Gearbox: People don’t understand how DLC is made, Borderlands 2 DLC in production

IncGamers: Speaking to Gearbox’s chief creative office Brian Martel, he told us that downloadable content (DLC) is one of the things that people “don’t really understand about how games are made”.

One of the complaints that many players level against DLC is that, if it’s already finished by the time the game comes out, why is it not included on the disc in the first place?

[user5467007]

But it still dosen't answer the question

"Why is it not included on the disc in the first place"

It just sounds like the reason behind it is because he "wants to keep the team busy".

I really hope they do a DLC set after the game where we play as the vault hunters. It could lead us into the third game.

[wicko]

He did answer that question: The game is finished months before it hits the shelves, meaning the disc content is finalized! Certification takes a long time and you can't add more content to the disc without re-certifying (which is expensive and time consuming).

[user5467007]

Developers never had this proble last gen, games were packed full of content, more then most games today and still had good development times the same ones most devs use today.

You know I'm not question if he's telling the truth and if thats how "hard" things are but for all we know he or any other developer could be telling us this type of bullcrap just to justify DLC. We just don't know do we....

[xPhearR3dx]

@MikeCosgrove

It wasn't a problem last gen because developers had next to zero options delivering DLC to consoles. DLC works the same as patches. If they send a patch into certification, and a new bug appears a day later, they can just add it in really quick.

The more and better technology gets, the more problems occur. As long as they don't try to release DLC a month later for $10, I'll be happy. The original Borderlands was packed with content, and I'm assuming the same goes for Borderlands 2.

[iamironman]

games are still packed full of content. DLC creates a problem where it seems like you're not getting all of the game up front.

games are just as big as they ever were, but now you can get more stuff if you want.

not saying some devs/publishers abuse that idea but saying games don't have contnet now is not true.

[wicko]

You're talking about something different - I'm not arguing about the lack of content in the retail game, I'm just saying this is why DLC can't be on disc if it's being worked on while the game is certifying.

If it's already on the disc, and you're just buying an unlock, then that means they completed the DLC in parallel to the retail game and they're trying to nickel and dime you.

One major difference between current gen and last is that the bar has been raised incredibly high in terms of expected features, asset appearance and polish by games like Uncharted/Halo/Battlefield/etc , and to reach this level it takes more people, more time, more resources to do it. So unfortunately this has a profound effect on content.

Also I think we've gotten far more picky this generation than we did last, so we're partly to blame. I know that when I was playing games last gen, I was far more forgiving of flaws in the games I played and now, I'm far more critical of the games I play. A prime example being checkpoints. Checkpoints are a relatively new feature, and I expect all games to have them and place them correctly.

[lonesoul65]

Well, last gen, when a game was released...that was pretty much all you got. Also with the higher fidelity and improved physics and AI, development time is longer and more complex which causes, as stated in the article, for things to get cut. Yes it can be hard to keep u with all the extra charges and packs that they come out with...but it sure adds to the overall value of the game and helps complete the original vision the developers had from the beginning

[Baka-akaB]

That type of answer , doesnt change the fact that time management is their issue , and that they ought to schedule things well enough to feature finished stuff into the finished games .

It's too easy and cop out an answer , when we do knows that companies decide beforehand on content to be cut for a dlc release .
Not saying its his case , but its too widespread and common to not seems suspicious and on purpose

[iamironman]

to be far to Gearbox, they're not a company that won't include finished stuff in the game.

there DLC really does seem to be extra stuff that was never intended in to be put in the final game, even they may have like to have it.

they can't include absolutely every idea they have in a game. they would have to hire more people to get the work done, it would cost too much and to be honest some games get confused and lose their sense of direction if theyve got too much going on.

rather have a good game than a really big one

[antz1104]

I don't see it as a cop out: they finished their game and they want to continue playability by starting dlc so we have some soon after release.

No complaints here, Gearbox is awesome.

[CanadianTurtle]

You're missing the point. This is not "Disc Locked Content." When it comes to GearBox it's Downloadable Content.

They're just getting the head start. It has nothing to do with locking game modes or missions into the primary product. I doubt GearBox is like that.

[neutralgamer19]

Doesn't change the fact its an unnecessary aspect of gaming that has been implemented solely for the purpose of substantially maximizing profit and not really to sustain the life cycle of a game.

Doesn't change the fact that some things that would have ordinarily been in a game are being left out purposely to later be resold as DLC. Often times being sold as day one DLC (pathetic)

Wtf does he think ppl are naive? Some things are left unsaid and these companies milk the ppl they can and get away with highway robbery then complain and say their not making money lol because of production costs (yeah right)

Devs and publishers complain about not making enough money plzzzzz some and i reiterate "some" of these publishers are making like 200% profit when all is said and done after all the sales, DLC, etc....

[lonesoul65]

I believe that it adds a lot to the longevity of games. Instead of finishing a game in 8-10 hours then selling it back or putting it on a shelf to collect dust...at least something can be added in the future. I think that is all about sustaining the life cycle of a game.

Though I'm not a huge fan anymore, games like call of duty may come out every year(which is too often IMO) but you get new maps all year until the next one comes out.

Yes you have to pay for it. If used games and piracy did not exist...you would probably see less of this. It is true that DLC is a good profit margin for games and some companies have taken it a little too far, but overall it does add longevity to releases.

[Hufandpuf]

Those that like the base game will look for more content. DLC caters to that crowd of gamers. No one forces you to buy DLC, it's when it's locked out on the disc, that's the issue. Because it being on the disc means that it was finished while the game shipped. DLC at least let's you improve the game some more before commercial release of it.

[Daz]

I don't mind dlc for a game like this. But COD is a different story ;p £11.49 For a map pack and a game mode wtf.

[FunAndGun]

oh please, most DLC is planned from the beginning.

[hkgamer]

I acually don't mind DLC. It did piss me off that some DLC came on release date or jsut got locked out of the disc, but if you think about it, most devs has the right to do it.

Developers have a budget and timeframe to make a game from the start. They carefully plan how they spend that budget and what they could actually create without going over the budget. Anything else that needs extra manpower/hours which the budget couldn't fit in would cost them extra so they charge extra for that content.

Don't see what is wrong with that concept. People that wan't extra work for free is like asking someone to work Overtime and not paying them for it. Although I have worked alot of OT before and not been paid, but that's going off-topic now.

Edit: Just thought about those stupid costume packs and other bonus items DLC... they are complete rip-off and should only be done on free-to-play games

[rdgneoz3]

Yep, day 1 DLC and disc locked content are the ones that annoy me. If they got it on the disc before certification(disc locked dlc), then it should have been free in the first place. The DLC for the first Borderlands was amazing. A ton of content in each one (as well as not being day one release), so you got your money's worth out of it. They were more like mini expansions than any of the cheap DLC that many devs put out that cost a lot. Seeing as they have the Mechanomancer or such pre-order bonus coming up down the line, I can see how they're doing DLC already and I don't see them doing anything day one.

[USEYOURFIST]

well some devs do it right - criterion with burnout, while some - squareenix with ffxiii (this mini game will be unlocked with future dlc, and while im on it the dues ex dlc that fills in a missing section of the story) are just despicable and make me really hate dlc this gen as the dlc where it really feels like theve chopped some of the game out to sell to us seems much more prominent then dlc that adds something new and diferent and is clearly an extra eg skyrim, fallout or multiplayer extras