Downloadable Content

Remember when you could download patches for the game that included new content and it was free? Those were good days. I remember when new maps came out for the first Call of Duty and how much fun it was to get more playtime out of it for FREE! Now you have to pay money for new maps in Modern Warfare 2 and almost every big new release comes with DLC on release that you have to pay for.

I can see why publishers do this-it's easy money for them and people are stuck paying for it if they want the full game experience. The other valid reason I can see for DLC is that it helps prevent piracy to SOME extent by forcing people to download the stuff online after buying the game legitimately. I certainly prefer day 1 DLC over DRM software that afflicts my computer.

Still, there are ways to do DLC well and ways that are kind of being an asshole. Here are the ways to do it right:

1. Don't Charge for DLC that's available the first day of release: If you charge DLC day one you're just making people pay for things that are already in the game they just paid full price for. No extra developer effort was put in, you're just removing part of the game and charging more for it. That's just not right.

2. Don't charge for new maps for FPS/RTS games: It's extremely tiring playing on the same old maps game after game, so many players might be willing to pay for new maps, as seen with all the people who bought the map packs for Modern Warfare 2. However, the reason that you shouldn't charge for these is that they help build the online community and also give the developer goodwill. Both of these will help when you release your next game, as you have a solid group of fans who will be looking forward to it. The reason Modern Warfare 2 got away with charging for it was that it already had a well established fan base. If you're a new series, don't try it.

3. Don't provide DLC that gives specific players advantages: I can't actually think of any game that has done this, but I also want it to stay that way. The whole point of a game is that it's on a level playing field at the beginning so the person with more talent wins. If players can pay money for things that give them an advantage, such as units in RTS games or better guns in FPS games, then the balance is completely fucked.

4. DLC you can charge for: Any DLC that is released after the actual game and took actual development work is fine to charge for. This is akin to an expansion pack, which I'm quite happy to pay for. The Mass Effect series is a good example-they added a few new single player missions you could experience and they were reasonably priced.

Overall, I'm not a big fan of DLC, but if it's similar to an expansion pack in design I am OK with it.