Dude, Expansion paaacks.

[SBKT]

Just an idea, but, what if, you made it so you could get Expansion packs, like with some of the more popular games? It's just an idea, but fi you added ability to put in Expansion packs, you could make the world that much bigger even after the project is supposedly fully finished and released.

That'd be pretty neat, I think.

[Assault]

This game is fully story-driven and a single player experience only, as far as we know. If Bit Blot decides to continue the story, I would find a sequel or another "episode" to be more fitting. I don't like the idea that the world is cut off at places that you can only travel to after an expansion. If there is anything extra to see, it should come in a stand-alone game, probably featuring a brand new different location for Aquaria.

An expansion pack won't fit, hell; it's still to early for this discussion anyway.

[Toom]

I agree that talk of expansions before the game's even out is basically lunacy, but I think Morrowind stands up as an example of a large, free-form game that integrates expansions fine. It's certainly too early for such discussion, but, by the same token, surely it's too early to be making assumptions about how the game world's going to be laid out?

[xander]

I agree that it makes little sense to talk about expansion packs before the game even comes out.  That being said, a couple of thoughts:

1)  According to Chris Delay of Introversion Software, content is killer.  Their game, Darwinia, was as difficult to get going as it was not because of coding problems, or complexity of the game, or anything like that, but because it had a great deal of content -- different units, a story to be told, different levels, &c.  For the big guys, they have a dedicated team of content producers.  Most indies, (like IV) do not.  Now, IV and Bit-Blot are not the same, and they seem to be content mavens (Alex is a composer, right?), but there is still a certain amount of work that must be done above and beyond the creation of the game to come up with content.

2)  I don't think that indy developers are best served by expansion packs.  For large companies, they can pump out a new expansion every so often, and people will go and buy it.  Indy developers rely upon a reputation for originality to do well.  If they create a game, then follow it with several expansions, they may not be seen as original any longer, and lose the support of formerly dedicated fans.  There is also a perception that expansion packs are a scheme to quickly and cheaply rake in more cash.  Again, this hurts the reputation of an indy developer.

3)  To take a different approach, I would love to see a modification scheme.  The two software companies that I follow most closely (IV and Ambrosia Software) are both relatively small and independent.  They have both built a reputation for originality, and both support the development of plug-ins, add-ons, or mods (whatever you want to call them) for most of their games.  This removes from the companies some need to create content, and creates a stronger user community, because there is a reason to get together.  This means that they can get to work on their next game more quickly, and that the community will anticipate the next offering with bated (or would "baited" be more appropriate for this community?) breath.

In summary:  expansion pack == bad, user made content == good.

xander

[Assault]

In summary:  expansion pack == bad, user made content == good.

Expansion packs can be very well developed and worth every penny, however, they are often made that way. Lets not get into microtransactions.

As for user made content, I hardly ever bother with that since the story and world of a game is what interests me the most... and users can't really add anything to the original concept. Just make fan-written content.

[xander]

In summary:  expansion pack == bad, user made content == good.

Expansion packs can be very well developed and worth every penny, however, they are often made that way. Lets not get into microtransactions.

I don't disagree with this statement, and I don't think that I said that expansion packs are universally bad.  What I meant was that big game companies, like EA or Square-Enix, or what have you, have large budgets and a staff of artists to create new content.  It is very easy for big companies to create expansion packs to games without putting other projects on the back burner.  They have the resources to do so, and to create expansions that are worth paying for.

Smaller companies, in general, don't have the resources to be working on an expansion pack while working on new things.  Given the choice, I would much rather have something entirely new than an expansion to something that already exists.  As such, I think that it is a waste of resources for smaller companies to work on expansion packs, rather than new games.

As for user made content, I hardly ever bother with that since the story and world of a game is what interests me the most... and users can't really add anything to the original concept. Just make fan-written content.

I am a bit confused by this.  First you are saying that you don't bother with user made content, then you say, "Just make fan-written content."  Fan made content is user made content.  They are synonyms.  And if you don't think that user made content can rival "official" content made by the developers, I suggest that you look around at the market of games.  Small companies like Ambrosia Software and Introversion have done very well by user content -- there are several mods for Darwinia that are as good as or better than the original game, and, to pick one among many, The Frozen Heart is an excellent mod for Escape Velocity: Override that is far better than the original game.  If you look at FPSes, there are thousands of user made maps, weapons, skins, &c.  Same with RTSes.  User made content can be quite good, and can breathe new life into any well made game.

xander

[blackzeroflame]

I'm in 100% agreement with xander, all of the Escape Velocity games have been great, but they really come into their own when you start getting mods and conversions. Same with many other games, like the Gundam Century conv. for Starcraft, and the many mods for WC3.  For me, mods are the difference between beating a game, and playing it for years.