On Multiplayer
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
I hate the online scoreboards that he mentioned at the end of the video. The bonus mode in World of Goo where you could use your spare goo balls to build a tower to the sky was frustrating, simply because the country flags kept taunting me. "Reach for the sky!", they taunted me, and good god I'm imitating him, aren't I?
Oh hang on! ****!
Okay, now I'm done.
Oh hang on! ****!
Okay, now I'm done.
Wow, Having see Mean Ol' Mr Yahtzee's stance on multiplayer, I have to say I'm the complete opposite.
I cannot stand co-operative multiplayer, having to trust some random stranger wont be a complete fucktard and ruin your game from the get go, I'd much rather play a free-for-all match, Where I can fight anyone and only rely on my own back.
If it's one of those rare occurrences that I manage to get a decent group of my friends online together and we all want to play a game together? Well prepare for the anti-christ because I think that's one of the signs of the apocalypse.
I cannot stand co-operative multiplayer, having to trust some random stranger wont be a complete fucktard and ruin your game from the get go, I'd much rather play a free-for-all match, Where I can fight anyone and only rely on my own back.
If it's one of those rare occurrences that I manage to get a decent group of my friends online together and we all want to play a game together? Well prepare for the anti-christ because I think that's one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Agreed. There seems to be a large portion of the people commenting that are in the same boat as well. I dislike competitive multi-player except against RL friends and my family with the exception of my 4 year old daughter who for whatever reason seems to beat the snot out of me in every game I play with her(She was so good with Batman in in DC vs Capcom 2 that eventually nobody would play against her anymore). Co-Op multiplayer is a favorite around my house. My wife and I make a very good team in FPS Co-Op games.
Thank you Yahtzee for clarifying your stance on multiplayer. I can only hope that this will lead to less people bashing multiplayer focused games simply for being focused on multiplayer, although I'm not holding my breath. The whole "A game has to be able to stand on singleplayer alone" deal has lead to way more flamewars than it should have -- case in point, that thread I started last month, which almost got me an "On Fire" badge. It's nice to see Yahtzee admitting that he doesn't like competitive multiplayer games because, well, he doesn't like competitive multiplayer, instead of simply bashing the game type out of hand, which admittedly seems to come more from his fans than it does from him.
That actually describes me pretty well. In any MMO I've ever played, I've always avoided PvP and stuck to PvE, because I found it so much more fun.
The only competitive multiplayer I really play at the moment is Halo Reach's. Even then, if I get on a bad streak I have to take a break because I'm getting frustrated and not having fun.
The only competitive multiplayer I really play at the moment is Halo Reach's. Even then, if I get on a bad streak I have to take a break because I'm getting frustrated and not having fun.
Cripes. Yahtzee just described the entire reason I hate most mandatory competitive multiplayer, note for note. I don't care much about winning, and I really hate losing.
Though one trend I've noticed is that the less direct/important my role, the less I care about that particular facet.
I don't mind getting my asshole forcibly expanded in games like Battlefield [Sequel/Flavor of the Month] and Tribes 2 compared to, say, Soul Caliber 3. As a kid, I had a mean competitive streak, and worse, I usually won. It was pretty harrowing coming to grips with that ego streak, and I genuinely hate the person I used to be (I'm sure there's some shrink out there who could pigeon-hole my condition) so today I try to avoid these sorts of compulsory titles.
Love co-op games though. That's never changed. I was the rare kid who had the multitap for Secret of Mana back in the day.
Though one trend I've noticed is that the less direct/important my role, the less I care about that particular facet.
I don't mind getting my asshole forcibly expanded in games like Battlefield [Sequel/Flavor of the Month] and Tribes 2 compared to, say, Soul Caliber 3. As a kid, I had a mean competitive streak, and worse, I usually won. It was pretty harrowing coming to grips with that ego streak, and I genuinely hate the person I used to be (I'm sure there's some shrink out there who could pigeon-hole my condition) so today I try to avoid these sorts of compulsory titles.
Love co-op games though. That's never changed. I was the rare kid who had the multitap for Secret of Mana back in the day.
That phrase nails it right there.
And that probably explains why I don't play S4League, BfBC2 Multiplayer, or really, anything online but WoW anymore, and why when I play WoW, I heal. Unless I can top the scoreboard, or be the best dps (not top dps, top dps' usually cause wipes), I... well, I'll play through the campaign or heal some instances.
