Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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Designing  Downloadable  Content    

About  DLC  and  UGC  

Introduction  

During  the  start  of  the  20th  century,  video  games  especially  triple-­‐A  titles  have  been  at  the  centre  of  the  creative  and  entertainment  industry  mostly  due  to  the  that  fact  that  games  technologies  have  become  more  powerful  and  accessible  than  ever  before.  As  these  new  technologies  emerged,  video  game  became  even  better,  larger  and  astonishing  than  ever  before.  In  addition,  the  benefits  of  the  internet  has  made  it  even  easier  to  attain  them  as  they  are  now  vastly  publicized  and  digitally  shipped  on  a  massive  scale  throughout  the  world.  Playing  video  games  has  never  been  this  good.  The  industry  today  is  generating  large  numbers  because  todays  games  are  well  managed  and  developed  with  the  best  graphics,  sounds,  mechanics  and  narratives  that  amazingly  overwhelms  our  gaming  experience.  There’s  just  too  much  greatness  to  consume  out  of  video  games,  which  is  why  many  developers  that  aspire  to  get  people  to  play  their  games  have  taken  this  incentive  of  providing  more  to  the  players  by  adding  or  increasing  their  game  contents  via  Downloadable  Contents  (DLC)  and  User  Generated  Contents  (UGC).    

These  are  two  example  of  why  the  games  industry  has  flourish  throughout  the  years  because  it  allows  consumers  to  get  more  out  of  the  games  provided  by  developers.  These  two  are  understood  to  have  a  huge  impact  in  today’s  video  games  market  that  developers  use  t  maximise  their  income  by  providing  a  lot  more  to  consumers  

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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Downloadable  Content  (DLC)  

DLC  is  certainly  the  most  common  method  used  by  developers  to  provide  more  to  their  consumers.  They  are  highly  popular  and  frequently  published  for  video  games  especially  triple-­‐A  titles.  They  are  built  as  extension  or  add-­‐on  to  games,  mainly  comprised  with  new  missions,  maps,  weapons,  characters,  themes,  avatars,  soundtracks  and  many  different  features  used  to  accompany  the  already  released  games.  They  are  not  released  as  a  retail  expansion  pack  but  distributed  through  the  internet  and  consoles  networks  like  Steam,  Xbox  Live  and  PlayStation  network  (PSN).    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destiny  Exclusive  Playstation  4  DLC  

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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The  contents  of  every  DLC  always  depend  on  the  type  and  nature  of  each  game.  For  example,  

 

 

 

 

 

The  Crew:  Extreme  Car  Pack  gives  you  access  to  3  cars:  

-­‐ A  Fiat  Abarth  500  

-­‐ An  Aston  Martin  V12  Zagato  

-­‐ An  SRT  Viper  GTS  

 

Whereas  the  first  Call  of  Duty  Advanced  Warfare  DLC  called  “Havoc”  came  with  four  multiplayer  maps,  an  Exo  Zombies  co-­‐op  map  and  a  bonus  weapon.    

-­‐ Four  new  Multiplayer  Maps,  called  Sideshow,  Core,  Drift  and  Urban    

-­‐ An  Exo  Zombies  mode  called  CEL-­‐3  Cauterizer  

-­‐ One  Exo  Zombies  co-­‐op  Map  called  Outbreak  

-­‐ One  bonus  multiplayer  weapon  called  AE4  

 

The  Crew  :  Extreme  Car  Pack  DLC    

Call  Of  Duty  Advanced  Warfare:  Havoc  DLC  

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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As  shown  above,  the  contents  of  every  DLC  differ  because  of  the  type  of  game  or  genre.  These  Downloadable  Contents  are  generally  used  to  support  games  and  designed  specifically  for  a  game,  whereby  an  additional  story  or  mission  may  come  in  the  form  of  DLC  in  Assassins  creed  Unity  because  it’s  an  adventure  game  that  allows  you  to  play  campaign  missions.  However,  a  “Song  Pack”  which  includes  new  songs  or  albums  can  come  in  form  of  downloadable  content  in  SingStar  because  the  game  is  simply  based  on  music  and  rhythm.  One  of  main  reasons  why  downloadable  contents  have  flourish  throughout  the  years  is  because  they  can  be  downloaded  easily  and  acquired  for  free.  Furthermore  they  are  considered  a  huge  part  in  the  marketing  aspect  of  games  because  publishers  are  selling  them  in  different  ways,  from  season  passes,  to  expansion  packs  or  pre  order  packs  and  others  bundle,  some  at  discount  prices  as  well.  These  DLC  like  season  passes  are  constructed  to  allow  players  to  access  all  the  downloadable  contents  of  a  particular  game,  but  on  occasions,  some  of  these  DLC  are  not  immediately  available  upon  a  games  release  and  some  are  often  unavailable  to  download  after  being  promoted  and  offered  for  sale.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assassins  Creed  Unity  Season  Pass  

