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Episodic gaming seems to be the latest rage in videogaming. It's often thought of as the next chapter in a story, but this isn't always the case.

The principle behind episodic gaming sees the developer producing the first chapter or basic engine of a game for free or a small price. Their hope is for gamers to be sucked in to the game and be willing to buy numerous add-ons. These are termed microtransactions, but there's a growing feeling that these add-ons are priced too highly to be termed 'micro' for longer.

Normally thought of as a continuing story, episodic gaming also covers any content that expands the basic game package. This could be adding tracks to a racer, levels to a platform game or tracks to music games to extend the lifespan.

This isn't a new idea. Back in 1998, Wing Commander: Secret Ops was an early attempt to release an episodic game over the internet. It didn't work. Too few people had an effective bandwidth to download the vast files in any reasonable time, sometimes taking even longer to load than a ZX Spectrum tape. With the financial losses the endeavour incurred, it took a long time before someone was prepared to have another go.

This initial failure opened the gateway for subscription-based titles, which had been around prior to this young upstart coming into play. World of Warcraft and EVE Online are good modern examples, enticing players in before asking them to sign up to regular payments. The trick is that loyalty should breed reward, which it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. Gamers often avoid subscription games as they tend to be swamped by experienced players, some of whom don't care about or even find enjoyment in spoiling a new player's experience.

With a war brewing to provide the best download service, previous problems seem to melt into the background. Suddenly the world of episodic gaming was opened to a new market and new developers giving it a fresh chance, re-establishing itself in the PC zone with games like Guild Wars, published by ArenaNet in 2006. It was seen as a chance for small development companies to break into the market bigtime.

Unfortunately this theory is largely flawed. Small developers with few staff can't afford to produce numerous products at the same time, although they can consider add-ons.  Larger publishers can take a risk. They also have the teams of developers and time available, often selling a product based on its name or sequel status alone.

With no definitive reason to purchase, gamers choose to pay and play as and when they like. A first add-on may not be well received whilst a future one may receive more positive feedback. As long as you have the basic engine or initial chapter implemented, the player  is under no pressure to buy. In the end, if they pick all the additions, they'll probably end up paying more than an 'off the shelf' game.

Is this wrong? It depends on the add-ons. Some are classics, almost doubling a title's lifespan, whilst others are the polar opposite. Given the costs, the buyer will either be a dedicated fan or ensure they're aware of all the feedback before purchasing. Ultimately, it's up to the developers to ensure the product is decent, otherwise no-one will be coming back for more.

In the PC market, there is a much better attitude with a lower price for the hub of the game and cheaper additions. We're not talking about user generated content here either, as Little Big Planet's user-created levels can be seen as free, even if they're quality is somewhat questionable.

Console developers certainly need to get more into this mindset. What we need is one publishing house taking the risk and releasing a high quality cheap or free engine before slowly adding to the package. User opinion define what sells, and there are enough people out there who would prefer to pay small increments, real microtransactions, in order to receive value for money.

There's also the question of story quality. Developers should look towards the best soap operas to draw their players in. These programmes are successful for a reason: they get the viewer addicted and caught up in the plot, leaving them wanting more. The majority of the time, game plots plod and are badly written. Some time spent implementing this addictive element would draw a greater number of people into playing a title. Telltale Games' Sam & Max is a great example of the most successful of these, now running into its second season.

Will episodic gaming last then? Well, yes! Many of the industry experts see it as the future of gaming and hopefully, as belts tighten, publishers vying for the cash in our pockets will begin undercutting current prices to our advantage. Finally we may find that gamers are directly influencing game design based on what they're willing to purchase.