As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Why do you play single player games?

12346»

Posts

  • ChewyWafflesChewyWaffles Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm in a similar position as the OP. Gotta admit, I loved WoW when it first came out mostly because I loved open-world PVP and the thought that right around the corner a hordling could be waiting to kill me. It was a great experience. WoW has been neutered and watered down quite a bit since those days, but I could still find it fun if I had any time to play it. Single-player games don't feel as fun to me anymore because I can see the game behind the game, if you will. AI can be good, but it's also predictable as hell and not very creative. Give me a good MP game any day if it's appropriate for the genre.

    ChewyWaffles on
    mwf2sig.jpg
  • kaliyamakaliyama Left to find less-moderated fora Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm in a similar position as the OP. Gotta admit, I loved WoW when it first came out mostly because I loved open-world PVP and the thought that right around the corner a hordling could be waiting to kill me. It was a great experience. WoW has been neutered and watered down quite a bit since those days, but I could still find it fun if I had any time to play it. Single-player games don't feel as fun to me anymore because I can see the game behind the game, if you will. AI can be good, but it's also predictable as hell and not very creative. Give me a good MP game any day if it's appropriate for the genre.

    As someone else pointed out, asymmetrical gameplay poses lots of different challenges and experiences to players, but asymmetrical gameplay also is hard to model effectively in multiplayer. For example, it would be hard (i do miss star wars rebellion) to have a game where one side was a ragtag band of rebels, and the other an evil empire. Because the reason the rebels have a shot is partly narrative - it's fun to watch them win, and two, the empire is juggling lots of other concerns. In fact, the rebels may be playing an RTS game, but the behavior by the empire is best modeled by some sort of simcity game where fighting rebels is but one of many diverse concerns about economic expenditures, political expediency (entertaining military adventurism has lots of political costs - just ask LBJ or GWB), etc. By making the objective to beat the rebels, you strip out all the 'noise' and other concerns facing the empire that would make the game fair.

    Similarly, I like strategy games like Hearts of Iron or Europa Universalis. HoI, a WW2 grand strategy game, is especially problematic to play with humans, because the capabilities and relative strengths of each party is very well known and also very disparate. The things that made it a compelling conflict in part relied on actors acting irrationally from the perspective of someone playing a video game (decision biases and hueristics that lead Stalin to disbelieve Hitler's impending attack, Hitler's hubris, the western allies' hesitancy to fight in 1936 or 38 because of the trauma of the first world war and the opacity of Hitler's intentions).

    kaliyama on
    fwKS7.png?1
  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    edited June 2009
    Thirith wrote: »
    It strikes me as interesting on a cognitive level. I wonder how Faffel relates to 'real' people that he only knows from reading about them or hearing someone speak about them, because he experiences them exactly the same way he'd experience a character in a novel - the only difference being that he's told by someone that they're real.

    Yeah, after reading through the thread, I honestly think Faffel may just be wired differently. There's a big wide spectrum of ways that different people take in and respond to fiction, but to not derive any enjoyment at all from it? That's definitely out at one end of the bell curve.

    Jacobkosh on
    rRwz9.gif
  • PendegastPendegast Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    jacobkosh wrote: »
    Yeah, after reading through the thread, I honestly think Faffel may just be wired differently. There's a big wide spectrum of ways that different people take in and respond to fiction, but to not derive any enjoyment at all from it? That's definitely out at one end of the bell curve.

    That said, Mr. I-don't-understand-or-enjoy-fiction has an avatar/location FROM a work of fiction, which makes me wonder if this whole thing isn't just a very successful bit of trolling.

    Pendegast on
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    yzzlthtz wrote: »
    Synthesis wrote: »
    yzzlthtz wrote: »
    Megazver wrote: »
    I have no idea why you're still arguing with this guy.

    This should be its own thread.

    But there's nothing wrong with problematizing something in order to produce a discussion.

    I think about the OP's topic here and there. Since my free time is dwindling in my adulthood, I feel that game time is best spent with a friend. But there are still those single-player experiences in which I love to indulge.
    And some people just gotta pwn n00bs.

    Not to say you're wrong (you've just described what you prefer, which is perfectly rational), but the same argument could be used against multiplayer games.

