News

"Traditional single-player" won't last in "a world with Facebook"
Posted: 17.08.2011 12:52 by Simon Priest Comments: 20
Platform game veteran Mark Cerny, who has worked with Sony on IPs like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, believes the rise of social networks will end solo play.

In fact the "traditional single-player" experience will be "gone in three years." 2014 is the solitary gamers' apocalypse - already seeing it "starting to crumble".


Mark Cerny was speaking at a Sony-organised panel behind closed doors. "I believe the traditional single-player game experience will be gone in three years," he declared.

"Right now you sit in your living room and you're playing a game by yourself – we call it the sp mission or the single-player campaign. In a world with Facebook I just don't think that's going to last." 2009's action RPG Demon's Souls is a prime example of the death knell.

"We're already seeing the wall starting to crumble a bit," he said. "Demon's Souls, even though on one level it's a single-player game, as you're walking through the world you're seeing the ghosts of everybody who died in that world via the internet."

"You can leave messages for them. They can leave messages for you. There's actually a boss you fight in that game which is controlled by another player."

"We're talking five, 10 years out. I believe three years from now, if you aren't doing that, you are being criticised in your reviews for your lack of innovation."

Developers are suffering a unique problem with the shift of focus from single-player only experiences to connected ones. "The funny thing here is, we don't even know what to call this. Is it single-player or is it multiplayer? We don't even have the words," said Cerny.

"It's kind of Orwellian. If you don't have any word for freedom you can't have a revolution. How can you be talking about design when we don't have the words to describe it? Yet, that will be the standard, I believe, in 2014." Hardware will keep on getting connected.

Sony president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, says this move will keep on gaining momentum as more and more hardware gets greater connectivity.

"I believe almost every electronics device will be connected," Yoshida said.

"It's going to be very natural to have the social connectivity behind your game. So, whether or not it's a real-time, synchronous, head-to-head game or traditional single-player game, you could be connected to the world."

Cerny concluded: "A game without the presence of other players in it – you go out three or five years, I believe that is unthinkable given how connected we're becoming."

Will all single-player games be at least connected to some form of network by 2014? Does it bother you that solo games want to communicate something out to the world?
Source: Eurogamer

Comments

By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Aug 17, 2011
FoolWolf
I think that as long as the bigger companies fall for this - there will be a rebirth. I am trying already to end Facebook usage. Social medias and MP does add something for some games - but you have to remember that gaming is about having fun - and when there are so many a-holes out there - SP is a sure way of getting an enjoyable evening.

Also, while many gamers are getting older and older - there is a difference in generations and also life style and life situations. Parents don't have the option to be online that often or long. I want a game that i can leave and take up in 5 seconds flat. Press quick save and turn off comp0uter to be with my family - then I can go back and continue where i left. Only social and FB style? More contacts, more people you don't know more a-holes more confusion, more "save spots" then saves makes this attitude me looking more and more into GOG.com and traditional playing. Not as often but multi-playing in the flesh with friends beats any on-line get together any day IMO.

More parents playing - there's a market...
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Aug 17, 2011
unsilviu
That's stupid. To me, the best single-player game is an immersive one with a great story, not the 5-minute distractions on mobile and social platforms. You don't see movies all becoming YouTube clip-style. Just because the casual gamer demographic is opening doesn't mean the one paying in the last 30 years should be abandoned like some old fashion. Maybe I don't want some 12 year-old running about in my Assassin's Creed 8.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Aug 17, 2011
FoolWolf
Kane and Lynch 2 that had this cool feature of YouTube style camera.... well that was a success....
By Maffia01 (SI Veteran Newbie) on Aug 17, 2011
Maffia01
I certainly hope not, most of my enjoyment comes from the SP experience, most games I own I don't touch MP.

When D3 comes out I will be playing that as single player at least once before I join a party, when Battlefield 3 cones out I have no intention of booting up MP until I have finished SP and so on.

Supermeatboy was great, no MP/interactive bit at all apart from the leaderboard and long may things like that continue.
By Maffia01 (SI Veteran Newbie) on Aug 17, 2011
Maffia01
I certainly hope not, most of my enjoyment comes from the SP experience, most games I own I don't touch MP.

