For a while I've been thinking about the potential of episodic gaming. As a person who works in the video game industry and as a person who has been playing video games since I was old enough to hold a controller, I am very excited by the possibilities that have opened up for gamers due to the rise of digital distribution. One such possibility is the continued telling of a story through weeks, months, or even years of bite-sized narrative chunks, similar to that of a television show. I think as my experience with video games grew alongside my love for literature, I wanted something more out of my games than run and gun shoot 'em ups (don't get me wrong though, I like a little bit of dynamite in my morning coffee just as much as the next gamer). I wanted to connect with the characters emotionally. I wanted to care about what happened to them. I wanted to think about their journey for years after I completed it. I wanted to be involved in a narrative that I could interact with and for a long time I didn't feel like developers were taking advantage of the inherent potential that video games have in that regard. That has changed and in the process it has also inspired another type of game in the form of episodic games. I think, currently, the industry is feeling out the possibilities of episodic games. They operate similarly to expansion packs or background information for an existing franchise. I know Telltale Games has started releasing episodes that contribute to the Walking Dead universe and they are absolutely brilliant. New episodes can't be produced fast enough for my taste. I understand the nature of development and what an excruciating process it is, so I can forgive them the sin of making me wait. But it is not a standalone episodic game. What I want is an episodic game that is released on a schedule (the length of time between each episode would depend on how much content is packed into each episode in my perfect world), is completely original in terms of characters, genre, theme, and plot, and has continuity between each episode. Essentially, what I want is a television show that I can play. So what do you guys think? Are episodic games going to be a major part of the future of gaming or is it only suited to be a companion to a larger, established universe?
I think it could work. I'd see it as something to look forward to every couple of months. It pretty much is interactive television. I love what the Walking Dead is doing right now (although I want to be able to use my third save file AND THEY AREN'T LETTING ME- *ahem*) because I believe in the same thing you do. I want to get immersed into the story. I want to care about the characters and emotionally invest in their journeys. I would definitely subscribe to something like this. What you also have to take into account is replayability though.
Absolutely. I think The Walking Dead did a great job of ensuring people would want to replay their game using their decision making system. That is the most intense part of the game for me. Add in a timer and the fact that characters actually remember what you said and every time the dialog options come up I'm leaning forward in my chair like "DEAR GOD THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH! SWEET BABY JESUS DELIVER ME IF I MAKE THE WRONG DECISION". But the fact that the game inspires that reaction in me is the best part of the whole experience. It makes me want to replay the game over again and make different decisions just to see what will happen. I think replayability is something a lot of games struggle with these days. Especially if the developers do something cheap like asking the player to go on special item collection missions that weren't available in the first playthough and add nothing new to gameplay the second time around. That could just be me workin' that bias towards linear games, though. I like being able to make my own decisions in game and I want those decisions to effect what happens in the story. From a developers standpoint, however, I understand completely why some would choose to not include it even if I think not allowing the player any freedom at all is getting somewhat risky. Sidenote: How about Episode 2, huh? That was a doozy. I'm still recovering from it.
It definitely builds anticipation, whereas I try to knock out a whole game in big chunks otherwise. And dear god, episode 2 of Walking Dead was amazing. And shocking, to some extent.
