Death of the single player campaign....???

Hi Everyone - just wanting to get your opinions (and open up the discussion lines) on thought that I've been mulling over for a while to do with a trend that seems (to me) to be happening in the current (and future) crop of games.....

Now - I admit I don't play much multiplayer on-line (although I am hoping to increase in the future) and I tend to buy my games on the strength of their single player campaign....

I have noticed that many of the new games are heavily focused on their multiplayer content and this can sometimes affect the single player portion......some games now only have 4 or 5 hours of single player gameplay

Are we going to see a future of gamng where the whole game is played on-line with only a brief single player 'tutorial' to get you ready for the multiplayer portion?

I'm sure this won't apply to all types of games but the vast majority seem to be able to be played on-line in some shape or form.....

Will people miss the single player campaign if it starts to go and is replaced by great on-line experience......

Am I being too general? and do you think the studios will still turn out great, long and interesting single player games....?

(this is just my observation and I could be right off the mark)

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated

Thanks

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

I agree.

I don't think it will die.

I think that right now its in a weird spot but it will get out of it. I don't think that what people like is that they are playing alone, but they like that its a well crafted story thats really focused. Like when you watch a movie, everything is scripted to provide maximum impact (ideally). I think thats what people really like about single player campaigns.

Thats still a gaming experience thats worth having and I think it will be one thats always worth having. I think developers have taken the single player experience as far game makers can take it. The next step imo is hiring proffessional screen writers and cinematographers to really up the ante. For some reason, stories in games (the exception being elements of the Metal Gear Series and certain RPGs) still come off like a crummy made for tv movie. Even when the raw story is interesting... acting, direction, dialog, camerawork still feels like a pretty poorly made movie.

Because they've basically hit the wall, I think they've turned more to multiplayer where they are still improving and finding new ways of doing things. Also, they still haven't really gotten down packed how to tell a solid story via multiplayer. Most multiplayer games have stories executed worse than single player games... and those stories aren't executed well to begin with.

I think games are being taken alot more seriously than we think. There was a podcast I heard where someone was saying that the rest of the world takes games more serious than gamers do. Like when you see news stories about banning games and stuff. For the rest of the world, its not just some silly game. Its serious, but game developers are just like, "ehh, just a game why are they tripping so much?" I agree with that point. I think once the industry realises how serious of a medium games are, I think they'll really try to make the presentation as good as the gameplay and the single player experience will take a major jump and people will crave it. Like comparing the story/execution in a SNES game to say... Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, FF7 etc on the PS1.

I agree, I used to be a multiplayer addict when I first got my 360, but now I play more single player then Multiplayer. I find going through a good campaign much more fun then playing online (unless I am playing with friends online). But I am ok with just multiplayer games, because games like TF2 really only need a multiplayer.

Multiplayer should just be Icing on the Cake, and nothing more. To bad most people these days though think the opposite.

I'm not seeing this "trend" that you do in games nowadays, single player campaigns are just as prevalent as ever and now they are incorporating great multiplayer. There are even some games like Battlefield Bad Company and Unreal Tournament 3 that at one point in the series were completely mulitplayer focused and now include lengthy single player portions.

There are way more single player only games than multiplayer only games.

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

Agreed.

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

agreed.

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

Couldn't agree more.

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.Elann2008

I agree.

The only reason we are seeing more multiplayer-focused games is because online is much more accessible than it was five years ago (on consoles anyway). Xbox Live makes it ludicrously easy to match up and play other people around the world and with the huge amount of subscribers, of course developers are going to make products allowing subscribers to utilize their subscriptoins.

Single player will never die because single player is about story - and people will never give up on story.

I dont think so(at least for me)... I always play the single player campaign and win it before going online..and when I am bored with online multiplayer, I come back to the single player campaign and win it in other difficult...

In my opinion co-operative campaigns are the best form of gaming.hypje

I agree but only if it's executed well. Like in Army of Two for example. The co-op play was what saved the game in my opinion considering the single player with the AI was horrible.

Thanks for all your great comments and thoughts everyone....

It is refreshing to see that the single player campaign is alive and well - and that everyone generally rates great story and gameplay above the multiplayer component of a game......

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.Elann2008

I agree.

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

Definitely, and thats why im looking forward to Fallout 3 the most this year. :)

I don't think single player will ever die. Now, I am definetly for the growth of multi-player campaigns as they can add a level of challenge and also refresh games that become stale over time. Its like do you want one flavor of ice cream for the rest of time. Some days I want to work on a single player story mode, and then there are other times I'm in the mood to jump on-line and do some multi-player gaming to mix it up. I think a very strong game will have both a good single player mode, but then a well developed multi-player mode to give the game additional umf. Besides, if you get stuck somewhere bringing a sysytem and having no internet, what good is that multi-player game going to do for you ;-)

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

Single player aint dead for example

Star wars force unleashed

Fallout 3

GTA IV

mass effect etc etc its pretty even

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

I disagree because........

mirror's edge and tomb raider underworld are 2 of my most looked foward to games.

i vow to only play the story in gears of war 2, as i did with gears 1.

so really, it is up to you to find the games that appeal to you.

single player is out there, right now. it's just not in the forefront that much.narrative games will always be heavy single player. and narrative games aren't going anywhere. they are the basis of videogames as an artform, really.

An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

I second that

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.sinx1971

I disagree because........

Oh god, I cant imagine not having single player anymore! Final Fantasy, Tales of Vesperia, Silent Hill, Gears of War 2, Fable, Oblivion! I mean, there are so many amazing games with absolutely astonishing single player campaigns that I cant see devs going for an "online only route" all the time. It worked for some devs, but I like my single player.

Single player is a lot more important to me. If a game doesn't have a good single player I wouldn't even consider buying it. Good multiplayer is just an added bonus.l0ve

Well put. Like ethanpaige mentioned as well, an epic single player game will always be better than an epic multiplayer game. Multiplayer should be treated as an added bonus; not the main focus of the game. Otherwise, the game may as well be an MMO if multiplayer is the main focus.

Personally, I could live without multiplayer. I understand the need for it to be present for some the games (Madden, COD, Halo). It's nice that you have to opportunity to go online and play, but I honestly could care less; I buy games I know I will enjoy playing offline. I would much rather take a game like Oblivion or Mass Effect over a game with a weak single player gamer with a strong multiplayer.

unfortunately there arent many games with both exceptional single player and multiplayer aspects. i like parts and i certainly hope single player experiences improve because some games focus too much about online play, which isnt always a terrible thing.

It is great too know that the single player game is still so well sort after ....

There is definitely a place for multiplayer and I agree with many people who have said that a games single player experience should be the main focus and the multiplayer should be the reason to increase the games longivity......

Especially with the RPG genre having such fantastic games (of which I have some)

I must have been premature in thinking that multiplayer might be overtaking single player... LOL

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.Elann2008

I agree.

So do I.

[QUOTE="sinx1971"]

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ethanpaige

I disagree because........

I disagree too........

[QUOTE="Elann2008"]

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.ZimpanX

I agree.

So do I.

Especially if you don't have highspeed

[QUOTE="ZimpanX"][QUOTE="Elann2008"]

[QUOTE="ethanpaige"]An epic single player campaign will always be better than multiplayer.spendinbig

I agree.

So do I.

Especially if you don't have highspeed

and you dont live in the US or in Europe

hope not

i like single player games more than i like mp games and games that are just mp games...i do buy those