6 ms·

One of my biggest frustrations with modern gaming is the lack of single payer games, everyone focuses on Multiplayer, I have zero interest in playing with othe

by syshum 7y ago

One of my biggest frustrations with modern gaming is the lack of single payer games, everyone focuses on Multiplayer, I have zero interest in playing with others, I play games to escape from people.... People suck, I do not want them in my games

linuxhansl 7y ago
Hear, hear. I feel exactly the same way. The cynic in me just thinks that it saves the game developers from the need to develop good AIs. Perhaps it's just my style of video gaming... I play games to relax, definitely not to compete. People sometimes get so wound up in these games, it's supposed to be fun! So, yes, if a game is multiplayer only, it's a reason for me not to play.
- badpun 7y ago
  > The cynic in me just thinks that it saves the game developers from the need to develop good AIs. Balancing a multiplayer game is generally much more difficult than doing a single player game with AIs.
na85 7y ago
Conversely, I can't fathom how people can enjoy long stretches of singleplayer. I occasionally play a bit of Cities Skylines every few months, but if there isn't another human involved, games just can't hold my interest. Where's the satisfaction/fun come from if you're just beating some silly algorithm?
- syshum 7y ago
  For me it is not about competing or beating anything. I do play alot of simulation games, like Cities Skylines or Stellearis. When I play first person shooters, I just like to run around and blow things up, I rarely "finish" the campaigns, for example Borderlands, Just like to run around the world and see how much destruction and havoc I can cause before I die, then start over... I am not a completionist, I have no strong urge to "win" or "finish" the games.... I is just a way for me to turn my brain off for a few hours and escape the real world
- wtetzner 7y ago
  Not all games are about "beating" something.
  - na85 7y ago
    Can you name one game, electronic or otherwise, that doesn't involve "beating" something, whether it's the other player, the rules, or even just random chance (dice rolls)? I honestly can't think of any. If there are no goals (and goals imply obstacles to be overcome in pursuit of them) then you've got a toy, not a game.
    - farias0 7y ago
      They may not be "games", but titles like Gone Home are still video games, they aren't about "beating" something, and they aren't simply toys either.
      - na85 7y ago
        >They may not be "games", but titles like Gone Home are still video games They may not be games, but they're still games? I think whether or not Gone Home can be considered a game is highly debatable. I haven't tried it, but it seems that the elements that make a game a game are missing. That it's available on Steam is completely orthogonal to whether or not it's a game.
        farias0 7y ago
        The expression "video game" came to be understood as much more than "games played through a video system". Even titles like Skyrim, RDR2 and Uncharted thrive much more on the role playing fantasy or on the narrative than on beating a system. These aren't just dressings anymore, like the medieval motifs on Chess, they are the reason we play those games. So yeah, the word "game" expanded its meaning, this kind of thing happens with language.
        alleyshack 7y ago
        I'd strongly recommend looking into the Aesthetics of Play[1][2]. It's a framework that talks about eight primary reasons why people play video games, and only one of those reasons is "Challenge" (i.e., beating a goal). Games like Gone Home, Animal Crossing, The Sims, Minecraft, etc all reflect different play aesthetics, and are intended for people who enjoy different things than pure Challenge. [1] https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA [2] https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/ https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-...
eru 7y ago
There's plenty of indy games that provide good single player experience.
- devcamcar 7y ago
  Got any suggestions?
  - efreak 7y ago
    Personally: Terraria, C&C
  - xnyan 7y ago
    Like a book there are so many games it can be difficult to find a starting place for recommendations. What’s a game of two you’ve liked before?
  - the_pwner224 7y ago
    Minecraft Terraria Stardew Valley Those three are great for relaxing after a long day FTL: Faster Than Light Zachtronics games (TIS-100, Shenzhen I/O, Exapunks) FEZ Portal / Portal 2 XCOM Deus Ex (Super old but quite good, I started it recently. I had best results in Proton selecting the software renderer in the first launch dialog instead of DX9) Grand Theft Auto Assassins Creed IV (I had trouble running this under Proton though, had to use Windows) Planetside 2 is MMO but you can play singleplayer. Windows only unfortunately, but there's nothing else like it.
    - eru 7y ago
      Good list. Just for pedantic's sake: only a few of them ary indie games.
    - account42 7y ago
      > Deus Ex (Super old but quite good, I started it recently. I had best results in Proton selecting the software renderer in the first launch dialog instead of DX9) I recommend Deus Exe [0] for playing Deus Ex. And yes, it's still an awesome game. [0] https://kentie.net/article/dxguide/ https://kentie.net/article/dxguide/
jackewiehose 7y ago
I exclusively play single-player games (mostly AAA) and I still have more games than time to play. But I remember having your feelings when I only had a PC. Get additionally PlayStation+Switch!
- account42 7y ago
  Yeah nah I'm not going to support anyone that encourages exclusives.
p1necone 7y ago
There are a lot of AAA and indie focused single player experiences, what kind of genres are you into? The recent Tomb Raider titles are pretty good for example.
- p1necone 7y ago
  If you like big single player RPGs then boy are you in for a treat... Single player gaming is better than ever, and even a lot of the "indie" titles probably have bigger teams and budgets than games from whatever "golden age" you're probably thinking of.
grawprog 7y ago
I'm pretty much a single player gamer, but lately i've been getting into the multiplayer side of dark souls. Personally, I think it's my new favourite multiplayer system. It's focused around co op and invasions and is built into the story enough that it just feels like part of the game, while again not being forced in any way. It's entirely optional to the point where being able to invade more than a limited number of times is locked behind an obscure, difficult route in the game that's missable and entirely unlikely to be discovered the first playthrough. There's a few different invasion mechanics based around in game covenants that provide different game experiences, both in single and multiplayer that are a lot of fun. Coop's pretty fun too. It's a pretty awesome feeling helping out another player with a boss or area they've been struggling with and I'm not ashamed to say I needed to summon a bit of help for Ornstein and Smough the first time. But, my favourite thing I think is the asynchronous multiplayer. The notes and specters. You can leave notes with predefined phrases for other players that can be helpful, or not as well as getting small glimpses of other players 'ghosts' as they play the game, or die horribly to something. There's no other actual interaction between players though. You can't message people, there's no lobbies, it's all very ephemeral and unnoticeable and just feels like part of the game. The only thing it really reminds me of is the counter-op mode from perfect dark, which was a hell of a lot of fun, even if it seemed a bit lacking at times. Personally I'd love to see this system recreated and improved in other games. It's the first time i've been interested in multiplayer gaming since I was a teenager playing StarCraft and diablo. I know someone who regularly plays grand theft auto online. Whenever i've watched them play lately I can't help but think how much better it would be if they'd built a similar system. The game would be perfect for it. The online mode it has seems pointless and pretty lazy by comparison.
sonko 7y ago
Hey, I have a project that might be of interest to you. It is called the StarCraft Human 'N' AI League, and it is a client that lets you play against custom AI written for the game. It is single player, and provides a challenge without the frustration of griefing idiots on the ladder. Here you can check it out(it's free) https://schnail.com/#/home https://schnail.com/#/home

