Poll: Your method.

[Dark Harbinger]

What I mean is, say I shall set up a scenario for you.

You're ready to put your fresh game into retail, you developed it, you are also publishing it, it's your game, you can do whatever you want with it, you aren't beholden to any other publisher.

What I am interested in, is how would you release said game? Would you like to offer the classic full package for a good RRP of your choosing? (Be realistic though, a bit of cash in the kitty helps towards your next game or other products!) Or perhaps you would prefer to hold back or develop later content to release into downloadable content, it might help profits, but then you are not guaranteed to get lots of DLC sales are you? Maybe you would like to divulge into Exclusivity, maybe a few extra goodies for a certain console or pre-order? Or maybe something a little unconventional, like releasing the game in an episodic style like Alone In The Dark.

So fellow Escapists, how would you get your game out there?

 

[Anarchemitis]

I remember the days that coincidentally were both good, and are relatively speaking, old, in which you would buy your copy of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando for Playstation 2 and literally have many hours of fun with it and never grow tired of it, only growing in excitement when God of War advertisements started showing up.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

I remember the days that coincidentally were both good, and are relatively speaking, old, in which you would buy your copy of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando for Playstation 2 and literally have many hours of fun with it and never grow tired of it, only growing in excitement when God of War advertisements started showing up.

I am inclined to agree, I am just interested in how people would do it in the present situation, after all I believe DLC has only really come to the top in the last 3 years or so. Unless I am mistaken.

 

[Easton Dark]

Editions can net some serious profit.

Just throw in the concept art and a plushie or something, color the box gold, and it's an instant $30 more.

 

[Scabadus]

I'd release what I considered to be a 'full' game onto the shelves, perhaps with a few pieces of visual/cosmetic DLC (I'm thinking Killing Floor style) then release a large but fairly expensive expansion or two like the Elder Scrolls series. This way I keep complaints about DLC to a minimum while still turning a profit on it, and I don't have to create new engine/coding/worldbuilding tools for the next year or so, because the studio's working on expansions.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

Editions can net some serious profit.

Just throw in the concept art and a plushie or something, color the box gold, and it's an instant $30 more.

Haha! I like it! Break out the golden cigars!

 

[Anarchemitis]

I remember the days that coincidentally were both good, and are relatively speaking, old, in which you would buy your copy of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando for Playstation 2 and literally have many hours of fun with it and never grow tired of it, only growing in excitement when God of War advertisements started showing up.

I am inclined to agree, I am just interested in how people would do it in the present situation, after all I believe DLC has only really come to the top in the last 3 years or so. Unless I am mistaken.

I am being nostaligic to those days which were coincidentally both good and old because I prefer them, to an extent.

 

[McPulse]

There's very little I love more than playing Diablo II. One of the only things better is playing it, then playing it again with Lord of Destruction. If Blizzard brought out a second expansion with two more classes and one new world, I would go out and buy it, right now.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

I remember the days that coincidentally were both good, and are relatively speaking, old, in which you would buy your copy of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando for Playstation 2 and literally have many hours of fun with it and never grow tired of it, only growing in excitement when God of War advertisements started showing up.

I am inclined to agree, I am just interested in how people would do it in the present situation, after all I believe DLC has only really come to the top in the last 3 years or so. Unless I am mistaken.

I am being nostaligic to those days which were coincidentally both good and old because I prefer them, to an extent.

I'm sure lots of us do.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

I've actually thought about this many times, despite having no interest to make games.

My method would be to develop my game for the highest of high-end PCs first, then optimise on down to consoles.

Then the game is released on the company's website along with most major retailers (fuck you, Gamestop, you get nothing). No DRM on the PC release (unless bought from Steam), $49.99 US for all versions, all locales. Live in the UK? $49.99 US. Australia? $49.99 US.

Expansion packs would be released later, for prices ranging from $10 to $30 US depending on amount of content. Hell, I might just release the one game and keep it alive with expansions.

I'd buy a copy

 

[Zhukov]

I'd offer pre-order bonuses and special editions.

Both increase revenue, wouldn't require a great deal of effort on my part and don't piss people off.

 

[pokepuke]

DLC isn't even relatively new.

Also, I doubt it has yet been used correctly in this thread.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

DLC isn't even relatively new.

Also, I doubt it has yet been used correctly in this thread.

I stand corrected then, how would you use DLC then?

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

i would do expansions kind of like awakening, where it's not "DAMN that is a whole game unto itself" but it definitely adds more than enough for a quick download and requires thorough re playability to enjoy it to its fullest.

 

[Mr Thin]

Expansions all the way, man.

They're like DLC, only there's more in them. And they're often worth the price. Despite the price being higher.

I personally never buy DLC, I just get the free stuff, and wait until they release an edition of the game that comes with all DLC included (like Fallout 3 GOTY), for the same price (or close to it) as the original game.

So the DLC system doesn't really work for me.

 

[darkfire613]

I would release as a digital download and physical copy, but the hard copy would come with extra bonus stuff. Also release expansions along the same idea, digital+special boxed.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Expansions, DLC, and pre-order bonuses would all be in my ideal bag of tricks. But my ideal game would be an MMORPG, with a heavy emphasis on RPG. If I'm not beholden to anyone else, I'd happily ban anyone who can't get with the program of roleplaying in a roleplaying game.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

Expansions, DLC, and pre-order bonuses would all be in my ideal bag of tricks. But my ideal game would be an MMORPG, with a heavy emphasis on RPG. If I'm not beholden to anyone else, I'd happily ban anyone who can't get with the program of roleplaying in a roleplaying game.

That's the idea, be as tyrannical as you want

 

[Tanis]

Expansions! (Healthy mix of DLC and Full Game)

Worked for some of the best PC games, why not console?

 

[Lagslayer]

If I got the final call, probably release the whole game, but make it difficult to pirate. A new anti-pirate system that would at least delay pirates for quite a while and allow the game to sell as many legitimate copies as possible. If by "episodic" you mean sequels, but really the same game, only if it can't be fit on one disc, or maybe if the different parts have radically different themes.

Basically, I don't want to rip people off, but I don't want them to rip me off either. And I don't want to exclude game content for a lot of the players.