I enjoyed pitting myself against a couple players in Soul Calibur IV, but whether they won or I won, I would either send a "Good game" message, or not say anything.
But one shit, after I defeated him, messaged me, and I believe the message was something along the lines of You fuckin' lucked out, fucker."
I could just be remembering it in bad taste, but the f-word was used, and I was called "lucky", and he challenged me directly three more times. I lost the second time, but he complained it was from lag. He legitimately beat me, too, and I didn't care, I just wanted to face someone less douchy.
But no, this time I practically let him beat me, he whined thinking I let him beat me (kinda true), I moved the fuck on.
Man... At least there were a whole bunch of nicer combatants.
But one shit, after I defeated him, messaged me, and I believe the message was something along the lines of You fuckin' lucked out, fucker."
I could just be remembering it in bad taste, but the f-word was used, and I was called "lucky", and he challenged me directly three more times. I lost the second time, but he complained it was from lag. He legitimately beat me, too, and I didn't care, I just wanted to face someone less douchy.
But no, this time I practically let him beat me, he whined thinking I let him beat me (kinda true), I moved the fuck on.
Man... At least there were a whole bunch of nicer combatants.
Couldn't agree more you no what I actually hate competetive gaming even in solo play. Bbut i suppose im one of thoses artsy fartsy games are are nobi nobi boys.
And yes i have sent yathzee several emails asking him to review wierd obscure games a la gitaroo man... soz
And yes i have sent yathzee several emails asking him to review wierd obscure games a la gitaroo man... soz
This is still my favourite Multiplayer story. (and the reason I don't player much multiplayer).
(original Left4Dead):
Me: Hey guys, this is the first time I've played infected, prepologies for any Noobisms.
Them: Dead(ahem) silence.
*Game starts, I roll hunter*
Me: *pounce, miss* Oops *pounce, get head blown off*
Player a: You SUCK
player b: *much along the same lines*
*Game continues, I roll boomer*
Me: *blarf, get two of four of the survivors*
Player C: Holy FUCK you suck man
player B: Go play with someone else n00b
Player A: Incoherent, unrelated mike screaming.
*finally, I end up getting given the tank*
Them: STOP, STOP, PRESS CANCEL! GIVE THE TANK TO SOMEONE ELSE! AARGH!
Me: Um... How do I? *dies*
Player a: *votekick*
player b: *votekick*
Player c: *votekick*
*YOU HAVE BEEN VOTEKICKED*
And that's why I don't play multiplayer anymore, especially when the entire universe is populated by Stop Having Fun Guys. SHFG with the power to control who lives and dies on a server.
(original Left4Dead):
Me: Hey guys, this is the first time I've played infected, prepologies for any Noobisms.
Them: Dead(ahem) silence.
*Game starts, I roll hunter*
Me: *pounce, miss* Oops *pounce, get head blown off*
Player a: You SUCK
player b: *much along the same lines*
*Game continues, I roll boomer*
Me: *blarf, get two of four of the survivors*
Player C: Holy FUCK you suck man
player B: Go play with someone else n00b
Player A: Incoherent, unrelated mike screaming.
*finally, I end up getting given the tank*
Them: STOP, STOP, PRESS CANCEL! GIVE THE TANK TO SOMEONE ELSE! AARGH!
Me: Um... How do I? *dies*
Player a: *votekick*
player b: *votekick*
Player c: *votekick*
*YOU HAVE BEEN VOTEKICKED*
And that's why I don't play multiplayer anymore, especially when the entire universe is populated by Stop Having Fun Guys. SHFG with the power to control who lives and dies on a server.
Nice one.archvile93 said:
Anyone who can bring grief to griefers is a hero in my book.
I kind of feel the same way too but I don't really mind losing as long as it was at least a bit competitive. But I don't get all the shadenfreude and need to boast from winning either.
So I don't get too many of them and if a game has competitive and co-op, I end up playing the co-op a lot more. I never touched Saints Row 2 competitive but I played through the campaign twice with a couple of different friends.
Also, I have a ps3. So I get free on-line, that hardly ever works. The most recent culprit: every time I try to go online with Asscree Brohood I'm told that the server is unavailable and to try again later. Every single time. It's a good thing the single player game is engrossing enough.
