HerbieZ Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Do you think Episodic gaming works? After reading the latest on the discontinued SiN Episodes after only one out of the nine installments were released, it only proved what i said when Valve announced Half Life 3 as a 3-part episodic game. When Hl2 Episode 1 was released, i was vastly disappointed. Same old setting, short gameplay and only 1 new enemy model. The second installment has been delayed 3 times now (which is religeous of Valve) and although it boasts a ton more content than the first, i still believe i will be disappointed. IMHO, episodic gaming would be a fantastic possibility but at the speed games are produced, i think it's something best left untouched for another 10 years until the rest of the gaming industry catches up. There is simply too long a production time between a paper plan and release date to call it "Episodic". At this rate, it will be a good two years before i see the end of the story and what happens in Episode 3, and as all fans of Half Life know, that is no exaggeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaelastraz Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Well., It depends, I think valve with Half life is doing a good jobm but then again, Halflife is one of the best FPS ever. personally, I'm looking forward to the next episode, featuring Team fortress 2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctrl Alt Del Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hmmm, this may work for games like HL, but I wouldnt like to wait for three releases before seeing the whole plot of Kotor III. So, nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Personally, I think it's an excuse for releasing an unfinished game... ...And out of curiosity, what did you mean about 'religeous'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbieZ Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 ...And out of curiosity, what did you mean about 'religeous'? I thought that'd raise an eyebrow. However, i mean it is a Religeon created by Valve. As in, it is in their religeon to constantly delay every product that they produce by no-less than a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth InSidious Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 A kind of 'jam tomorrow' thing? I see your point, {snip} It also kinda reminds me of Black and White 2...Its been what, ten years in the making? Certainly feels like it... Removed attempted thread derailment remarks... Sorry DI. -RH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 actually, i rather enjoyed HL2: Episode 1. yes, the game took place in a lot of familiar environments, but from the standpoint of getting the storyline together, it made a lot of sense to me. the thing i enjoyed the most is that it was one of the few times where i felt like i wasn't gunning at things alone. in one particular section where you have to use your flashlight to illuminate enemies in a co-op type mode was fantastic. it was definately one of the few FPS games to actually make you feel like you were working together with someone, even if that someone was just another NPC. yes, the experience was short, but again, the somewhat new style of gameplay was rather refreshing to say the least. with that said, i am definately looking forward to the next installment, especially with Team Fortress 2 being shipped out with it. as for the subject matter of the thread, episodic gaming can be quite fun when its done right and priced right. if it continues along the trend that Valve has done with HL2: Episode 1, i certainly won't be one to complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I liked SiN Emergence ;_; I dunno about episodic games, I liked HL2 Episode 1, but I was a bit disappointed when it ended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lantzen Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Well im not against episodic games, but like you say they most release them faster in that case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samnmax221 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Telltale has managed to do a good job with Sam and Max: Season 1, not down yet though. $35 for 6 episodes that take about 4 hours each is pretty good if I do say so myself, after the Season is completed they ship me the CD with the entire series. HL2 Episode was pretty good, the delay waiting for Episode 2 is annyoing though. The bottom line is Episodic gaming is good when properly managed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arátoeldar Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I am not a fan of it. So far neither HL2 Ep1 or Sam&Max Ep1 have wowed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I believe Episodic Gaming, in it's current manifestation sucks. IMO, Episodeic Gmaing should be like this: There is a gaming pack, with a relatively complete and playable game. You can then download (with a price) the episodes you want to further the story. To avoid players from skipping levels, we can implement a registration-based system, wherein after completing a level, info is sent to the game's site and you're sanctioned to download the next level. But I believe Episodic Gaming should be kept in check. It would work for FPS games, maybe RTS games too. Adventure games would have benefitted considerably from this, like the Monkey Island series, or Indigo Prophecy-like games. RPGs would suck, because IMO, the best RPG is one that lets you play ceaselessly for hours together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourdad Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Well, it could work, but the episodes have to be released at a regular interval. Nobody wants to wait 6 months for the next 4 hours of a game. Episodic content, in my opinion, only works for linear games which are heavily oriented. Like