Obsidian: Forget "Gimmicks" Like On-Disc DLC

[Greg Tito]

Obsidian: Forget "Gimmicks" Like On-Disc DLC

Good, replayable design keeps games in collections and out of the trade-in bin.

The man with the greatest moniker in the business - Feargus Arquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment - thinks his colleagues are distracted by sidequests in trying to combat the tendency for gamers to trade in old titles. EA was one of the first to implement the policy called "Project Ten Dollar" with one-use codes opening up content for people who bought the game new. Urquhart doesn't think that's the right course of action for a games company.

"One of the recent issues is not putting the full game in the package and requiring downloadable content to move on. Also, including DLC in the package that will have to be repurchased for secondhand buyers. I think you have to go in and forget those gimmicks, and say, 'How do I make them want to keep the game on the shelf?'" Urquhart said.

Such a tactic can fit for both RPGs or hybrids like what Obsidian is used to crafting as well as more mainstream shooters. "I think each genre has a way to do it. Battlefield and Call of Duty have it in multiplayer with maps, rankings, leveling up, and unlocks. There are different things, but the idea is making people feel, 'I want to keep on playing it.'

He continued:

With a role-playing game, it is the same thing. We come up with things to make players want to keep on playing it. By having a good and evil track, like Knights of the Old Republic II, I can play as a light or dark Jedi. I may play through as a light Jedi, but I know that I could play through as a dark Jedi. So I think, "I'm gonna do that some day." So I put it back on my shelf and I don't take it back to GameStop.

If I play Fallout: New Vegas for 50 hours, but there are all these other quests, and there's this whole other area I didn't go to, and online there are people talking about all these things that you could have done all these different ways, I'll feel like "Wow, I could play this game again."

The game is going to go back on my shelf, not back to GameStop.

I find Urquhart's words refreshing. Game developers should focus on making their games great so that people don't feel rewarded for turning them back in to rental or trade-in retailers. I'm all for Urquhart's plan, and I think the kinds of games that his company makes often last on players' shelves because of their depth and quality, not the gimmicks of codes and items.

Now, if only they could get rid of all the bugs ...

Source: Gamespot [http://au.gamespot.com/news/6343997/obsidian-on-the-right-way-to-fight-used-game-sales]



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[drkchmst]

-applause- someone who gets it...of course he didn't mention a good bit of the time the game goes back on the shelf and doesn't come back off for a while...but thats ok I love my collection and some day if and when I'm the only person left in the world I will use the very last watts of energy I can muster to replay my favorite games.

 

[Irridium]

Um... "replaying" doesn't mean playing through new content, you know. It means playing through the same content you already played through.

Not saying having lots of content that requires multiple playthrough's is bad(though that certainly is arguable if you don't have the time for it), but it is not replaying or replayability. It's playing through new content.

I didn't play through Half Life 2 7 times because it offered a "new" experience every time. I re-played it because I just love it enough to enjoy it multiple times. And I played Kotor 2 multiple times(as both good and evil) because I LOVE the game and its story and want to experience it over and over.

Basically, re-playing doesn't mean playing through new content. It means playing through content you already played.

Anyway, small rant over. Just something that bugs my balls. And for the record, I agree with him. Of course I do, I'm an Obsidian fanboy.

 

[DarkRyter]

And that is why I have played through New Vegas 4 times.

Hell, I didn't even change my main path or morality. It was that varied each time.

 

[dickywebster]

Well its nice to see a games company that doesnt just want to rip people off...

But considering the trend atm, this thinking of the consumer business probably wont last long :S

 

[Something Amyss]

Psssh. everyone knows the only replayability is in Deathmatches online!

>.>

You know, the only games I've traded in were ones I absolutely hated. Mario Kart for the DS (Never really played one before, not my speed), for example.

I like to play games again. Even if it's not a branching story, there's the experience. That is, if they're entertaining. Choices are awesome, though. Not specifically because you can play light or dark jedi, but simply because they add some more freedom and versatility. Actually, sometimes simply having branching paths is more of a chore (InFamous comes to mind).

