Tag Archive for 'Episodic content'

‘Fallout 3′ Procures Mods and DLC

Published
on December 13, 2008
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Bethesda’s Fallout 3 mod creator, nicknamed the Garden of Eden Creation Kit, went online this week.

The new Web site has the mod tools available and a library of how-to articles. Fallout 3 Nexus is a good community source for new content.

Bethesda has a history of good mod support for Morrowind and Oblivion as well as downloadable content, and Fallout 3 is getting the same treatment.

Three downloadable packages have been announced — “Operation: Anchorage,” which simulates a battle between the US and China, will come out next month, followed by “The Pitt” and the new city of Pittsburgh in February and “Broken Steel,” a continuation of the main quest, in March.

IGN has an in-depth interview with Producer Jeff Gardiner about January’s “Operation: Anchorage.”

“The Chinese red army is everywhere, and the player will first have to secure the surrounding mountain side and then fight their way into the Chinese base,” summarized Gardiner.

“The player will have to use a lot of their standard combat skills, along with several new tools that will only be available in the downloadable content. These include interactive Strike Teams under the player’s command and unique armor, weapons, and other exotic gadgets.”

The packs are exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PC, and they will cost $10 a piece. 

Despite the price tag, I think Bethesda’s new DLC is exactly what it should be: four to five hours of content that supplements the main quest and expands on the story and gameplay of the core game. They are substantial, experimental mini-expansions rather than superfluous aesthetics like Oblivion’s infamous horse armor.

As Gardiner said in the interview, “It’s important to our team to use DLC as a way for us to flex our creativity, to try new things and answer the ‘wouldn’t have been cool if we did this?’ question that always comes up towards a games completion — when it’s too late to try them!”

‘Fallout 3′ Lacks Mod Support At Launch

Published
on September 3, 2008
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In a Joystiq interview from last weekend’s PAX, Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 3 will not include support for player modifications when it launches on October 28.

“We don’t [have MOD support at launch], we want to but we have our hands so full with getting the game out and getting tools out there that work well for people and with the game is a pretty big undertaking,” Howard said. “We definitely want to do it, but we can’t yet commit to doing it or when it will happen.”

Howard did promise DLC content for Fallout 3 on both the PC and Xbox 360. He also comments on the current console generation and the Fallout legacy in the Joystiq interview.

Bethesda’s last game, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, included a level editing program that enabled a big community of modders who are still expanding on the game’s scope. Player made content such — dungeons, items, characters and quests — has kept Oblivion, and its predecessor Morrowind, alive and kicking long after their release.

Warren Spector Sees Shorter, Creative Games in Industry’s Future

Published
on June 18, 2008
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“100 hour games are on the way out,” said Warren Spector at last week’s Game Education Summit, reports Gamasutra.

How many of you have finished GTA?” asked Spector, of Wing Commander, System Shock, and Deus Ex fame. “Two percent, probably. If we’re spending $100 million on a game, we want you to see the last level!”

Spector and Mark Meyers of Disney Interactive were keynote speakers at the summit and discussed changes in the industry and the new role of game education programs in entering it.

“Up until five years ago most people got into the game industry by accident,” commented Myers, who began working as an engineer.

The game industry is growing up, getting more high tech with top-notch facilities and training programs replacing ramshackle buildings and self-trained amateurs. Both speakers grew up alongside the ever-enlarging business.

“Building a game is as complex as making as a Hollywood movie,” said Spector. “Do we have the right people and how do we harness creativity without crushing it?

“We are in a business that is both software engineer and entertainment, and we have to balance it,” Spector continued. “It used to be that you could trade off gameplay for graphics, but you can’t do that anymore.”

Continue reading ‘Warren Spector Sees Shorter, Creative Games in Industry’s Future’

Downloadable Content for BioShock

Published
on October 19, 2007
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Ken Levine commented this week on downloadable content for BioShock. As the writer points out, BioShock with it’s very closed narrative is not the first game you’d associate with DLC.

For comparison, Half-Life 2’s episodic DLC works well with that game, extending the story after the cliffhanger ending. BioShock’s conclusion (at least the happy one I saw) tied up all the loose ends and left no room for post-plot antics. Another level just would not fit.

Bethesda has provided DLC for Oblivion since launch, with the final pack coming out next week. As an open-ended world, Oblivion readily facilitates the addition of new content, be it an expansion of the story, a new quest, a new weapon, or a new player house. The story in that game can be tackled at the player’s leisure, so it’s easy to add in a new level.

On the other hand, the Rapture of BioShock is such a tight experience that forces the player to move along a set path but in his own way. You can chose what skills to employ in combat and of course whether to save or harvest the little sisters, but you still run through the same number of levels and end up at the same boss. It’s an excellent way of telling a story, but leaves little leeway for a new level or expansion.

“Diablo II, to me, was a great model for an expansion, because it enhanced the original game, but also extended the game, too,” said Levine in an interview with Games for Windows magazine. “I’m not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience.”

“I think that certainly BioShock’s combat experience is great, but it could be broader. I’m a little more confused as far as how to expand the narrative experience,” he added.

The game is not fully linear, but there’s a definite starting and ending point, and the pacing is perfect. It could only be disrupted by attachments to the narrative. New plasmids though, that’s another story entirely. If they are implemented completely and don’t feel tacked on or useless, such DLC would be a welcome addition.