Multiplayer Decline

[Paragon Fury]

Maybe its just me but it just seems multiplayer in all games is losing its appeal. Either because of design decisions or the community it just seems that multiplayer isn't as fun anymore.

I mean, I remember when I could spend hours upon hours playing multiplayer. The good times almost run together only rarely becoming punctuated by bad memories occasionally. But now its the opposite; multiplayer is a torrent of displeasure only occasionally punctuated by a high of good times. And its not limit to just one series or genres. I mean, some examples off the top of my head.

Battlefield 3 is going to be an amazing game. Having played it, I can attest to that. The first few weeks will be great; you'll win some, you'll lose some, you dominate and you'll get dominated. But fun times will be had be had by all. But undoubtedly no more than a month or two after release it will decline. Good, enjoyable games will get sparser and sparser. Clans and arranged teams will start dominating everyone, making playing solo almost pointless. You'll have to quit half the games you get put into because you'll join and see the enemy team just has a smiley face for a score while your team has a "- Infinity" score.

Gears 3 is the same way. The first few days were amazing; now the game is dominated by arranged teams and the SoS. Good luck having fun if you're playing solo; your special ed team won't be much help vs. the Terminators.

Even strategy games like Starcraft fall to this; you'd think a game as competitive as SCII would take some more time to try and find good games, but no. Playing Vs. will just get you paired with people with 600,000,000APM while you try and get your @#@%% together. Playing Bots will just net you teammates who don't know what an SCV is.

And I don't know what will fix it. It certainly won't be the community; they're just going to get dumber and dumber every month (second really, but I'm being nice). Developers for the most post don't seem to have a clue or don't care and are perfectly willing to let arranged teams constantly roll over PUGs.

Its honestly probably the most depressing thing about gaming.....you can't even expect a fair match anymore.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

So...get some friends?

If arranged teams and clans keep rolling you then join one. Go get some friends together and play a few matches. Much more fun, much less stressful, you know you're playing with people who will pull their weight, won't attempt to insult your mother at every turn, and who can actually strategize.

The reason that arranged teams keep gaining dominance in online multiplayer is because they're just plain more fun.

 

[Paragon Fury]

So...get some friends?

If arranged teams and clans keep rolling you then join one. Go get some friends together and play a few matches. Much more fun, much less stressful, you know you're playing with people who will pull their weight, won't attempt to insult your mother at every turn, and who can actually strategize.

The reason that arranged teams keep gaining dominance in online multiplayer is because they're just plain more fun.

Some of us aren't blessed with friends who play games.

Or really any friends at all for that matter.

 

[Zhukov]

I really don't see it.

For example, I was playing Bad Company 2's multiplayer well over a year after release. It was still good fun. I didn't see any of what you describe. Occasionally you got organised or clan squads, but I don't remember any of them being that great.

Sometimes when a game's multiplayer has basically died you get a situation where only the most hardcore players remain. That can be decidedly non-fun. I stopped playing Left 4 Dead for that reason. God help you if you miss a boom or don't use the tank correctly.

But apart from that, I've no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

So...get some friends?

If arranged teams and clans keep rolling you then join one. Go get some friends together and play a few matches. Much more fun, much less stressful, you know you're playing with people who will pull their weight, won't attempt to insult your mother at every turn, and who can actually strategize.

The reason that arranged teams keep gaining dominance in online multiplayer is because they're just plain more fun.

Some of us aren't blessed with friends who play games.

Or really any friends at all for that matter.

So make some friends online. If you get into a game were people aren't total douches to you, add them to your friends list. Repeat until friends list is full and then you'll always have a group to play with who you get along with decently well. It's really not that hard, and requires the most minimal amount of social skills possible.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

1. Get better at the game. If teams and serious players are beating you, then rise to the occasion. Complaining that you were beaten by someone better than you is the mark of a scrub.

2. Get your own team.

So make some friends online. If you get into a game were people aren't total douches to you, add them to your friends list. Repeat until friends list is full and then you'll always have a group to play with who you get along with decently well. It's really not that hard, and requires the most minimal amount of social skills possible.

This is the right idea. You'll have an easier time convincing people to play with you if they are the serious types if you put some effort into 1 first, though.

3. If you can't get better, and can't find friends to play with, learn to enjoy the game while losing. You can ALWAYS learn something from a loss, and as long as you played your best you've got nothing to be ashamed of. I can't count the number of times I've been on the losing team in, say, BC2 or Gears of War. But I don't quit, if just because bad teammates=more targets for me to shoot. Its good practice, and if you aren't freaking out about how bad you are losing you will be surprised at how effective you can be.

4. Play a different game. If playing with people who are serious about a game has "ruined" the game for you, then the game wasn't for you in the first place. Don't expect everyone to play at your level, because there is ALWAYS someone better.

 

[EdwardOrchard]

I also remember the hours upon hours spent in a single multiplayer frag-sesh. Counterstrike, Day of Defeat, Firearms (which a poster above me mentioned)... basically the first generation half-life mods... Also the Battlefield games, Medal of Honor, Warcraft/Starcraft, MMORPGs. I was a gamer back in the day.

I don't have those gaming sessions anymore, not like I used to. I'm surprised if I can sit down and play a game for even one hour straight.

I don't think that its Multiplayer or the industry changing though...
I looked at your profile to see how old you are... We're roughly the same age. Gaming isn't changing...we just grew up.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The problem is almost all these current multiplayer games have no game rooms anymore (that's how you meet and make friends in online games), it's all matchmaking. I still play Metal Gear Online, and there's nothing like finding a good room and playing for hours just in one that room with the SAME people. With a room setup, you can pick the kind of rooms to play in, you could choose to play against the pros or play against average players. The matchmaking is always flawed now, games like COD/Bad Company/Uncharted/etc. have only ranks based on experience that the game uses to make teams. Well, how much experience a player has is no indication of skill so the game has no way to make even teams. Plus, I don't see how it's much fun even playing in a party of good players that use teamwork in say COD because the game is just going to match you up against randoms and you are gonna be kicking their asses all day.