In my continuing ‘How Not to’ gaming series, here’s how not to do DLC (Downloadable Content) for a game:
Stamp it out so frequently that you overwhelm and confuse the casual player and create resentment in the hardcore players who feel compelled to purchase all of it to have a ‘complete’ experience.
I give you Exhibit A:
I would not be surprised if Dungeon Defenders is one of the games that prompted Valve to offer a ‘SHOW DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT’ checkbox for its list of new releases. Released on October 18, 2011 the game has 20 DLC items available (two of which are free). Purchasing them all will set you back $45.82. The game itself costs $14.99. Of course, all of the DLC is optional — the game works just fine without it and some of it is pure fluff, things like costume packs and the like. But that’s still equivalent to new content every 10 days and while the inclination may be to think more is better, it’s often not, especially in a game that offers a solid co-op experience where not having the right DLC can lock other players out.
This seems to be the future for at least some games, though. Whether it’s a free iOS game with In App Purchase (IAP) to flesh out/further the experience, Facebook games that require you to pony up real money to make real ‘progress’ (the classic example being Farmville) or games like Dungeon Defenders with a relatively low price buttressed by a ton of DLC, more developers and publishers are opting for a model where you get some of the game up front for little or no money and have to pay to get the rest — with the final price often ending up higher than the old-fashioned retail box that gave you the whole thing at time of purchase.
It makes the days of Epic giving away gobs of free content for its Unreal Tournament games seem positively quaint. I’m not ready to cry doom or shake my cane at these young whippersnappers just yet, though, but it’s a trend that definitely bears watching.
