Multiplayer: Co-op experience vs. Competitive experience

[aescuder]

I'm a big fan of single-player action and rpg games although the best memories are often ones that are shared. Growing up with an older sibling we were always interested in multiplayer games. Ever since the first contra we have constantly been on the look for great co-op games. We've tried everything from COD to Baldur's Gate.

That being said, there is something about (couch) co-op experiences that makes it 8 billion times funner than any other game type out there (in my opinion), which is why I think it's sad that high-budget games these days are concentrated in either the online competitive fps that rewards people with too much free time (Black Ops) or the lonely Single Player Action/RPG (Dragon Age or any other JRPG) and not much else in between.

Recent games that would have benefited IMMENSELY from a local co-op/split-screen option:
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Demon's Souls (very flawed multiplayer system)
Uncharted 2
Armored Core: [any of them really]
Oblivion IV (a man can dream can't he?)
any many others I'm sure...


Smartest and probably the most influential game designer Jane McGonigal has had some research on the benefits of Co-op gaming over competitive but I don't really feel like google mining for it. here is her website if you are interested: http://janemcgonigal.com/




what is your opinion?

 

[Scars Unseen]

Honestly, I've always hated split screen multiplayer. That clunky solution is one of the things that made me favor single player from the beginning. For me, LAN parties will always the ideal option for multiplayer because you get the same social effect of split screen without the annoyance. Of course logistics are an issue, which is one reason why online multiplayer supplanted it.

As for games that would be good for co-op... well I don't know of a specific modern title that does this, but a space combat game that let people divide split the responsibilities of a capital ship would be pretty awesome.

 

[NathLines]

I hate competitiveness in games. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that it turns a lot of people into assholes some inexplicable reason.

I really want to see more co-op in games in the future. Even a pretty mediocre game can be fun if played with friends.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I really want to see more co-op in games in the future. Even a pretty mediocre game can be fun if played with friends.

F.E.A.R. 3 is doing it right. Co-op multiplayer for pretty much every mode. You work as a team to survive, but still compete to see who gets the highest score. More multiplayer games need to do this. I love co-op stuff.

 

[ace_of_something]

I really miss splitscreen i like the experience of sitting next to a friend and playing a game with them. You can chitchat whatever. It's more enjoyable than co-op online i find. Maybe because my TV is pretty big..

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I vastly prefer co-op multiplayer to competitive multiplayer.

 

[Saelune]

The more inclusive multiplayer is, the better. One thing Black Ops does better than MW2 is let me and my brother split screen online.
Being able to co-op the story is always nice too. Halo 1 will always have the fondest memories for all the stuff my brother and I did in the game.
Devs should be more mindfull of this.

 

[DaHero]

I hate competitiveness in games. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that it turns a lot of people into assholes some inexplicable reason.

I really want to see more co-op in games in the future. Even a pretty mediocre game can be fun if played with friends.

In my case, everyone.

 

[BRTurtle]

I like competitive games but I also love co-operative games, that's why all First person shooters i play are like Battlefield or Brink where I can do a bit of both at the same time. I also find that the communities in games like Battlefield and Brink tend to be way friendlier in the competitive mode then like CoD. I also find some team based games like DOTA that I don't find appealing, where there is only 5 members of the team and you can clearly see who isn't helping the team and blame games ensue, there is a mixture between team play and competitive play but you don't feel part of a bigger goal unlike Battlefield and Brink. So I prefer Team based competitive play to co-op or just plain competitive play, I feel it brings the best of both worlds plus I like the social experience when I game because why enjoy the joy alone when you can enjoy the experience with others. Sharing is caring?

 

[General_Potatoes]

I love playing split screen multiplayer and co-op. Me and a friend compete so much, that even we forget what the objective is.

 

[Jordi]

I don't really like online co-op, because I always think that cooperation with a stranger on the other side of an ocean doesn't really work that well, so I generally prefer competitive games[footnote]Actually I prefer single player, but that's not what this thread is about.[/footnote].
On a console at home with a friend/sibling, I think competitive split-screen games don't really work that well, because somebody is always going to peak at the wrong screen. So for those kind of games I prefer co-op. A lot of games (mostly sports based) can still be played competitively though, and then I think I prefer it (although if you have the option of being on the same team, that can be fun too).

I think a lot of games could benefit from a split screen option, but it can be very hard to implement, and I think in general I would rather see that effort being spent on other aspects of the game.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I always found co-op to be more fun than competitive for the most part.

Split screen wise is great because you can have a good time with friends and because almost none of ym friends have mics we can't communicate well online, but we still have fun.

There are some competitive games that are really fun to play with friends, Dynasty Tactics 2 is my favourite and Dawn of War is another. Plus Dawn of War can be both at the same time and I've had some fantastic memories playing Dawn of War co-op and competitive.

 

[MacOfDonald]

There's just something awesome about chilling in the lounge room with a friend, a couple of pizza, some beers, and a solid co-op game. If you do that without the friend in the same room, you're just a person eating pizza and drinking alone while playing video games.

The imagery is astoundingly different.

And hell, with the giant televisions everyone seems to have these days, split screen no longer seems to be a case of, "We need to sit forward, really close to the screen, so we can read our ammo counter."

I quite liked Fable III's multiplayer, for an RPG. Refine it a little and I think it could and should be available in more RPGs in the future.

 

[ReaperzXIII]

I agree the thing with me though is I usually like to play competitive or single player because I don't have someone with me all the time, but I do like to play co-op because having a gaming older sister we played co-op a lot especially before we actually got Xbox Live and had to depend on each other for entertainment in the multiplayer aspect.

The main problem I have is when I want to invite a friend over to just chill out and relax with to free myself from boredom but so few of the games I have actually include splits screen multiplayer or singleplayer, I mean you can let someone 100000 miles away play with me on multiplayer but apparently the guy sitting right next to me is too much to include.

Only games I can think of the top of my head with split screen is Left 4 Dead, Black Ops, Halo, all fighting games and sports games, I would love to play the Brotherhood multiplayer with a friend at my house but nope can't.

It takes so much away from the social experience by not allowing co-op

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Competitive multiplayer is fun but nothing beats coop with a buddy. Splitscreen is fine, but I do enjoy playing Splinter Cell Conviction online with my friend.

 

[FarleShadow]

I'd prefer a co-op game where there is a goal (Such as take down an enemy base), with multiple ways for upto 4 people (I loved L4D), so that while two people can frontal assault, I can sneak into the base, take down the enemy leader, sit in his chair and smirk at the two idiots bursting in the front door.

"What took you so long?"

Also, split screen was lame when it was N64, it hasn't aged well either.