"Single player games are still valid" <-WTF!?

[Rawne1980]

My point is if dead space dies it won't be because of its co op, it will be beaches ea are stupid

Oh yeah, that I agree with completely.

I sometimes think someone high up the ladder of EA is scared of money.

With every stupid decision they make and the more customers they turn off I really do think someone is scared of doing something right so they compete to see who can come up with the daftest shit.

 

[Sixcess]

My point is if dead space dies it won't be because of its co op, it will be beaches ea are stupid

True, but just to clarify what I meant, I think of co-op as something devs (and publisher) inflict upon us when they are absolutely determined to force multiplayer not only into the game but into the main narrative of a singleplayer game. Find a friend or put up with the iffy AI of your NPC ally, is your choice.

And this is not solely generic EA hate. What other publisher has said they don't expect they'll ever make a purely single player game again? Oh yeah, it was Valve - the saint to EA's sinner. Presumably Half Life 3 - if it ever happens - will not be exempt from this.

They're not doing this to make the game objectively better but to sell more copies, and so when taken to extremes we end up with EA's insane delusion that DS3 will sell 5 million copies... because it's exactly the same as DS2, but NOW IT HAS CO-OP!

 

[Raddra]

The day games all go multiplayer is the day I stop buying them.

I play games to take a break from people, full stop no two ways about it.

I see a hell of a lot of folk in my daily life and me and my friends have different schedules that prevent "gaming together". Plus we don't want to. We play games to take a break from socialising. It's the one thing I do where I can relax and not have to deal with anyone else.

My quiet time if you will.

It doesn't bother me and there are plenty of games out already to keep me going but the day multiplayer becomes integral to doing what would have otherwise been a single player game is the day I no longer buy new games.

I agree with you 100%

It doesn't help that I have a severe social anxiety disability. I find it very difficult playing with other people.. it sets my anxiety attacks off. I can't stand it. I literally cannot function in a multiplayer game half the time, and the other half is in short bursts before I have to sign off to calm down. Gaming to me is my private time that I can lose myself in a game world to escape my disability.

 

[thesilentman]

and palying with friends? well see heres the thing and perhaps the root of my argument....I don't have any friends

because of that it feels like the industry doesnt like me....like the industry is making me "left out" of my own godamn interest, the industry has become the popular kids with their iphones, their facebook...and I can't sit at their table, and that kind of hurts in a way

Well, there's always the older games to fall back on. Unless they ban emulators in some way, it's not gonna happen.

I agree a metric ton, especially with the "I have no friends bit." Why can't people realize that video games are just as good if not better by yourself? Why? I don't see them pushing social nonsense on movies and such, so why video games?

I'm getting a feeling that most people don't realize that single player games and multiplayer games are very different from each other in what they offer. Single player expects us to learn about the game from the information it tells us and clear a level, while multiplayer expects us to cooperate with other people to clear the level.

Those two involve an end goal to clear the level, but the experience offered is as different as light and day. I'll use Dark Souls for single player (I don't like the griefers, and letting DS sit at 60 FPS gives me smoother performance 75% of the time) and DOTA 2 for multiplayer, as those are the games I've been playing lately.

The entire point of Dark Souls is to survive a world where everything is out to murder you gruesomely. It's reinforced by the difficulty and the dark fantasy aesthetic conveyed throughout the world. This game works in multiplayer, as you're under a constant threat of death, but in single player, you truly feel the fact that you're just a lost soul struggling to survive. Dark Souls succeeds in creating that atmosphere, which would have been lost in multiplayer if From hadn't thought carefully about structuring the multiplayer.

Now, DOTA. In DOTA (not sure if you've played any MOBAs), your goal is to destroy the other side's area. An invasion, if it's applicable here. You have a lot of heroes you can pick from, which then you pick and level up to slowly chip away at the other team's defenses. (I've only recently started playing DOTA, so I may not be the best when it comes to explaining the game)

Now, who understands what those games are offering? Us gamers. Due to how different video games are from other forms of media, it's quite hard to, for example, explain why multiplayer Skyrim doesn't work unless you tweak the experience offered to better suit single/multiple players.

