Don't Expect Deathmatch in BioShock Infinite

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lemme give you all a taste of what bioshock infinite is going to be like,

splices, big daddies, big sisters, little girls and a stale 1950's post apoc art style.

only this time Online

I believe this is how the devs pitched it to management.

 

[The Great JT]

Yeah, get rid of multiplayer! Not every game needs multiplayer!

 

[Blue Musician]

I am somewhat happy for this, it isn't that common that developers make SP only games.

Now, I just hope that it's far better than the first BS.

 

[Sacman]

good I don't want them to skip out on the single player...

 

[Jezzascmezza]

And... Is anyone upset by this news?
Anyone?
Anyone?

 

[nYuknYuknYuk]

Damn, I loved Bioshock 2's multiplayer. It exceeded my expectations.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

He continued: "I will say that we experiment with things, but for us we are never interested in making a multiplayer mode you could just play in some other game. Because, A) that's not creatively interesting and B), financially, you're wasting your time. They're going to go play Call of Duty [http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Reach-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA20M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1282345447&sr=8-1]."

Never have truer words been said.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I really just want a solid single player game, I'm sick of every game feeling as if they are required by law to include a multiplayer portion, it takes time away from the single player game itself. They're going to be playing the "real" multiplayer games anyway, so most of the time other multiplayer games fail to come close to their success.

I concur, there is absolutely no harm to be had in FOCUS. Why distract the core gameplay and a potentially epic single player portion just to add a few sales from ADHD Online junkies who buy anything with a multiplayer option? Let them play Halo and COD, less work for the developers to make a weak multiplayer, and we get a good single player that is not a diluted experience.

While it is in fact good that some games try to offer another multiplayer choice or even a new take/innovation, not every game should include an online option if it does not mesh with the game's overall tone, story, gameplay, or purpose.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

That is, unless Ken Levine and the rest of his Irrational Games team come up with one that works. However, according to Levine, Irrational only wants to design games with features that make sense, not ones that are tacked on because the industry mandates they should be. As for now, Levine told Kotaku: "We have not made any determinations about multiplayer."

I'm glad, that Game teams do not feel as though they have to tack on some half-bake multiplayer to make a good game.

I mean, what the point? They're not adding anything new, just the old modes and same old mess.

Or at least they learned from the last game that multiplayer Bioshock, while fun for a few moments for its pure chaos, doesn't hold up in the long run.

 

[Unhappy Crow]

No multiplayer is a good thing for this Bioshock. The second Bioshock's story was short due to the addition of multiplayer and the lack of exploration in single player. That's what it felt like to me when I was playing Bioshock 2.

 

[dillirgaf]

good, bioshock 2 single-player felt way to short and Im sure Multiplayer had something to do with that.
I would also assume since this is the BioShock Universe, plasmids, splicers and big daddyish things will be there. And it'll be a blast

 

[Iron Lightning]

Now this here is what Bioshock 2 ought to have been. Let's hope it turns out to be more than just Bioshock on zeppelins (although Bioshock was basically System Shock underwater, so maybe that's a bit much to hope for.) If this is a city based on libertarian/minarchist philosophy that comes crashing down at the end I'm going to be very disappointed. I'd like to see a few more normal humans; it would be a bit nice to not be the only sane bastard around for once.

 

[sneakypenguin]

They really do need to tack on some multiplayer mode, cause i'm sorry SP only games unless they are RPG's are pretty dull after a playthrough. Its not like its even that hard just take resources from the game block them off into an arena and there you go, some MP to keep you entertained beyond the 6 hours it takes to beat the game.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

Respect to Levine.

 

[Luke5515]

This makes me happy. Or it might just me the CSI jokes.

 

[NotSoNimble]

This is my favorite quote from a dev in a long time:

"Irrational only wants to design games with features that make sense, not ones that are tacked on because the industry mandates they should be."

I don't believe this new Bioshock won't have multiplayer... but as long as the core team strives for single player perfection, I don't care if another team shows up to work on the multiplayer part.

Oh wait.... they did that with Bioshock 2 (cept the strive for single player perfection) didn't they? Never mind, it's a strike against them if this new Icarus ever even mentions multiplayer again.

 

[Podunk]

Oh nooooo, because Bioshock 2's multiplayer was so good! I play it every day. Twice. I'm playing it right now. I think about playing it every time I close my eyes. It was such a well designed, fun, entirely necessary addition to the Bioshock experience!

Now if only the rest of the game was going to be any good, it might be worth buying.

 

[Mysnomer]

For everybody who thinks this heralds a reverse of the tacked on multiplayer trend, look again.

These guys can only say this because Bioshock is a wildly popular franchise famed for its gripping narrative. They're established and have a license to print money, so they can act all tough and conscientious about what's "Right for the game." Every other shmoe with a new concept or franchise is still going to be under the thumb of publishers telling them to put multi in so it appeals to the broadest base possible. This is not some new dawn of reason, it's just a PR move.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Irrational Games is a cool dude, he fights blandness and doesn't afraid of anything.

Seriously though, good to hear.
I find multiplayer to be very shallow in a lot of games, so it's probably for the best to avoid it and focus on the single player.

 

[Icehearted]

See that kids? That's what they call backpedaling! I remember a lot of press coverage where they swore up and down that the multiplayer for Bioshock 2 was so not tacked on that they even hired out another team to put it together so they could focus on the awesomely awesome awesomness that was Bioshock 2. What we got for all their hooting was a fairly rehashed game that fell markedly short of it's predecessor, with multiplayer that was so well developed people got tired of playing it in a hurry and went back to Modern Warfare and Gears 2.

Let's just call it for what it was; a bad idea in the first place. At that time we were skeptical while they remained adamant of it's not-going-to-suckness.

It's just like Peter Molyneux quacking on about how great Fable 2 was on it's release, then pointing out how poorly made it was with the next one coming. I've always been one to take what he says with a grain of salt, but when did blowing smoke up our collective asses become standard industry policy?

My 2¢