EA innovation: "No more single player!"

[the dark side]

thats true.

okay. i think ill change my post. indeed many great games do come in under 9 hours.

however, on your example of amnesia, well, im not sure on its quallifcations as a "game". you see, and Frictional themselves have said this, the question with Amnesia, great it may be, is, "is it really a game in the traditional meaning of the word game?" or is it more a peice of interactive, Horror themed, art? as it really doesnt actually comply to many traditional gaming tropes, the CLOSEST i can get it to is Point and Click, wich also couldnt really be called games, they were more an Interactive "Experience", and are closer to amnesia due to the idea of them also being to "immerse yourself in the experience," than "playing to win". they are still great, yes , but in a different way to other, more gameplay oriented, genres.

its just, personally, i like a really long game, Granted, i would, naturally, Rather play a game that is Short-ish.. but really well made, like portal, than one that takes forever but is badly made and boring, like the last couple of final fantasy's (man, enix has dropped the ball with that series!) for example, but for me, i do like having a long length, as it allows the plotline and story to be fully explained and fleshed out, probably why i love NOLF, beautifully made, and with a LONG lifespan (a good 15 hours for me at a nice slow canter so i can soak in the experience and little details) for me the ultimate games combine a Massive Lifespan with great gameplay and quality, probably why my 3 fave games of all time are Half Life 1, Deus EX1, and NOLF 1 (with the scaling turned off naturally). as they mix a long lifespan with great gameplay.

i still stand by my guns though, Mulitplayer is a Waste of Budget. the only games that should be multiplayer, IMO, should be games that are expressly designed to be Multiplayer Only, such as Counter Strike or Team Fortress, if a game has a single player mode, then the whole Budget should be spent on the single player mode to ensure a quality campaing, not a two hour, micheal bay inspired, tutorial for "Anti-social" multiplayer, ("social multiplayer" is SPLITSCREEN not online).

to make a short tutorial type Campaign, and focuss on MP as the Reason Detre, is to waste Budget that either could have been spent making a Proper SP campaign, or Actually properly balancing the MP and Preventing the issues of "over powered noob guns/cars/whatever" and "cheating/camping". it Damages BOTH the SP and MP aspects to have both, it should be one or the Other only. Co-op is acceptable however, seeing as that is based on the SP mode, in fact it is SP mode, with more "camaras" instead of AI constructs, wich means budget isnt wasted, in fact, co op is cheaper to make than pure SP as less AI constructs are needed.

but, in my opinion, Competative MP should be in MP exclusive games (wich should be limited, by law, to no more than 10% of ALL games released in a year to prevent gaming from becoming an NT only hobby, and the ultimate in descrimination, as all games will be multiplayer only to save money), and ONLY MP exclusive games to ensure better balancing and more "skill" focussed Maps. SP games should be SP and Perhaps co-op, only, to ensure a Better Campaign Experience.

in fact, to have both, actually Damages your Sales potential. by having SP, you lower the number of Mp focussed buyers, because they know the MP is going to be highly unbalanced, as experience has taught them that is often the case, and having MP will damage interest from SP focussed gamers, as they know the SP will be a Short, Low Budget, Patronising, Tutorial for MP, as again, experience has taught them that, these days, that is almost Universally the case. I for example, immeditaly loose ALL interest in a game if the developers EVER talk about multiplayer, because ill know the game will be biased towards MP, and thus, will have a very short, patronising SP, wich wont be worth my money. i am sure i cannot be the only person who thinks the same!

to have one or the other will lead to stronger sales to their respective markets, not low sales in both due to a failed attempt to snatch sales from a rival market with a badly implemented SP or MP mode that turns of players who are biased towards an individual type of mode. more sales, less budget wasted, higher profits, better gameplay quality, its a win win for both gamers, and publishers to make games either Purely MP or Purely SP, instead of trying to do both.


PS. Post on lifespans has been altered.,