Poll: Episodic Gaming, does that work for you as a gamer?

[B.U.C.K]

After Telltale's The Walking Dead made a very successful episodic game you can realize why more developers are considering the same method. Kentucky Route Zero are going for the episodic release, and I personally know some developers who are trying the same with their upcoming Ouya & Steam releases.

While this method is by no means a new one, there's a big chance we'll be seeing it much more in the future.

My question for you guys is this:
-As gamers and consumers, do you feel that this model works for you?
-Do you pay for the first episode or for an entire season pass before the actual episodes actually hit store shelves?
-Do you just wait for the entire content to be released in full?

-Cheers

 

[tippy2k2]

I've never bought (and probably will never buy) episodic games.

Generally, I will purchase a game series after it has run it's course (like The Walking Dead's special edition that came with the games on a disc and the Compendium #1 for the comic). Frankly, Half-Life completely fucked up episodic gaming so badly for me that I just plain don't want to risk putting money down on a series that might not continue because not enough people bought it or the developers decide that finishing off their story to make their customers happy is somehow beneath them now that they're wildly successful doing something else...

Also, I'm impatient. There's a reason I buy Dexter/Game of Thrones/"insert many other story-based TV shows" on Blu-Ray rather than watch them on TV; I don't want to wait.

 

[krazykidd]

I'll only buy it once all the games are release , and are on sale . That being said , the only episode game i'm interested in is TWD . Hell it's the only game on PC i'm interested in . No way in hell i'd buy an episodic game on console.

 

[antidonkey]

I don't like that idea of buying a small part of a game then waiting for the rest of it to come out. That means I'll buy it when all the episodes are released. I tend to do the same thing with TV shows now thanks to Netflix.

 

[The_Scrivener]

It was successful because the franchise is hugely popular, the subject matter is trendy, and the product was quality. The release structure was a detraction from it. This is the 983274934th example so far today--and the day is early where I am--of marketers and other out of touch knob jobs missing the point.

Don't release crap and it will succeed. Release crap and it will fail (but also sometimes succeed.) But again, the easiest method? Don't release crap.

 

[RJ 17]

The idea behind it is that if you release little chunks at a time it'll be like watching a tv show with a continuous story line: you'll have people salivating over getting the next chunk and eagerly throw their money at you once it comes out. Personally I don't like it. I'd rather have a game that's actually finished than get chunks of it at a time.

*raises flame shielding to maximum* I've actually never played Walking Dead nor do I have any intention to. I'd imagine that each episode costs less than an actual game since it's broken up? Or are you paying full price? If the former, I'd imagine you end up paying more than full price (but then again you probably end up with more content than a standard game in the end) in which case it's a fair enough business practice if people are willing to put up with it. If the latter, however, it's just a rip-off and a means to get more money out of a franchise.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Usually I'll get the first episode on promo offer, play that through, and then wait for all the other episodes to be released so I can buy the complete game. Problem with this approach is I usually lose interest in the game while the episodes are being eked out and when the full game is out I find I can't be bothered going back to it.

Episodic gaming does not work for me.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

*raises flame shielding to maximum* I've actually never played Walking Dead nor do I have any intention to. I'd imagine that each episode costs less than an actual game since it's broken up? Or are you paying full price? If the former, I'd imagine you end up paying more than full price (but then again you probably end up with more content than a standard game in the end) in which case it's a fair enough business practice if people are willing to put up with it. If the latter, however, it's just a rip-off and a means to get more money out of a franchise.

It's kinda both, actually. When the Walking Dead was released, it was released (on XBL anyway) for 400 MP an episode (£3). This put the price of the full five episode game at 2000 MP, or around £15. Not that bad for a game these days, you may think. But upon release of the full game Microsoft released the full game for, you guessed it, 400 MP. So it was priced in such a way that as the episodes were coming out you thought you were only paying for a fraction of the game, and only when the full game was released did you find out you were paying full whack for each episode (unless you got all the episodes for free in the XBL summer sale like a sensible person).

 

[roushutsu]

I don't mind episodic games, but I do expect them to be good despite the fact that they tend to be much shorter than the average game. Tell Tale seems to have the right idea, taking the time to properly plan out and work out all of the details ahead of time. I loved the Walking Dead, so once season 2 comes out, I'll be there buying each episode when they come out. As for others that try the same approach, I'll put the money down for the first episode and see if I like where it's going, and if so I don't mind buying for each new episode as they come out.

 

[stroopwafel]

It works for something like The Walking Dead b/c it progresses similarly as a TV-show and it's also a point&click adventure meaning you don't have to invest in the gameplay. It's all about the story so it actually puts incentive on the writers to make you keep coming back to it, hence why The Walking Dead had persistent good storytelling. The format itself actually don't allow the writers to slack, similarly as TV-shows and their viewing audience. I don't see episodic gaming working for any other format/genre than this style of point&click adventure though. Espescially 'traditional' games would be completely butchered by this approach, as they rely much more on gameplay investment and familiarity with the mechanics.

The Walking Dead episode 2 was by far the best though.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I never did go past episode 1 with Walking Dead because that "gameplay" drives me utterly mad and eventually I would have to strangle someone.

But that does mean I didn't have to pay for the full thing before noticing the horridness ahead which makes this concept rather good, also should be an easy transition for those DLC pumping studios and for once we may get some value and not just hundreds of times overpriced models / textures.
However it can also be very dangerous as reviews won't cover all episodes and people will just pay blind for shit they know nothing about... actually that doesn't change much from their current conduct.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Not my style, I have the Back the future game on disk, I really like it but I don't like the waiting.

Thats pretty much how I watch TV shows too.

 

[zumbledum]

i already avoid episodes in TV , i wait for a series to be complete at least then devour the lot in a day. so you can imagine where i come in on this

 

[GundamSentinel]

Yeah, Half-Life has made me very sceptic about episodic gaming. Shorter content, for a lower price, more often. Valve got two of those right, but that really wasn't enough if you ask me. I've said 'no thanks' to episodic gaming.

TV shows are an entirely different beast, if you ask me. They can't afford to hold out on the consumer, because the consumer isn't as invested in them and can jump ship whenever, unlike games where you've paid a considerable price for just one installment. TV shows are very rarely sold as a single episode.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

I love having something to look forward to. I'm not an immediate gratification kind of guy. I have patience when it comes to good things, and to me the wait makes it all the sweeter when I finally get to see the rest of the story.

 

[Longing]

If the episodes are long enough. I don't mind waiting for something, but it has to be something that will satisfy me. And they also have to be released frequently.

The only game I've played with this format is TWD and I did pay for each episode as it came out.

 

[GiantRaven]

I wish there were more games that followed an episodic format. Something like LA Noire, with ongoing small stories about single cases would be absolutely fantastic for me.

 

[Lightknight]

All episodic means is having to wait for DLC content to complete the game. So I wait until they've all been released and then purchase only if they got good ratings. This is what I did for Walking Dead, for example.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

No, because you have to trust that the game will be made or you have wasted money on previous episodes and didnt get the full story. For instance.....Half life ep3? Thanks valve for wasting our money buying 2 previous episodes and never finishing the story.