So why do developers think that multi-player is so important

[fox099]

I think that games with both good multiplayer and single player modes are the best. Look at Borderlands for example. The single player mode is fantastic, lots of fun, with good replay value. But playing with three other friends or random people creates better enemies, weapons, and gameplay. Still the same game, just enhanced. I think this is how games should be!

[Scooter]

I'm just sad that multiplayer nowadays is almost exclusively online. Local is way more fun.

I completely agree. Why not include both? There are a lot of good games with online multiplay but no local multiplayer that I've passed over because I don't/won't play online.

[the7k]

I'm just sad that multiplayer nowadays is almost exclusively online. Local is way more fun.

I completely agree. Why not include both? There are a lot of good games with online multiplay but no local multiplayer that I've passed over because I don't/won't play online.

The main reason is because it's complicated. Split-screen is a lot more taxing on a system than just one player or online multiplayer. I seem to remember Gearbox saying that a lot of details had to be reduced in quality for split-screen Borderlands to work properly, and it took a lot of time for them to get it optimized. The main reason they did include split-screen co-op was because that was a decision they made from the very beginning.

So, basically, unless it was intended to be split-screen from the beginning, it probably won't be - and if they do decide to make it split-screen later, it probably will become a slide-show.

Take Sengoku Basara 2 - it was a single-player game. Later, they release Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes, which included split-screen co-op - and it was practically unplayable. The frame-rate was atrocious when playing the campaign in co-op. The only way you could have fun with it was playing co-op in the coliseum, which was just a small, flat, enclosed space that would crap out a bunch of guys with a very low draw distance.

[elvis]

Why is this? Were does this myth that multi-player is so important come from? Batman Arkham Asylum came out this year. It was not just a critical hit, but it sold tons of copies. No multi-player mode.

Arkham Asylum wouldn't work as multi-player. That's a poor comparison.

Where multi-player works, it lengthens the life of the game. FPS and fighting games are two no-brainer genres where multi-player is not only beneficial, but IMHO a must.

There's no sense in white-washing and saying *everything* needs multiplayer. It's clear that for some genres it's a total waste of time. Likewise it's pretty senseless to say that it's completely unnecessary, when there are genres that benefit from it greatly.

I will agree however that games that don't offer local multi-player but do offer online are just silly. Even if there's no split-screen (performance issues with two lost of processing, perhaps), local LAN should at least be on offer.

[the7k]

I think Arkham Asylum could have had a co-op mode. It would have been tricky, but if I could have had Batman & Robin (or Nightwing, if they wanted to keep it edgy) kicking ass together, doing all kinds of double take-downs at the right moment, it would have been groovy.

I mean, c'mon - Arkham Asylum was basically a Beat 'Em Up.

[MrPopo]

Another fantastic set of examples of the difficulties in split screen can be seen in various RPGs on the 360 that like to dabble in split screening. In Blue Dragon you sometimes get a zoom on a character's face in a small window that then expands to take the whole screen, while in Lost Odyssey they frequently use the split screen to show two people in conversation with a dramatic angle. In both cases the second they start to render the second window the frame rate starts to chug. When you do a split screen you have to render twice the amount of things you previously did, giver or take a little. So going to two-player coop approximately doubles the amount of work the system has to do.

[zarathstra]

Another reason developers/publishers tend to dislike coops is the very same reason we all think its awesome: it allows multiple people to play the same game. Think about it: you've got 2 people playing splitscreen on 1 copy of the game. Make all multiplayer online, and now both of those people have to purchase the game if they want to play together.

Shitty, but what can you do?

[classicgamer5]

I like offline co-op games better than online multiplayer. I love playing Hunter The Reckoning with my brother, its an awesome game

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I think Arkham Asylum could have had a co-op mode. It would have been tricky, but if I could have had Batman & Robin (or Nightwing, if they wanted to keep it edgy) kicking ass together, doing all kinds of double take-downs at the right moment, it would have been groovy.

I mean, c'mon - Arkham Asylum was basically a Beat 'Em Up.

You're not really a Batman: The Animated Series fan are you?

Bruce Timm and Paul Dini brought themselves and the whole cast and production team of the series onto the crew to supervise Arkham Asylum and make sure Rocksteady kept shit straight.

Robin sucks. PERIOD. You can make him cooler for a while and give him some attitude, but in the end he's unfortunately just a character for kids designed to grab a younger audience for the series. Second, who wants to be Robin after the age of 10? Everyone wants to be Batman, not the crappy sidekick.

Next, you could throw in Nightwing, but then you'd have to complicate the storyline by giving him a reason to be there. Nightwing lives in and patrols Blüdhaven not Gotham, so he'd really need to be on the hunt, chase etc.... for something/someone in Gotham to risk having to see Bruce/Batman as Nightwing hates Batman to an extent.

Batman: The Animated Series was great because it focused on one thing and one thing only, Batman. Did they include Robin? Yes. Did they do it more than just occasionally or in an immature manner? No.

It was a tough judgment call but a good one nonetheless in my opinion.

Also Arkham Asylum was an Action/Adventure Beat 'Em Up nothing less. It's not a bad thing, so don't get all uppity about it.

[classicgamer5]

Did you guys see the preview for the next Arkham Asylum game? Not sure if its Arkham Asylum 2, but it had the same characters and voice actors. Can't Wait