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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Assassin’s  creed  Unity  Season  pass  is  a  great  example  of  how  downloadable  contents  are  provided  as  a  bundle,  the  DLCs  for  Assassins  Creed  Unity  was  available  since  the  November  release  of  the  game.  It’s  comprised  with  three  new  additional  single  player  missions,  one  new  single  player  campaign  called  Dead  Kings,  one  extra  downloadable  game  called  Assassins  Creed  Chronicles  China  and  many  equipment’s,  weapons,  gears  and  customisation  items.  This  is  a  good  example  of  a  premium  season  pass  bundle,  which  is  very  common  among  big  triple-­‐A  developers,  which  in  this  case  is  Ubisoft.  They  have  the  ability  add  so  much  to  an  already  released  game  to  keep  you  playing  for  very  long.  Let  alone  providing  it  cheaper  rather  than  buying  all  of  these  contents  separately.    

To  have  a  better  understanding,  downloadable  contents  are  comprised  with  multiple  features  of  a  game  that  would  enhance  your  gaming  experience  and  get  you  to  enjoy  the  game  even  further.  These  contents  allow  you  to  play  and  utilise  extra  elements  that  was  otherwise  left  off  or  missing  from  the  already  released  game.  They  are  mainly  provided  to  add  elements  in  single  player  modes,  multiplayer  modes  or  co-­‐op  modes  and  they  vary  from  maps,  locations,  characters,  missions,  side  quests,  weapons,  gears  and  other  features  that  will  get  you  more  accustomed  to  a  game.  These  in-­‐turn  makes  a  game  more  durable  and  enjoyable  while  increasing  the  life  time  value  of  the  game.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evolve:  Moster  Expansion  Pack  Pre  Order  DLC  Evolve:  Moster  Exterminator  Pack  Pre  Order  DLC  

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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The  important  things  to  remember  about  Downloadable  contents  are:  

-­‐ They  are  additional  or  extra  contents  for  a  particular  game,      

-­‐ The  content  of  every  DLC  vary  and  differ  depending  on  the  type  of  game  or  genre    

-­‐ They  are  often  free  but  otherwise  paid  for,    

-­‐ They  are  relatively  cheaper  than  the  original  game,    

-­‐ They  are  made  by  developers  of  the  game  and  published  by  publishers  of  the  game.  For  example,  Turtle  Rock  Studios  made  Evolve  and  created  a  DLC  called  “Evolve  Behemoth  Monster”,  one  of  their  publishers  like  Sony  Computer  Entertainment  (SCE)  or  Microsoft  publishes  it  on  their  network  like  PlayStation  Network  (PSN)  or  Xbox  Live  for  it  to  be  downloaded.    

-­‐ They  can  be  downloaded  from  internet  but  generally  through  publishers  online  services  like  PlayStation  Network  Store  (PSN)  or  Xbox  Live  

-­‐ They  can  also  be  bought  or  acquired  using  online  redeem  codes  given  by  publishers    

-­‐ They  are  often  exclusive  to  publishers.  For  example  Destiny  released  exclusive  Downloadable  contents  for  PlayStation  users  upon  the  game  release,  these  included  maps,  gears,  weapons  and  ships,  which  were  only  available  on  PlayStation.    

-­‐ The  contents  of  downloadable  content  can  be  sold  individually  or  as  a  bundle  usually  in  Season  Pass,  extended  packs  and  so  on.  

-­‐ They  are  becoming  more  and  more  used  as  pre-­‐order  incentives.    For  example  “Pre  order  Evolve  and  receive  the  Monster  Expansion  Pack”.    

