No mod has ever been quite as successful as Crowbar Collective's remake of Half-Life. The remake was originally a mod of Half-Life 2, and although development on the remake began in 2012, it only released in 2020. Fans were eager to see if other Valve properties would receive the same revitalizing treatment. One such group was the HCEU Collective. These intrepid modders took the depths of moddb.com to create Black Mesa: Blue Shift. It is a recreation of the most famous expansion of Valve's 1999 classic FPS. Like Black Mesa, HCEU Collective's Blue Shift remake uses assets and technology from Half-Life 2's Source engine.
Even though the original Half-Life received much praise at launch, its developers doubled down on the acclaim by releasing an expansion that put players in the shoes of unfortunate security guard Barney. Barney occupies a small role in the first game, appearing as a fully fledged companion NPC in the sequel. In Blue Shift, the full tale of Barney as a Black Mesa employee unfurls. The story intertwines with events in the original title, weaving a satisfying narrative that fills in a lot of the information absent in the previous title.
Why Do Developers Make Episodic Games?
The notion of "games-as-episodes" is a simple one. It can be done for two main reasons: either to pace a very specific story into chunks, or to give developers more time to finish a game. There have been numerous examples of each. For example, 3 Out of 10: Season 2 is an episodic game series that released free on the Epic Games Store in April 2021. The 3 Out of 10 games are quite innovative, blending an animated sitcom with a narrative puzzler. Using the episodic form makes the game's release schedule mirror the type of show it is emulating. Interestingly, this has the effect of increasing immersion in the game despite a fractured release structure.
One of the best narrative games of the last decade, Kentucky Route Zero, was also an episodic game. While it is now completed, the game began its episodic release in 2013. It finally finished in January 2020. So, this sprawling and deep plotline needed 7 years to properly resolve. As an indie title developed by only three designers, there was an awful lot of content to create. Especially when the content is so complex, having the time between installments can really stop development bottlenecks.
How Have Episodic Games Failed?
A prime example of the episodic game structure that failed was Life is Strange 2. Dontnod achieved success with the first game, but many fans fell off the series throughout the second game. Some cited the protracted wait between episodes as the reason for abandoning the series. At first, this structure dealt with the themes of Life is Strange excellently, but the novelty wore off by the time of the second game's release.
The fact that Life Is Strange: True Colors isn't episodic shows that it does not work for triple-A titles anymore. This also became apparent with the shutdown of Telltale Games, among other exterior factors. Telltale was famous for its selection of narrative adventure games, including adaptations of incredibly popular prestige TV properties, with The Walking Dead series being particularly popular for the studio. For these games, the idea was for them to act like episodes of shows like Game of Thrones that people could discuss with their peers. However, the cost of repeatedly buying games in a series, and the time investment required, made that a very difficult sell.
Can Mods Release Episodically?
An example of an episodic mod would be the original Black Mesa project. This was originally a mod for Half-Life 2, using the Source engine and several assets from the newer title. When the Source engine was released alongside 2004's Half-Life 2, so was an "official" remake of the first title on the new engine. This remake included new physics, lighting, and minor tweaks to the water graphics. However, it did not contain the full graphic redux that some players expected. In September 2004, the Crowbar Collective announced its attempt at remaking the iconic classic.
Obviously, a project like this took a long time. Like Kentucky Route Zero, the game finally released as the full Black Mesa in 2020. Thankfully, Half-Life is structured in a way that lends itself well to an episodic release. The strategy for Black Mesa was to release content as and when it was ready. The game's original chapter format made for easy compartmentalizing in episode form. January 2020 saw the final release of the last few chapters.
How Will The Half-Life Blue Shift Remake Do An Episodic Story Properly?
Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Black Mesa: Blue Shift will also release in chaptered installments. Since its addition to moddb.com on the March 29, 2021, the mod has 2385 downloads at the time of writing. The release schedule for this is more structured than Black Mesa, promising exactly one episode per update. Interestingly, where the original Black Mesa was a mod of various Source engine games, the Blue Shift remake is a mod of Black Mesa.
This is how Black Mesa: Blue Shift is doing episodic storytelling properly. The team are being incredibly transparent about what audiences can expect from each chapter update, and have a solid set of updates every month. HCEU Collective's pricing structure also fits better with episodic releases than other games. While it could be really frustrating for players to invest money in game episodes and have to wait for the story to resolve, all of the chapters of Black Mesa: Blue Shift will be releasing free. Rather than charging for each new "episode," the HCEU Collective uses Patreon to fund the remake's development.
Episodic gaming fits the Patreon model extremely well. It means that gamers who can afford to provide repeated support to the studio are able to, and fans who only want the base experience of the game do not have to invest any money in the product and have to wait months for the next part. So, the problems that plagued previous episodic titles will likely not effect the momentum of a the Blue Shift mod. Like many of the most successful mod creators, the HCEU Collective provides regular comprehensive updates for its community. Patreon subscribers also get access to supplemental development logs, an attractive incentive for invested fans.