Playing by Yourself Is Fine With Valve

[Moriarty70]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. No game should half-ass the single player experience just because they plan on multiplayer being the key draw. If you're going to do that, use the Valve model and just make a damned multiplayer game.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Thank God someone hasn't fallen to the "MULTIPLAYER IS SOCIAL" trap.

Play L4D2 on a public server sometime and you'll see what wankers are out there.

 

[Petromir]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. No game should half-ass the single player experience just because they plan on multiplayer being the key draw. If you're going to do that, use the Valve model and just make a damned multiplayer game.

And no SP game that includes a MP portion should allow that to be half arsed just becasue its a little added extra.

Works both ways, pleanty of shiocking shoe horned in MP segemants. Hell if you remove tutorials and practice arenas more games put in a crap MP extention than the other way round. THe UT games made the mistake of trying to pretend that its more than it really is, a practice for MP.

Games reviwers need to start giving ratings for the SP and MP seperately.

 

[Moriarty70]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. No game should half-ass the single player experience just because they plan on multiplayer being the key draw. If you're going to do that, use the Valve model and just make a damned multiplayer game.

And no SP game that includes a MP portion should allow that to be half arsed just becasue its a little added extra.

Works both ways, pleanty of shiocking shoe horned in MP segemants. Hell if you remove tutorials and practice arenas more games put in a crap MP extention than the other way round. THe UT games made the mistake of trying to pretend that its more than it really is, a practice for MP.

Games reviwers need to start giving ratings for the SP and MP seperately.

I agree. I think the point I was trying to make was developers should choose what type of game they want, if multiplayer wouldn't work, don't add it, and vice versa.

 

[Blind Sight]

See, I read that as 'playing with yourself is fine with Valve' the first time, all I could think of is 'does Steam track that or something?'

He's absolutely right though, sometimes I just want to game alone, dealing with other people proves difficult at times.

 

[Wolfram23]

I always like playing [games] with myself. I guess that's because I have 2 older sisters and no neighbourhood kids to play with growing up. Sure multiplayer is fun but I was mostly stuck playing by myself.

 

[teh_gunslinger]

I agree. Which brings me to the next point: you know what game I'd love to play by myself? Episode 3!

 

[Psydney]

While I do agree that every game does not need competetive multiplayer, I do think co-operative game-play should be implemented in more games, and better.

Yes, please! My husband and I have sunk more hours than I care to admit into Borderlands because we like playing co-op shooters together and there just aren't that many options. We're still slogging our way through Left 4 Dead 2, but the AI makes it a bit of a frustrating duo experience.

 

[The Hairminator]

While I do agree that every game does not need competetive multiplayer, I do think co-operative game-play should be implemented in more games, and better.

Yes, please! My husband and I have sunk more hours than I care to admit into Borderlands because we like playing co-op shooters together and there just aren't that many options. We're still slogging our way through Left 4 Dead 2, but the AI makes it a bit of a frustrating duo experience.

You could try inviting other people and have voice communications over the internet. I too have found myself being sucked into the depths of co-operative gaming, mostly because of new online friends, and this is something we do quite often.

Also, Killing Floor is a splendid co-operative zombie shooter game, and great fun if I ever had it. It's available on steam.

 

[PrototypeC]

If Valve says it's OK to play with myself, then I will do so. There's no shame in it, when getting other people involved could add more complexity or stress than is necessary. It's true, I don't always appreciate others intruding on my leisure time... maybe close friends, that way you could have a lot of fun together that you might not have had alone.

Although it is a little funny that Erik Johnson speaks on the value of alone time when Valve have been the leaders of actually fun, rewarding multi-person experiences where you appreciate rather than hate the other participants.

 

[PrimoThePro]

I personally prefer Single Player. Hearing Valve say this makes me all gooey inside.

 

[samsonguy920]

Well huzzah for a salute to what originally made games fun. Though Combat I credit as the first really fun multiplayer game. Pong kind of counts but oy vey it can get old quick.

I agree. Which brings me to the next point: you know what game I'd love to play by myself? Episode 3!

They are waiting until our minds are ready for all that will be revealed.
Are you ready?
Do you really think so?
Have you stared at the time vortex and survived unscathed?
Can you enter the Total Perspective Vortex [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Perspective_Vortex#Total_Perspective_Vortex] and not lose your mind?
Can you, punk?

I kid.

 

[beema]

I agree. Generally I play games to escape from the douchebags I encounter in real life, not to encounter them again on a computer.

 

[tehbeard]

I agree with this.
But by god you made me go temporaryily crazy, i read it as valve cutting multiplayer from portal 2.

As in all forms.

Took me a bit to realise it was on about a multiplayer component they had in mind that I never knew about.

Cannot wait for portal 2, long as theirs local LAN support it should be fun here at uni.

 

[repeating integers]

Aaaand here come the waves of people hating on multiplayer as a function...

I think games should devote equal amounts of time to multiplayer and singleplayer, if the game has both. By all means produce singleplayer-only or multiplayer-only games if you want, but if you're gonna have both in one game, don't favour one over the other.

 

[subject_87]

Oh phew, for a minute there I thought you said that they cut the co-op. Close one.

I look froward to screwing my friends over in hilarious ways in co-op.

 

[Lancer873]

I honestly can't imagine how they could've done multiplayer with this anyways... was it going to be a race, some kind of "use traps to kill opponent" or what? I mean, it'd be interesting to shoot a portal over the muck and then under another player, but I definitely agree, that'd be very chaotic. The co-op mode sounds and looks insanely cool though.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

Yes, single player is almost always the most memorable part of any game. I vastly prefer single-player to multiplayer games.

We need more Half-Life/Portal, and less Team Fortress/Left 4 Dead.

We really really REALLY need more Half Life....

 

[Psydney]

Yes, please! My husband and I have sunk more hours than I care to admit into Borderlands because we like playing co-op shooters together and there just aren't that many options. We're still slogging our way through Left 4 Dead 2, but the AI makes it a bit of a frustrating duo experience.

You could try inviting other people and have voice communications over the internet. I too have found myself being sucked into the depths of co-operative gaming, mostly because of new online friends, and this is something we do quite often.

Also, Killing Floor is a splendid co-operative zombie shooter game, and great fun if I ever had it. It's available on steam.

Neat! We'll have to check that out - thanks Our initial efforts at playing L4D with a couple of friends left us feeling like we were trailing in the wake of meerkats on meth, but maybe we should try again sometime...