Why Arent There More Co-Op Games

Dark Drakan · 12-30-2007, 03:02 PM

Just browsing around CVG when i came across an article which is speaking about the very thing thats puzzled me for a long time. Why arent there more co-op games? When thinking over the years about all my best gaming experiences and what games they have been on id say 80% of them have been on co-op games. So why is the market so starved of them, and why do only a couple of really good ones come to light every now and again? The following article talks about some of the problems that developers face when creating co-op in games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff Bleszinski (Gears Of War)

It is difficult, but if you want to have a multi-million selling shooter you have to have a great singleplayer and a solid co-op mode. I think there's a huge gulf between casual and hardcore players, and co-op is a way to bridge that. You can have a husband and wife, with one player leading another through the game. She might feel less intimidated with her husband's help. It's this kind of stuff that will bridge that gap.

As developers, we have to craft the cinematic experience with co-op in mind. There's always the other character. What is Dom (the secondary Gears of War character) doing? What is he doing if he's played by AI, and what is he doing if he's controlled by another player? The more characters you have, the more you have to figure out how you integrate them into the game.

The Joy of Co-Op - CVG.com

DJ D Mix · 12-30-2007, 06:00 PM

I'd say they still need more Co-Op games no matter what. My best gaming exp. have been 85% of Co-Op. It's fun to play with friends.

projectego · 12-30-2007, 06:20 PM

I think the exact same thing pretty much every time I boot up my Xbox 360. I'd love to be able to play more games co-operatively with my wife, or when I have friends over. At the moment we're pretty much limited to Rainbow Six: Vegas, Halo 3 and Gears of War; and we there's only so many times you can complete them before the campaign becomes dull and monotonous.

I'd buy more games if they included co-op play. I mean, the reason I skipped out on The Darkness, BioShock, and several other high profile games is simply because they didn't include co-op, or in BioShock's case, no multiplayer at all!

I'm looking forward to Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 now, seeing as that's the only interesting game on the horizon which sports co-op play.

Tsuyu · 12-30-2007, 08:19 PM

If you ask me, Bioshock, like Mass Effect, falls in with the rare category of games that doesn't need Multi Player because Single Player is awesome. So is the Darkness.

I think today's gamers are too spoiled, with LIVE and all. Back in the good old days we didn't have Co-Op in most cases, heck, sometimes there wasn't even a save function.

Dark Drakan · 12-30-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsuyu

If you ask me, Bioshock, like Mass Effect, falls in with the rare category of games that doesn't need Multi Player because Single Player is awesome. So is the Darkness.

I would agree with you there, The Darkness does have multiplayer though ive never tried it and it was apparently really glitchy until the update.

Angel · 12-30-2007, 09:34 PM

It can be a bit tedious when the only TV in the house is also the gaming TV and your only option is to sit and watch someone else playing a game. I'd like to see more co-op games that aren't shooters with a bit of a storyline...everything seems to just be "go over there, shoot that, get to this point, shoot some more, cue the cinematic cutscene, rinse and repeat."

Gikoku Harakami · 12-30-2007, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsuyu

If you ask me, Bioshock, like Mass Effect, falls in with the rare category of games that doesn't need Multi Player because Single Player is awesome. So is the Darkness.

I think today's gamers are too spoiled, with LIVE and all. Back in the good old days we didn't have Co-Op in most cases, heck, sometimes there wasn't even a save function.

Though Mass Effect is a strong title that can survive well enough without multi-player. It's gameplay mechanics and uncharted worlds are just begging for online death-matches. Not to mention, the way it's built.. integrating Co-op play would work pretty damn good.

Dark Drakan · 12-30-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gikoku

Though Mass Effect is a strong title that can survive well enough without multi-player. It's gameplay mechanics and uncharted worlds are just begging for online death-matches. Not to mention, the way it's built.. integrating Co-op play would work pretty damn good.

The some of the things i love about Mass Effect is its dialog system, branching story and the ability to pause the game to control the actions of characters, all of which would make online very difficult to pull off.

Gikoku Harakami · 12-30-2007, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Drakan

The some of the things i love about Mass Effect is its dialog system, branching story and the ability to pause the game to control the actions of characters, all of which would make online very difficult to pull off.

not necessarily.. I mean, for the whole pausing to change weapons.. they can just remove the pausing, and replace it with real-time on the fly, granted it would make biotic attacks and such a bit more difficult. But there really isn't any other way that i can think of.

Dark Drakan · 12-30-2007, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gikoku

not necessarily.. I mean, for the whole pausing to change weapons.. they can just remove the pausing, and replace it with real-time on the fly, granted it would make biotic attacks and such a bit more difficult. But there really isn't any other way that i can think of.

Yeah but while the menu is up it restricts your view and without the pause people would be on your *** before you could blink. I often use it to pause and spin camera around to assess the situation and where the enemies are and it would totally remove that strategy.

Tsuyu · 12-31-2007, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gikoku

Though It's gameplay mechanics and uncharted worlds are just begging for online death-matches.

Ugh, hell no....

Mass Effect is about it's story, and slapping on a Deathmatch mode where Shepard can blow Liara's brains out just doesn't make any sense at all, neither does some Shepard on Shepard action.

It would be horrible to butcher the game like that.

Dark Drakan · 12-31-2007, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsuyu

Ugh, hell no....

Mass Effect is about it's story, and slapping on a Deathmatch mode where Shepard can blow Liara's brains out just doesn't make any sense at all, neither does some Shepard on Shepard action.

It would be horrible to butcher the game like that.

I agree, its one game that shouldnt be touched with multiplayer.

Tsuyu · 12-31-2007, 12:27 AM

You either design a game to include Multi Player from the start, or you don't. Sadly, all too often a simplistic and rather crude Multi Player gets seemingly slapped on at the last minute (The Darkness being an example).

Gikoku Harakami · 01-01-2008, 07:33 PM

well... it seemed like a good idea to me at least.

Angel · 01-01-2008, 09:08 PM

I like the idea of multiplayer for Mass Effect - not all options have to be typical "shoot each other all the time" type of stuff. I for one would find Mass Effect more interesting if I could team up with someone and not have to rely on the less-than-intelligent AI of my team. Plus if you had the option of being a different species altogether would be brilliant - I'd be a Krogan for a start