Megatrends In Game Development

Gamasutra has a feature discussing some of the extremely common trends in current game design. Many publishers are looking at multi-player content and downloadable additions as necessities, rather than luxuries, for modern titles. Also on the rise is a focus on micro-payments; offering small-scale games, updates, and add-ons for a smaller fee than a full game. Similar to these is the subscription-based model, which Scott Jennings of NCSoft recently called "an arms race that few can even hope to compete in, much less win." From Gamasutra: "Games relying on micropayments are founded on a somewhat different logic. Like fast gaming, these games are conceived to be immediate hands-on experiences, but are also designed to entice the players to deepen their experience of the game by purchasing affordable additional components. This economic model is fast-growing in Asia, and we can expect to witness an important impact on the west — perhaps even a major one. The design for such games will have to be thoroughly adapted, even for established genres such as racing games or shooters."

Comments

Re:Steam as a new game payment platform

[Anonymous Coward]

Micropayments aren't about cheap games or trying something. If you want to try something, demos have been available for free for as long as computer gaming has existed. Cheap games have also been available online for a long time, neither Steam nor any other service is bringing anything new in this respect.

Micropayments is generally the idea of providing a central game at a regular(ish) price, and then providing each individual add-on separately to be bought at a small price. It can be thought of as a more granular concept than the traditional "20 bucks for 100 new items" extension model.

There's also the idea of producing episodic games, such as the recent Sam & Max games, although those aren't really micrpayments either in the stricter sense of the term.

Re:Uh, no.

[Jaysyn]

I don't think that's exactly what they are talking about. I'm thinking more of games like Hellgate or that asian MMORPG / Shooter GUN, where you have to pay to get better gear than the *normal* players.

PA says it all.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/3/26/