Hating Multiplayer Creep

[RobfromtheGulag]

I'm on board 100%. I'm not in college anymore, and I can count on 1 hand the number of remaining friends who still play video games. And I've been around the block as far as MMOs and MOBAs go, and the general online gamer pool is not a pretty sight.
Now I realize that single player means 1x profit as opposed to something like Borderlands being up to 4x profit, but those good single players are really good. If Bethesda's going to be the only one making these things any longer, I'll stick with them. Whatever it takes. Just make. good. single-player. games.

 

[Icehearted]

I don't know if society demonizes the introvert so much anymore.
You seem to have done a fairly good job demonizing yourself

Oh, they can demonize anything these days, including movie fans, fast food restaurants, people that wear A&F, even children based squarely on ethnicity (and I mean children + ethnicity, not one or the other, though that happens too).

Our sad or entertaining state of affairs.

 

[Juan Regular]

Amen, yahtzee. I´ve pretty much abandonded multiplayer for most of those reasons. I just want my peace and quiet, a good single player game and a Leffe Royale.

 

[WanderingFool]

As much as I love Borderlands 2, I have to agree with you on this. I dont have XBL Gold anymoire because Im just tired of multiplayer games ATM, and have only played BL2 solo. But God... the game is literally designed for co-op play. Didnt notice it in the first playthrough, but after starting my second on True Vault hunter mode, dear God... half the missions I blazed through on the first, I didnt even bother trying to attempt because of the difficulty of the enemies in the areas.

Though, the fact all my guns are around the low 40s when Im at level 48, but Jebus, I havent found a fucking gun better than what I have... wish I would have gotten that loot artifact when I started that playthrough.

 

[cerebus23]

Spot on though i think the main point gets lost in the whole i hate people stuff .

Publishers forcing developers to devote resources toward multiplayer, even though it makes no sense for the franchise, mass effect 3 i am looking at you, especially when none of the other games had it, and worse off to get the uber end you either had to be forced to play mp, or hack/mod the game to fix that on your own.

No single player game should be sacrificed to shoehorn in multiplayer. And each and every flaw that is found in games from now on will have that nagging, if only they did not have to devote time and resources into this crap mp would the base game have been better?

Since EA and are clearing going this route that means even jade empire 2 if we ever see it will have to have some deathmatch mp crap tacked on, and if the story is not as good as it can be, and if the mechanics are not as good as hey could be, etc.....

All the major publishers can die in a fire, go go kickstarter.

 

[McMousey]

A hypocritical post, yes, but CHEERS Mr. Croshaw!

 

[saregos]

Fuck random strangers.

Perhaps an unfortunate choice for a stand-alone sentence. That being said...
Yes SIR!

 

[Mike Fang]

YES! YES! OH FUCK ME YES!!!!

Okay, I'm probably getting a little overexcited here, so I think I should clarify my own p.o.v. a bit. I don't hate multiplayer. I actually really enjoy playing with friends most of the time. Borderlands, Guild Wars 2, Team Fortress, Payday: The Heist, my online D&D campaign nights, I love them, warts and all. I'm also not adverse to certain social media (obviously).

However, in person I -am- more introverted than a social butterfly. I'll go to a party if invited, but mostly I'm going to be enjoying a drink and the snack bar and talking with maybe 1 or 2 people. I do NOT want to be surrounded by a half dozen or more vapid, shallow twits with the collective social courtesy of a Jerry Springer episode. I don't find enjoyment acting like a 'tard in front of a crowd, and frankly, I hate how society at large is going to great lengths to convince both me and everyone around me that I have some kind of major dysfunction for not wanting to have so many personal acquaintances I could form my own political party. And if someone doesn't think that's any meaningful way to live, fuck them.

I just wish I could always feel that self-confident about my social lifestyle. But there's no denying I feel pressure from societal expectations and like I'm being made uncomfortable with not living up to what the mainstream expects of someone my age, gender, etc. So yeah, reading stuff like this week's EP is actually pretty relieving. It helps me remember I'm not completely by myself on this matter and I just might actually have a right to feel the way I do.

 

[Studsmack]

I'll only ever get enjoyment out of multiplayer games when friends tag along. Even then, I mostly love playing through a co-op tailored experience with close friends that you can crack jokes with or actually rely on to not get bothered by helping you or vice versa.

What I loved about Resident Evil 5's mercenaries mode was that I can play with a complete stranger and still have fun, for the fact we have a common purpose and could easily communicate with "Come on!" or "Go!" or "Wait!" without having to resort to: "Hey! Follow me f****t!" or "Oh my God! This is so f*****g [homosexual]!"

Motor-mouth players make me cringe, just play the damn game with a quip or two and a helping hand. This is something I learned with Dead Island and Borderlands... only with friends from now on! For some reason, Left 4 Dead never seems to have this annoying gamer problem for me. Hmm.

 

[Callate]

This is part of the reason I've never really been able to get into Left For Dead. It would be fine with a group of people I know, but the idea of being the odd man out who doesn't know the most effective route through the map and maybe accidentally grabs or uses a resource someone else really needs or accidentally wakes up the Witch makes me uncomfortable; for some reason it's more important for strangers to be glad I'm there than friends who are more likely to give me the benefit of the doubt. I don't need to save the day, but I don't want to be the tool who loses it, either.

 

[hickwarrior]

YES! YES! OH FUCK ME YES!!!!

