[bysmitty]

I like the episodic premise. My concern is that so far all the games that have attempted this delivery method have fallen along the wayside before reaching completion. I can't help but use Agon as an example. It is a fun game to be sure but we have been waiting over a year for the 4th episode. I would rather them have stuck to the original, shorter episodes instead of caving into all the people who cried that it was too short. It is supposed to be short so they can release new ones in a timely manner! I find if very unlikely that we will ever see all 13 planned episodes and the conclusion to the story. Also, how about 'Forgotten'? This game was forgotten pretty quickly and the first episode, that was meant to just be the teaser, is all we will ever see of it.

Like I said, I support episodic adventures, It is just that we haven't seen a episodic series seen to completion yet. I think both Tell Tale games and Big Time games are on the right path and I’m sure the kinks of the delivery medium get ironed out in due time.

...bysmitty

[SuperDre]

Originally Posted by bysmitty

I like the episodic premise. My concern is that so far all the games that have attempted this delivery method have fallen along the wayside before reaching completion. I can't help but use Agon as an example. It is a fun game to be sure but we have been waiting over a year for the 4th episode. I would rather them have stuck to the original, shorter episodes instead of caving into all the people who cried that it was too short. It is supposed to be short so they can release new ones in a timely manner! I find if very unlikely that we will ever see all 13 planned episodes and the conclusion to the story. Also, how about 'Forgotten'? This game was forgotten pretty quickly and the first episode, that was meant to just be the teaser, is all we will ever see of it.

Like I said, I support episodic adventures, It is just that we haven't seen a episodic series seen to completion yet. I think both Tell Tale games and Big Time games are on the right path and I’m sure the kinks of the delivery medium get ironed out in due time.

...bysmitty

And there you have the biggest reason why not to like episodic games.... So you payed for a couple of episodes, but there is no garantee that it will be finished.. then I'd rather would not have p(l)ayed at all...

[Udvarnoky]

On the other hand, some episodic games might not have been made if they were made any other way, and in that light it's better to have something than nothing at all. Also being episodic is less risky and thus there's a better chance it WILL get finished than simply cancelled before anybody sees any of it.

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by SuperDre

And there you have the biggest reason why not to like episodic games.... So you payed for a couple of episodes, but there is no garantee that it will be finished.. then I'd rather would not have p(l)ayed at all...

Then don't play. You can see how Telltale delivers and if they succeed, then you may be more inclined to buy episodic games. Some people will never buy them but there seems to be this attitude that all games will be going this route and gamers are going to be royally screwed and the world will end. Some developers are going this route but there are plenty of full length games coming out for those who don't like it.

Edit: I am probably being too cranky about this but all this negativity gets to me.

[Scoville]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

Some people will never buy them but there seems to be this attitude that all games will be going this route and gamers are going to be royally screwed and the world will end.

That's largely the fault of publishers of episodic games (TellTale being an exception). Most of them are going around saying "Episodic games are the future!" which only makes people who dislike the style get up in arms.

[Kolzig]

I don't care if a game is episodic or sold as one package in store shelves.
If the game is good, I'll buy it.

Episodic gaming is just starting, not so many companies have done it, and Telltale is maybe the first who will do it this particular way that Sam & Max will be.

Of course it has always been great to have something real in your hands like the game box and a manual etc., but hey the times they are a-changin'.

I don't really like the Half-Life 2 episodic way that people have to wait a year between every of the three episodes, but it just is that way. Sam & Max is going to be featuring monthly new episodes, and that just sounds kick ass.
And this way the developers get the money more surely than when buying the game from a store shelf.

[Gonchi]

I don't like episodic games at all in their current state. I think I've mentioned all this several times now, in every thread we've had about episodic games, but hey, gotta raise that post count.

Yes, I'm afraid I'm a materialistic and shallow gamer, I want, nay, -need- a box I can put on my shelf so that all my materialistic and shallow gamer friends that come to my house can reel in envy at my latest purchase! In that regard, the box's cover art should be somewhat interesting and unique. I mean, it doesn't have to be a Picasso, but surely we can come up with something better than the protagonist's face over an ominous background...

I need a printed manual to be included inside the box, not one that I have to print out myself, not one I have to mail $5+ to Timbuktu to get, NO, it has to come in-the-CENSORED-box, and it has to be informative, interesting and lengthy, none of that "install guide" or "tech manual" that's three pages long crap, I want something I can read while I'm taking a crap!

I need it to come on a CD or DVD, because... well... it'd need too many floppy disks otherwise, even for an episodic game...

Finally, I need the price to be reasonable! Have some common sense! You can't go around smacking $80 price tags on games with only 18 to 24 hours of play, it doesn't matter how much love and care you've put into making it, precious few games are actually worth that nowadays, and yours, I'm afraid, probably isn't one of them.

So summing up, my stance on any and every episodic game is and shall always be that: if they release all the episodes in a "compilation", sell it in a box, with a printed manual, for a reasonable price... then, I might buy it.

[Melanie68]

@ Scoville - that's a good point. It's never good to overhype anything because when it doesn't deliver, people get ticked.

