Will single player go the way of the Arcade?
- Thread starter Vault101
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Single Player is not going anywhere. I only buy games that are for single player, except Split screen Co-op i love games like that. And even know there is very few of them
It's my hope that somewhere down the line the industry gets their act together and the lines between single player and multiplayer stop fluctuating so goddamn much.
Preferably, your full-on multiplayer games will become subscription based, where the game itself is free or relatively cheap to download, but requires you to register and pay through other means, while single player games are the ones that require the large upfront fee like we have one. Most big online games are practically subscription-based now anyway, they just hide it behind overpriced map packs and DLC.
And hopefully this would help the single player games focus on doing just that, rather than feel pressured to cover all their bases and throw in a token multiplayer mode.
Preferably, your full-on multiplayer games will become subscription based, where the game itself is free or relatively cheap to download, but requires you to register and pay through other means, while single player games are the ones that require the large upfront fee like we have one. Most big online games are practically subscription-based now anyway, they just hide it behind overpriced map packs and DLC.
And hopefully this would help the single player games focus on doing just that, rather than feel pressured to cover all their bases and throw in a token multiplayer mode.
sorry for trying to bring you back (didn't you start this thread) Multiplayer to me is any game where there are at least three players working for and/or against each other.Vault101 said:
I didn't say cut scenes are bad, I said that they are movies, and I see much more point in Half-life 2's way of doing things (though I must say I always felt like I should have been doing something while people were talking to me) Yes cut scenes have their place in any place where you wouldn't normally have control and any place where the story just can't have you fucking around. I beg to differ that some kinds of storytelling are better than others say: environmental clues > black screen scrolling white text.
Absolutely not. In the past Singleplayer campaigns were pretty difficult, had good storylines and there was a good amount of differentiation between games of the same genre. For example, Dungeon Keeper, Red Alert 95 and Starcraft have completely different playstyles, missions and storylines.
Nowadays though, the popular elements of previous games get shoe-horned into to newer games without much change. Storylines aren't as imaginative in most cases and there is some but not a lot of differentiation between gameplay styles.
Besides, the thought of the modern day online communities have nothing on the of the past - where it was close knit, well organised and friendly.
Simply put - if Singleplayer disappeared from games they would never be as enjoyable.
Nowadays though, the popular elements of previous games get shoe-horned into to newer games without much change. Storylines aren't as imaginative in most cases and there is some but not a lot of differentiation between gameplay styles.
Besides, the thought of the modern day online communities have nothing on the of the past - where it was close knit, well organised and friendly.
Simply put - if Singleplayer disappeared from games they would never be as enjoyable.
Given the state the industry is in at the moment, it really wouldn't surprise me if singleplayer was ditched in the years to come. I'm sure by that point in time a retail game will contain about 1-2 hours gameplay, and all the other countless hours will be released as DLC.
The future scares me!
The future scares me!
Holy bejesus I hope not. I've a PS3, so online playing appears to be part and parcel with it, but I am a 56kbps using internet peasant with a limited download. That and I live in Australia, which appears to be trundling along at about 40 km/h under the speed limit, in the slow lane on the internet superhighway, with an indicator on.
Needless to say, I've never played a game online, and I sincerely hope I never have to
Needless to say, I've never played a game online, and I sincerely hope I never have to
henritje said:
Proof that it is unlikely to happen. I'm sure there are many out there who share your views, myself included, and thus the industry would deal itself a killing blow by doing this. I don't think single player is in any danger really, its just that multiplayer usually gets more publicity.henritje said:
My God, I hope not! I don't play online multiplayer at all. And I hate when games that used to offer local multiplayer don't anymore (re: fighting games or racing games, now its online or nothing). Maybe I'm from a different time, but what multiplayer means to me is inviting a couple friends over and trading off controllers and playing against each other. Not yelling into a headset while other people yell into a headset, or playing against randos.
Anyway, I doubt it. Only certain genres could stand to drop a single player campaign, namely FPS, since most people who buy those games buy it for the mutliplayer anyway (most times, not all times). I could see those developers turning out games that are solely online multiplayer focused, and maybe offering a co-op campaign at most rather than a single. But other than that, I think single-player is still in it for the long haul.
Anyway, I doubt it. Only certain genres could stand to drop a single player campaign, namely FPS, since most people who buy those games buy it for the mutliplayer anyway (most times, not all times). I could see those developers turning out games that are solely online multiplayer focused, and maybe offering a co-op campaign at most rather than a single. But other than that, I think single-player is still in it for the long haul.
I doubt that single player will be gone any time soon. The only chance that would ever happen is when there's a thing call free internet (not like wireless hotspot) for everyone and the connection is always stable.
I think the number of people in this thread saying that they want it to stay shows that it will at least survive in some form.
Games will probably just split into full multiplayer or full singleplayer without trying to shove in a short campaign or generic online deathmatch multiplayer..
Games will probably just split into full multiplayer or full singleplayer without trying to shove in a short campaign or generic online deathmatch multiplayer..
of course not... why would anyone even think its a possibility?
there are VERY few games that i own that have no single player campaign or storyline whatsoever.
and most of the ones i do own are 1/4 the price of a full release. (Battlefield 1943, Monday Night Combat, etc.)
there are VERY few games that i own that have no single player campaign or storyline whatsoever.
and most of the ones i do own are 1/4 the price of a full release. (Battlefield 1943, Monday Night Combat, etc.)
No, I believe that single player will always be around. Sure you'll have more games like Brink where the single player will blend with the multiplayer and I'm sure co-op will still continue, but there are games out there that don't achieve anything by going multiplayer. Most games that focus on single player aren't the type to be competitive, they're meant for it to be you against the enemies in the game. I'm sure multiplayer will start bleeding into all sorts of things and I don't see that as bad, so many games can be more fun with friends, but I'm sure single player will stick around in games like RPGs.
Actually I am thinking the tide is starting to turn back the other direction. Weve sort of temporarily plateaued with what we use multiplayer for, and were starting to see focus return to single player. Perhaps creating an innovation ebb and flow over time.
Single player will never be gone. It can accomplish the most important concept the multiplayer can't, Immersion. No matter what you do, multiplayer will always shatter the immersion experience. From the names floating above the character when you look at them, to seeing yourself or other players "rubber band", to server messages, or either the other players talking through TS or ingame voip. All of these remind you that you're sitting in a chair playing a game. This is where single player truly shines if created right. You can sit alone playing a game for hours and not know it because you've completely blocked out every aspect of the world, except for the game. Good game makers understand this is a important part of making a great game.