 

XBOX  Live  icon  

PlayStation  Network  Store  Icon  

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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-­‐ They  are  mainly  provided  in  various  formats:    

Ø Additional  levels  or  maps  are  downloadable  contents  that  mainly  come  in  form  of  “Map  Packs”  that  range  from  new  maps,  locations,  levels  or  puzzles.  A  good  example  to  this  is  Call  of  Duty:  Advanced  Warfare  Havoc  DLC  made  by  Sledgehammer  Games,  for  years  the  Call  of  Duty  franchise  has  been  releasing  multiplayer  map  packs  every  so  often  for  their  games.  Their  latest  installing  Call  of  Duty:  Advanced  Warfare  has  the  Havoc  DLC  that  has  4  new  multiplayer  maps  and  other  extra  contents.    

Ø Additional  story  or  missions  are  downloadable  contents  that  are  mainly  entitled  with  the  name  of  the  new  mission  or  story  for  a  particular  game.  These  are  mainly  released  for  single  player  campaigns  only  that  allow  players  to  go  further  into  the  story  of  the  game.  They  are  mainly  released  for  action  and  adventure  games  like  Infamous  Second  Son,  which  had  a  new  story  campaign  downloadable  content  called  “Infamous  first  Light”.  Another  good  example  is  Outlast  which  had  a  downloadable  content  called  “Outlast:  Whistleblower”.  This  was  also  an  extra  campaign  mission  that  was  prequel  the  original  story  played  in  Outlast.  

Ø Additional  game  modes  are  downloadable  contents  that  are  mainly  entitled  with  the  name  of  the  new  mode.  These  downloadable  contents  bring  a  new  taste  to  a  game  whereby  players  have  to  get  accustomed  to  new  rules  and  settings  of  the  game.  A  great  example  of  this  is  Alien:  Isolation  Last  Survivor  DLC  which  had  a  new  single  player  mode  called  “Last  Survivor”  that  allowed  you  play  as  Ellen  Ripley.  Another  good  example  is  Dying  Light  Be  The  Zombie  mode,  which  is  a  multiplayer  DLC  that  lets  you  play  as  a  zombie  and  hunt  other  human  survivors.  

Ø Additional  songs  are  downloadable  contents  that  mainly  come  in  form  of  Song  Packs  that  includes  extra  songs  for  a  particular  game.  These  types  of  downloadable  contents  only  gives  you  extra  songs  like  in  SingStar  DLC  were  you’re  given  new  songs  for  the  game.  The  Rock  Band  and  Guitar  Hero  series  also  had  tons  of  downloadable  music  contents.  

 

 

 

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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Ø Additional  equipment,  Weapons,  gears  or  outfits  are  downloadable  contents  that  mainly  comes  in  form  of  “Customisation  Packs”  or  “Weapons  Packs”  usually  entitled  with  the  name  of  the  type  of  equipment’s,  outfits  or  weapons.  These  contents  add  extra  utilities  to  the  player  arsenal  while  giving  a  better  look  or  theme  to  the  characters  in  the  game.  These  are  mostly  released  for  fighting  games,  action  adventure  games  and  role-­‐playing  games  where  you  get  to  customise  or  built  up  your  own  character.  The  best  examples  of  these  downloadable  contents  are  in  games  The  Last  Of  Us  Remastered,  which  has  over  100  downloadable  contents  mixed  with  outfits,  gears  and  weapons.  There’s  also  PayDay  2  which  had  few  downloadable  contents  such  as  “Gage  Weapon  Pack  #01”,  “Gage  Sniper  Pack”  and  “Gage  Shotgun  Pack”  which  added  extra  weapons  to  the  game.  Tomb  Raider  2013  “Out  Fit  Pack”  DLC  is  also  a  good  example  of  an  outfit  DLC  to  gear  up  your  character.    

Ø Additional  Characters  are  downloadable  contents  that  mainly  come  form  of  “Characters  Packs”  and  sometimes  entitled  with  the  name  of  the  characters  included  in  the  DLC.  For  example  Evolve  has  two  DLCs  designated  to  add  extra  characters  in  the  game.  There  is  “Evolve:  Monsters  Expansion  Pack”  which  includes  an  extra  monster  for  the  game  and  also  “Evolve:  Hunting  Season  Pass”  which  include  extra  characters  for  the  game.  These  types  of  downloadable  content  mainly  consist  of  extra  characters  for  a  particular  game  usually  with  different  abilities  and  attributes.  They  are  mainly  found  in  action  games,  fighting  and  sport  games,  like  WWE  2K15  DLC  called  “Hall  of  Pain”  which  unlocked  historical  version  of  several  characters  in  the  game.  