    Say I have dwindling time to play video games. Rather than losing time to the issue of loading, matchmaking, connecting, getting dropped--potentially after every round of gameplay, depending on the game--singleplayer offers a lot more 'game' for your time (at least the first time around).

    Basically, I'm just saying that's also a possibility. If it isn't for you, that's also perfectly reasonable.
    i see what you mean. i mostly play online co-op games with a buddy of mine. no hassle there, since we have, you know, phones.

    Co-op is, after all, allows the reliability and consistency of a single player to be shared by two people at the same time. It acknowledges that the social element of multiplayer can be combined with the more immersive, story-driven singleplayer.

    Synthesis on
  • mynameisguidomynameisguido Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I like single player games because I like predictable difficulty. The random difficulty you encounter when playing with other people---even if some people find it thrilling---I find it frustrating and joy-destroying.

    mynameisguido on
    steam_sig.png
  • MC MysteryMC Mystery Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    What the OP misses, and even some of the replies miss is that single player games, and multiplayer games are completely fucking different. For instance, in my estimation my recent gaming ventures have been multiplayer only, however, I do not like online multiplayer. The only online game I play is WoW, and I've only just started, and am currently considering not renewing my subscription (however, my girlfriend, an avid WoW player, would kill me if I stopped, cause she's so excited to have me finally playing). My favorite multiplayer games are arcade style games, or olschool beat 'em ups. Also, I love fighting games. For the most part though, I just enjoy multiplayer for the experiences of gathering friends together for a common activity. What I like about single player games is being challenged not to "pwn noobs" but to be challenged to do a large variety of tasks which wouldn't be fun with other people. It's not about the combat in games, it's about immersion, it's about losing yourself in a fantasy. WoW is very fun, as far as the grinding geek in me is concerned cause I want to trick out my character with all these cool stat boosts and abilities, however, that game seriously lacks atmosphere. Not for lack of trying, but the fact that I have to constantly worry about the other people I'm playing with, makes it always play like a game, and never makes me feel like I'm part of the game world. I find myself choosing to solo my way through quests more often than not. I generally find though, as a rule, that my friends who are all "multiplayer gaming only!" are usually just FPS guys. I hate FPS. So maybe I'm bias.

    MC Mystery on
    Your sig is too tall. -Thanatos
    l_cd41a4eb4e2844f196a9c3046df33f47.jpg
  • Mei HikariMei Hikari Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Mei Hikari on
  • FaffelFaffel Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    jacobkosh wrote: »
    Thirith wrote: »
    It strikes me as interesting on a cognitive level. I wonder how Faffel relates to 'real' people that he only knows from reading about them or hearing someone speak about them, because he experiences them exactly the same way he'd experience a character in a novel - the only difference being that he's told by someone that they're real.

    Yeah, after reading through the thread, I honestly think Faffel may just be wired differently. There's a big wide spectrum of ways that different people take in and respond to fiction, but to not derive any enjoyment at all from it? That's definitely out at one end of the bell curve.

    I think I just appreciate it in a different way.. I've never felt a sense of fear, attachment, wrongness or dread from Lovecraft. But I enjoy the attempts at all of them. I can enjoy the effort for certain things, and if I try really really really hard I can sometimes get emotionally invested, but it just doesn't happen in games (except, again, SoTC.)

    EDIT: I also haven't been reading this thread except for hitting last post since page 5... the mood that made me actually care about this passed. So, yeah. I think I've missed a lot here.

    Also, the reason I'm using Herbert West, Re-animator stuff is because Stuart Gordon's adaption of it is the hardest I've ever laughed at anything in my life, I think. It was fantastic. And Jeffrey Coomb's is a sexy man.

    Faffel on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • SagrothSagroth Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Vegan wrote: »
    You're right, maybe he does. But soooo many people claim to have it, it's always hard to take seriously when you hear it.

    And it really pisses me off when people do so, usually because they do it right after being a complete prick and use it as an excuse for their actions.

    Now me, I've got an actual diagnosis, have been in therapy for problems that have arisen as a result of the condition(severe anxiety, depression, etc), and have even tried a support group. There's also an excellent Autism resource center in my area(and my wife even worked there for a time).

    But that's neither here nor there. Sorry if I derailed the thread any(and several days later no less).

