Thoughts on DLC

[Lupo]

Ahoy hoy,

Isn't DLC just great, it's a way to expand your experience of a game that wasn't originally included. However, several meanies take advantage of us excited gamers and either create day one DLC (when they pretty much lock away part of the game until you pay for access) or they charge you a death defying price for something rather small (DoA's most recent game comes to mind)

How would you all like the good ol' chaps at Playtonic handle DLC, assuming they dare enter the DLC territory?

Personally, I wouldn't mind a bit of DLC, but if it is for something big (like a new level or mini-game or mode) it's something that I think should be considered after the release of PU. I don't mind Day One DLC for costumes, but as long as they are reasonably priced, I would say around 99p per costume and maybe £3 to £5 for costume packs

What do you think?
Leon

[Taylor]

Perhaps, keeping in spirit with Stop 'N' Swop, when you purchase their second game you also get 'free' DLC to their previous game which will unlock a few cool secrets. It could become a Playtonic tradition.

It would be better the other way round, unlocking secrets in the new game, but I have no idea how that would work. It seems a lot easier to update the older game than offer surprises in the second game.

[GildasMagnus]

DLC is fine if it's the sort of DLC where they come up with ideas many months in the future, however otherwise I think they should include everything in the base game and have it unlockable in some way. These are the old RARE developers, so I would hope they'd also see things from the more classical age perspective, where games were released actually complete and finished, and EXPANSIONS were released in the years after.

[Exaskryz]

There hasn't really been DLC I've been eager to get. And I don't think a lot of the DLC ideas for Project Ukulele would be good. Mario Kart DLC is OK because there's not a story involved. But it would feel weird as all heck if you got 100 Jiggies and were rewarded for it, then got a new level with 10 new Jiggies and now you have 110 Jiggies and nothing to show for it. Or if you decided to get 9 jiggies from each level, and any of the eleven levels you got your tenth from, and you got the "Congratulations on finding all of the Jiggies!" message/reward... That would be weird.

Besides that, knowing Playtonic wants to keep making other games, then those ideas should be implemented in the other games. If they've "reached the end" of their universe expansion and still have ideas they really want to implement, then going ahead and offering them as DLC wouldn't be a bad idea.

I do think it would be nice to unlock content in past games by purchasing a brand new game. But not anything that was done like Sm4sh - getting Mewtwo by owning the portable version which is 80% identical to the console version just feels wrong.

[Enrel]

In terms of this sort of game. I'm really not a fan of any sort of DLC unless it's cosmetic. I feel like a 3d Platformer should be complete unto itself. Like a game like Smash bros of-course it should have DLC because I wanna play as Mewtwo, Krystal, and a few others.

But it just seems a little tacked on to put a "whole new level" into the mix of things with a game like this. Like even as bonus extras it'll feel out of place and inconsequential.

[Rasmusic]

Just no.

[Jellyfunk]

Actually, I wouldn't mind DLC for this kind of game. As long as it's substantial. Not $5 for a skin change.

[polomi]

Honestly I don't feel like I should have a say in this (like in most things actually, but I already shared this opinion). If it fits with what Playtonic wants, then sure. If they'd rather make other games instead immediately after Ukulele, then sure.

What if all the community asks for DLC but they feel like they're done with the game, that they made it as they wanted it to be, that they think adding more wouldn't in fact add anything of value to the game? Should they still go for it because the community wants it?

What if instead they have ideas for DLC that would truly add to the game but the community would rather not want them to do DLC but focus on making other games? Should they scrap their ideas?

I just want them to do their thing, that's what I'll give them my money for as far as I'm concerned.

[Nightpaws]

DLC when done correctly is brilliant.

Criterion Games did a brilliant job with Burnout Paradise. They rebuilt the whole game several times over providing new content and none of it originally shipped with the game, nor was it planned. Community demand on a forum not unlike this inspired the whole thing with roads, buildings and events even being named after members of the forum and idea contributors.

They added Bikes to the game, sets of cars based on community demand/ideas with functions not originally coded into the game, an entire island adding another space 1/3 the size of the original map, and day/night time cycles, and a cops and robbers mode for kicks.

Burnout Paradise was, and remains one of the best DLC supported games I've ever seen. Anything that comes close to doing DLC right, and in that way deserves a medal and some sort of award. It'd be great to see Project Ukulele doing something along those lines (but in the context of the genre).

[Taylor]

For the record, I think DLC is something the Playtonic guys would consider. I remember hearing rumours that they wanted DLC in Banjo-Kazooie on the Xbox; one idea was a giant termite bursting out of Ticker's Tower and starting a boss fight*.

*I might have dreamt this...

[Nightpaws]

[Pirulo]

Definitely no. I want a full game, just like old times. If you have more, then save it for the second one.

[Epic Elliot]

NO!!! DLC!!! im sick of DLC!!! (except for SSB because arceus damn it! i want roy back! & i want an amiibo of him!) but seriously NO! stop N swap between games sure cool thats fine amiibo support sure fine cool ( especially if its supporting nintendo characters amiibo! over 40 smash amiibo to be useable! show nintendo how to do it playtonic! because there should be no excuse why my shulk amiibo cant unlock a simple mii outfit for mario kart 8?! really how hard its it just to have the all be useable for such a simple feature? what a let down :/ )

plus why waist time with DLC when they can just focus on a brand new game & futher expand there "marvel like universe" with there own games

[Viellain]

As long as they don't pre-plan dlc and do it when they feel like they have they can actually add something and seen how their current game is doing then I'm for it. I hate companies that add DLC ONCE THE GAME RELEASES. That is just called milking a franchise and scamming the general populace. If it was there it should've been in the day-1 release of the game there's absolutely no excuse to have something then make it DLC once the game releases.

[GrayMagicΓ]

There's three kinds of DLC, and people seem to be using one as a strawman for why we can't have another.

1) On disc DLC. Notoriously popularized by Capcom, this is essentially cut content from the game that could've easily been an unlockable, like an extra skin for Street Fighter or a new character in Mega Man 10.

2) Day one DLC. Not to be confused with on disc DLC, this is usually criticized by ignorant gamers that have minimal idea how the industry works. Depending on the publisher, you have to have your game completely done 1-3 months before the release date. After this point you can't edit one line of code. If you want to make more content for the game in the next few months, this is what day one DLC is for, as the digital certification process is notably faster than it is for physical games. From what I understand, Project Ukelele is downloadable, so this type of DLC isn't feasible.

3) Post launch DLC. This is essentially the same thing as day one DLC, but isn't finished by the time the game launches.

[Yitsul]

I'm Open to the Idea actually. I think a good idea would be an expansion to current levels with new challenges and new secrets to find.

[DKBananaSlamma]

We honestly should be thinking about doc right now except for little things like costumes (but you could use amigo for that on Wii U)

[Jellyfunk]

Guys, the DLC will be AFTER the game is finished, not during development. How can you say no to more? It's better than waiting 3 more years for the next game.

[Enrel]

[Taylor]

I would like DLC to be honest. I see it like this: either they can make a brand new sequel and spend a couple of years working on it, or they can add some DLC to an already great game to extend its life. I don't agree with day one DLC, or developers purposely holding back material just to profit from it later, but if they have a cool idea after the game is released, they should run with it.

Downside is that I wouldn't want to pay a lot for a little (even though I would because I'm a fan-boy), but if the DLC was cheap it might not even be worth Playtonic making. They'd lose time and money and may not profit from it.