No one gets video games because they're a completely different thing from other media, which most people aren't realizing unless they're gamers. Hence the corporations think that catering to the masses by shoehorning multiplayer into every game is the way to go.

 

[mParadox]

Borderlands 1 Vs Borderlands 2 is the perfect example of how to treat a co-op game like a single player game without any loss of features.

B1 was too, bland. Too lonely. It was too quiet technically. But in B2, everyone's chattering on your ECHO all the damn time, the world is vibrant and alive. You don't need another soul to make it so. Which is quite awesome. And also probably explains I haven't gotten tired of it yet.

[sub][sub]Now if only they'll release the level cap increase patch~[/sub][/sub]

Single player games are very much valid. They exist and trying to make every game into an MMO is a terrible business decision. 'cause there will always be people who'll be wanting to play a game alone and without any social distractions. I think the sale figures of Dishonored and ,hopefully, Bioshock Infinite will prove that.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

No need to worry. According to some brilliant analysts pc gaming was dying for about ten years and now it`s stronger than ever, same goes for the fortune tellers who said i-phone games and pay to play are the new future. It may be true to an extend but in ends in the way that those things are simply there and in no way a replacement for the existing gaming culture. I have the feeling that most reasonable developers have given up on tacked on mp. The masses are only playing FIFA, COD, BF anyway, anything else just isn`t played for long after the release (at least on console).

 

[Kopikatsu]

True, but just to clarify what I meant, I think of co-op as something devs (and publisher) inflict upon us when they are absolutely determined to force multiplayer not only into the game but into the main narrative of a singleplayer game. Find a friend or put up with the iffy AI of your NPC ally, is your choice.

Except part of the reason the development costs for Dead Space 3 are so ridiculously high is because they avoided just that. If you're not playing co-op, then Carver does his own thing and Isaac is on his own as well. The scenes and dialogue change between single player and co-op.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Now I will say that I hate EA for its approach to multiplayer and singleplayer. It is because it boldly stated that it won't publish any game if it doesn't feature online multiplayer,basically forcing developers to tack on multiplayer on their games and spend time and resources that could be used on the single player on multiplayer,if the developer wants to see its game published. That kind of blackmailing "ONLINE PASS OR GTFO" is despicable.

they actually said that?...
[img/]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz02ubq94G1qlq2jj.gif[/img]

I am actually at a loss for words....

Yes. Yet another reason for me to never buy another game published by EA ever again.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

and palying with friends? well see heres the thing and perhaps the root of my argument....I don't have any friends

because of that it feels like the industry doesnt like me....like the industry is making me "left out" of my own godamn interest, the industry has become the popular kids with their iphones, their facebook...and I can't sit at their table, and that kind of hurts in a way

I know this is far from true thease days...its just a trend I find genuinly worrying

and can I also stress that just because a game includes co-op as an option does NOT mean the single will suck because of said co-op....just compare Borderlands 1 to Borderlands 2 (the latter being a good game without another person)

I don't mean to brag and I don't mean to hurt your feelings but I'm somebody who does, in fact, have friends. I could even do a true game of Mario Party with some proper coordination. I did want to point out that there is another problem with modern co-op and it's this: Not only do devs seem to want to push co-op but they push their co-op.

"Lovely!" They begin, "I see you have just purchased the latest installment of our Medal of Duty Franchise! If you want to play with your friends, please make sure your subscription to XBLG is paid up or, make sure to stay logged on to PSN etc. What's that you say? You want to play with your friend at home, under the same roof and on the same console? Well, fuck you! Tell the leech to buy his own copy! You say you and your friend have different console? Well looks like one of you two slackers are going to have to pony up for a brand new console!"

The point I tried to make: split-screen is dying. Remember when we had TV's larger than a chest of drawers but that still managed to have tiny screens and, our consoles ran on corrugated cardboard and 9V batteries? (no I'm not being literal). Well back in THOSE bleak and dreary days not only did multiplayer games have split-screen but they also had quite a few bot match options to boot. I guess split-screen is the more important thing here since many games are being talked up as being best with friends but I didn't always have friends and what got me through was the bot-matches of Duke Nukem 64. I remember that being my one big gripe with the original Halo: not the lack of online but the lack of bot matches. Our gaming technology has only gotten better over time after all as have the quality of our TVs so you would think more games that boast "MULTIPLAYER IS WHY YOU BOUGHT THIS" would feature more multiplayer options like the legendary games from days long past.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

First off, I think the titles a bit misleading.

