Is The Push For Online Engagement Hurting The Single-Player Experience?

GameZone: ''Remember when games weren't all about the online experience? Now, every game developer and publisher seems so focused on multiplayer connectivity and online play. I don't know whether I'd consider this a “disturbing” trend, but it's a trend nonetheless.

Recently, we've seen EA's Peter Moore critiquing the Wii U and its “lack of online engagement,” specifically with their sports titles.''

[ShugaCane]

"Actually, in our review of The Last of Us, multiplayer wasn't even mentioned and didn't factor into the score. Do you know why? Because it didn't matter."

Maybe if you tested it, you'd have realized it's not some random multiplayer added for the sake of online junkies. It's actually cool and fresh.

Otherwise, I'm not into multi, and I don't mind some online components being implemented as long as the SP doesn't suffer from it.

[sly-Famous]

I agree with you on TLOU MP but the day MP becomes more important than SP, as is the case with most FPS games these days, will be the end of the true gamer, luckly we still have devs like ND and SPP who seem to value the SP experience more but can still give a good experience on MP(ND).

[Kurt Russell]

I agree with your point to some extent. I disagree with your use of the term "true gamer" as there is no such thing. And also you have to recognise there are games out there like Battlefield and Battlefront where the multiplayer doesn't need a supporting single player... Also games like the Division look set to blur the lines of single and multiplayer campaigns in a way I think looks exciting.

[shivvy24]

i agree , BF3 SP mode just felt so bad that i would have preferred if they had focused more on mp ! mp was one of the best though

[sly-Famous]

@ Kurt Russell

If that is the case then why give BF a SP at all, why not just make it an MMO.

As far as the "true gamer" goes, I am a true gamer, I relish everything about games not just a MP and great graphics, like most kids do these days, I still play my Atari, NES, Sega MS & MD, N64, PS1, Xbox and PS2 to this day not to mention the countless games I have on PC and enjoy every single moment of them.

[Kurt Russell]

That was my point, it sits on the opposite end of the spectrum where the single player detracts from the games core experience, MP.

And I wasn't disputing you play a lot of games on a lot of systems, but to label anyone a "true gamer" is so subjective. One person may consider a true gamer, someone who is PC based solely as that's where a lot of the origin and development processes came from. Someone else may consider that a term for the MMO crowd... Maybe I believe a true gamer doesn't need to list his or hers systems of choice on a website, as they're too busy gaming to get around to it. It's just a pointless phrase that has no place in gaming yet is banded around as a stamp of pride to prove "I know what I'm talking about, and so-and-so doesn't"...

Worrying about the demise of the "true gamer" is pointless. As long as there are talented devs and people with passion to play, they'll always be something great going on. I started on a ZX spectrum... personally I am happy with the way things have changed since then.

[showtimefolks]

Playing tomb raider I kept wondering if adding a generic MP took away from resources away from single player.

Some games are better left single player only

But here is the issue there are a lot of gamers who will only pick up a game if it has MP even if the single player alone is 15-20 hours and excellent so publishers have to include MP just to please all of their fan base

I am a single player game, the only online shooter I played a lot has been KZ2-3 and resistance 2's 8 player co-op

Give me a great single player which is minimum 12-15 hours and I don't mind spending $60, but if you give me good single player which is 8-10 hours with generic MP Than I will wait for a huge price drop before buying

[shivvy24]

i completely agree with you , there was no point of Tomb Raider having a multiplayer mode ! i would have preferred if they used that resources on SP

[febreeze1]

The devs who made deus ex made tomb raider multi. No extra resources were taken....it's like bioshock 2 where external devs made the multi.

[GribbleGrunger]

Why the hell show a picture of TLOU in this article. Did the multiplayer hurt the singleplayer in this game? Pick something relevant for that pic, not a game that is largely seen as having the greatest single player game of this generation. The two don't go together AT ALL.

