Sunday Thoughts: The End of Single Player?
Going the way of the Dodo?
Published: 12:00, 06/02/2011 by Kris [Halbpro].
3So for a while now the trend has been towards the dominance of multi-player experiences, from MMOs to Halo these are the titles that are at the top of the industry right now. Even games that you couldn’t imagine moving towards a multi-player stance, like Dead Space or Assassin’s Creed, are having success with integrating a multi-player component. We’re at the point now where EA are on record as saying they don’t see a place for single player only games going forwards. So the question is simple, is this the end of the single player experience?
As someone who rarely plays online I feel like I should say I really hope not, but then again my two biggest picks from last year (Halo: Reach and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood) had compelling single player campaigns that were simply expanded by multi-player experiences if you chose to logon. I didn’t do that much, or at all with Brotherhood, but I didn’t really feel like I was missing out on anything by focusing on the solo experience. I still loved the titles; even without Brotherhood’s multi-player I still invested a good twenty to thirty hours in it.
I am, however, perfectly aware that my attitude to multi-player modes certainly makes me an outlier in modern gaming, the number of hours that players are now putting into multi-player games makes that pretty clear. Gamers collectively invest tens of millions of hours into multi-player gaming, so even though I bare no real love for going online with my games I can certainly understand why it’s cropping up in more games.
The real question is why do developers want you online with their games? Most titles are free to play from the developer’s point of view; although you may pay Microsoft for an Xbox Live Gold account that’s not being channelled to the developer or publisher when you play one of their titles. Of course the obvious answer is multi-player DLC. New maps, costumes etc… can easily be added into online modes without needing a huge amount of work put into getting it to fit with the single player campaign. Rather than writing a new story and making it work with what already exists, you simply slot in new content without worrying about how it interacts with the rest of the title.
The other reason, one that may actually be more important but is often overlooked, is to do with the “long tail”. Developers and publishers want you to still be playing their title months or years after release, even if you’re not giving them any money for the privilege. Why? Well firstly even if you’re not paying them anything, you’re helping to keep the game thriving and others may well buy something. Secondly it keeps the game fresh in your mind, and makes it significantly more likely that you’ll buy another one of their titles in the future.
Given these factors it seems logical for developer’s to focus on multi-player content over single player content. However I don’t think single player gaming is dead quite yet, more that it’s going through an evolution. It started with titles like Gears of War implementing drop-in, drop-out co-op throughout the game. Now titles like Mindjack and Brink are taking it a step further, with other players able to become not just your comrades but also you’re enemies.
This integration of multi-player into single player modes seems like it’s the natural next stop in gaming. Not abandoning single player altogether, but just pulling multi and single player experiences together into one cohesive experience. I don’t think we’re seeing the last hurrah of solo play, we’re just starting to see hints of what may come next.
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06/02/2011 at 12:04
Member since: Jun 2009
I pretty much agree with the conclusion at the end. I don’t see the end of single player itself but i think there’ll be far more integration of co-op into single player (kinda like brink are doing). Personally i’m looking forward to the change, playing with others in co-op is far more fun than plodding along on your own :)
06/02/2011 at 13:59
Member since: Nov 2008
i love coop. Its the greatest form of online. Brink eh? Might buy it. Whens it out?
06/02/2011 at 14:31
Member since: Forever
Last I heard it was 20th May for EU
07/02/2011 at 10:46
Member since: Aug 2009
I can’t wait for Brink! It’s not just what they are doing with the multiplayer but the whole aestetics and noise of the game just grab my attention and draw me into it! although the new tkae on multiplayer will be a huge innovative step forward, we’ll just have to wait and see how it works, but I’m optamistic and looking forward to it.
06/02/2011 at 12:05
Member since: Jan 2011
Same here, I agree with the conclusion. To me, games that offer no multiplayer mode are much less attractive than games that do offer it and this is mostly due to longevity and the social experience that multiplayer games offer.
06/02/2011 at 12:15
Member since: Feb 2009
I don’t wholy agree with this. My favourite games of last year were all single player, in fact I can’t think of a multiplayer game from last year that I enjoyed. Actually, Medal of Honour was good, but looking at 2010s best, they were God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, and now Mass Effect 2. All amazing games, all single player only.
06/02/2011 at 14:02
Member since: Jul 2009
+1
06/02/2011 at 15:46
Member since: Apr 2009
I agree. To me gaming is like a good film – you follow the plot and when you reach the end that’s it; game over. I don’t want to run around with a load of idiots (with their babies screaming in the background – CoD players I’m looking at you) mindlessly shooting people for no advancement of the game whatsoever (apart from rank increase, which is useless/meaningless as all the top scorers are cheaters anyway).