Sabretooth mentioned, adventure games and the FPS work well. A linear Japanese RPG could also work. As for the RTS, no way, since none have won anyone with their story (except Blizzard's -Craft series) and focus more on overall gameplay. I also think that it works best for expansion packs. I don't think the consumer is ready to invest a base amount of money for the game then choose the episodes later. Usually, assuming rationality, the consumer wants a good return for his investment and at the current price versus game time episodic content gives is, in my opinion, insufficient. There might actually be a loss for the consumer, compared to full games, but that's arguable as more and more games have 10-15 hours of single player content for rather high prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 No. No. No. I want a full game all at once. If they're releasing a game in "episodes" (translation: half-assed), they shouldn't bother. What Sabertooth is describing sounds exactly like EA's current business model for XBox Live. I don't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbieZ Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Beware though folks as im not talknig about expansion packs. I love expansion packs and some of the best content i've played are expansion packs. I mean games that are released in episodes if anyone was getting confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentScope001 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Some people argue that with epsoidic gaming, and "games" being released quickly, there is less bugs. So that's always good. Then again, there is less content as well. I never played an epsoidic game, but from what I hear, it isn't really that good. And, releasing a full game in eposides that you PAY for, so that you can reach the next level? Bah. Why not just have people purchase the full game? I really want to see Portals, because, for me, that is going to be much more better than HL3, Part 2. But Portals should be a stand-alone puzzle game and not part of the HL espodic packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctrl Alt Del Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Some people argue that with epsoidic gaming, and "games" being released quickly, there is less bugs. So that's always good. Not necerally. You see, they release the game purposetadelly half-done, but they take much less time to finish it. The developers seems to like to correct problems after the games is released, via patches. which sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igyman Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Episodic gaming works... for the game developers and publishers. They sell you the first episode (at some standard price) which has a great cliffhanger in the end (like HL2 Episode One) and great gameplay and of course they'll earn a lot more money than by selling you the whole story at once. I personally enjoyed HL2 Episode One and I am waiting for episodes Two and Three, (what can I say, it worked on me too), but as interesting as episodic gameplay may be, I don't think it's better than playing the whole thing at once (just imagine an episodic KoTOR game - one planet, one episode). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourdad Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I want a full game all at once. If they're releasing a game in "episodes" (translation: half-assed), they shouldn't bother. I don't see how you can automatically equate episodic gaming with half-assed. It's like saying that 3 hour movie is inherently better made then a 3 part mini-serie of one hour each. It's not an inherent truth. And if you prefer a full game, that's opinion and not fact. Like I said, it could work, but only if you can release it at regular intervals and at a price that will not make the consumer lose money versus a regular full game. At its current state, it doesn't work. The risk of the game being discontinued is still high, the time between episodes is too long and the price/benefit ratio is seriously in the company's favor and not the consumer. Besides, being able to reliably release the episodes at a good interval would mean already finishing the full game, then releasing it in episodes, which becomes a waste since it would be probably more advantageous to release the full game. Beware though folks as im not talknig about expansion packs. I love expansion packs and some of the best content i've played are expansion packs. I mean games that are released in episodes if anyone was getting confused. If that was directed at me then... I was just saying that if they released expansion packs in episodes, the consumer would not feel too much loss. They would still have a big full game. Half-Life 2 Episode One for example, is considered an expansion pack., while being a stand-alone. Valve says it's HL3, but I don't think it fits any characteristics of an actual sequel. After all, it would be pretty stupid to call it a sequel and give it the title Half-Life 2. I guess it my entire argument resides in being for the companies releasing a bunch of mini-expansion packs in the form of episodes, but for now, I'm skeptical about "full" games being released as episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 That's fine with me...And I like HF2 series. SiN Series? I never played them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbieZ Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 I think the only reason valve are doing these episodes is to promote the longevity of the engine. People are modding the heck outta the Source engine and they want to make as much money off it as possible before they make Half Life 3 which i guarantee we will not hear a peep of for the next three or four years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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