by syshum 7y ago

linuxhansl 7y ago

Hear, hear. I feel exactly the same way. The cynic in me just thinks that it saves the game developers from the need to develop good AIs. Perhaps it's just my style of video gaming... I play games to relax, definitely not to compete. People sometimes get so wound up in these games, it's supposed to be fun! So, yes, if a game is multiplayer only, it's a reason for me not to play.

badpun 7y ago
> The cynic in me just thinks that it saves the game developers from the need to develop good AIs. Balancing a multiplayer game is generally much more difficult than doing a single player game with AIs.

na85 7y ago

Conversely, I can't fathom how people can enjoy long stretches of singleplayer. I occasionally play a bit of Cities Skylines every few months, but if there isn't another human involved, games just can't hold my interest. Where's the satisfaction/fun come from if you're just beating some silly algorithm?

syshum 7y ago
For me it is not about competing or beating anything. I do play alot of simulation games, like Cities Skylines or Stellearis. When I play first person shooters, I just like to run around and blow things up, I rarely "finish" the campaigns, for example Borderlands, Just like to run around the world and see how much destruction and havoc I can cause before I die, then start over... I am not a completionist, I have no strong urge to "win" or "finish" the games.... I is just a way for me to turn my brain off for a few hours and escape the real world
wtetzner 7y ago
Not all games are about "beating" something.
- na85 7y ago
  Can you name one game, electronic or otherwise, that doesn't involve "beating" something, whether it's the other player, the rules, or even just random chance (dice rolls)? I honestly can't think of any. If there are no goals (and goals imply obstacles to be overcome in pursuit of them) then you've got a toy, not a game.
  - farias0 7y ago
    They may not be "games", but titles like Gone Home are still video games, they aren't about "beating" something, and they aren't simply toys either.
    - na85 7y ago
      >They may not be "games", but titles like Gone Home are still video games They may not be games, but they're still games? I think whether or not Gone Home can be considered a game is highly debatable. I haven't tried it, but it seems that the elements that make a game a game are missing. That it's available on Steam is completely orthogonal to whether or not it's a game.
      - farias0 7y ago
        The expression "video game" came to be understood as much more than "games played through a video system". Even titles like Skyrim, RDR2 and Uncharted thrive much more on the role playing fantasy or on the narrative than on beating a system. These aren't just dressings anymore, like the medieval motifs on Chess, they are the reason we play those games. So yeah, the word "game" expanded its meaning, this kind of thing happens with language.
      - alleyshack 7y ago
        I'd strongly recommend looking into the Aesthetics of Play[1][2]. It's a framework that talks about eight primary reasons why people play video games, and only one of those reasons is "Challenge" (i.e., beating a goal). Games like Gone Home, Animal Crossing, The Sims, Minecraft, etc all reflect different play aesthetics, and are intended for people who enjoy different things than pure Challenge. [1] https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA [2] https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/ https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-...

