Hands on with SiN Episodes

onethumb writes "The video game industry may be on the brink of a sea-change just like music has seen and movies are in the middle of now. Valve began it by selling millions of copies of Half-Life 2 online with Steam, and Ritual's about to really turn up the heat by proving that online episodic game development really works. We'll get better games, more frequently, and with new, innovative gameplay. I spent some quality time with SiN Episodes and it looks like everyone wins - Ritual, Valve, and you." From the article: "Everyone wants episodic games. Developers want it because they get to make better games (by listening to their fans suggestions every 6 months and incorporating it directly into the next chapter) and do it more cheaply (6 months of game development vs years. Do the math). Gamers want it because their favorite games will be more frequent, higher quality, and more innovative since developers can now take some risks with different & new gameplay. But figuring out if it's a money-maker is a big risk. Someone's gotta put their hard-earned dough on the line and try it out."

Comments

Will episodes come quickly enough?

[gbulmash]

My comments below should be taken in the context that I have not played either the 1998 original SiN or the upcoming release.

I think the real question here is how long it takes to play through an episode and if an every-6-months release schedule is going to be responsive enough.

If I can play through an episode in a week and then have to wait 25 weeks for the next episode...

Given, the marketing materials on the site state that the game is very replayable because it doesn't follow a set path, allowing for more variation in replays. But still, how much variation can you get to make the 25 week wait more bearable?

I think this is why MMORPGs do so well, because the constant interaction with other players helps fill in the gaps. If it's mostly interacting with NPCs or head-to-head frag wars, it can get old.

The 1998 version is based on Quake II. IIRC, the Id gaming engines allowed for user-created missions/levels. If this new version of SiN allows for player-created extensions/expansions, that might help bridge the gap between official episode releases. Still, I think that if they're going to sell it on an episodic basis, a quarterly release schedule (at minimum) is needed to keep people hooked.

- Greg

Re:Will episodes come quickly enough?

[spyrochaete]

I definitely think 6 months is way too long for updates. Why not release new levels monthly? Record voices, write story, and design art well in advance, and create maps every month following the broad strokes of the existing content. I can't see people leaving a game with 4 hours of content installed for 6 months.

Re:Will episodes come quickly enough?

[Soybean47]

Why exactly do you think that "episodic content" means "as soon as the first one ceases to entertain me, the next one should be ready"? Nothing else works like that.

The word "episode" is most commonly associated with TV shows. One of those lasts an hour at most, and then you have to wait a whole week (or more) for another one.

A series of novels is also "episodic content." You've heard of Harry Potter? Most people who read that finish one novel several months before the next one comes out. Many people are done one years before the next one. But they still want to read the next one when it's available. Weird.

Also, many video games are already episodic to some degree. Half-Life 2 was like a second "episode" to Half-Life. Did everybody say, "What? I finished Half-Life years ago! Why would I want more of that crap now?"

No. They didn't say that. They bought the game in droves.

These guys are just talking about making smaller games and pumping out sequels faster. Possibly even planning for the sequels in advance, which would be kind of fantastic. It's a cool idea.

Aren't MMORPGs episodic already?

[aapold]

I mean, aren't they? regular patches, feedback... some more than others, true, but they all add content and features as it goes on...

so..

[Turn-X Alphonse]

So every 6 months you get another demo length bit of a game? Spiffy.. and by the time you get to part 4 the games two years out of date and looks vile. People stop buying each episodes, game fails, story ends up as a cliff hanger due to resources drying up.

This has "dumbass" idea written all over it. Take the two years and recent a decent game and I'll buy it, advice my friends to buy it and try and support it as best I can. Make a couple of demos and space them out over a year and I'll have forgotten by the end of episode two because I'll have found something else I wish to play/support.

Re:so..

[Keith Russell]

...by the time you get to part 4 the games two years out of date and looks vile.

You're presuming that episodes won't include incremental updates to the engine. Valve has already done something like this with HDR in DOD:Source and some new CS:Source maps. HL2 Aftermath will also support HDR.

In fact, if done right, new episodes could retrofit higher-resolution textures or models into older episodes. Remember when Blue Shift included a model pack that updated the original Half-Life?

Re:so..

[Tankko]

>>This has "dumbass" idea written all over it. Take the two years and recent a decent game

Right, and all you'll see are more games like the ones we have now. Eposodic games might allow for different ideas to be tried. They are cheaper and quicker to make, that means more time for exploration.

But if you're one of those people that just wants another Halo...

Everybody?

[ibullard]

"Everyone wants episodic games."

Everyone? I don't think that means what you thinks it means.

Re:Everybody?

[corrosive_nf]

By everyone, he means all of the developers, so they can charge you $30 every 6 months for new chapters.

Finally

[TheNoxx]

I cannot stress enough how much games need to keep gaining in artistic direction and accessibility. The biggest obstacles are new customers who like the game but find the time daunting and learning the control layout to do something as simple as shoot ridiculous (which Nintendo is of course changing), and the lack of originality.

When games can overcome these obstacles, they will do to movies what movies and television did to books and radio.

One Concern: Forums

[XenoRyet]

Developers want it because they get to make better games (by listening to their fans suggestions every 6 months and incorporating it directly into the next chapter)

This actualy worries me. If listening to their fans suggestions turns out to be letting the game's forum drive development. It is my opinion that the forum is the single worst thing to happen to the MMO genrea, and I'd rather it not squeeze it's way into more traditional games.

The problem is that most forum-posters are not game designers, they don't really know what makes a game fun to play, they know what makes a game easy. This is why people make and use "trainers" and other cheat programs, even though they will almost certainly and instantly wreak gameplay. They know what they think they want, but they are rarely right, and even when they are, they generaly don't represent the greater community.

My fear is that too much user feedback will lead to stagnation. The people most vocal in feedback channels are generaly concerned with making a game more like their last favorite game. Developers should be concerned with making it more like your next favorite game. It's the difference between looking backward and looking forward.

Why they REALLY want them

[Lord_Dweomer]

The reason they REALLY want episodic games is so they can make more money. EA is starting to do it with its $10 expansions that it will rush to market as soon as they can...everybody is jumping on the bandwagon.

I don't want to buy every little expansion and turn what SHOULD be a "pay once-play forever" game into a bastardized version of paying a monthly fee.

This is just them trying to get us another step closer to pay-to-play, they're just talking about the initial benefits from it.

Another way to look at it

[bruciferofbrm]

Think of it in a different light;

TV (series)is just episodic movies. It is a model that works. Each episode (regardless of time to release) contains more of some things, new other things, plenty of old stuff that works, etc.

Now put this in the context of a game. Sure it is a new model, but the idea is the same. Popularity in some aspects will drive further development of those elements that draw the most people in and keep them coming back. Less popular elements will fall out. You will 'watch' the next episode if you want to or you wont.

But two things stand out in my mind here

• Sellable advertising will be more easily integrated and kept fresh
• You are going to hollar up a big storm when your favorite episodic content decides to cancel just after their latest cliffhanger

Do I smell a 'Sign this web petition to "save SiN episode 5" from being cancelled' in the air in the future?

Innovative gameplay

[ShaneThePain]

what exactly does innovate gameplay even mean? When was the last time you played a game that was so new, different, and "innovative" that it really stuck with you. Half-life 2 is fun, no doubt, but I would not describe any part of it (including the gravity gun) as "innovative" Tetris was innovative, SimCity was innovative, Wolfenstein 3D was innovative. Most games released today would be considered evolutionary at best, not innovative. I will play SiN, and I will prolly enjoy it, but 2 months later I probably wont remember it.