Also all this social nonsense such as LBP2′s Play Share Whatever also goes over my head – who wants to share your creation with people who will only criticise it?
It’s all so false; so-and-so wants to be your friend – get lost! I have a tightly controlled list of people (who actually exist and I have met) in my friends list, not some child who shouldn’t be playing an 18-rated game such as CoD anyway (the voice and use of language (“cool” every other word) is a bit of a giveaway).
06/02/2011 at 17:33
Member since: Feb 2009
I say cool and I’m 31!
06/02/2011 at 12:13
Member since: May 2010
I prefer single player games with a good story. I don’t mind co-op as long as it is used properly. Some RPGs would benefit from Co-op. E.g Fallout New vegas. The other player will be a companion and exp is shared by both.
06/02/2011 at 12:18
Member since: Feb 2009
I think a large part of why developers are including multiplayer elements to every single game is that it makes you keep hold of it, instead of trading it in, which means if there are less second hand copies on sale, anyone who buys it will buy it new, meaning the developers get the money instead of the game shop. I’ve kept hold of Black Ops in case it ever gets fixed. I’m definitely contemplating trading it in now though, I hear you can still get about £30 for it.
06/02/2011 at 12:36
Member since: Nov 2008
Also they want to keep earning money from DLC of course…
06/02/2011 at 13:19
Member since: Mar 2009
That’s a superb point I hadn’t considered. Good way of lessening the impact of second hand.
06/02/2011 at 12:27
Member since: Apr 2010
This comment is hidden.
06/02/2011 at 15:21
Member since: Dec 2008
+1 But I guess we’re in the minority!
06/02/2011 at 15:48
Member since: Feb 2011
Completely agree. I find devs pushing MP too hard, up to a point it actually annoys me. What’s wrong with just playing a game after a long day at work without having to be bothered with 12-year olds ruining the game for everyone else?
06/02/2011 at 12:29
Member since: Jul 2010
Whilst there are great free roam games from the mighty rockstar I dont see the end of single player, and i dont want to.
yet the single player campaign in games like COD seem to have taken a back seat to multiplayer.
and as for MMOs, i never have and i can never see me buying a subscription based game, ever.
the way the gaming market is going i think that the ps4 ect will be for upper class gamers only and out of reach (financially) to the other classes
06/02/2011 at 12:30
Member since: May 2009
Tonycawley makes a good point. To me, personally, I always prefer a great single player game. Now u do online with a couple of games, i’ve logged in many hours on Killzone 2 and Call of Duty, but it still concerns me when games companies mention multiplayer mode as one of their main aims. I feel multiplayer really has to suit the game, to make sense, for it to be present. There are times when MP seems to be crowbarred in. I love the Dead Space series, I will try the multiplayer mode to see what it’s like, but for me it’s the single player mode that I bought it for. I am concerned if we start to see more story modes which run just like brief tutorials for the MP mode. Split screen or online co-op for the story mode is no bad thing, as long as it suits the game and does not detract from the single player experience. I think I’ve made some sense there
06/02/2011 at 12:37
Member since: Jan 2010
Single player will always be around. With most multiplayer having terrible servers, lag, and the unquestionable douche bags that haunt the online games, there is still a lot that needs to be done.
Personally i think having it added on is perfectly fine as long as it fits. COD and racing games have to have it, thats their main selling point mostly, but some things (Dead Space 2) feel as if they put it in because they were made to. On the other end of the scale, multiplayer only games are quite few and far between. I can think of Team Fortress 2, MAG, Warhawk, and erm… some other PC games? I dunno, but for me the best games are the ones that do it all well. Warhawk is fantastic online. Dead Space is one of the best singleplayer experiences ever. And as far as I know, both elements of Brotherhood are awesome. So yeah, do it, if you can do it well.
06/02/2011 at 12:38
Member since: Feb 2009
The day single-player is redundant is the day I stop gaming. MP should not be removed, and it is definitely a huge reason for some people playing games, but if I am forced to play games like Resistance and Uncharted with some twelve year old who just wants to play for points or whatever, I will trade in my Playstation and take up stamp collecting.
06/02/2011 at 12:46
Member since: Dec 2009
We definitely haven’t seen the end of solo play. I don’t have the time to finish all my offline games as it is and now Mass Effect 2 has completely taken over! :)
Deus Ex, ME3, the next HalfLife, Rage, LA Noire, the new Tomb Raider reboot, Infamous, … The future is still bright for solo play.
06/02/2011 at 14:08
Member since: Mar 2009
Not forgetting TLG! Single player games won’t ever die I believe. They’re the foundations of the gaming industry, and the source of innovation.