Secondly, I enjoy single player, campaign focused games, as well as a few that offer Online Multiplayer or simply Multiplayer focused games. For any game developer or chairman to say that not being around a bunch of unwanted strangers who are mostly likely rude toddlers, angst teens, or obnoxious adults is a sign of being invalid, socially or psychologically ill, just goes to show you that this person is in it for the games.

Sometimes we just need a few hours to ourselves and sometimes we want to challenge ourselves or play with others. To say that one form of gameplay is superior or invalid to the others is to be completely oblivious or detached to the actual gamers and not acknowledging what they enjoy or look for in certain games.

 

[Ishal]

Dead Space 2 already had tacked on multiplayer and that didnt kill it.

Have you not been keeping up with the news Vault?

EA expect Dead Space 2 to sell 5 million copies because of the money they put into it.

If it doesn't sell 5 million copies then the franchise is practically dead and we probably won't ever see another Dead Space game.

.

I knew that, but lets be honest here I don't think the world will suffer if there is no dead space four (hell the amount of bitching I hear about sequels I'm surprised people aren't happy) as for what EA said I'm still not sure they will stand by it 100% i mean it was pretty retarded even for EA, if they are serious what are you gonna do? You can't reason with kind of insanity

My point is if dead space dies it won't be because of its co op, it will be beaches ea are stupid

They will stand by it as long as it sells the amounts that they project and they make a profit. If the industry notices that the casual experience of co-op and what I would call "multiplayer lite" (the kind of multiplayer that everyone is forcing into the games these days) takes off then expect to see more and more of it.

The portents of doom would say your worst fears will come true and single player games will go the way of the dinosaur...and if that happens I'm pretty much done with gaming.. or at least I won't be a gamer in the sense that I used to be.

HOWEVER.. Skyrim had huge sales when it came out, and this is anecdotal evidence, but all the dude-bros I knew from college who ran out and bought CoD also bought Skyrim. The original Bioshock thrived...Bioshock infinite will thrive and The Walking Dead won game of the year at the vga's. See, its these things that don't have me feeling as worried/down as you seem to feel. For the record I'm sorry you feel that way. I empathize with your reasons for gaming since they are my own as well.

But honestly, I watch videos like this where you have a voice actor (who is also a gamer) talk about the industry and the work he is doing and it gives me hope.

Spoiler

Games like Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us where you have the producers and creators going to such great (and expensive) lengths to convey emotion and plot. In a world where its all about the multiplayer nobody really needs that stuff and I'd be willing to bet the developers and publishers wouldn't waste a dime on it. As long as there are folks out there like Ken Levine and the people who made Journey I think we're safe, at least for a while.

 

[2xDouble]

Human is a social creature. It physically needs other humans to function productively. This is a way to monetize that without the facade of online dating. It's not going to go away until all humans eventually succumb to indoctrination and are assimilated.

Resistance is futile.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Don't worry Vault. As long as there is still demand for singleplayer titles, they will still get released, I guarantee it.

 

[Easton Dark]

Dishonored? I didn't even know these games HAD multiplayer until I read this thread.

It doesn't.

.

I'll be your friend

OT:

I like Call of Duty's single player way more than the multiplayer.

I only do co-op when asked and in the mood or when an achievement requires it.

I dread the moment I start looking for matches online in Napoleon Total War because I'm awful at online strategy games, but the achievement says I have to win 50 matches and I have to beat someone with twice my skill level.

So I normally stay single player unless I'm forced out somehow.

12000 posts-----------------

 

[Viking Incognito]

Multilayer is indeed a big thing, but single player is demonstrably more important and meaningful to video games as a whole. To even begin to think anything less is just ridiculous.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

There are times when I don't mind playing over XBox Live with the uncle and brother and enjoy some good ol' family gaming time.

But then, I have other times.

 

[Mikejames]

I just prefer the overall structure of single-player games.
Things like balanced difficulty progression, narrative, atmosphere; all potentially overshadowed when multiplayer is what's heavily emphasized.