Writing on Games | Is Hitman's Episodic Nature Actually Beneficial to the Game? - Writing on Games @WritingOnGames | Uploaded May 2016 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Hey! This is an episode of something new I want to try - a series called Meditations. Essentially the unbelievably generous support of my Patrons has allowed me to justify spending more time doing this, and as such I want to try and get more content out there for you guys. Meditations will be slightly more opinion based than the mainline Writing on Games episodes and (I think - I'm still figuring this stuff out) will consider a question about a particular game or element of the industry or news or whatever. Let me know what you think of this development and if you would like to see more of this kind of thing!
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Patreon: patreon.com/writingongames
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In this episode, I return to recent release Hitman (which, for disclosure's sake, I will state I received review code for). Essentially a lot of criticism has been levelled at both Square Enix and IO Interactive for their decision to release the latest Hitman in episodic chunks rather than as a whole package. This is due to the perception of shady, anti-consumer business practices and the fact that episodic release frameworks are typically associated with games that feature a strong narrative component.
With that in mind though, now that we are two episodes into the game, the general consensus on the gameplay has been almost universally positive. Clearly the reasons people are angry about Hitman's release are entirely separate from the gameplay, which allows the player the opportunity to completely control the moment-to-moment narrative of a mission through the game's mechanics.
I want to ask the question though - could it be argued that the episodic nature actually benefits the game as a whole rather than detract from it? The overarching narrative forced into the game definitely suffers, however I would argue that this is in large part due to the way in which the gameplay does such an amazing job of making each level its own self-contained story. As a result each level features an easily defined A-B plot which is completely controlled by the player, and the player is encouraged to return to these levels in order to attempt different ways to alter their own narrative. This, I would argue, simply wouldn't be the case if the game was released as a whole package outright, as much as concerns are understandable.
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Please let me know what you think in the comments or by following me on Twitter @officialhamishb! If you want to support the show financially then you can do so at patreon.com/writingongames. The level of support I've received has been astounding and I'm so thankful. To my current Patrons, if you're not comfortable being charged for extra content like this, then please let me know or set a monthly limit you're willing to be charged on Patreon. You've put your trust in me with this, and I couldn't dream of betraying that by having you pay more than you can afford. You're now directly involved in aiding the show's production, so I want to get you guys involved!
Thank you SO MUCH for your continued support!
Hey! This is an episode of something new I want to try - a series called Meditations. Essentially the unbelievably generous support of my Patrons has allowed me to justify spending more time doing this, and as such I want to try and get more content out there for you guys. Meditations will be slightly more opinion based than the mainline Writing on Games episodes and (I think - I'm still figuring this stuff out) will consider a question about a particular game or element of the industry or news or whatever. Let me know what you think of this development and if you would like to see more of this kind of thing!
---
Patreon: patreon.com/writingongames
---
In this episode, I return to recent release Hitman (which, for disclosure's sake, I will state I received review code for). Essentially a lot of criticism has been levelled at both Square Enix and IO Interactive for their decision to release the latest Hitman in episodic chunks rather than as a whole package. This is due to the perception of shady, anti-consumer business practices and the fact that episodic release frameworks are typically associated with games that feature a strong narrative component.
With that in mind though, now that we are two episodes into the game, the general consensus on the gameplay has been almost universally positive. Clearly the reasons people are angry about Hitman's release are entirely separate from the gameplay, which allows the player the opportunity to completely control the moment-to-moment narrative of a mission through the game's mechanics.
I want to ask the question though - could it be argued that the episodic nature actually benefits the game as a whole rather than detract from it? The overarching narrative forced into the game definitely suffers, however I would argue that this is in large part due to the way in which the gameplay does such an amazing job of making each level its own self-contained story. As a result each level features an easily defined A-B plot which is completely controlled by the player, and the player is encouraged to return to these levels in order to attempt different ways to alter their own narrative. This, I would argue, simply wouldn't be the case if the game was released as a whole package outright, as much as concerns are understandable.
---
Please let me know what you think in the comments or by following me on Twitter @officialhamishb! If you want to support the show financially then you can do so at patreon.com/writingongames. The level of support I've received has been astounding and I'm so thankful. To my current Patrons, if you're not comfortable being charged for extra content like this, then please let me know or set a monthly limit you're willing to be charged on Patreon. You've put your trust in me with this, and I couldn't dream of betraying that by having you pay more than you can afford. You're now directly involved in aiding the show's production, so I want to get you guys involved!
Thank you SO MUCH for your continued support!
