I don't think anyone has pointed this out yet; there is an interesting article on Gamasutra.com that sort of proposed a television-like production model for games:

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20031105/klug_01.shtml

The article is specifically referring to MMORPGs but it really hit me that this could also apply to the shareware community as well.

The way I envisioned the concept applying to shareware projects is that my primary release is the "pilot episode" and that as a developer I should have a commitment to deliver X number of future "episodes" or updates on a regular bi-weekly or monthly basis. These updates aren't patches to technical issues (although that would be in them as well) but real additions to the core game like new levels, art, characters or game modes.

Most new tv shows are given a commitment to produce anywhere from 3 to 8 (maybe more) episodes to see if the show will find an audience and most of those episodes are shot prior to the airing of the series pilot. It's been said that on-line games should be continuously updated to show developer support and keep growing their audience, it's doesn't seem that different from TV production.

This is how I see the adoption of this concept affecting development:

- An arbitrary "content commitment" is decided upon based on how confident I am of the games potential. ie. I know in my gut the game will be a hit so I'm going to dig in for 8 "episodes" of updates - *no matter what*.

- The content updates are designed / plotted *at the same time* as the main game to form an overall path or "character arc" for development. This can be guided in the future by player requests but the first course of updates belong to the developer to help the audience see what direction the game is going in.

- At least half of the update content should be finished at the time of releasing the pilot so as to maintain a regular schedule of updates.

- Content updates should be promoted prior to their release just as TV shows have an "on the next episode of..." and a firm date for delivery.

If the game is coded with this development philosophy in mind then the only thing more epidodes or content will cost is a bit more time from the developer. I think a game that receives regular (free) updates in a reliable, timely manner like this just might achieve an audience that makes it worth the extra effort.

I think the idea might be worth experienting on. Any thoughts?

I guess it depends on what kind of game you're making. Many indies release their games with the promise of free future enhancements and improvements for those who buy now. For instance, Kai Peter released Mistaril Space Station with a base set of features and he's regularly updating and improving the game, with pretty good results it seems. Releasing new levels or themes is also another approach that I think essentially amounts to what you're proposing. Expansion packs are also another mechanism similar to episodes. So, I think the idea isn't that far from what people are already used to (which is good).

So, if you have a very story-driven game, delivering it in installments sounds like a natural. Making it known to your customers that a number of episodes are already "in the can" when you ship your pilot episode could be fairly enticing, and it would be a good way to drive repeat visits to your site. And, unless you totally misjudged your target audience, you could probably make minor tweaks to the unshipped episodes in response to player feedback. However, having a number of episodes done before you ship the pilot sounds a little risky. Perhaps a less-risky approach might be to have 4 episodes roughly sketched out, with some key elements fully fleshed out (enough to supply the "coming next" teaser). That way, if your story line fails to attract new customers (since your existing customers aren't paying for the first N episodes), you won't have as much wasted effort.

Overall, I'd say it's an interesting idea. Obviously you'd probably want to try a small test of your idea before plowing a lot of resources into a full-blown series--a lot of new TV programs never make it past the pilot, so you'd really need to make sure it works! If you give it a shot, report back and let us know how it went. :)

I know for sure that this has been done before with a space simulator (wing commander prophecy). Each month or so a new chapter was released.

I've never seen it done with games, but I think it's a great method. It allows you to release a small game with limited content (the pilot) and see if anyone is interested. You can also control how much you invest in creating content...if interest drops, you simply stop making new episodes for a while, or even cancel the show.

Another advantage is that you could price the episodes in a number of ways to maximize return. Sell individual episodes for $5, with the idea that 10 of them make a complete, full-length retail game. Or sell subscriptions where they get 5 episodes for $20, but have to wait for them to be released.

It doesn't have to be story-driven either. You could sell new maps, units, adventures, etc. Diablo I & II had addons that added new classes, and new dungeons, and they sold like crazy.

I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a while. I want to develop a lucasarts-style adventure game, divided into, say, 5 parts so it's not such a big download, with the first part being the demo. The other 4 could be sold seperately, released a couple of months apart or whatever (so pre-shipping development time is cut down too), and after it was all done, you could start offering the whole thing on CD as well.

First I have to develop my portfolio though, once I have 3 solid titles selling I'll definitely be keen to do this. Which might be in another couple of years.