespect explains that the goal is to be as transparent as possible during the development process, releasing something called Snapshots that allows Access Pass holders to interact with playable experiences “focused around specific milestones” every six weeks.
“Every milestone has feedback parameters around weapons, player abilities, gameplay, and play spaces within the game. Our team will be collecting feedback, prioritizing it, and applying it to upcoming Snapshots,” the blog reads.
Fans with Access Passes will have the rights to stream and create content using the Snapshots. The feedback from each Snapshot will help shape the game and its content.
The unorthodox process had some in the gaming industry curious about the plan’s viability. Forbes writer Paul Tassi asked game developers if Midnight Society’s decision to put out Snapshots every six weeks and then have players vote on which features to pursue or cut was a good idea.
A game developer actually responded with their own opinion on the matter. Bungie game director Joe Blackburn, who works on Destiny 2, replied that the cycles are “too fast,” cast doubt as to whether anything “meaningful” could change in just six weeks. While he did feel that some innovation would come from the process, Blackburn noted that games are “bad for a long time,” which may lead many potential concepts to be “panned” before they are given a chance to properly develop.
Dr Disrespect wasted no time replying to the ongoing discussion. He gave a sarcastic response to Paul Tassi’s tweet, facetiously hoping that game developers would think his plan is “ok.”
Dr Disrespect’s decision to be fully transparent and include fans in the development process is a fresh take in the gaming industry. Many are still wondering how it will ultimately work for Midnight Society, however. It should be noted that the Two-Time’s development team includes prominent game developers that have experience, so Dr Direspect will at least have some additional experience.
Since his initial tweet, Dr Disrespect hasn’t given any more public thoughts on the ensuing discussion.
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