The release of Half Life 2: Episode I, the first high-profile episodic title, was accompanied by waves of contemplation about what effects player-feedback would have on the design of future interactive entertainment. According to Joystiq, the mechanical machinations have already started turning, and the information gathered on users is providing boundless player-consumption statistics in time for the continued development of the series.

At the minute, the stats made publicly available aren't hugely interesting (how many gamers play on hard, who's using Closed Captioned and HDR, completion time), but they provide a benchmark for future technical adaptations. Later information might automatically query player actions (time spent on levels, with individual puzzles) to generate a more detailed account of how players consume their media.

Later, with the right technology, they could even watch us from within the game and socially engineer our thoughts and real-life actions. Won't that be fun?