Nancy Drew Episodic Games

[Det.JA]

In the wake of Nancy Drew's classic games and the transition to a more favorable, multiplatform game engine, I can't help but think, maybe HeR Interactive will make the move to episodic games rather than one mystery.

Benefits of an Episodic Game:

• This gives us the chance to play 1 mystery over the course of several months. All the characters, drama, and story would unfold with the release of each episode.
• The cost of each episode would reduce down to $5 per episode, usually totaling 5 episodes = $25 which is typically the average price of a Nancy Drew game anyways.
• Development costs and time would be reduced since instead of working on one BIG game, the team is working on smaller episodes that contribute to the big game.
• A seasonal mystery could give players more time to explore the universe that HeR has created.

I want you to think back to a Nancy Drew game in the past. Imagine how that game would've benefited from an episodic series? Honestly, I think it's a fantastic idea.

Potential Ideas to Episodic Games:

• The introduction of choice based gameplay. Nancy can make choices that will impact the people around her.
• Less puzzles, but more memorable, thought provoking ones.
• More cutscenes and character development.
• Expanding upon lore, art, and environment

Personally, I think an episodic seasonal game is the way to go for Nancy Drew games. The costs for consumers would require less money up front, while still getting to enjoy the Nancy Drew games we know and love.

Release and Production of an Episodic Game:

• The game would be released digitally with the option of either buying the episodes for $5 each, or purchasing a season pass for $20-$25.
• The game will be released on Steam and Amazon as well.
• When all the episodes have been released, a physical disk copy of the game will come out, featuring all the episodes.
• The game will be available for PC and Mac operating systems.

[AutumnMemories]

I love those kind of games, the only thing I would say is that with the episodic games I've played each episode is about the length of one Nancy Drew game, so I'm not sure that would really save them money :P Although, the Miss Clue games (an online game series that's a blatant ripoff of Nancy Drew) used an episodic format with about 10-30 minutes of gameplay per episode, so I guess it could work!

[paperstreet]

I wonder if the app will be episodic?

For the adventure game, I think I may lose track of the mystery and forget things if it was episodic, I like getting totally immersed in the game, while episodic, as soon as you are getting into it's over : (

I think Miss Clue is popular cause it is free and filling the void because there are no new ND games. I am not sure many would pay for Miss Clue episodes.

[secretsleuth89]

I would enjoy playing an episodic game, especially if it was done on the Unity game engine. It would be exciting to explore the Nancy Drew universe further!

[DPL_93]

In the wake of Nancy Drew's classic games and the transition to a more favorable, multiplatform game engine, I can't help but think, maybe HeR Interactive will make the move to episodic games rather than one mystery.

Benefits of an Episodic Game:

• This gives us the chance to play 1 mystery over the course of several months. All the characters, drama, and story would unfold with the release of each episode.
• The cost of each episode would reduce down to $5 per episode, usually totaling 5 episodes = $25 which is typically the average price of a Nancy Drew game anyways.
• Development costs and time would be reduced since instead of working on one BIG game, the team is working on smaller episodes that contribute to the big game.
• A seasonal mystery could give players more time to explore the universe that HeR has created.

I want you to think back to a Nancy Drew game in the past. Imagine how that game would've benefited from an episodic series? Honestly, I think it's a fantastic idea.

Potential Ideas to Episodic Games:

• The introduction of choice based gameplay. Nancy can make choices that will impact the people around her.
• Less puzzles, but more memorable, thought provoking ones.
• More cutscenes and character development.
• Expanding upon lore, art, and environment

Personally, I think an episodic seasonal game is the way to go for Nancy Drew games. The costs for consumers would require less money up front, while still getting to enjoy the Nancy Drew games we know and love.

Release and Production of an Episodic Game:

• The game would be released digitally with the option of either buying the episodes for $5 each, or purchasing a season pass for $20-$25.
• The game will be released on Steam and Amazon as well.
• When all the episodes have been released, a physical disk copy of the game will come out, featuring all the episodes.
• The game will be available for PC and Mac operating systems.

As interesting as an idea this is I can't see HeR doing it to be honest and all those Potential benefits can all be done with a single release only thing is we would be waiting a longer period of time.

If HeR was going down the episodic path I don't think they would have delayed MID like this. I mean if they were planning to release it as Episodes they could have probably released something this year. Will that change after MID maybe not I'm not but I don't think the switch to Unity proves anything either way.

Also I do wonder how it would effect HeR's sales for example if they released a game in four parts at $10 and say I buy the first 2 parts and then decided I don't like the game much HeR would miss out on that money, where as when you have have 1 release for $20 HeR gets all the money regardless if I like the game or not.

A counter argument could be that it could get causal gamers who aren't fans of the series to pay $5 and try it out. But the problem with that is that there are plenty of Free point and click Games. Why would someone want to pay $5 for 1/4 or 1/5 of a game.

[Det.JA]

As interesting as an idea this is I can't see HeR doing it to be honest and all those Potential benefits can all be done with a single release only thing is we would be waiting a longer period of time.

If HeR was going down the episodic path I don't think they would have delayed MID like this. I mean if they were planning to release it as Episodes they could have probably released something this year. Will that change after MID maybe not I'm not but I don't think the switch to Unity proves anything either way.

Also I do wonder how it would effect HeR's sales for example if they released a game in four parts at $10 and say I buy the first 2 parts and then decided I don't like the game much HeR would miss out on that money, where as when you have have 1 release for $20 HeR gets all the money regardless if I like the game or not.

A counter argument could be that it could get causal gamers who aren't fans of the series to pay $5 and try it out. But the problem with that is that there are plenty of Free point and click Games. Why would someone want to pay $5 for 1/4 or 1/5 of a game.

You have some very interesting points to make. And honestly, I've wondered the very same thing myself. How do companies like TellTaleGames stay in business if customers don't like the episodes?

The biggest thing here is to sell people on the Season Pass. People don't want to fuss over buying individual episodes. They'd rather just keep things simple. Me included.

The other factor here is multiplatform gaming. The switch to Unity means multiple platforms. Releasing games in episodes means that each individual episode is a smaller size. So instead of having one big game that's 15 GBs, you'll have smaller games that are about 1--2 GBs per chapter.

Let's say you love the game so much that you want it on your smart phone or tablet. It would be way easier to play the game as an episode (which takes up less space) than as the whole game. This would also improve the speed of the game as well as processing power for mobile devices.

The switch to episodic mysteries would benefit the mobile crowd immensely. If HeR wants a presence in the Android/Apple market, making episodic games would be the way to go.

[Miss.Moonhart]

I personally really dislike episodic games. It feels like a ploy in way I guess? Like they haven't finished but are looking for quick cash. For example, if anything were to go wrong what's to say they wouldn't stop releasing episodes in the middle of a game? I know other games have been successful with episodes but I personally never play them as they come out. If they went in this direction I would just wait for the whole thing to come out instead.

[DPL_93]

Actually changed my mind and am In favour of Episodes/Seasons now. Think it could work well for a game like FIN. Each Day could be an episode.

I think Miss Clue does a decent job at it and I see HeR's Nancy Drew games as a far superior product so I think they could do an even better job.

[Tedbear2]

Although I have played a few Telltale games, and liked them, I am not a fan of episodic games. I am an old-fashioned gamer: I like my games released once in their entirety, and I also like having a retail box. I would prefer to see ND games continued the way that they have been. Episodic games, no matter how well done, feel more lightweight and less substantive to me.