While this will easily get into multiple DLC areas of discussion, I do have 2 specific questions I am hoping can be clarified along the way. Both of these were noticed on Steam but may not be exclusive to Steam.

1. I own Dead Island. In my Steam library its just called "Dead Island". I saw reference to DLC for it and went to the game page. There Steam is selling "Dead Island Game of the Year Edition". It comes with 3 different DLC pieces. Or, I can buy the DLC separately... but only 1 piece is sold separately. So, based on what I am seeing, it looks like I have to rebuy the full game if I want the Bloodbath Arena and Ryder White DLC as only the Ripper Mod is purchasable separately.

So I have 2 questions... First, am I reading that correctly? Second, doesn't that completely defeat the purpose of DLC?

Edit... ok, so after a different search, I found the DLC content. Even though it doesn't show on the game card, if you search and expand the search in a non-conventional way, I can see the DLC and it shows that I own it. So issue 1 is strictly with Steams abysmal handling of how DLC is categorized in both the store and the library.

2. Similarly, I've had the Walking Dead wishlisted for a while now. I noticed season 1 is on sale. But in addition to buying season 1 there is also DLC (400 days)... forgive my ignorance... but doesn't a season pass entitle you to ALL of the stuff they create for that game? How can there possibly be MORE DLC once you buy the whole season?

Yes, and No.

There are 2 types of season passes for games.
First type has to do with episodic games, like The Walking Dead. You can buy the games on a per-episode base, or you can buy the whole season at once (usually at a slight discount compared to episodes). If there's an additional non-episode entry to the game, it's not part of the Season Pass.
Second type has to do with DLCs. It usually mean all planned DLCs for a set period of time (a year or two), but it may not encompass everything (cosmetic ones for example). Borderlands 2 is an example of a non-encompassing season pass, and it does seem like it will also have a Season 2 Pass option.

Did you check the DLC tab of the game ?

Because in the library ,the game isn't called Dead Island GOTY but just Dead Island

If i understood you correctly you have the vanilla version of Dead Island & as far i can see now , Steam only sell the GOTY version of the game which include both DLCs.

edit : after searching i don't really understand the way steam still sell those DLC, each one is the same price of the goty version of the game o_o

ah... I searched the game card in the library thinking it would give a clue... didn't think to right click the game title. There I see the DLC. And you are right on the cost too, $40.00 for 2 DLC... insane! Plus, I don't get why it wasn't listed with the game in the store, I had to know it existed to be able to find it.

JMich, thanks for your explanation. I think the various uses of the term "season pass" or other similar nomenclature is causing me to have more contempt for DLC than I already had. I very much tire of the days of the collector's edition being followed by the deluxe collector's edition, followed by the platinum version, followed by the diamond edition....

That's so confusing IMHO. I don't mind companies doing what they want with DLC, season passes etc. but it's too much for my brain to think about so I just ignore such games when they come out and just wishlist them and all their DLC etc. and wait until eventually they release a super-holy-shit-everything-extreme-food-trough edition (I don't even know what that means, but I think it conveys what I mean <grin>) that comes with everything and then wait for it to go on 10billion % off super blowout bundle sale or whatever. The funny thing is, they do the DLC and whatnot to boost revenue, but for me and others like me that would potentially buy all the stuff if it came in one nice shiny package from the outset, they end up making less money from me as a result as I wait for the all inclusive bargain bin package at deep discount pricing. Not even the slightest complaint from me though, the market is saturated with titles and this just helps make the decision making easier and the costs to get everything for a given game cheaper. ;)

For example, I own the entire Tomb Raider franchise minus DLC, but I do not own the separate Lara Croft Guardian of Light game or it's DLC. Sooner or later they'll have a super holy shit everything edition of that all in one nice package and it'll pricedrop 1-2 times or so and end up in one of the inevitable cyclical 75%+ off seasonal blowout sales. I'm totally buying that game for $2.49 or less sometime or other. I can wait a year or 5 if necessary, but it's mine for <= $2.49 with all the DLC and without remotely having to ponder "Do I get fries with that?" ;oP

So I welcome our DLC masters, they force me to make less whimsical purchase decisions with their games. I avoided Omerta and a few others when they came out for similar reasons (at least partially), but now IIRC Omerta is available as an all in one. After a price drop and 75% off blowout I will probably buy it for $2.99 sometime too. :) Borderlands 2 is another one I skipped similarly but will get eventually.

We should be thanking them for all the DLC! :)

I have completely stopped buying console games for this very reason. DLC and re-bundling is inevitable. I end up getting the game plus DLC for much cheaper than I would have ever bought the base game for because of the hassle and the forced wait.

I guess now the lesson is to wait even longer... don't wait until just the end of the season... but wait until the end of the entire dev cycle for the franchise. I guess I'll get Walking Dead when they reallocate resources to another title and I'll get the whole series plus DLC in a bundle. Until then... the backlog gets some attention ;)

To be fair, with the Walking Dead Season Pass you get the full Walking Dead Season 1 storyline right there.

400 days DLC is not something you're missing from season 1, it's a bridge between Season 1 and Season 2.

You can usually go to the store page and check the DLC's there. It's better to wait and see if a more complete edition comes out ( you can get that cheaper than the base game + DLC's in the Steam sales, so...).

I own both the DI games and i've waited each time and bought a lot cheaper both DI GOTY and DI: Riptide Complete Edition.

The problem as I see it, is that it requires season 1 to play. While it may not be related via the story it is definitely tied to season 1 for some reasons.

I fully admit the devs are free to distribute however they see fit, but I'm not a fan of this method. I don't mean for this to be yet another anti-dlc thread, but its new light to me to see dlc outside of buying "passes" up front.

perhaps that is the better way to word the question... why buy a "pass" however its worded, if there is no guarantee that you will receive all content related to the title you are buying the pass on? In other words, if you aren't "passed" onto ALL content they deliver for the same base game.

Yeah, it creates confusion and some people will feel disenfranchised by it which is probably not a developer's intention. I think that eventually they'll figure out the problems with this way of doing things and sort them out but in the meantime it is imperfect to say the least. I miss the good ole days where games were polished off and finished, released as a full blown game, and 6-12 months later they might have an "expansion pack" that was for all intents and purposes another full blown game that usually (but not always) required you own the base game to play it, but it was worth it as it basically doubled the content or at least gave you your money's worth and it was a done deal with no surprises afterward.

I guess they need to experiment with different business models to find out what works though, so this is all part of that and people just vote with their wallets in the end and it evolves over time based on that. I don't mind picking up games with all their DLC bundled in bundles for $5 for 10 games though. :)