Will video games ever truly go episodic?

In a world of minisodes, mobisodes and other bite-size portions of entertainment, there’s one area where the approach still hasn’t worked. Episodic gaming is meant to offer video gamers an alternative to the $60 new release. The idea is that a studio produces, say, five small games instead of one 40-hour epic. This month, episodic gaming got a colorful boost with the release of The Orange Box, a collection including Half-Life 2 and a cluster of smaller games. The set highlights the highs and lows of episodic gaming, as illustrated hilariously by this animated review from The Escapist magazine. So, is there a bright future for episodic gaming? Maybe, although it seems to hinge on the dubious existence of a demographic you could call “gamers on the go.” Otherwise, three or four hours is not much time to kill in mom’s basement or a dank, windowless apartment.

—Posted by David Griner

October 22, 2007 in Griner | Permalink