eru 7y ago

There's plenty of indy games that provide good single player experience.

devcamcar 7y ago
Got any suggestions?
- efreak 7y ago
  Personally: Terraria, C&C
- xnyan 7y ago
  Like a book there are so many games it can be difficult to find a starting place for recommendations. What’s a game of two you’ve liked before?
- the_pwner224 7y ago
  Minecraft Terraria Stardew Valley Those three are great for relaxing after a long day FTL: Faster Than Light Zachtronics games (TIS-100, Shenzhen I/O, Exapunks) FEZ Portal / Portal 2 XCOM Deus Ex (Super old but quite good, I started it recently. I had best results in Proton selecting the software renderer in the first launch dialog instead of DX9) Grand Theft Auto Assassins Creed IV (I had trouble running this under Proton though, had to use Windows) Planetside 2 is MMO but you can play singleplayer. Windows only unfortunately, but there's nothing else like it.
  - eru 7y ago
    Good list. Just for pedantic's sake: only a few of them ary indie games.
  - account42 7y ago
    > Deus Ex (Super old but quite good, I started it recently. I had best results in Proton selecting the software renderer in the first launch dialog instead of DX9) I recommend Deus Exe [0] for playing Deus Ex. And yes, it's still an awesome game. [0] https://kentie.net/article/dxguide/ https://kentie.net/article/dxguide/

jackewiehose 7y ago

I exclusively play single-player games (mostly AAA) and I still have more games than time to play. But I remember having your feelings when I only had a PC. Get additionally PlayStation+Switch!

account42 7y ago
Yeah nah I'm not going to support anyone that encourages exclusives.

p1necone 7y ago

There are a lot of AAA and indie focused single player experiences, what kind of genres are you into? The recent Tomb Raider titles are pretty good for example.

p1necone 7y ago
If you like big single player RPGs then boy are you in for a treat... Single player gaming is better than ever, and even a lot of the "indie" titles probably have bigger teams and budgets than games from whatever "golden age" you're probably thinking of.

grawprog 7y ago

I'm pretty much a single player gamer, but lately i've been getting into the multiplayer side of dark souls. Personally, I think it's my new favourite multiplayer system. It's focused around co op and invasions and is built into the story enough that it just feels like part of the game, while again not being forced in any way. It's entirely optional to the point where being able to invade more than a limited number of times is locked behind an obscure, difficult route in the game that's missable and entirely unlikely to be discovered the first playthrough. There's a few different invasion mechanics based around in game covenants that provide different game experiences, both in single and multiplayer that are a lot of fun. Coop's pretty fun too. It's a pretty awesome feeling helping out another player with a boss or area they've been struggling with and I'm not ashamed to say I needed to summon a bit of help for Ornstein and Smough the first time. But, my favourite thing I think is the asynchronous multiplayer. The notes and specters. You can leave notes with predefined phrases for other players that can be helpful, or not as well as getting small glimpses of other players 'ghosts' as they play the game, or die horribly to something. There's no other actual interaction between players though. You can't message people, there's no lobbies, it's all very ephemeral and unnoticeable and just feels like part of the game. The only thing it really reminds me of is the counter-op mode from perfect dark, which was a hell of a lot of fun, even if it seemed a bit lacking at times. Personally I'd love to see this system recreated and improved in other games. It's the first time i've been interested in multiplayer gaming since I was a teenager playing StarCraft and diablo. I know someone who regularly plays grand theft auto online. Whenever i've watched them play lately I can't help but think how much better it would be if they'd built a similar system. The game would be perfect for it. The online mode it has seems pointless and pretty lazy by comparison.

sonko 7y ago

Hey, I have a project that might be of interest to you. It is called the StarCraft Human 'N' AI League, and it is a client that lets you play against custom AI written for the game. It is single player, and provides a challenge without the frustration of griefing idiots on the ladder. Here you can check it out(it's free) https://schnail.com/#/home https://schnail.com/#/home