When I previewed The Darwin Project at last year’s E3, one of the most notable elements then was the fact that spectators play a role in how each deathmatch plays out. Now, as the game is entering its second closed alpha weekend, developers, spectators, and players get a chance to see just what show directing looks like.
The alpha began today Friday, December 15, at 3:00 pm EST (12:00 pm PST) and continues until tomorrow, Sunday, December 16, at 12:00 am EST (9:00 pm PST).
The team over at Scavengers Studio is continuing to distribute codes the closed alpha on their Twitter. Though claiming one will be hard unless you have lightning reflexes, or unless you don’t mind registering for access to their website.
In the age of streaming services like Twitch, Mixer, and YouTube, Scavengers Studio believes that the interest lies in the viewers who they say far outnumber the actual players in video games today.
This can be seen as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds regularly hovers around 100,000 viewers on Twitch alone thanks to the recently released Xbox One port. The Darwin Project aims to make those people more active participants in the outcome of each match, allowing them to influence the map, gravity, and more.
The Darwin Project is set to release in early 2018 on PC and Xbox One.