Poll: Co-operative or Competitive?

[gillnavisingh]

Now I know that there is a sizeable portion of the Escapist's users that prefer to go about things solo and that's fine, I myself put single player above multiplayer most of the time.
However, there are times when a game's multiplayer really gets to me.
The recent Titanfall Beta was a breath of fresh air to me even though most of the people I know said it was subpar in their eyes.

This got me pondering on the idea of multiplayer in general and what about it appeals to me, and to other people. I asked one of my professors at the Game Design school I attend, and the basic answer he came up with was "To socialize."
But when I play say... Mario Kart 7 with my brothers and sisters, it's radically different to playing it online, regardless of whether I'm playing with friends or randoms.


So for sake of example in the poll, assume any human players you're saddled with are at least half-competent at the game, keeping in mind that multiplayer can mean anything from shooters, rhythm games, platformers, racing games, etc.
Also assume that anyone you call "friend" is playing with you locally, and that you can only play online with random people.

EDIT: LAN games will count as "Local", while Private Groups/Clans online will count as "Online"


Please let me know why you prefer your form of multiplayer, and how it adds to your overall gaming experience.
(Apologies to the players that only play single player)

Multiplayer has come a long way, and it's only going to become more integral to gaming as the new generation blooms.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Local co-op, baby.
I don't know, don't have much of a reason, I certainly have good memories of four-player split-screen deathmatches in Halo and Call Of Duty but it just seems to me like better stories come out of co-op I guess.

 

[Flutterguy]

Well competitive games for parties, or if I'm online. My best times were local co-op though, Timesplitters 2, Halo, borderlands 2, Tales of Symphonia, even Mortal Kombat 9 was best played as a co-op game for me (did tag matches).

Hard to beat actually being in a room having conversation and experiencing a game together. Competitive ones tend to be short lived since one person just crushes the others, resulting in a democratic game swap or a movie turning on.

 

[josemlopes]

I honestly dont like to share a screen but local can be very fun. The ideal situation would be a LAN/Online thing with everyone in the same room. I'll vote online as in the end it does have a lot more to offer and is easier to set up.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Local co-op, and by local I mean with real life friends, either in the same living room if it's on console, or over Steam on PC.

 

[RevRaptor]

Local co op is totally the best way to play, It's not just the same over the net

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I've gone for online co-op.

Not to say that I don't want my friends to be near me when I game, but practically this local co-op only happens on a very rare basis for me - maybe once a year, so if a game were local co-op only, it would hinder my chances of buying it. For example, I only bought Saints Row's latest instalment so that I could play it co-op with my mate, who I've played the others with, and if it were local co-op we wouldn't of bought it, as we haven't been able to LAN our PCs in over a year.

So in the dream world I'd enjoy local co-op more, but in reality it's definitely online co-op. I also enjoy MMOs to some extent too, more so in the past.

 

[smithy_2045]

My most enjoyable gaming experiences by far have been the CS:S LAN competitions I've played in. It's the one thing I really miss about my competitive gaming days.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Uhm.

I don't really know.

I like competitive co-op. Whether that means playing on the same team as friends against others, or simply trying to one-up my friends in a pure co-op game differs from game to game and day to day. Anything that involves testing my skills with/against people I know.

I do love convincing my friends to try and outfly me in Ace Combat though (particularly 04, the one I have the most play time on). They just can't do it. I scored 2 guns kills on my friend (who was flying an X-02 Wyvern, a fictional superfighter with the best stats for dogfighting in the game) while I was flying the F-4 Phantom II. By all rights that should have been an easy win for him....

Maybe I should try and convince him to try again, only this time I'll only use unguided rockets...

 

[SKBPinkie]

Local co-op, then online.

Co-op just has a better, more relaxed environment. Competitive somehow brings out the worst in people. And I simply don't want to witness that kind of ugliness, especially when I'm trying to sit back and just enjoy the game.

 

[Chrozi]

I like them all, they all have their different aspects. I like online multiplayer to see how I stack up against other players. I know I'll never ever be pro, but its a good feeling when I can hold my own against an established clan. Co-op is of course a load of fun, Black-Ops Zombies is a blast. Just joking around with buddies while very bad things happen is great. Local multiplayer has its obvious pluses, I miss OG Xbox Halo LAN matches with 8 buddies. As for solo, I think playing a game like Last of Us co-op would pretty much ruin the experience.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Also assume that anyone you call "friend" is playing with you locally, and that you can only play online with random people.

That's a pretty big qualifier to place on your poll, OP. Myself and my friends are big fans of online competitive play, but to avoid Internet monkeys we always play closed private sessions. So even though we play online most of the time, according to your poll we're local players.

And for the record, I agree with your professor - socializing is a major part of multiplayer. When my clan meets up online to game what matters is that friends are getting the chance to catch up, chat and socialize. Whichever game we happen to be playing is very much secondary to the meet-up and over the course of the evening is almost tuned out into background noise.

 

[Auron225]

I always prefer local - it's more fun to joke about with another friend in the room and you're not dependant on everyone having a decent connection. Co-op > competitive as well; even if the game isn't that exciting or is too easy you can find a way to make it more fun. The odds of being paired with people who care too much about pwning is too high for my liking and even locally... I mean if you're playing against the right people it can still be a blast but some people can get a bit pissy about it if they're losing too much.

 

[suitepee7]

well for me, it's online co-op, but that is exclusive to me playing with my friends online using vent or teamspeak, and in that sense it feels more like local co-op, i dislike co-op online with strangers. after co-op with friends, i prefer competitive, online or local

 

[MysticSlayer]

In order:

Competitive (Local)
Cooperative (Online)
Competitive (Online)
Cooperative (Local)

Unfortunately, I just haven't played a lot of good local cooperative games. Very few developers know how to work with the limitations of a local multiplayer game, and it tends to become most apparent in co-op games. Oddly, because of this often bad design, co-op tends to do more to get people at each other's throats than even Mario Party.

Overall, though, I think local competitive is the most fun. It allows you to spend time with friends while all enjoying a game together, and the competitive spirit is generally much more enjoyable among friends than online with strangers. A lot of games in different genres have also grasped how to do it, though I would say that shooters still aren't that fun with local multiplayer. Still, racing, fighting, and party games can all be very enjoyable with friends.

After that, online is rather even. I hate doing co-op with strangers, but it is more enjoyable with friends. Then again, I really only enjoy online in general when I am with friends.

 

[The Lunatic]

Cooperative Online.

I lack friends in real life.

 

[UnderCoverGuest]

If every game were forced to have Co-Op following Saints Row 2, 3 and 4's mechanics, I think the video gaming world would be a better place.

...especially Fallout 3, New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and Skyrim. Those games would be incredible. Absolutely incredible, with that kind of online Co-Op. Two players. Fellow adventurers. Traveling across the land on a grand adventure, together, making their own path.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Local co-op is the most fun for me. My fondest memories of co-op would have to be when my brother and I played through all 50 horde mode rounds in Gears of War 2. I had never played Gears before, so I was just support, but I ended up getting really good just from playing Horde.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Anything Local is the best for me nothing beats playing games with a friend especially if you are similar skill I dont mind if its competitive or Co-op but I like fighters so I usually go for competitive.

Online I usually prefer competitive co-op with strangers dosent usually go well for me and tbh I hate carrying / being carried by people I dont know. If its only loosely co-op though then thats fine. Co-op and competitive online is usually the worst for me I really think you need a fair few friends for that to work well but when it does it is great fun.