Gaming episodes

Computer games are appearing increasingly in small pieces, as episodes, according to Clive Thompson.  Half-Life 2: Episode One is a sign of things to come.

Why is this a good thing?  Plots can expand in complexity, and the smaller size of each unit makes project management a bit less horrendous, says Thompson.

Alternate reality games work along similar lines, although with clear differences.  We play by discovering a chunk of content (a puzzle, a media object, a rumor), then working through it with other people.  Those chunks constitute impulses, which drive the overall shape of a game.  What's different is
that these impulses aren't so clearly structured as a tv-style episode.