Shareware and demos

I just moved the Quake 1.06 shareware to Download Central. Quake was one of the last big games to use the shareware concept, which would soon become the realm of hobby programmers. Quake II already had a demo instead. So let me grasp the opportunity to explain the difference between shareware and demos, for as similar as the two concepts sometimes are, a difference exists.

There are, of course, many different types of shareware. In the 80s, authors often just asked for a donation, or they set a time limit how long the software could be used before it had to be registered, using it longer would be a copyright infringement. In the Internet age, it became common to disable some features of a program, which could be unlocked by entering a registration number. The relevant type here is the Apogee model, which was tailor-made for games.

The idea of the Apogee model is that the game is split into episodes, usually three or four. The first episode is freely distributable, the others have to be bought. The games themselves are the same, the executables might even be identical, the full version just has more data. The savegames from the shareware episode will remain functional in the full version, after buying the game a player can continue a started game.

A demo, on the other hand, is a separate program. In the 80s and early 90s, demos usually were non-interactive, Abrams Battle Tank and Battle Chess are examples. Interactive demos became common mostly in the second half of the 90s. 688 Attack Sub is an interesting early example, and it combines both, having two scenarios and a non-interactive demo mode.

An interactive demo can be cut together like a movie trailer, containing a few quests or scenarios which are in the full game as well, but not in direct sequence. Pharaoh is such an example. But it might just as well showcase the game mechanics while giving nothing away from the story. The Fallout demo had a map, location, characters, and plot all of its own. Since demos are often, though not always, released before the full game, they may represent an earlier stage of development and are therefore often quite interesting.

In short: demos are like movie trailers, shareware is like giving the first volume of a set away for free.

Arcade games as a business model

As an afterthought to my previous post: Arcade games are determined mainly by their underlying business model.

Usually a game is sold to the player. How long or how often he will play it is of no concern to the designers, as long as he feels he got his money’s worth. Online games are a bit different. They make money primarily through monthly fees, so the player must keep playing it for the game to be profitable. But online games are relatively new, and their predecessors, the BBS door games, were never more than a niche.

Arcade games are among the oldest forms of games, they were never a niche, and their business model is completely different. They are sold to publicans and amusement hall proprietors who want the games to make them money. They must be designed in a way to keep the player inserting quarters.

The predominant system here is inherited from pinball machines, in part because arcade machines were often manufactured by pinball companies and in part because it is a tried and true system.

A pinball player gets a number of balls for his first coin. He can keep on playing as long as he keeps his ball in the game. He can score points with skillful play, and if he amasses enough points, he will get a free ball. A really good player might play for hours on his first coin, but he has to be really good. Arcade machines replaced balls with lives and changed little else about the system.

Of course, the designer has to keep a careful balance. If the game is to easy, players will not lose enough lifes and not insert enough coins. If it is too difficult, they might get frustrated and play elsewhere. This and nothing else is what defines an arcade game.

It is interesting that this system of lives and points was so pervasive, got so much accepted as part of the gameplay and not a business model, that many pure home platform games feature it as well. Even Wolfenstein 3D still has it, though it has a system of savegames as well, and lives thus don’t even make much gameplay sense.