Intro

By now you're probably more than aware of SimCity's launch as an always-on gaming experience and how that's not going so well. This event, and others like Diablo 3, got me thinking about what my expectations for a game that requires a constant internet connection and/or relies on cloud computing to deliver the product. I will be referring to this feature as "cloud support". Here are my expectations for games launching in 2013:

Seamless Integration

Besides being told through marketing and "back-of-box" info, I shouldn't have to be concerned with how or in what capacity cloud support is required. It should just work and do its intended job. In essence, I shouldn't even know it's there. Excluding certain instances, I shouldn't need to know what server I play on or what my friends play on. I shouldn't be required to choose servers to save games or use features. Authentication should be completely separate from core processes and not be tied to any gameplay or tutorials.

Customer-Focused Fail States

If in the event that the cloud support is unable to do its intended purpose, which will happen, it should fail gracefully. Statuses of the current load, estimated restore time, and error/issue messages should be available to customers in customer friendly language. No "Busy", "Waiting", "Error 47", or "Try again later". It should be clear what's wrong, How long the expected issue will be around and when I can expect it to resume service.

Offline Capable

Any features that do not require cloud support or do not greatly benefit from cloud support should include an offline capable version. Any information that is sent asynchronously should be saved locally and resent without user intervention or knowledge in the event of an issue. Save games should never be saved exclusively on the server, and if save games are saved using cloud support, there should be an encrypted local back up copy that is referenced when cloud support is restored. Game progress should never be lost to server instability, especially when the game is single-player by nature.

Cross Compatibility

The benefit of cloud support is that I can access my games on other platforms and retrieve my save games or last played checkpoints instantly. These actions along with social features, profiles, friends lists, leader-boards and more should be accessible not only from the current platform but by other devices. I should be able to see what my friends are playing on my phone, check the leader-boards on my tablet, and resume play on a separate platform OS if the game is also supported on that platform.

Final Thoughts

These are just the few expectations I have for cloud support in 2013 and beyond. I'm sure I'll add to this list as I reflect about the current state of games that include this feature. What about your expectations?