This sort of reminds me of the Monty Python Spam sketch:

I DON'T LIKE SPAM!! ( just substitute episodic games)

[colpet]

I don't mind an episodic game, but I must be able to buy a CD or DVD. I won't buy something that is only available through download. I originally balked at AGON, but when it became available in the stores, I bought it and enjoyed it. I'll be waiting a while for the further episodes to be available on CD.

[KriD]

Great post, Gonchi. I totally agree.

[MartyMcFly]

Ditto Gonchi, i agree.
Although half life episode 1 worked for me, i had a voucher to get it cheaper, swaying the deal. However, look at episode 2. It comes with a plethora of different games, and screams bargin to me.
However, Sam and Max, 12 episodes, times how many pounds, sits on the pc, pc crashes, have to get it all back....im not really sold
Screw lucasarts for turning their back on adventure...but the original lucasarts planned and cancelled sequel, 1 full game, is more tempting to me than the current plan for episodic content. I just don't like it. But i do try to!

[Terramax]

I'd pay for more episodics of Nick Bounty. I certainly think this is one series that benefits from episodic in that each small one is resolved. Knowing that Sam and Max maybe like this has convinced me to buy it even though I wasn't a fan of 'Hit the Road'.

Bone was great at part one. But a part of me couldn't be arsed with playing part 2 not knowing how many episodes will be made. What if they make 10 episodes and then stop making the games (hence the story is never finished)?

I don't mind if games are episodic as long as I know that the resolution will come.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

The current version of episodic TV, e.g., 24 or Lost aren't getting the rave reviews they got when they started. There is a point where episodic anything becomes stale. I think S&M might be there before we see the first episode.

Why single out the episodic shows? I can tell you they aren't the only ones whose critical acclaim diminishes in later seasons. It's a matter of quality, not format. (By the way, isn't "24" leading the Emmy nominations this year with something ridiculous like twelve nods?) Becoming stale isn't any more a risk with episodic content than with the "regular" style. And Sam & Max is going to become stale before it's even released? Crazy!

(Just for the record, I don't really think that Emmy noms or wins actually mean anything, but I don't think a lot of reviews do either. Critical acclaim doesn't guarantee something's good, even if it's sometimes the best indication outside playing it yourself.)

[Beacon]

I think episodic games could be cool. I would like to see a game where there is a realisticly modeled modern day city. You play as a detective and each episode is a crime to solve. Each episode adds new areas to the city and opens up other areas you couldn't access before.

[rtrooney]

[QUOTE=Udvarnoky]Why single out the episodic shows?[QUOTE]It was a response to Melanie.

[Stain]

I was really excited about Half-Life 2: Episode 1. It came out, I read the rave reviews, but they all said it was too short. It only had about 4 hours of gameplay.

I thought "4 hours for $20? That seems fair. I paid $60 for the original 12 hour Half-Life 2, so $20 for 4 hours seems right."

So I bought the game and played it. I really enjoyed it, but you know what?
It was too short.

I got the same value ($5 per hour of play), but I still felt cheated somehow. The game was just hitting it's stride and then it was over. It was too short!

Now, I have not played an episodic adventure yet, but I can say that I am not a fan of it.

Cheers,
Stain

(Although I will likely get Sam & Max... unless reviews say it is too short )

[Erwin_Br]

Rtroony, Lost (and many series) are getting stale because they're stretching the already shallow story way too long. Nothing *really* happens, and I think it shoud've lasted for only one season.

Detective/police series, however, are more suitable because you can write interesting and different stories (about various cases) and meanwhile develop the characters and such.

What I'm trying to say is that certain story types fit the episodic model like a glove, while others might not. Sam and Max could be ideal for it, IMO.

--Erwin

[Isak]

I agree with Erwin. But of course, I would like to see a game in an episodic way rather than nothing at all. As long as the game fits with episodic style I can't complain. For example, the Bone games are released in the same way like the comic albums. I can't see no problem in that.

[Junkface]

Originally Posted by rtrooney

The current version of episodic TV, e.g., 24 or Lost aren't getting the rave reviews they got when they started. There is a point where episodic anything becomes stale. I think S&M might be there before we see the first episode.

Think I will wait for the compilation, and if that's too expensive I'll forego it altogether. But the layaway plan won't hook me in.

I think you may be confusing episodes with serials. Pretty much all TV is episodic, without necessarily involving a continuing story, cliff-hangers and all the related things seen in Lost or Flash Gordon. There's no reason episodic games can't function like Seinfeld, The Simpsons (when it was good) or The Sopranos, rather than having the feel of having been intentionally drawn out.

Originally Posted by Stain

I got the same value ($5 per hour of play), but I still felt cheated somehow. The game was just hitting it's stride and then it was over. It was too short!

The issue of momentum is I think a legitimate concern. I haven't played Half-Life 2 Episode 1 yet, but I think the key is probably, as Steve Ince said, to ensure that each episode is completely self-contained on some level and feels conclusive despite being part of a larger series. I thought The Great Cow Race was very well handled in this respect, thought it will be interesting to see how the Sam & Max episodes manage it within the shorter format.

[Lee in Limbo]

As long as they can sustain a narrative worth coming back for, I have no problems with a short series. Knowing when to stop is key.