Prison Architect pre-orders pack playable alpha

Darwinia maker Introversion's Prison Architect is a fascinating one, a prison management simulator described by the developer as "inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital, and Dwarf Fortress." If you too are intrigued, you can start playing it this very day, as Introversion has opened pre-orders and offers a playable alpha as a perk.

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Darwinia maker Introversion's Prison Architect is a fascinating one, a prison management simulator described by the developer as "inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital, and Dwarf Fortress." If you too are intrigued, you can start playing it this very day, as Introversion has opened pre-orders and offers a playable alpha as a perk.

You can pre-order from Introversion on PC, Mac, and Linux for $30, which'll get you a Steam key should it ever hit the platform. Or, if you're feeling fancy, there are another seven pre-order options, as commonly seen in Kickstarters. These include a big bundle of Introversion games, physical copies and getting your face into the game.

"Since we started the company in 2001, Introversion has remained resolutely independent. We are not funded by publishers or platform holders, and we never will be. It is the most important thing for us to retain total creative control over what we do, which means the proceeds from each one of our games goes directly into funding the next," designer Chris Delay said in the announcement.

"This is how we have always operated, and while it does enable us to work on some often highly experimental concepts, it does sometimes cause us problems... By pledging more than the base asking price you will help us to retain that independence, to keep working on Prison Architect until it's the best game we've ever made, and to continue making original video games for you to enjoy for years to come."

Here's Introversion to explain the game a little, and tease some of the weird and wonderful bugs that can happen in an alpha version of software simulating complex things.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 27, 2012 12:30 PM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Prison Architect pre-orders pack playable alpha.

    Darwinia maker Introversion's Prison Architect is a fascinating one, a prison management simulator described by the developer as "inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital, and Dwarf Fortress." If you too are intrigued, you can start playing it this very day, as Introversion has opened pre-orders and offers a playable alpha as a perk.

    • reply
      September 27, 2012 1:28 PM

      This should be fun.

    • reply
      September 27, 2012 1:48 PM

      [deleted]

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      September 27, 2012 3:11 PM

      Dig it. Plus it's unlikely we'll see a PrisonVille.

    • reply
      September 27, 2012 7:01 PM

      Initial Impressions:

      I dropped $35 for the 2nd package and am really enjoying the game so far. The introduction bit they do really shows off the personality the full game should have which I like. Will be interesting to see how they expand on it.

      As for building the prisons, holy hell does it get crazy fast. There are three sandbox sizes (small through large) and you always start with the same amount of funds. You have one in game day (don't worry it doesn't fly by) to build a starter prison to house 8 inmates. Every day that number will increase so you have to constantly keep building. There are some parts of the foundation feature that annoy the hell out of me so make sure your placement is right before doing it otherwise you will find yourself rebuilding structures. Room assignments are a nice touch to organize sections of your prison.

      There are many types of staff like workers, guards, nurses, etc. Workers will only work if they feel safe so you have to build cells before inmates come or it gets crazy (there are some parts of the workers that are a PITA). Guards will keep inmates in check but they will fight back and you have to watch out as inmates will hide weapons (you get a search inmate function). The inmates days are set up in shifts with free time, eating, showering, and sleeping. You always can put them in lockdown if needed (for me it was a lot).

      I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the game comes along and I am already addicted (4 hours flew by like nothing).

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        September 28, 2012 3:02 AM

        hmmm, sounds like something that I would enjoy.

        Sounds like co-operative multiplayer for this would be nice (2 people building the same prison), given how much you have to organize / coordinate.

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