Are Episodic Games the Future?

As studios like Electronic Arts and Activision continue to crank out big-budget standalone game experiences that cost $60 a pop and last for hours on end, Telltale Games has taken an entirely different approach with its collection of episodic downloadable games like Sam & Max and Strong Bad. Telltale CEO Dan Connors recently talked with the UK site GamesIndustry.biz about the company's recent success, which could be a sign of things to come for the rest of the gaming world.

Telltale is one of the few developers that have delivered on the promise of episodic gaming. Games like Sam & Max are set up as "seasons," and each episode is delivered monthly. They're priced in bite-sized chunks, and the storyline of each episode is closely tied to the previous and forthcoming installments. As a result of this tightly managed format, Telltale has found that gamers have become quite loyal to its franchises.

"I would say that at this point about 65-70 percent of our business is from the full season subscribers, so they're really buying an experience over six months," Connors told GI.biz.

That response is largely due to the engaging storylines and characters created by Telltale. Storytelling is a major focus of Telltale's creative process and is (or should be) the hallmark of a truly episodic game, Connors said.

And while many game companies have to wait years to see a return on their production investment, Telltale cranks out a new episode every month, providing a constant stream of income with which to fund current and future projects. In this uncertain economic climate, that has to be an attractive proposition for others in the industry.

"I will say that we've been hearing from a lot of big publishers that have ideas for their franchises, asking how we'd like to work with them," Connors told GI.biz.

The first two seasons of Sam & Max have just been announced for Xbox Live Arcade, and Telltale is getting set to release the initial episode of Wallace & Gromit on XBLA and PC. If those games succeed on XBLA, expect other publishers and developers to take note and follow in Telltale's footsteps.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/962/962851p1.html

To be honest TellTale games didn't create shit yet. Well, the business model (which if you bother to add up the episodic payments you come to a grand total of about $100/full game). But Strong Bad characters (and largely the story) were created by the guys at http://www.homestarrunner.com and Sam & Max was made by Lucas Arts in the mid '90s. I know, I still have my original Sam & Max Hit the Road full talkie CD. And it didn't cost me $100.