[shivvy24]

Tombraider would have been a good example

[isa_scout]

See I thought the singleplayer was great, but the multiplayer sucked. I think Tomb Raider would be a horrible example because we're talking about games that their MP made the singlplayer suffer. Battlefield 3 is the perfect example or hell even the Modern Warfare games. Once Ifinity Ward realized how popular the MP was they(and you could tell) began focusing to much on the MP. COD4:MW was the last great COD to release, and that was because it's singleplayer was fresh and exciting, and it's MP was unique and innovate. Acti has been riding that success for nearly a decade without adding anything new to the series.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

I thought that too, they couldn't of used a worse example. They probably did it to get more attention on the article.

[teezy]

In games like Uncharted and TLOU I don't think multiplayer is needed but it definitely didn't take away from the SP.
Alternatively in games like BF and CoD they are designed around MP with a SP experience thrown in.

It comes down to what you want really, if you are playing a CoD game you expect it to be heavily MP focused so the SP will not be mind blowing vice versa for TLOU.

[MikeyDucati1]

No I don't think so.

[Valkyre]

I dont think there is a reason to be warry... YET.

But it is really disturbing how obsessed people are with the online aspect of gaming...

90% of the time, a multiplayer game is -in my personnal opinion- the EPITOME of repetitiveness...

You do the same thing... over and over and over and over again... you are looking at the same maps, you learn them by heart and all you do is perform the same actions.

To me this is boring... its like I am trapped in some kind of Groundhog Day thing, doing the same stuff, with the same goals and without even a proper motive.

So far it is manageable, it doesnt affect so much the single player portion, but if the push for online gets worse, then yes there is a problem.

I prefer videogames that have a story to tell, that give me new things to do, that put me in new scenes and new scenarios. With the advancement of technology, gaming is now finally able to break the boundaries and be able to tell rich and powerfull, emotional stories like the LOU, like never before.

It would be nothing sort of utter disappointment to waste this in favor of some maps, a couple of guns, and a team deathmatch over and over and over again...

Just my 2 cents.

[bjmartynhak]

I also got a bit worried when look at the next-gen games he mentioned, like The Division, Titanfall, Destiny, Driveclub, The Crew.

[GrumpyOla]

I personally don't enjoy MP. I like story driven games. One thing MP has advantage over SP is the AI (if you can call it that) which is always unpredictable.
I know alot of people who jump in MP before finishing and some without even trying the single player.
Yes I am worried about the future of SP. Not all games need MP.

[andibandit]

I guess it's only natural for the publishers to push towards MP. MP games tend to have a "Need it here and now, cause everyone else is playing it and getting a leg up on me", where as SP games seldom have the same pull. This often leads to gamers putting off buying SP games until prices drop or they can get it used, which to the publishers is a loss of income.

[isa_scout]

The story,gameplay, and length of The Last Of Us was in my opinion nearly perfect. What I love about the multiplayer is a lot of the things that made the singleplayer great are translated and carried over into the MP perfectly. Sneaking, crafting, and staying close to team mates is the only way to survive in the MP. Work together or die alone.
Also, there is an added layer of tension when you've worked so hard to build your clan to a sizeable level, and you struggle from day to day(or match to match) to keep them alive, well fed, and healthy. It's a shame a lot of people wont get to experience the MP because they feel it's tacked on, but in my opinion The Last Of Us' MP is fresh and the most unique thing to come out in a great long while.

[TomShoe]

Yeah, I have to admit that Single-Player mode is getting pushed to the backseat as time goes on. Unless it's an epic that demands a great story to unleash the full potential of the game (Uncharted, The Last of Us, Ratchet & Clank), multiplayer has become the norm, as society and gaming has become more about connecting and interacting with friends and other players rather than storytelling and gameplay.

That's why Call of Duty can put the same shit out there every year and make millions, and why Titanfall gets so much interest despite not even though it doesn't even have multiplayer. It's just moving toward that direction now. Still there are some great SP titles out there like Heavy Rain that make us appreciate the work they put into SP.

[Roccetarius]

#1.1.3 sly-Famous, please don't confuse Multiplayer and MMO games, thanks. :)

[InTheLab]

I would have used GoWA over TLoU pic. It's a prime example of mp hurting the more important SP. I thought about this topic while fighting the same s*** boring monsters and sliding down another slide and not playing through the semi broken ng+.

[isa_scout]

Completely agree, I think that's why GOW3 was better than Ascension because they didn't have two entirely seperate modes to spend time and resources on.