Space opera becomes soap opera
On Thursday, game developer Origin Systems Inc. planned to post the first episode of a new adventure game which takes place in its fictional Wing Commander universe.
For Wing Commander fans, the move means seven free weeks of gaming. For Origin, it's a first test for a planned new business model. "It is very important that we position our company in all things online," said Neil Young, general manager of the Austin, Texas company. "This prototype is part of solving the (business model) challenge."
The subsidiary of game publisher powerhouse Electronic Arts Inc. will be releasing weekly doses of the adventure - called Wing Commander: Secret Ops -- over the next 7 weeks. Each week will consist of six to eight game missions and supporting plot material, including fictitious e-mail, news stories, and classified documents.
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The missions will be all-new and continue where the last game release, Wing Commander: Prophecy, left off.
Known space
At least one analyst thought the move was a good first step.
"This worked well with You Don't Know Jack," said Seema Williams, online analyst for computer market watcher Forrester Research Inc. "I think people will love the idea."
The history of online episodic dramas and games has been mixed. The initial leap into online interactive drama has, for the most part, resembled a dive into an empty swimming pool.
Games have had a similar experience. While multiplayer gaming has exploded onto the scene, episodic adventures have been mainly limited to free-form role-playing games like Ultima Online and Meridan 59.
Need a lot of boost
Going online with high-quality 3-D games as a series entails jumping over some large hurdles.
One is the mere size of the downloads. While each episode will most likely be between 8MB and 10MB, the initial game file consists of 50MB for the "small" file and over 100MB for the full set of sounds and effects for the game.
Yet, game quality needs to be high. "As long as you don't skimp on the graphics, the gamer will keep coming back," said Forrester's Williams.
And that requires a profitable business model to pay for development costs. "We are looking at advertising based models and subscription models," said Young. "Free games are not part of the future - this is a one-off."
Great for packaged games
Yet, for Origin and other game companies, adding an online component to games can help turn momentary shooting stars into long-lasting hits.
"We can find ways to extend the life of PC packaged goods on the Web," said Young. "Multiplayer functions and online features drive adoption."
According to International Data Corp. the online component of Blizzard Entertainment's hit game Diablo helped drive lasting sales.
Blending online components with packaged games is the future, said Forrester's Williams. "Adding an online component can only help the game," she said. "This is a much bigger deal than anyone has thought."