Discussion Topic: "Multiplayer" Gaming Alone

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Whenever I mention that I've been playing Rock Band alone in my room I'm met with snickers or an "aww". That's the response I might expect if I'd been drinking alone but is it fair to scorn someone who plays social games solitarily?

Nobody wants to be "that guy" who plays Super Smash Bros. all the time and easily beats their friends when they come over for a party. It's not fun to play a sports or fighting game against a friend if you're an expert and they're just learning the controls. That's not a problem with music games with multiple difficulty levels though.

You need serious skills to play most sports and rhythm-action games at their highest levels -- more so than a lot of singleplayer games. Unless you're an animal who hosts a Rock Band party every week, or you live with like-minded friends who can join you frequently, you'll never get the most out of your "party games".

We play skill-intensive platformers like Mega Man on our lonesomes, so why should it be different if the game supports multiplayer?

I enjoy the challenge of drumming on Rock Band, and I want to get better at it. I've gone from barely being able to play a song on medium to drumming at the two highest difficulty levels. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I hadn't practiced.

It's fun without friends too. There's plenty of great songs on Rock Band, and the AI opponent in FIFA is competent and nuanced.

So what I'm asking is: do you play these games on your own? If not, then why not?

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Mark T. Whitney

March 26, 2010 13:34

You know, there are only two ways I'll do the microphone parts for Rock Band: when I'm inebriated or when I'm alone. But to me, the games just get boring faster if no one is around as a peanut gallery to cheer you on or boo you off "the stage" when you fail.

I guess it's just more fun to look like a goof with a plastic sunburst guitar if people are around.

Cameron Pershall

March 26, 2010 14:07

I think there's less risk of being "that guy" in Rock Band, since everyone can play at their own difficulty level. I semi-regularly play with a group of friends, most of whom don't play any video games besides Rock Band. Me and one or two others play on expert, everyone else plays on easy or medium, and we all have fun. Totally different from another friend I had in college who would invite people to play Super Puzzle Fighter with her just to show off the fact she could beat anyone in about 5 seconds.

I've played a lot of solo Left 4 Dead in my time, because I like the game, but I hate online FPS communities and all their macho elitism.

Frank Anderson

March 26, 2010 14:15

I have been known to spend countless hours learning levels by playing bots on FPS games that offer them, only to never actually wade into the waters of playing online on those maps I spent all that time learning.

I also spent hundreds of hours playing Phantasy Star Online offline. In numerous versions no less. Actually, come to think of it in every version possible.

Sigh.

I am a loser.

Alex Martin

March 28, 2010 04:53

@Cameron Left 4 Dead players have been friendly in my experience. Something about that game pushes you to say thanks a lot.

@Frank Is PSO a worse game offline?

Lance Darnell

March 28, 2010 06:16

You should give the TF2 community a shot, Cameron. They are kind, polite, and will say thank you to a Medic! TF2 is also the only game that I play online, for I am not good at playing with others.

I used to play Timesplitters 2 with bots all the time.

March 28, 2010 10:32

My experience with playing L4D online was getting voted out of every game I got into the first time I got knocked down. It didn't seem like it was worth pursuing. I did play a little TF2 online when it first came out, but I got tired of the maps really quickly. The community there did seem to be a lot friendlier, though.