When D3 comes out I will be playing that as single player at least once before I join a party, when Battlefield 3 cones out I have no intention of booting up MP until I have finished SP and so on.

Supermeatboy was great, no MP/interactive bit at all apart from the leaderboard and long may things like that continue.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on Aug 17, 2011
K3Spice
I like my SP. In fact it annoys me when a game has shitty SP.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Aug 17, 2011
unsilviu
I bet MW3 SP will be a demo for the MP again...
By Illusive_Serb (SI Veteran Member) on Aug 17, 2011
Illusive_Serb
Single play will live at least as long as me...
By Xyfer117 (SI Core) on Aug 17, 2011
Xyfer117
SP cant be killed, with no story... theres hardly a reason for the game to even be made, theres no basis for the games development or for any characters etc.

I hate games with crap SP, its what I love most tbh, multiplayer modes just extend the playtime of the games.

Oh and I don't use facebook xD
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Aug 17, 2011
nocutius
I disagree with him too. Single player will remain for as long as people exist. It might become slightly less mainstream, i can't really predict the future, but it certainly won't disappear.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Aug 18, 2011
unsilviu
And let's not forget that Facebook is going doown. Google Plus is going to shred it, they're really smart about this limited invite system, it makes it as a sort of special thing to join, which in turn makes it more desirable. And they also have an excuse for the bugs that pop up. But they've gone and included games too...
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Aug 18, 2011
FoolWolf
Problem is that Google+ already have a game tag in it. read that the Age of empires online will have an opt in of buying a rather expansive season extra to get all the premium content for like 6 months - and that it cost A LOT!

I hope these crappy ideas will crash and burn - but humanity (gamers in general) have disappointed me before on hopes so perhaps it will be more and more time to pick up another hobby....
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Aug 18, 2011
nocutius
100$ to be precise :).

That's a price of two fully developed games. And they expect people to be happy to get a few dlc in the next 6 months for that kind of cash. Crazy is crazy, not that kind of crazy as that monocle in EVE but still batshit crazy.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Aug 18, 2011
FoolWolf
For a game that looks like it were developed over at Toy's r us? They are crazy - the entire gaming world is crazy - 59.99€ for MW3 - always online - internet stupidity.
Seems that PC has to suffer for all the other fabs in the world - first it was the big nasty consoles, now it is Facebook and social medias. How many social medias should we have to be online and interact with to play a game? You know - I am buying games to play games not to chat with a new multitude of people...
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on Aug 19, 2011
bosnian_dragon
Single Player campaigns are the core of every successful game. I just don't see any future for gaming if the single-player approach gets abandoned.
By Kres (SI Elite) on Aug 19, 2011
Kres
He wishes. The problem with pirates is much lesser if you go with MP only. That's of course the main reason for it. More money. I understand that however. If I had a company based on earning money from sales, yeah it would be a vital "annoyance". So the world is what we make of it.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Aug 20, 2011
herodotus
Sp is still a very, very important feature for many gamers worldwide and this will not change in the dorseeable future. Pirates Schmirates...they are here to stay unless someone takes the internet offline. I still don't believe they will be the death of the gaming industry as the music industry has been faced with this same dilemna for years now an that still thrives despite and in spite of this underground (now overtly mainstream) "audience". While not endorsing it, it would be a "Fool's Paradise" for the gaming industry not to adapt to it, but to evolve instea, while not removing essential features such as SP.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on Aug 20, 2011
unsilviu
Piracy thrives even without the internet, around here there used to be pirate retail vendors :P
By JPerry06 (SI Core) on Aug 20, 2011
JPerry06
i like playing my sp, dont want to have to stop buying games coz i cant find a friend who has the game.

I agree MP is great and is a welcome addition to any game but i like my SP modes just fine.
By Illusive_Serb (SI Veteran Member) on Aug 20, 2011
Illusive_Serb
My favourite games are those with amaising story. Kill the story and I no longer am a gamer.
As for pirates. Hmm, I'm pretty sure every one of you here has the oportunity to get a coply of a game, but still buys the game. Pirates are here to stay, get over it multi-bilion-dollar-companies...