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17-548: Jampack was a demo series from Sony under its PlayStation Underground brand. It was used to advertise and preview upcoming and released PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games through demos and featurettes. It often included imported game demos, behind-the-scenes videos on developers and games, as well as cheat codes and saved games . Jampack often served as a preview for the PlayStation Underground online magazine . The series previewed many popular games from

34-411: A demo disc containing playable previews of games to be released for their console. The availability of demos varies between formats. Systems that use cartridges typically did not have demos available to them, unless they happen to be digital, due to the cost of duplication, whereas systems supporting more cheaply produced media, such as tapes , floppy disks , and later CD-ROM and DVD-ROM , do. Now,

51-443: A game. For example: Theorists also agree that video game gameplay is distinct from graphics and audio elements. Some theorists add more specific elements to the basic definition of gameplay as the interaction between players and games. For example: Gameplay can be divided into several types. For example, cooperative gameplay involves two or more players playing on a team. Various gameplay types are listed below. Playability

68-469: A small number of teams (which at the same time led to the practice of "demo expanders" that allow the tweaking of some of those settings). Likewise, demos of racing games are ordinarily restricted to a single race with a pre-selected car. A non-playable demo is a recording of game-play, either recorded in a video, or played through using the game's own engine showing off the game's features. They are mainly displayed at gaming conventions , such as E3 , when

85-473: Is a measure of the quality of gameplay. Playability represents the ease, quantity, or duration that a game can be played. Playability evaluative methods target games to improve design, while player experience evaluative methods target players to improve gaming. Different scholars analyze playability according to different sets of criteria. For example, in Playability: analyzing user experience in video games ,

102-401: Is essentially the gaming equivalent of a teaser trailer . Generally, playable demos are stripped-down versions of the full game, restricting game-play to some levels , only allowing access to some features, or limiting the amount of time playable in the game. However, some demos provide content not available in the full game. In other cases, a demo may differ from the equivalent section in

119-522: Is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and the pattern of player behavior defined through the game's rules. Arising alongside video game development in the 1980s, the term gameplay was initially used solely within the context of video games, though now it is also used for tabletop games. There is no consensus on the precise definition of gameplay. It has been differently defined by different authors, but all definitions refer to player interaction with

136-492: The Internet is the main source for demos, as nearly all game developers and platforms focus on online distribution. Game demos come in two variations: playable and non-playable (also called a "rolling demo"). Playable demos generally have exactly the same gameplay as the upcoming full game, although game advancement is usually limited to a certain point, and occasionally some advanced features might be disabled. A non-playable demo

153-462: The United Kingdom and mainland Europe , but given the increasing size of demos and widespread availability of broadband Internet, this common practice throughout the 1980s and 1990s gradually lost cover focus to full games . With the advent of online services for consoles, demos are also becoming available as a free or premium download. Console manufacturers also often release their systems with

170-450: The Internet, in some cases becoming exclusive content for specific websites . Shareware was also the distribution method of choice of early modern first-person shooters (FPS). There is a technical difference between shareware and demos. Up to the early 1990s, shareware could easily be upgraded to the full version by adding the "other episodes" or full portion of the game; this would leave

187-478: The PS2's lifespan, ranging from SSX Tricky and Final Fantasy X to Need for Speed Underground and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 . Many of the later PS2 Jampack volumes were issued with the option of a counterpart that removed or replaced any demos for mature-rated and some teen-rated games, essentially serving as a clean version of the compilations. Game demo In the early 1990s, shareware distribution

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204-575: The existing shareware files intact. Demos are different in that they are "self-contained" programs that cannot be upgraded to the full version. An example is the Descent shareware versus the Descent II demo; players were able to retain their saved games on the former but not the latter. Magazines that include the demos on a CD or DVD and likewise may be exclusive to a certain publication. Demos are also sometimes released on cover tape/disks , especially in

221-413: The full game, when the demo is released as a preview before the full game is completed. Demos for platform or other action games generally only include the first few levels of the game. Demos of adventure games are often limited to a very small number of rooms, and have the " save game " feature disabled. Demos of sports games usually limit play to an accelerated half-time or complete match between

238-477: The game is still in early production as a technology or game-play preview. Such demos might also be distributed through the Internet or with magazines as trailers for an upcoming game, or featured at retail stores (often among playable demos). Most games also play demos if the title screen is left running. Gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game . The term applies to both video games and tabletop games . Gameplay

255-439: The researchers define playability as a set of properties that describe player experience using a specific game system: satisfaction, learning, efficiency, immersion, motivation, emotion, and socialization. However, in A video game's elements ontology , the researchers define the facets of playability as: intrinsic, mechanical, interactive, artistic, personal, and social. These concepts of "playability" are not to be confused with

272-508: The shareware versions were essentially free, the cost only needed to cover the disk and minimal packaging. Sometimes, the demo disks were packaged within the box of another game by the same company. As the increasing size of games in the mid-1990s made them impractical to fit on floppy disks, and retail publishers and developers began to earnestly mimic the practice, shareware games were replaced by shorter demos that were either distributed free on CDs with gaming magazines or as free downloads over

289-506: Was a popular method for publishing games for smaller developers, including then-fledgling companies such as Apogee Software (now 3D Realms ), Epic MegaGames (now Epic Games ), and id Software . It gave consumers the chance to try a trial portion of the game, usually restricted to the game's complete first section or "episode", before purchasing the rest of the adventure. Racks of games on single 5 1 ⁄ 4 " and later 3.5" floppy disks were common in many stores, often very cheaply. Since

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