Comic Game?

[Al3xand3r]

Hello,

I was simply wondering what the release schedule for the different episodes is planned/hoped to be.

I read that each episode will offer about three to six hours of gameplay. That's quite short and even with a cheap game I think the casual gamer will have lost the interest to it if the next episodes appear after several months.

So I thought that the best way to go about doing this would be to deliver monthly (or as close to that as possible) episodes, similar to a comic book, for the lowest possible price.

What does everyone think? I don't know how possible this is but if a few first episodes are finished before the first one ships, then I believe this will give enough time to the developers to create next episodes in time for monthly releases.

Of course content would need to be created non stop wether it's needed or not rather than wait for someone to say "we need nuked city textures for this plot bit" and get to work at that point. That would not allow enough time for the game creation; the mappers and other staff should have all they need and simply 'mix match' it to continue the story they want to tell...

Anyway, I'm babbling now. The gist of it is that I think Ritual could be the first company to create a "comic game" instead of a "comic book" and it doesn't sound like a bad thing to do at all...

Thoughts?

[Meeps]

This does sounds like a viable option for the developers but it would be a bit awkard and we would probably end up with either: shorter episodes or lower quality episodes. If they were to hold back the first episode till they had created quite a few episodes surly that would also put back the release date which is a bad thing imo. Personally I wouldnt mind waiting for new episodes to be released, means more time going out with friends and biking :P

Also with news of an SDK the possibility of player made episodes sounds like a good idea, even if its to fill in gaps of the storyline or carry on the plot of what another character goes through in the mean time. Plus if there is some sort of multiplayer feature in there thats going to take up some more time too!

[ertertwert]

You're missing the whole point of episodic content. Sure, it means more stuff to consumers faster, but the main goal is to get FEEDBACK. If they already have episodes done before the first one ships, that defeats the goal.

When the first episode is released, people will applaud and complain about it. Things will be changed for the next one based on player feeback. By the time they get to the 6th or so episode, they will be making episodes based on all previous feedback and therefore a much more "Consumer Friendly" game.

[Riddled]

"Consumer Friendly"? Oh, you mean Deus Ex 2. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

One thing that interests me with the concept is if the tribe have already decided or got a general idea of what the climatic episode will be like. How far will the players be able to effect Blade's path? Will he discover something and then a majority of players decide to go on a rampage?

The problem with not designing before hand means that Ritual would have to wait for the game results to come in from the players (at least a month, maybe 2 or 3). Ok, I'm going to stop there... I'm ranting.

[badman]

Well, players won't have total control over everything. There's a general story arc that's been mapped out and that the episodes will follow. But, there is some branching going on and players will be able to influence / change a few things here and there.

[Al3xand3r]

Originally posted by ertertwert:
You're missing the whole point of episodic content. Sure, it means more stuff to consumers faster, but the main goal is to get FEEDBACK. If they already have episodes done before the first one ships, that defeats the goal.




No, actually, you missed the whole point of the post if that's what struck you as the important bit you had to comment on.

Read the last 3 or so lines and maybe you'll get what I was talking about.

Besides, what do you think, that if the first episode is not liked very much the second episode will be a whole new game and still be on schedule and count as an "episode"? If they relied THAT much on player feedback to make something nice then they wouldn't have been game developers on first place...

Anyone care to comment on my main points in the first post? And could I get a rough estimate on how often Episodes are hoped to be released?

[M3rl1n]

1 month is unrealistic. The workload that goes into a video game, even episodic, is not comparable with the workload that goes into a comic. A more reasonable comparison would be a movie or tv series.

Tv shows are no where near as gratifying as movies, and they would be even less so in game form which means you’re really only left with movies as an appropriate comparison.

When you consider how long it takes to create movie sequels you’ll have a better idea of how long it will take Ritual to create each episode.

I wouldn't bet on anything less then 6-9 months, and 6 months would be pushing it.

[ATimson]

Originally posted by M3rl1n:
Tv shows are no where near as gratifying as movies, and they would be even less so in game form which means you’re really only left with movies as an appropriate comparison.


Really? I'd say that a well-done TV show telling a story across hundreds of hours, with arcs carried out across months/years, will be much more gratifying than a mere two-hour one-note movie.

And I'd think that a TV show would be a better comparison than a movie; Ritual doesn't have to start from scratch each installment. They have the previous code and art assets to work with, hopefully cutting down on the content creation time, much like a show has their standing sets, previous props, etc.

[M3rl1n]

What makes tv shows gratifying are the characters - the development, the interaction, the actual story is a setup for the characters. Basically 90 percent of a tv show is talk. The great episodes are the ones with the best character development, or where the actors really shined in their role.

That’s not something that will translate well into a video game, even less so in a first person shooter.

What makes most games gratifying (and most movies) is the action, the fast pace, a solid story, the spectacular locations, and effects/graphics, etc.

I could see a market for a game using a tv model, and I think there are possibilities, but it would be probably be a niche market and the release dates would be nowhere near as regular as a tv show. Things like scripting and testing still take time.

[Al3xand3r]

So what are you saying, you can't have a game that focuses on plot/character advancement as much as gameplay?

I don't know about you but I always enjoy fan fiction style modifications that revisit areas and characters but take a game's story in places the developers never explored.

Anyway, this is the reason I called this a comic game. Rather than being a normal full game chopped down in parts for episodic distribution, it could actually be a comic game, in every sense of the words, with similarities to comic books in more than the name.

It would focus on the character and his journey. Except you wouldn't simply read about it, you would take the character through it.

If the game's action is fun enough that replaying levels is interesting just for that reason (and it SHOULD be, that's my disapointment with many FPS games, they are only great the first time you play, then the fun factor disappears), then I see no problem with creating an actual comic game.

In comic books, the characters often revisit areas and talk to the same people, and even fight (directly or indirectly) against the same enemies (they do live in the same city or whatever after all) but nobody complains that the environment isn't 100% new or something. The story is new, and the action is new and that's what matters.

A comic game would be just the same if done right. Areas could be revisited, as long as they thought up a good enough reason for the character to do so, and the action that took place in them was different enough.

After all, you do revisit areas in other types of games too, often with crappy excuses rather than a well thought out reason as a comic game would attempt.

This would be cutting down develpment time too. Just change a part or two of the level, place enemies and characters differently, and add a scripted sequence or two for plot advancement, a new goal for the player, and you can have a whole new episode, that feels different, is fun to play, and gives to the player more of storyline he'll grow to love (hopefully).

Add a proper price tag that takes in account the short gameplay time (it's already planned short-ish, the 3hr episodes) and the fact every episode is not 100% new material, make the time interval between episodes as low as it can possibly be without compromising design quality, and you can have a real winner.

I always play games that interest me enough for both story and gameplay (rarely on gameplay alone, I'm not the type to simply play something for the high score pleasure), this is why I think a comic game can be succesful.

The SiN universe is interesting enough to have its own comic book (if not more than just that), which is why I think with this setting and characters a comic game is very posible.

There would be users that aren't interested in it because to them it seems to be the same every time, but there would definitely be an audience for something like this. Just as people buy comic books they would buy this, they would grow to love the characters, and they would want to see where their journey takes them, even if they often revisit places and talk to the same characters as it inevitably happens. When the goals are completely different and the action adjusted to match that, it won't really matter for a nice low price tag and for the satisfaction of seeing more of the story, just as in a comic book.

Really, just think of what I'm talking about as an interactive comic book, but not in the way those used to be made (ie, not crap), but rather in actual game form with actual gameplay.

Thinking about it as a proper game it wouldn't work perhaps, thinking about it as something new, it can catch on... IMO