Game Episodes

[joh06937]

...game episodes, how the f*** do they work?...
ok, enough with the jokes. i know this is a noobish question, but how exactly do they work? i have never actually played any game that had "episodes." are they like expansions or are they separate things that you install all by themselves?

 

[epidemik]

Which exactly are you refering to?

The Half Life 2 Episodes are shorter but stand alone games (not expansions) that are just a continuation of the story. I guess theyre just called episodes because they are shorter than a full length game and the developer intends to release multiple episodes from the start. I imagine they're supposed to come out relatively quickly (in terms of one after the other) but obviously valve didn't get that memo.

I agree they seem pointless/stupid. It seems like theyd be alright if they released them with not much time in between and they were cheap but it seems that doesnt always tend to be the case.


EDIT: After thinking about it, I kind of assumed you were talking about hl2 which is kind of ignorant. Id forgotten about smaller lesser known (indie?) games. I just dont really play those kinds of games.

 

[joh06937]

Which exactly are you refering to?

The Half Life 2 Episodes are shorter but stand alone games (not expansions) that are just a continuation of the story. I guess theyre just called episodes because they are shorter than a full length game and the developer intends to release multiple episodes from the start. I imagine they're supposed to come out relatively quickly (in terms of one after the other) but obviously valve didn't get that memo.

I agree they seem pointless/stupid. It seems like theyd be alright if they released them with not much time in between and they were cheap but it seems that doesnt always tend to be the case.


EDIT: After thinking about it, I kind of assumed you were talking about hl2 which is kind of ignorant. Id forgotten about smaller lesser known (indie?) games. I just dont really play those kinds of games.

actually that was the game that got me thinking about all of this doesn't the gta series have episodes as well?

 

[PohTayToez]

By naming a game with the word "Episode", it implies that they're telling a specific story, and just using the game as a medium. For example, Half Life is a very linear game, in that you play all of the levels in order from beginning to finish, without skipping any or going to any bonus levels, and without any sort of alternate endings. Anyone who plays Half Life gets pretty much the same experience as anyone else.