Bleszinski: Japanese Devs Need To Stop Ignoring Multiplayer

[RaikuFA]

Hey bleszinki, how about you make a series that isn't shit, THEN rag try ragging on other developers?

Or throwing a fucking hissy fit when people give it an 8.

Or how about making multiplayer that isn't broken.

 

[Dresos]

I don't care about multiplayer at all, the only recent game were I have actually bothered with the multiplayer at all was White Knight Chronicles 2 and that's because it added something fun.

Just putting in a multiplayer mode for the sake of having multiplayer? No thanks. I think that in singleplayer games all effort should be put into making the singleplayer experience better, skip multiplayer and maybe add some extra content. More side missions, mini games and character customization are things that I'd rather see than multiplayer.

 

[commasplice]

I'm trying real hard not to hate this guy. I mean, I don't think the notion that Japan needs more multiplayer games is inherently wrong, but he really does sound like he's advocating it for the wrong reasons.

Also, his smug face makes me rage a little inside. Maybe it's because he reminds me of Dane Cook.

Edit:

Snip.

Clearly, Clifford is just saying that the industry's answer to falling game sales should be to model every game after Unreal Tournament.

 

[Fiad]

I stopped reading at '"Why don't I have a multiplayer Fatal Frame yet?" asks Cliff Bleszinski.'

Because it would be terrible. Fatal Frame is a game that makes you feel alone and helpless, throw in a partner and suddenly that is gone and it is nowhere near as scary.

 

[Qitz]

Only thing we need out of Bleszinski is silence.

Also, there are a good bit of Japanese Games that have HUGE multiplayer scenes. Monster Hunter Franchise is HUMUGEROUS over there. Also Mario and all the stuff Capcom makes.

Looks to me like Japan has itself set up right with multiplayer thanks.

Unless by "Stop ignoring multiplayer" he means "Tack that shit onto every single franchise you have like us because it always works out!" which seems more accurate.

 

[JenSeven]

I think I know what Cliffy is doing.

If the Japanese tack on crappy multiplayer to their games, maybe his crappy tacked on multiplayer will look better in comparison.

 

[ablac]

So he makes some logical suggestions and people dont even read it before berating him for exactly what he said was a bad idea. He said that you shouldnt tack on a versus mode but that many games being released from Japan right now could have benefitted, in his opinion, from a mode involving player to player interaction. This could be versus or co-op or whatever was right for the game. He did not say it was for every game and he said not to tack it on. He said that he believed games werent selling as well partially because games werent releasing with content which made them must buys, for example he said that because of Vanquishs short length and lack of anything but single player made it a used purchase/weekend rent. Please read things before you comment on them and dont attack someone when they try to make a helpful contribution to a market with a genuine proposal to a genuine issue. Also the guy has made a fortune through his games and they are all right so he does have a right to sugggest that japan could learn from the west if it wishes to sell more games.

EDIT: the more I read on this forum the more I am dispointed that people have the arrogance on display here to not only comment before reading but also to attack someone with hyperbole when they dont have a leg to stand one. He never once suggested every game be modelled after Gears or Unreal Tournament anyone who has claimed the like should be ashamed of themsleves. he tries to help with his opinion, backed by success, to a shrinking industry and you lot claw and sratch at him without anything in response except childish ridicule.

 

[Amnestic]

Godamn, people. He's giving them advice how to get more sales so they could keep afloat, and he's right.

Except, as pointed out by at least two people, adding a multiplayer component to Fatal Frame would ruin the game's ideas. That is, to scare you. Partnering up with someone is almost guaranteed to ruin any horror your game was aiming for.

And, as I've noted, adding multiplayer components detracts from the single player due to limits of time, money and other resources. What does this mean? It means the single player will be worse.

What else? The concept that multiplayer stops games being rentals. Absolute rubbish. Numerous games with multiplayer ("Cliffy B"'s own Gears of War series being one of them) are still rentals. Adding multiplayer does not guarantee longevity especially when your multiplayer is shit because you only added it to try to get more sales and not out of any genuine desire to deliver a quality multiplayer gaming experience.

So no. He's not right. At all.

 

[MortisLegio]

Cliff isn't saying EVERY Japanese single player only game needs multiplayer but that some games could have a multiplayer with it. Obviously not every game needs multiplayer, and not every game needs a story mode. It couldn't hurt for some Japanese developers to think of having a multiplayer mode. Thats all he is saying. It's advice and one guys opinion. No need for everyone to start acting like assholes over it.

 

[Azo Galvat]

No. No no no. Not every game needs multiplayer of any sort, Cliffy. I'm really not sure why this is such a difficult concept to grasp.

What happened to focusing on making good games, rather than just doing the "next big thing?"

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It's strange how Skyrim did so well then...

Maybe he should focus on making his own games less about pressing the A button non stop for hours I swear to god my brain was turning into a lettuce halfway through GOW3.

Also Fatal Frame is the worse game to suggest. Horror games are not about multiplayer.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It's strange how Skyrim did so well then...

If you read the entire article over at Gamasutra, he actually says he would've liked a multi-player aspect in Skyrim. He likens it to Animal Crossing, which I still find to be lunacy.

Animal Crossing...what.

It's clear this guy is all about catering for the market that wants to veg out in front of a brainless multiplayer for 2 hours after work.

Not people who game as a hobby.

There's nothing wrong with that but he shouldn't make out that this approach is the only valid option. I think Grey's assertion that the loss of developers to the freemium games is a much more valid reason for the drop in the Japanese game market.

 

[Idocreating]

Take Diablo 3. The multiplayer is essentially the singleplayer + other people. Except Arena PVP, which can't have been all that difficult to implement, honestly. Look how much replayability and fun they added to the game by doing absolutely nothing except adding multiplayer. Now, did it help that they knew they were going to do this, and so created battle systems that worked for singleplayer/multiplayer interchangeably? Absolutely. But that's the point of "not tacked on."

Reverse engineer the situation as well. Torchlight is a very similar game to Diablo but without any multiplayer.

Guess what the primary gripe people had about it was?

 

[80Maxwell08]

Snip

All right fair enough my main point was basicaly that I don't think multiplayer is the be all end all solution CliffyB is making it out to be.

While I agree with the previously mentioned point that if nothing else Pokemon should have gone massive multiplayer by now, I haven't seen many games from Japan aside from the fighters in which a multiplayer would make sense or even work.

Quality not withstanding, most Japanese games tend to have a strong focus on the narrative, and rather narrow path of progression. Although Vanquish looks like it could have had a fun multiplayer being a shooter of sorts.

Also I saw a study a while ago saying 55% of Japanese people are afraid of the internet.

What the fuck does this even mean?

It means that digital games and the like have less of a chance of doing well than other places. Hence why I mentioned Malicious, a PSN exclusive, being made in Japan. It's just an oddity over there. Sorry that was confusing. I was just trying to say the differences in the market there compared to the rest of the world. A lot of people don't even hook their consoles up to the internet because they "fear" it.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Short answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As someone who doesn't touch multiplayer for fear of catching the homophobic douchebag virus, I can safely say that games without multiplayer want for nothing.

 

[katsumoto03]

So, it's official. Cliffy B is a fucking moron.