Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre
Well, I think actually that most of MMO (especially those are following F2P model) works like old "Shareware". You can get "full" game at your fingertips for free - but if you want to progress further, you must to pay.  |
That is called
freemium. Frankly, I find it of little resemblance to true shareware games of the Scott Miller model, which do not prevent you from actually completing the shareware episode in any way. As someone here said some time ago, those shareware episodes are actually like free games with commercial expansion packs.
If I'm not mistaken, the shareware version of
Blades of Exile works in a similar fashion, allowing you to play the first of the three pre-made scenarios that are shipped with the full game. Other
Exile games have a single storyline, and you are only allowed to play up to a certain point in the unregistered version.
BTW, I just found something cool:
Please Register This Shareware
It's a rather sizeable collection of shareware nag screens from old games
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre
Also, I think, Telltale and Grimm games was following the same SW model: first episode for free, but everything else is for money. Not now - I checked, and everything is paid now. :/ I dunno why - maybe Steam boosted popularity of the model and companies itself, so they don't need such sort of promotion anymore. Or maybe it was designed as time-limited offers right from the start.
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I barely know these games, although they seem to be the archetype of modern "episodic gaming". It's quite possible that the free first episodes were just for initial promotion.
As for the "kid of shareware" demo versions of the
Age of Kings variety, I also think that the demo of
Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom has the entire tutorial campaign, set in the
Xia Dynasty (as well as a few scenarios from other campaigns).