Alpha builds are frustrating and not usually for the right reasons. It’s difficult sometimes to taper your enthusiasm for a game to fit what the developers actually have available. Even though, logically, you understand that there might be game breaking bugs, balance issues, or placeholder assets it’s still annoying to encounter them.
Recently I waxed poetic about the potential I saw in the Kickstarter Campaign for PlayWay’s 911 Operator. The idea of responding to calls taken from actual 911 transcripts appealed to the true crime junkie in me. This is combined with having to simultaneously manage and dispatch emergency units throughout the city, for an added bit of stress. 911 Operator had all the makings of a sim game that managed to dip into the experience of its source material.
When I got the opportunity to try the new alpha build I had some issues, but the core idea of the game remained solid. The developers had already patched many of my initial complaints just during the week I had with the build so most of the tension I felt came from the actual gameplay, not bugs. It looks like 911 Operator will be an appropriately stressful and frustrating game when it releases, just like the career it emulates.
