Whenever I discuss gaming with my peers or constituents the
conversation always turns stale when the subject of multiplayer is
brought to the table. You see while many members of my generation are
obsessed with disemboweling each other in a rather mindless community
setting, I’ve never really understood the appeal. In fact the
whole phenomena seems akin to sadomasochism from my perspective; in the
sense that it offers instant visceral gratification for those who invest
the time to develop a tolerance to the whole ordeal while
simultaneously offering a rude awakening for those who just decided look
around town and accidentally stumbled into the wrong building (I
digress). Despite the fact that I don’t personally invest the time or
energy to become proficient in online fratricide, millions and millions
of gamers regard it as a lifestyle and instantly label you as casual or
ignorant (often interchangeable with queer or pussy in multiplayer
vernacular) for not wasting as much time as they have learning their
trade.
Trolls aside, the cynical, jaded side of me of can’t help but to
notice that the popularity of multiplayer spawns the perfect
opportunity for game developers to cut corners. For example: when’s the
last time you played a F.P.S. for the narrative or new I.P.? It’s been
a while. See, developers are reasonably intelligent people so they
understand that: old I.P. + rabid and devoted fan base = huge profit
margin. In other words; why should devs create anything new or waste
resources on innovation when they can recycle the same game year after
year while justifying the hefty price tag by offering a “more complete”
muiltiplayer experience, since when has it been okay to allow your game
to stagnate so much that muiltiplayer is the sole selling-point!?! The
biggest transgression manifest itself in the form of micro-transactions
so that after you spent $60.00 on a game and decide to play online you
realize that in order to stay competitive in the online community you
have to shell out more of your disposable income for “a new weapons
pack” (or some related feature like that).
Now the purpose of this post (or rant) was not to condemn the
online experience or belittle those who enjoy multiplayer; but rather
to address the disturbing effect it seems to have on the gaming industry
in general. If you enjoy Tea-bagging you fallen digital adversary by
all means continue. I, however, prefer innovative game-play and a
deeper, well written narrative in my games and it seems like I have
fallen into the minority. Which causes me to fear a great stagnation of
the industry……only time will tell.
-Ron
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