Five Second Freddy

"Hold on ... wait ... wait ... uhh ... I'm finished." A good time may be better than a long time, but there is a popular perception within western society that to go for longer is better. I don't know whether this holds true for other cultures, but I am sure that their thoughts must fall along the same lines. However, it seems the gaming industry wants to buck this trend and deliver shorter and shorter gaming experiences.

It was reported in Atomic Magazine (Issue 66, July 2006, p. 80) that the new game Alone in the Dark will be delivered in 30 to 40 minute episodes on the Xbox 360. What is 30 minutes, including the introduction of the game, in total game time terms? What 20 minutes of gameplay? This is absurd. Paying for 30 minutes of content.

If they are delivering 30 to 40 minutes of gameplay then I hope they deliver new content every day, cause I am not going to be happy with their enforced hiatus of a game that I enjoy. If Valve were delivering the content in 30 or 40 minutes it would take them 4 or 5 months to deliver the next episode. By that time I will have forgotten what I had played in the 30 minute segment I had previously.

What kind of replayability will this create in the game? especially for completely linear shooters. There won't be any replayability.

Eden Games (the Five Minute Freddies) of the gaming industry. Good luck to them. I hope they can break the myth that shorter is better than longer, but they also may go out of business trying. With the interuptions I've had at work it's taken me longer than 30 minutes to write this post.

Damn ... the game would have been over already.