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 Editorial: The Many Faces of Multiplayer Games.
When it comes to Multiplayer Gaming, there are several varied styles of play. Everyone falls into a certain niche when in their game of choice, but just what are those play styles comprised of? There is almost no such thing today as a purely single player game, and Raidur tells us why.
The Many Faces of Multiplayer Games. - James "Raidur" Scott (03-23-04)
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There is almost no such thing today as a purely single player game. Most games include multiplayer in some shape or fashion whether it is a cooperative mode, deathmatch, capture the flag, or some other variation of multiplayer. The question now is cooperative, deathmatch, or some form of team play the best option? Personally, I prefer a cooperative setting or, barring that, a team game. However, the answer to the question is that there is no better variation, but that it depends on what each gamer prefers and what they believe is best.
Cooperative Play
Cooperative gameplay usually entails going through the same storyline as in the single player version, except the main difference is you do it with multiple people and it may possibly be a bit harder by adding more enemies to account for the increase in firepower. Another difference might be puzzles that require multiple people to solve such as switches that require simultaneous activation to open or unlock a door. Cooperative games normally require team coordination and cooperation, making them friendlier games for the most part. I recently played Halo all the way through in cooperative mode. I believe that was the most fun I have had playing a first-person shooter in quite a while. We played, we talked, we killed and we kicked butt by creating crossfire, giving and receiving backup and generally shooting anything that moved. Of course we did kill one another once in a while just for the fun of it, but these things happen and usually make the experience even more entertaining. I wish more games would follow this example and offer a cooperative way of playing through the storyline, as I am sure that I am not the only person out there that enjoys playing cooperatively in the games I play. Perhaps with the upcoming Halo 2, more games will offer this option and people such as I can be satisfied.
The Deathmatch
Deathmatch games, however, usually entail blowing other people up or hacking them apart. One way or another a deathmatch game will have you killing or defeating other players. This certainly has its place and, with all the different games that offer this sort of option, anyone should be able to find a favorite that they can play with some skill such as Halo, Half-Life, Jedi Knight, and other games that offer more options such as Aliens Versus Predator and the line of MechWarrior games. Personally, I use them to blow off steam as I can just shoot everyone and everything in sight without worrying that I am shooting a teammate. Other than that, deathmatch tends to annoy me because I die a lot, but they may just be my lack of skill speaking. I have never been that good at first person shooters, but I continue playing them because they are fun for a time.
Team Spirit
Team games would be those that are not included under cooperative because they are the games that have actual players as your opponents. These would place second in my estimation of the online game types I enjoy, ranking in right behind cooperative. The fact that there are so many types of these games helps immensely and there is also the fact that sometimes you will encounter people that will actually work as a team. There are many variations of team games including capture the flag, team fortress, king of the hill, and there are many other variations of the team play concept in use today. I played a lot of capture the flag and team fortress when they first came out and I liked them quite a bit, and the best part was the character classes in team fortress making people have to do certain things in order for the team to successfully defend or attack.
Variants
There are other variations of the team game, of course. Counterstrike deals out a very nice variation with the concept of terrorist against anti-terrorist and two types of victory conditions: planting or disarming bombs and hostage situations. Oddly enough, I do not prefer one or the other, and I have fun with both. Trying to plant the bomb in the midst of a hail of bullets is interesting as is trying to sneak hostages out of the terrorist held area. Of course, the enemy team is always a major concern. The other team usually ends up trying to kill your team because that is what they are supposed to do. Preventing the bomb's planting is as easy as killing all the terrorists. Preventing hostage rescue is much the same: you kill the other team and the hostages will stay put. Other modules are out there, but I admit that I have not played them and, as such, have no way to gauge them one way or another.
Racing
Racing games sport another popular multiplayer option. It is true that they normally put your speed and skill against everyone else, but there is another way to play some of them. For example, Midtown Madness offered a cruise mode that allowed multiple people to drive about a city doing whatever they want. Chasing each other, playing tag, and doing stunts are some of the things that players put together in this type of game without a set or rules or boundaries. I played the first game in this series for quite a while, and I rarely played an actual race game. I would usually choose the cruise mode and participate in whatever the other players had thrown together on that particular server. Often I would join a game and almost immediately begin running from whoever had chosen to drive a police car or, on other occasions, I would choose to drive the police car and chase people. Other times I would join games where people were trying different stunts, then I would either start helping them learn ones that I knew or watch and learn some that I did not know.
In essence, there are so many ways of playing games with others that anyone that cannot find a pleasurable niche is either an extremely poor gamer or is not human. With all the options out there, who can complain that there is not a good Multiplayer game to play?
Discuss: What is your niche?
James "Raidur" Scott is a long standing member of The Seraphic Empire, a guild with years of experience in several multiplayer games including Shadowbane and Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided.
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