Okay, I'm probably getting a little overexcited here, so I think I should clarify my own p.o.v. a bit. I don't hate multiplayer. I actually really enjoy playing with friends most of the time. Borderlands, Guild Wars 2, Team Fortress, Payday: The Heist, my online D&D campaign nights, I love them, warts and all. I'm also not adverse to certain social media (obviously).

However, in person I -am- more introverted than a social butterfly. I'll go to a party if invited, but mostly I'm going to be enjoying a drink and the snack bar and talking with maybe 1 or 2 people. I do NOT want to be surrounded by a half dozen or more vapid, shallow twits with the collective social courtesy of a Jerry Springer episode. I don't find enjoyment acting like a 'tard in front of a crowd, and frankly, I hate how society at large is going to great lengths to convince both me and everyone around me that I have some kind of major dysfunction for not wanting to have so many personal acquaintances I could form my own political party. And if someone doesn't think that's any meaningful way to live, fuck them.

I just wish I could always feel that self-confident about my social lifestyle. But there's no denying I feel pressure from societal expectations and like I'm being made uncomfortable with not living up to what the mainstream expects of someone my age, gender, etc. So yeah, reading stuff like this week's EP is actually pretty relieving. It helps me remember I'm not completely by myself on this matter and I just might actually have a right to feel the way I do.

Well, this is basically all that needs to be said.

I don't care if I'm looking to love someone or not, if I'm introverted just let me be. And I am introverted and I have trouble at parties that look like mass gatherings, I just can't stand that.

PS: What is it with TVHM and needing co-op? I haven't gotten that far yet, but is it so bad that you need people to help you with it?

 

[The White Hunter]

'lovely crisp dry Strongbow'

I don't care what else you said in that, I take offence to this the most. For shame. Strongbow is horrible

Here here, that stuff is like vomit in a can.

I personally prefer to settle in with a bottle of Jamesons and marathon me some classic survival horror games.

 

[MichaelMaverick]

You're confusing things, Yahtzee. Companies just want money. They add multiplayer and co-op to everything because it's "social", because as Facebook taught us, we live in the "social" age now, which is "modern" and "revolutionary" and, above else, makes a fuckload of money. And fuckloads of money the developers need, for we live in a time of great insecurity and fear, where games cost human souls to make and need to turn even bigger a profit. Sure, some devs care less about the money and more about gaming "becoming relevant" and "evolving", because they're morons who honestly believe that this is the way to go.

Multiplayer/co-op elements are just an extension of "broadening appeal", for everyone these days seems to think that the more people get in on something, the better, ignoring the fact that the masses at large are, indeed, shit. Jim was right with his episode this week, and it pertains to this as well. Everyone truly is desperate for attention.

It's not the people who ask for this shit, it's the ones making the products. And they don't care if you stay introverted or not. They only care about leeching off the people who are actually social.

Also, ads don't show people drinking alone because it obviously carries depressing undertones. Other than that, though, I sympathize with the rest you say about society shunning introverts. What would you honestly expect, though?

 

[Ickabod]

Exactly! Being introverted is not a crime.

 

[Azeal]

Introverts isolate!!!

Anyways, I'm not AGAINST multiplayer, and there are a couple people I know that I'll play with online, but for the most part I play stuff alone. MMO's are too slow paced and have too much social emphasis for me to enjoy them. I don't like mulitplayer RTS or FPS because too often someone else ruins my experience (by owning me into the ground, TK'ing, being a dick, etc).

Thank god for Bethesda (minus the MMO) and their good single player experiences. Obsidian as well. Bioware no longer falls under this category (mostly due to EA).

 

[Daveman]

Yahtzee you pleb! Strongbow?! These people must not be paying you enough.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I actually prefer playing Borderlands alone. I played with my gf and that was also very fun. But it's more due to two of us sharing an awesome common interest. It's another way of spending quality time together without having to resort to boring everyday stuff that extroverted people do (we are both introverts). I enjoy single player Borderlands because of the sense of loneliness and adventure.

I don't hate multiplayer though. I just hate when developers put it in games that don't need it (Bioshock, Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed etc.). I play MP occasionally. I used to play Counter-Strike a lot. Even on tournaments. I am a pretty introverted guy. And I don't hang out with people that much. But that doesn't stop me from playing MP. Real people are a lot smarter opponents than bots. And it's a lot more satisfying to unleash your skills on someone than on something. It doesn't mean that I have to hang out with those people. And I don't. I have my own small circle of friends. But I still prefer single player games for their story and mechanics.

I understand Yahtzee though. He suffers from social anxiety. So it's a lot harder for him. Luckily I don't. I'm very, very introverted but I'm also very, very confident. To a point where others think of me as "that arrogant prick".

 

[KDR_11k]

I've overcome my introversion for some MP games but Borderlands is exactly the kind of game I don't want other people in. Last time I played it it was a hectic rush towards objective arrows because nobody wanted to hold the team back. That was NOT fun.

A MOBA is fairly relaxed in comparison because the game design does not encourage "speedrunning" while also including exploration and stuff, even those monstrosities of competition are fairly static compared to running at top speed across many maps and trying to grab as much loot as possible while maintaining that breakneck pace. In a MOBA you have your place on the board, you don't race around areas that you'd like to see more of.

 

[Elijah Newton]

Great article, as always. It probably doesn't need to be said at this point but you're not alone in disliking multiplayer. *drums fingers* That was a bit odd to write.

Yahtzee, I am disapointed. You had the opportunity to make everyone's free time disappear by linking to tvtropes and you didn't do so.
I must correct this at once! [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl]

I will see your text, sir, and raise you a video : State Home for Manic Pixie Dream Girls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBNss2PMj60&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active