Why do players gradually lose faith in the Game that only has Online mode?

When Online Multiplayer first appeared, no one thought it would become as popular as it is today. Starting on PC very early and then making its way to consoles in the 6th generation (Xbox, PS2 and Dreamcast eras), many single-player titles have always had some online multiplayer. As time went on, solo titles like Assassin’s Creed and Tomb Raider added more online modes in addition to the offline content. In general, game developers want the pie of the online game market share.

This is completely understandable, in the vast majority of cases multiplayer is fun and is sweeping the current gaming industry trends: especially games that only have online multiplayer. Games like Overwatch and Fortnite don’t popularize their offline play. These games are for online only and online only. If you don’t have a stable Internet or no Internet, then they are not for you.

Obviously, online games are not only about shooting. With success stories like Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man, it’s hard to say “single-player games are dead”.

However, many people are also quite concerned when games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 focus on online games rather than offline content. Of course, some games are simply meant for online people and there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is the permanence of game culture. One day, after many years, the services (of that online game) will stop working. That means the game is over.

Take, for example, from the Nintendo 64 era and before, you’ll find game content intact and playable directly from tape or disc. However, when you look at online games from the PS2 era, you will see a few holes. If you bought Rachet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal 14 years after the game was first released, you’ll never have the same online multiplayer experience. The game still has value thanks to its abundance of offline content, even though a feature in the game (multiplayer) has been lost over time.

On the other hand, a lot of modern games are not so lucky. Without the campaign, LAN multipalyer, or simply PvP mode, online-only shooters will disappear when the developer decides to stop supporting the game. Those who own these $60 titles will soon realize they’re worthless, and when you play them again in the future, you won’t feel the game’s entertainment anymore – because no one else is playing with it. Games that live off the Internet are like ticking time bombs.

And this is the heartbreaking truth of online multiplayer.

We’ve seen a few “dead” games in recent years. This is extremely common with MMO (Massive multiplayer online) games. Disney’s TooonTown Online is a popular children’s MMO game that launched in 2003 and was discontinued in 2013. Two other Disney MMO titles, Pirates of the Caribbean Online (2007) and Pixie Hollow (2008) also suffered the same number. division in that year. Since MMOs don’t need to be purchased, instead paying a monthly fee, they are mostly services that can stop being supported at any time. Not every MMO game can live that long. Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall was released in 2009, but soon closed in 2013. Sony’s Free Realms also lived for only 5 years, from 2009 to 2014.

Usually, there are many online games that are still alive and well, like Second Life. But that doesn’t mean every game/service is lucky. Conceptually, MMOs are a continuous service, but fans of the games will be quite sad when they completely disappear.

This problem doesn’t stop with PCs. Dust 514, a free-to-play first-person shooter game, launched on PlayStation 3 in 2013. When it failed to get a steady stream of players, the game closed after just three in 2016. Another, more controversial game. is a Battle Royale game called The Culling 2. Released on July 10, 2018 on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in an era of explosive battle royale. The Culling 2 was criticized for being incomplete. The game peaked at around 250 people on Steam on its first day. On July 18, 2018, The Culling 2 was taken down and completely discontinued. The prospect of The Culling 2 coming back is unlikely, it can be said that this game is already a ‘dead game’. It no longer exists. And this is the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNrix9f0Tgs

In contrast to Phantasy Star Online, the online RPG game debuted in 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast. Despite its popularity, its online division closed in 2003. Fortunately, the features in the single-player mode were retained. In addition, a small group of fans created unofficial servers that still exist today. Remember, not every game has such a passionate community. Not all online games can overcome the problem of time.

This article does not say that those services will die. Playing games with friends and strangers on the Internet is fun, and no one gives up when they’ve been hooked on the game for so long. What the article wants to say is much simpler. We gamers want games to last forever – games that can be bought back 20 years later and still work somewhat well.

One of the most obvious examples of this experience is Splatton. While online multiplayer is appealing, it’s not what appeals to us. On the day that Turf War goes away, we still have single-player modes, Amiibo missions, and two-player combat at the ready. Splatoon – like Phantasy Star Online – will always exist, to some extent.

Admittedly, not every game can do what Splatoon does. Single-player storylines don’t always suit multiplayer games. So why don’t developers use the “old” method to solve this problem?

Underrated, local (LAN) multipalyer is a great solution to keep online features when all servers are closed. And with game genres that all players can watch in one screen – like sports, fighting and platform games – it’s always worth having this feature. However, with games that need to split the screen in half, the developers are quite hesitant.

Whether it’s cooperative or competitive, the reason is always the same: it’s too hard to split the screen in half with current console hardware. The studios say the game requires too much graphics; and the requirement to run split screen is too heavy; Players are forced to sacrifice a lot for graphics and frame rate.

In a post in Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch forum, game director Jeff Kaplan explains “Splitscreen is extremely challenging from a technical standpoint.” He added. “While this feature is difficult for us to add, ideologically, we are not against it. I know this is not the answer you want to hear… but it is really, really hard.”

Similarly, one developer posted on Halo Waypoint, saying about removing split-screen: “Our choice was dictated by scale, performance, and focus to ensure we deliver. to the best possible quality of experience. With Halo 5, we’re bringing into the game vast environments, improved AI behavior, improved graphics and gameplay… things that exploit new platforms. Many of the team’s potential goals with Halo 5 would conflict with the split screen choice and the time spent optimizing and solving the issues associated with it, which would take away the focus on building other areas. of the game. Game development is about balancing resources, time, and technology, and in this case, we made the difficult decision to sacrifice something so close to the members.”

The developers are still developing the local multiplayer part. But separating screens always requires effort and sacrifice. Now, with large HD TVs, it’s hard to accept the lack of this feature.

The gaming community should demand more offline content, even if it’s not a campaign. Although the realism in the graphics or the quality may be reduced, they must be equivalent to the online gameplay. If really detaching the screen is not possible, we should get offline LAN mode somehow. What people should ask for is the longevity of the game.

At this point, it’s hard to say the Battle Royale mode in Fortnite will go away. But when it was at its peak, it was also ridiculous to say the same to a game like ToonTown. We can’t predict when or if the game will close, but people don’t want it to go away. Game fans will still be looking for ways to preserve their titles – that’s why Dreamcast servers are still around in 2018 – but what about games that don’t? All games are worth protecting, and the offline feature can always guarantee that.

As the article says many times, game servers will disappear. And when that happens, we don’t want to lose any part of the gameplay.

According to CulturedVultures