Is it just me or do most people not know what that word means? Its like lots of people think that prototypes are simply a beta, wich means something totally different. Ive seen this misconception often, am I the only one who notices that or is it just me? PS: Im not talking about this forum
A lot of people tend to say beta when a game is in an alpha state, i too am guilty of this. Beta is usually bug testing, alpha is artwork unfinished.
Oh yeah. Lots of people love to toss the word to death and mis-use it to label even the most minor crap, such as cut stuff. It's like, don't say the word if you don't know the meaning of it...
Yeah, I imagine most people are primarily interested in the kind of stuff you'd be more likely to discover in alpha versions of released games. I'm similarly amused when people say "THE" beta or "THE" prototype, as though there is one singular beta version prior to the finalized game that contains all interesting preproduction content.
Alpha, beta, all the terms, are essentially meaningless. Every studio, every project, can have their own meaning. Alpha generally means it is playable from start to finish, with beta being more advanced, but the specifics of what needs to be delivered at each stage is a contract thing.
Thank you, Borman. I, too, used to get upset over these simple semantics, but the fact is, I don't give a shit what they call it, because we won't even have a clue as to what it is until we see it first. Beta is a great term for finding unfinished games. & each development team will have what they believe constitutes as a beta for them, so fuck it. Looking at dates & content indicates where they were at. Reading the words "Beta" or "Alpha" doesn't really do much to help narrow it down. Search Super metroid beta in Google and I will be 1st or 2nd result. The word was very useful even if I had no indication of how far it was developed by then. Just learn that some words get dumbed down in certain circumstances, & run with it.
I just kinda use beta if it's unfinished. I use Alpha when it's REALLY unfinished. Also obligatory post
As far as I know, beta means an complete feature software that have bugs to be fixed, alpha means one that still have features to be implemented. Technically, that would make an game like Crysis 2 leaked beta to earn its title, while an game like Resident Evil 1.5 not.
Here's my stuff for the matter Prototype - A pitch or a very small concept of what a bigger game of it's kind aims to be. Pre-Alpha - the point where you have a working game but much is to be desired Alpha - core gameplay, physics, story, areas all present but buggy Pre-Beta - game is more finalized than before but still not ready for bug testing aside from core parts (engine, maps, textures, whatever) Beta - Ready for wider testing and generally close to a final product Pre-Release - Essentially the final game but usually cut off in some sense to restrict it from being the full game Release - Retail game E3 (or other show) - Stage demo only for the devs to show off stuff E3 (or other show) Demo - Playable demo at E3 (or other show) Demo - Not the full game, can be somewhere in between release and beta (Beta Demo, Pre-Release Demo, you get the idea) Test - Test builds. Can be milestones of WIP builds that fit in anywhere in these . Maybe a bug broke the game and this was a quick fix etc. Preview - WIP build/milestone (where they're still tossing some stuff around before finalizing) Review - WIP build/milestone (but usually closer to release) Debug - WIP build/milestone but has debug stuff (usually in Preview but sometimes its own thing) Press [P]review - For press. Not all the content, maybe some select sections for review only purposes. Can sometimes have debug stuff Internal - along with test builds this is supposed to be only in the company Sample - Like Demo and Pre-release. Can be standalone or on sample games (like Playstation magazine demos, or a Pizza hut disc) But in the end none of it matters because everyone has a different line in the matter. Free as in Freedom
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Prototype - first impression, basically anything that contains 1's & 0's that's on the internet shouldn't be considered a prototype. The prototype of this item was in the pitch to the developer to begin work on the project and is in some guys drawer. You'll never find a true prototype on eBay. Alpha Beta Release Candidate Gold
It's fairly easy to find pitches... And debug is a meaningless term, if not more so than others. Debug can simply mean the final game formatted for debug consoles. Nothing to really do with prerelease. Sample can be the final version, look at DC games. That's why the Hidden Palace and myself try to focus either on what the disc outright says, or the build date. Then you have art releases, network tests, viewers, all sorts of other stuff. Don't bother trying to classify stuff really hah.
Beta version it's a unreleased full game before retail versions sometimes little different sometimes big different than original. Exe date,data files it's not too older than original. It is for testing by developers to find bugs and everything to make it better for the final version. I collect much alpha,betas,preview and review discs from 1999.....
