why are some games too short?

I just finished Alan Wake, great game, but only 6 episodes? when I finished the last level and the credits appeared I was like "woah.. already :|"

so I've been wondering why some games are so short. it's because of DVD 9's limitations?

"One of the problems with the 360, and it affects games like Grand Theft Auto if you think about how much content we put in the actual machine, is the fact that they don't have a significantly larger storage medium than the previous systems. It's a slightly bigger DVD disc.

"I think that the 360 is going to have to get 'round this issue we're talking about. I can think of various ways they can do it. Hopefully, they're going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it's going to become more of an issue. If we're filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It's not like our games are going to get any smaller. I think that issue's on the table with a bunch of games right now. I'm sure they'll come through with an intelligent solution."

rockstar interview

so you buy the dlc duh

Pong and Chuckie Egg had essentially limitless levels and therefore limitless length, they also consisted of virtually nothing to do.

For most people, those 6 epiodes lasted 10-12 hours. Which is average.

But I think the main element of a game's length is its story structure. In an era where games have evolved into interactive story media, that story needs to be bound by a plot structure. It needs to follow a natural path, from beginning, to middle, to end, with each plot point connecting logically. Like any book, there is only so far its story can extend with what the main plot foundaion provides, to bring things to their natural conclusion. And in how the gameplay ties into the story, rather than just the basic structure of levels, the player progresses through objectives based on the background of the story they're working their way through. And again, there's only so much content to a given objective for which it seems a naturally timed experience.

When you look back at 8bit and 16bit games, they weren't really story driven, just a chain of levels, based on the very simple structure of the player getting from point A-B and defeating every enemy and obstacle along the way. While the games seemed longer, they were actually padded by repetition, the player having to play through levels over again through trial and error until they could get through each level, and eventually the entire game. But once a game was mastered, it took all of 2 hours to get through th entire game from beginning to end.

Now RPGs are story driven, and usually clock in at anywhere from 30-60 hours. But they accomplish this with side missions, quests which may or may not support the main plot, but most often are not necessary to accomplish what the main tory is setting out to tell. In linear story driven games, the authors just stick to the primary theme, and thus the story mut reach a ntural conclusion.