Ø Additional  Vehicles  are  downloadable  contents  that  mainly  come  in  form  of  “Car  Packs”,  which  add  extra  vehicles  to  a  game  that  mostly  involves  driving.  These  are  very  common  in  racing  games  whereby  new  vehicles  with  unique  abilities  and  attributes  are  provided  for  the  player  to  add  to  his  or  her  vehicle  collection.  A  good  example  of  this  is  The  Crew,  which  has  several  downloadable  contents  like  “Speed  Car  pack”,  “Street  Edition  Pack”,  “Extreme  Car  Pack”  and  many  more  which  adds  more  cars  in  the  game.  Most  of  these  DLC  come  in  bundles  of  cars  rather  than  one  car  alone  and  some  often  gives  other  customisable  items  for  your  vehicles,  which  come  in  form  of  ”Vehicles  Customisation  Pack”,  “Gears  Pack”  and  “Paint  Pack”.  Not  only  you  have  the  vehicles  you  get  additional  gears  and  other  customisable  items  to  support  it.  A  good  example  of  these  is  DriveClub  “Livery  Packs”  DLCs  where  you  get  to  customise  your  car  with  the  livery  designs  in  the  DLC.  

 

 

Portfolio  Project  6  

 

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There  are  some  downloadable  contents  that  combine  most  of  the  different  types  of  downloadable  contents  described  above.  These  DLCs  are  not  the  same  as  season  pass  but  account  for  the  same  level  of  contents  provided  in  season  passes  by  combining  many  different  types  of  add-­‐on  to  a  game.  Destiny  is  a  great  example  of  this  because  their  downloadable  content  called  “The  Dark  Below”  is  made  up  of  lots  of  different  contents  for  the  game.  The  developers  of  Destiny  released  this  DLC  that  included  new  story  missions,  multiple  side  quests  co-­‐operative  campaigns  called  “Strike  missions”,  new  multiplayer  maps,  new  locations,  new  weapons,  armours  and  gears,  and  a  six  player  cooperative  multiplayer  mode  called  “Raid”.  

Destiny  :  Expansion  1  –  The  Dark  Below  

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- The  best  thing  about  Downloadable  contents  are  that:    

Ø They  extend  the  game  play  and  longevity  of  a  game  by  allowing  players  to  play  with  the  extra  contents  provided.    

Ø The  discount  attached  to  the  DLC  Bundles  (season  pass)  is  a  bonus  with  a  significant  benefit  to  players  because  they  are  able  to  acquire  contents  at  a  reduced  price.  

Ø For  publishers  it  allows  them  to  gain  revenue  quickly  usually  from  pre-­‐orders  and  key  benefit  to  them  is  that  they  don’t  immediately  have  to  deliver  the  downloadable  contents,  this  is  usually  the  case  with  season  pass  DLC.  

- The  main  drawbacks  of  downloadable  contents  are  that:    

Ø They  cost  money,  often  a  lot  although  the  content  within  seem  valuable,  DLC  like  especially  season  pass  are  highly  expensive  and  can  cost  more  than  half  of  the  cost  of  the  original  game.    

Ø  Some  downloadable  contents  are  basically  contents  that  are  already  in  the  game,  but  you  pay  to  have  it  immediately  rather  than  playing  to  unlock  it.    

Ø The  contents  of  downloadable  contents  like  additional  missions,  maps  and  games  modes  are  questioned  as  to  why  they  weren’t  in  the  game  from  the  beginning  whereby  you’re  made  to  pay  for  these  additional  contents  to  play  the  advance  story  that  should  have  been  in  the  game  from  the  start.  Assassins  Creed  games  are  very  typical  of  this  because  they  often  release  extra  missions  as  DLC  that  could  have  existed  in  the  main  game  from  the  beginning.    

Ø After  purchasing  a  season  pass,  some  portion  of  a  game  downloadable  contents  are  still  made  to  be  purchased,  these  includes  Personalisation  Packs,  Skin  packs,  Customisation  Packs  and  so  on.  

To  conclude  its  important  to  note  that  downloadable  contents  are  not  to  be  mistaken  with  Downloadable  Games  which  is  why  they  are  mainly  referred  to  as  downloadable  contents  (DLC),  Expansion  Packs  or  Add-­‐On  to  a  game.  They  are  also  not  the  same  as  User  Generated  Contents  (UGC)  as  these  refers  to  in-­‐game  contents  that  can  be  edited  or  created  by  players  whereas  downloadable  contents  are  additional  content  that  are  provided  for  the  player  to  play  with.