Don't know why he was getting so much crap. True hardcore gamers don't play multiplayer. Doesn't make you a bad person if all you care about is the next match, the next map, and the next camping spot; it just makes you that type of gamer--more casual and social than in it for the enjoyment and story. Nothing wrong with that...it happens in other media: there are plenty of people who go see movies based on the actors rather than the director/writers.
I just wish developers would stop wasting time shoe-horning multi elements into what should remain single-player games.
I just wish developers would stop wasting time shoe-horning multi elements into what should remain single-player games.
I just have to state an observation.
You love winning and hate losing = poor sport
You don't care about winning but you hate losing = sore loser
You don't care about winning/losing = you are playing a game and enjoy yourself either way.
Losing consistently is boring, but so is winning. If I play CoD with a friend of mine, he tears me up by a landslide. I get bored easy of it because of this. I don't mind playing a few matches, but getting my ass handed to me over and over gets boring. Not annoying, not frustrating, just boring. How can I get frustrated if his skill is way above mine. Do I think next match it is going to go from 1500-500 to suddenly 1200-1500? No. I will try to do it for a while but after a few matches it just seems futile. However, if he and I play SSB I will get bored because it feels like me vs. an AI. His moves are predictable, almost everything I try works, etc. It's just as boring.
Competitive multiplayer works best if there is a challenge and you feel like not only do you have a shot at winning, but it isn't handed to you and requires application of all the skills you have with the game. If I lose but I felt this was true about the match, I will congratulate the winner. Not sulk in my failure and feel like I somehow didn't "prove" something.
This article just confirmed something I had suspected all along. Yahtzee is a sore loser, which isn't inherently bad so long as he acknowledges it. The friend I mentioned before that whoops me at CoD is a poor sport all the way around (winning and losing), but he acknowledges it thus it doesn't bother me much. It is just part of who he is. He probably loves that I can stand to take about 20 ass whoopins before I get bored as opposed to his avoid playing a game he sucks at/5 matches at most.
I enjoyed the article as maybe this will show some people that Yahtzee isn't the person to look towards for views on competitive multiplayer if you are not specifically a sore loser. I am sure all the poor sports as well as people that can just enjoy the game have already seen his view as jaded all along in these matters. But I am happy to see this article as perhaps this will show people that Yahtzee's view doesn't speak for all of the gaming community or set some ridiculous bar for the industries standards.
You love winning and hate losing = poor sport
You don't care about winning but you hate losing = sore loser
You don't care about winning/losing = you are playing a game and enjoy yourself either way.
Losing consistently is boring, but so is winning. If I play CoD with a friend of mine, he tears me up by a landslide. I get bored easy of it because of this. I don't mind playing a few matches, but getting my ass handed to me over and over gets boring. Not annoying, not frustrating, just boring. How can I get frustrated if his skill is way above mine. Do I think next match it is going to go from 1500-500 to suddenly 1200-1500? No. I will try to do it for a while but after a few matches it just seems futile. However, if he and I play SSB I will get bored because it feels like me vs. an AI. His moves are predictable, almost everything I try works, etc. It's just as boring.
Competitive multiplayer works best if there is a challenge and you feel like not only do you have a shot at winning, but it isn't handed to you and requires application of all the skills you have with the game. If I lose but I felt this was true about the match, I will congratulate the winner. Not sulk in my failure and feel like I somehow didn't "prove" something.
This article just confirmed something I had suspected all along. Yahtzee is a sore loser, which isn't inherently bad so long as he acknowledges it. The friend I mentioned before that whoops me at CoD is a poor sport all the way around (winning and losing), but he acknowledges it thus it doesn't bother me much. It is just part of who he is. He probably loves that I can stand to take about 20 ass whoopins before I get bored as opposed to his avoid playing a game he sucks at/5 matches at most.
I enjoyed the article as maybe this will show some people that Yahtzee isn't the person to look towards for views on competitive multiplayer if you are not specifically a sore loser. I am sure all the poor sports as well as people that can just enjoy the game have already seen his view as jaded all along in these matters. But I am happy to see this article as perhaps this will show people that Yahtzee's view doesn't speak for all of the gaming community or set some ridiculous bar for the industries standards.
Tis quite like me. Co-oping with friends is fun, but doesn't work so well with total strangers and I hate fighting people not within punching distance.