Useful lessons: How to organize a terrific game Demo (Beta)

Here is how I would define it.

Demo- Something that I download and can play whenever, even after the release of the full game, that gives a taste of the experience. A good example that comes to mind was the COD 4 demo. It was one full level that gave you a pretty good idea of what the actual game would be and you could play even after the game released, for those people that did not buy it immediately.

Beta- I usually see this as a tool to work out the bugs or to help refine a part of the game. Similar to how some MMOs have limited access months before the full release. However, they are limited access and once they end you have to either get the game or watch other play to get and idea.

I think most demos or betas now are more of a mix of the two. You get a pretty decent idea of the game, while the devs have a chance to work out any kinks that are found or have a chance to listen to player input. But you are also limited to the amount of time (2 weeks for example) you can play or how far you can go (level or mission cap). I have generally preferred an actual Demo, but have had no problem with the version of a Beta that most developers seem to be doing now.

I think one of the reasons why developers have really labeled their demos as betas now is that they don't generate the expectation of being available forever. Beta makes a person think it is still part of the development cycle and demo is the finished product.

As far as making a good one, I am not sure if BioWare really can do that for there are so many different elements people want to see in their games that even if they give access to a mission and the roundup afterwards I am not sure if that would appease the critics. Which you can even see now with the videos they have released when people are wanting to see different content they are interested in demonstrated.

I have no idea. Current meta is to try and get "influencers" to spread the word. I'd say if you want demos, lobby for consumer protection to increase your refund windows. Then you basically get a demo and maybe a proper insight how the game really is. Tho the experience can vary vastly from early to late game at times.

Demos hurt sales as compared to buying blind? Yeah, I'd have to say that's stating the obvious, given that sales of games bought blind are artificially inflated.  UNLESS the research study accounts for returns for refunds, and importantly, people who would have returned for a refund if refunds were allowed, of which I find no mention in that stub of an article.

To be sure, demos do work both ways. A free demo can convince someone to buy a game that they never would have bought blind. That's certainly been the case for at least one game demo I tried. Whether that positive bump is big enough to offset the buyers regret/refund negative would take a lot of meticulous number crunching to discover, assuming one could even get a hold of those highly secret, and in some cases, not even accurately recorded in the first place, numbers.

Yep, a classic video:



Of course in Anthem's case, the demo is mostly only for those who have already pre-ordered,
so the odds are stacked slightly more in BioWare's favor.

Some believe that Mark Darrah's recent tweet hints at a December 2nd Demo.



Mark Darrah @biomarkdarrah
12 is the largest single syllable number in English
2 is the only even prime
Coincidence?
No. Because those things aren’t even related to each other

Would a Demo 11 weeks pre-launch be about the right time ahead?

A Demo 3 days before the game actually launches (to Premiere customers) makes zero sense to me.

I think it's more likely to be unrelated than be February 12th.

Mass Effect 3 did the demo right, as far as I'm concerned. We got to have a look, we got to have some fun, and the MP really wasn't in bad shape at all. I don't see why they couldn't repeat that.

But Anthem doesn't have the fanboy factor that Mass Effect does, so... I don't know.