This does seem like a better way to combat used game sales. This is why so many games you burn through in four hours have so many used copies on the shelf 6 hours after launch.

I do appreciate the concept. Make good games and people will want to play them. It's an amazing, untested concept, but it JUST MIGHT WORK!

Now, stop making broken games, guys.

 

[Baldr]

I disagree, even with the best replay features, the average gamer is still just going to go through the story and then trade.

 

[DJDarque]

This makes me kind of want to buy New Vegas just to show my support of his words.

 

[violinist1129]

I disagree, even with the best replay features, the average gamer is still just going to go through the story and then trade.

I don't really hear of people trading in games very often. Granted, most of my friends play on PC through Steam/OnLive where it's impossible to trade in, but even with my console playing comrades, it seems like they keep just about all of their games if they have any aspect of replayability or multiplayer as long as it isn't total crap.

Personally, I have played through NV 5 times for over 200 hours with only one crash, so I'm willing to agree with just about anything this guy says

 

[Kapol]

I disagree with the man in some aspects. While I do think that's one of the better ways, it doesn't work for every game. There are some games that work at their best if they're linear stories that tell a good story with good gameplay and don't make the player dick around spending hours running around an overly large map filled with mostly nothing (like New Vegas).

A good example of this is Alan Wake. I loved the game, and it just wouldn't have worked if they'd said "Well, we need to combat used sales. Let's make this open world with branching pathes thereby thinning out the atmosphere and making the story seem less focused."

Plus, I think that this is really just him trying to prop his company up while appealing to those who oppose on-disk DLC (pretty much everyone really). He's basically saying the type of games his company makes are the best because they don't need things like cut-off DLC. I suppose releasing a buggy, unfinished game that crashes constantly is somehow better then that?

 

[Seventh Actuality]

Much like the "use the carrot, not the stick!" argument against DRM, this is just the kind of idealised soundbite that everybody can agree they like the sound of and is damn near unprovable either way, requiring no evidence or further reasoning to be repeated ad nauseum every time there's a controversy about used games or day 1 DLC or whatever the hell it is this week.

Everybody, game developers and consumers alike, would love a world where every game is so awesome nobody ever wanted to get rid of it. Some people just aren't interested in replay value though, and a lot of people will dislike a game they've bought regardless of how good it is because it's just not for them. This is just an unfalsifiable one-note argument for shifting the blame onto developers.

 

[Baldr]

I disagree, even with the best replay features, the average gamer is still just going to go through the story and then trade.

I don't really hear of people trading in games very often. Granted, most of my friends play on PC through Steam/OnLive where it's impossible to trade in, but even with my console playing comrades, it seems like they keep just about all of their games if they have any aspect of replayability or multiplayer as long as it isn't total crap.

Personally, I have played through NV 5 times for over 200 hours with only one crash, so I'm willing to agree with just about anything this guy says

Did you not read this article:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114009-56-of-American-Gamers-Dont-Buy-Games

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

I'm an Obsidian fanboy.

*Raises hand for manly high-five*

UP TOP! WHOO!

OT: God bless you, Obsidian. I'm looking forward to playing Lonesome Road when I go back home.

 

[Tharwen]

Don't publishers decide whether DRM gets added or not? What say does Obsidian have?

 

[Irridium]

I'm an Obsidian fanboy.

*Raises hand for manly high-five*

UP TOP! WHOO!

Spoiler

Don't publishers decide whether DRM gets added or not? What say does Obsidian have?

They're talking about DLC, not DRM.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Obsidian also doesn't believe in working games either apparently......

 

[CardinalPiggles]

This guy gets my vote for king of the world. Give us a reason to keep your games and we will damn it!

I'm patiently waiting for dat steam sale.

Wait until February my friend, they are releasing a version which will include all DLC, like a GOTY.

 

[Oroboros]

Obsidian is my favorite developer, this is just another reason for me to love them. I can't wait for their Wheel of Time game to come out.