    Getting back to the topic at hand...

    ...Multiplayer really only comes into its own if there is an actually synergy/bond present amongst the players. Unfortunately, over a digital medium such as Xbox live, and with more and more people hopping online every day, the likelihood of finding a quality group is greatly diminished when compared to, say, having a LAN party with friends. Even when I do play Xbox Live, I almost always make sure I have a friend either right next to me or in my party, as a sort of social buffer, to ensure there is at least one person I can have a meaningful/stressless interaction with.

    Sagroth on
    3DS Code: 5155-3087-0800
  • Zombie NirvanaZombie Nirvana Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I don't think the OP meant anything offensive by his post. I'm in the same boat. I just don't care for single player games and lose interest very quickly. I am glad that they exist though for the people that do enjoy them and I can appreciate the difference in quality.

    I do like board games more than video games though, so maybe I'm just more driven by the social aspect.

    Zombie Nirvana on
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I like to be told stories. Whether that's in single-player or multiplayer co-op or what is largely irrelevant - I just want to experience a good story.

    The majority of the experiences that allow me to do that are solitary. BioShock, for example, would completely break down as a story in a co-op setting. Gears of War, however, is heightened by it.

    I don't necessarily choose to play games based on whether it's single-player or multi or what. I do it based on what the experience I want from it is, and that can vary dramatically from game to game. What I will do, though, is play through a new game alone first, even if it has a co-op option, just so that I have control and so that I can immerse myself in it. Someone talking to me over a cutscene or skipping it is infuriating to me, even in something like Gears where the majority of people will be ignoring a story.

    That isn't to say that I necessarily prefer single-player games. One of my most-played games is Halo, and the majority of that time has been spent in multiplayer. The same goes for Burnout Paradise, possibly my favourite game ever. But it really isn't necessarily me thinking about 'this game is a single-player game'. It's 'how can this game best tell its story to me?' Resident Evil 5, for example, would probably be a game I would play through in co-op first time through, if I were to play it. Halo 1 and 2 I played through in co-op with a friend, even though they're largely considered single-player experiences.

    I'm struggling to make a point here, really. I think my main feeling is that it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried as the OP thinks.

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
    @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
  • The Grey GOATThe Grey GOAT Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Nice thread, even though I made a similar one yesterday and it got locked pretty quickly. But whatever.

    Anyways, the reason I have found lately that single player is important is because it brings us back into the true experience of playing the game. There's a story, there's bosses, there's items to be collected and task to be done, and most importantly it's finite. There will be an end.

    Don't get me wrong, multiplayer is a blast and just as important in today's gaming world especially. Playing against other thinking humans is great especially when you get good at the game and have to use all of your skills to come out ahead. Plus with people, you never play the same game twice. Strategies are always changing, your always playing with a wide variety of skill levels, etc. But the problem is, for me at least, online gaming become a grind fest. You put tons of hours into the game only to get the Samurai Sword on your back, or the Gold Cross representing the highest rank and then what. You play until you are God and then when there's no one left to beat or when you've played every map 100 million times, you wait for the next game to come out and start the whole process all over again.

    What I posted about yesterday was the fact that I recently got drawn back into single player games after a 2 month relapse on Call of Duty 4. I started playing Metal Gear Solid 3 and I realized how much I missed a good story and a kick ass boss fight in gaming. A good boss fight can make a game memorable and give you that need to play it again.

    Even though your playing the limited thinking computer, it's still fun to get immersed into the experience. Also equally important you can play the game at your own pace and skill level. In multiplayer you have to bring your "A" game. Otherwise you run the risk of embarrassing yourself and being ridiculed by riddalin fueled, racist, potty mouthed kids and teenagers online. Not to say online I can't hold my own :-). I've dealt plenty of pain and ass whoopings to people against me on nearly every game I've played. But I've also been on the recieving end of getting my ass kicked too or being on the losing team that gets bombarded with shit talking and it sucks.

    The Grey GOAT on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "Faster, Faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." -HST
  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Mei Hikari wrote: »

    That's pretty good. :D

    Cantido on
    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • TaranisTaranis Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Mei Hikari wrote: »

    I fucking love that show.

    Taranis on
    EH28YFo.jpg
Sign In or Register to comment.