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LFTE: The Dramatic Death of Single-Player? (July)
The announcement that God of War: Ascension would add multiplayer to the classically single-player experience brought forth a number of conflicting feelings from gamers around the globe, including myself.
This is not the first time a franchise known for its single-player experience has walked down the competitive multiplayer path. Uncharted, Mass Effect, Dead Space, Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Max Payne, and even Grand Theft Auto have expanded past the boundaries of single-player.
While some reacted positively to the news of God of War's new addition, many boiled with unbridled Internet rage.
Some proclaimed they wouldn't buy it, and others complained that every game doesn't need multiplayer, but reader Alex Hanavan perfectly summarized the frustration longtime solo gamers face by asking, "Is multiplayer mandatory now for every single new game?"
Gamers are a smart and passionate group, so it is easy to see why players are wary that the addition of multiplayer could lead to lesser investments in the single-player experience. I, too, can't get that nagging thought out of my brain.
Of course, there is no proof that adding multiplayer to a game reduces a developer's investment in the single-player experience. Since it is basically impossible for a developer to make both at the same time with equal budgets and talent behind the titles, we will never really know the answer to the question.
Gamers in the single-player camp will always point to the millions spent on multiplayer as a waste of money that could have made the single-player experience better, while multiplayer fans will sometimes wonder why there is a single-player experience at all (see Battlefield 3).
Neither group is right or wrong, but I know there will always be a thought in the back of my head when a single-player game falls short (or vice versa), that game developers are trying too hard to appease everyone when focused effort on a single discipline would offer better results. Some developers and publishers are capable of doing it all, as we have seen in many blockbuster titles featuring amazing single- and multiplayer experiences. But whenever someone falls short, gamers will be there to ridicule and cast doubt.
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