Considering the amount of time I spend playing games, reading about games, researching games, talking about games and discussing game design and the industry I find it disconcerting that I write so little about the actual games! I do a fair amount of previews and interviews, and when all of the planets align just right on the third Tuesday of the fifth month of the Gregorian Calendar, I get to write a review...but most of my work is behind the scenes and verbal. I like my job. I learn a lot. I teach others and through teaching learn even more.
Recently, my work and personal life have collided rather suddenly and I find myself comparing the culture of the US with every other culture of the world rather frequently. This can be difficult as the only other culture I have first-hand knowledge of is British; I have first-hand knowledge of immigrated Latinos and a litany of Asians and - regardless of Homer Simpson’s proclamation that Canada is “America Jr.” - I am keenly aware that it is very different indeed.
Games are expensive. It doesn’t take a PhD in mathematics to see that an online component extends the monetary value of a game: episodic content = additional dollars. Unless you’ve browsed to this site and blog from a cave you know this and have probably experienced it through the now ubiquitous downloadable content on Xbox Live.
When designed with downloadable content in mind, I like what this does for my gaming experience. In theory, my game should become cleaner, more polished and less expensive. If a game is received well and earns enough to cover its initial design cost, the player is rewarded with more game. In theory again, those games that do best should offset the cost of downloadable content for marginal games – those games for which downloadable content would turn a barely profitable game into a very profitable game.
Design is key. Until very recently, the sector of the industry with the most experience in this area was massively multiplayer games. And this is where the design and culture begin to show glaring differences.
Better get a cup of coffee and prepare for a long one...
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