Multi-player doesn't work in every game genre

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Monday, October 15, 2012

 

Video games are not great due to its multi-player.  Multi-player games sell well and most developers/publishers know this, so they might try adding multi-player mechanics in any way to any genre of video games, like survival horror.  But stapling some network code to games that were primarily single-player tend to harm both campaigns instead of enhance both experiences.

 

Some single-player, survival horror games rely on the feeling of being alone to work.  In Metro 2033 the players need to scavenge for items, usually bullets, if they wish to barter with Non-Playable Characters in the game.  If a multi-player mechanic was implemented, the items would become even more scarce, and that can be abused by griefers.  The player might not feel like they are trying to survive in a hostile environment, but being picked on by anonymous cyber-bullies.

 

Most video games get multi-player stapled on because they do sell multiple copies.  If a bunch of friends want to enjoy the latest installment of the Call of Duty games, then each would need their own copy.  Games are a way of socializing with friends and developers/publishers might use this in a sequel game.  Even if it is a game that doesn't use the multi-player mechanics in a survival-horror setting like Dead Space 2.

 

Fortunately not every developer is implementing multi-player in their games.  4A Games, developers of Metro 2033 and the upcoming Metro: Last Light game admitted on their blog that they will be putting aside the multi-player components for Metro: Last Light to focus entirely on the single-player campaign.  4A Games stated that a response to their E3 demo that the Metro series was praised more for its single-player campaign than a request to play the game online with a buddy.

 

Multi-player features just don't work in every game.  Maybe something like Metro: Last Light with multi-player might work like the persistent world of DayZ.  On the other hand, there are other survival-horror games that tried multi-player like an unknown drug and woke up the next day with three unknown men sleeping in their beds and a sore rear, such as Dead Space 2 and BioShock 2.

 
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Comments (4)
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October 15, 2012

I disagree with your headline and I don't think that's actually what you're saying here. I might be wrong, but your point seems to be more along the lines of certain games not working with multiplayer as opposed to certain genres. I believe that there's a way that every single genre can be utilized to make an effective multiplayer experience. I agree that not every game needs multiplayer, and that's unfortunate that publishers are pressing developers to implement half-assed multiplayer modes. Like Spec Ops. Team Yager has been quoted as saying  that 2K pressured them into adding a half-baked, Uncharted imitation multiplayer mode to what is undoubtedly a single-player game.

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October 15, 2012

I might be wrong, but your point seems to be more along the lines of certain games not working with multiplayer as opposed certain genres. I believe that there's a way that every single genre can be utilized to make an effective multiplayer experience.

 

I don't think every genre could work with multi-player, especially if they wish to stick to their genre.  Dead Space 2 is a survival horror game with some action elements.  However the multi-player works like an action game, similar to a multi-player experience in an Alien vs. Predator game.

 

An example of a genre that might not work with multi-player is the puzzle genre.  Portal 2 is a great game and the puzzles are great.  But when you know how to solve the puzzles in each room, especially with a friend, there isn't much reason to play the level again.  Also trying to play through a level again but with another friend might be frustrating.  You know how to solve the puzzle, yet you might be hand-holding your friend through.

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October 15, 2012

I see your point, but I think that's more of a sign that the Dead Space 2 developers tacked on a multiplayer mode that didn't need to be there and that they probably didn't care about that much. I think team could approach that game and come up with something that's fun and in tone with the series.  For example, I think that if something like Resident Evil Zero had been two player, that would have been an interesting survival horror multiplayer experience.

Your point concerning Portal 2 is a good one IF one of the players knows the puzzles. If they neither of them do, it can be a blast. It might be not a great repeat multiplayer experience, but it's fine the first time through. Plus, I might be mistaken, but aren't there user contributed multiplayer maps for Portal 2 now? I think that could ensure that that particular frustration isn't an issue.

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October 15, 2012

That's not going to work entirely with Portal 2.  Yes there is a community always making levels with their own puzzles, but that community has to keep adding new levels to keep the multi-player engaging.  The puzzle genre's challenge is to solve a problem and then enact it - and once its solution is known there is no more challenge.  So the community has to keep building levels of puzzles in varying degrees of quality to keep the multi-player engaging.  It's like trying to make a multi-player game that is based around questionnaires from a Jeopardy game, when anyone can alt-tab out to look up the answer or just remember it.  Eventually that "pool" of puzzles used in that game will run dry, and more needs to be made.

 

As for Dead Space 2, the multi-player felt 'tacked' on because it wasn't sticking to the theme of the genre.  Imagine if it was like DayZ but kept in the claustrophobic corridors of the Dead Space levels.  Each player has to move around through these dark corridors for essential items:  Ammo, healing kits, upgrades, and so forth.  Players that play as monsters can upgrade their statistics and evolve, but only if they gain kills.  Now there is a "hunt" or be "hunted" theme in a survival-horror game.

 

Yet what we got in Dead Space 2 was a shooter experience with monsters.

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