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Social gaming eh? But isn’t it for nerds who have no friends and nothing better to do than sit in front of a VDU and play games in a dark room? God, those gamers, locked away from reality, never getting out. Social gaming? Pah!
That’s the type of thing you may have heard a few years ago. But in this very short space of time, your typical ’gamer’ has evolved. This is because of many factors;
The movie business. Many films have been turned into games, so people with no previous interest in gaming may be drawn this way. In any case, it has brought us attention from those that would otherwise not be interested.
The size of the industry. With the size of the gaming industry today, it is hard for anyone to ignore it completely. Business-men buy stocks in the gaming companies because of their success on Wall Street.
Microsoft entering the console market. Microsoft is a name that nobody can get away from. Such a big name moving seriously into the gaming arena is something that people cant turn a blind eye on - And thus gaming is seen in a different way by new people.
Also, even people uninitiated in the gaming genre will probably know about online gaming. Far from being ’proper’ social gaming, it still counts to a lot of people. Gamers all over the world laying and communicating - even making online ’communities’? Its enough to make anyone think twice about the previous stereotype.
So nowadays, we have adults and children alike playing games, many of them even obsessed with it. With this much popularity in the market, its very unlikely that you wont find anyone living near you that loves gaming too! Sites like Special Reserve, aimed at gamers bring them together, another form of social ’gaming’. Gaming magazines take up twice as much shelf space than they used to. In fact, its more or less impossible to ignore gaming as a whole.
So what of social gaming? What is it? How big is it?
Well, as I have briefly mentioned before, there are different types.
The first type is multiplayer games played over the internet. Although the capacity for this has been around a long time, it has only quite recently taken off. And when I say taken off, I mean it! Games like Counter Strike have millions of players worldwide. People make online ‘clans’ - like communities that work together to win. People talk to each other in the game - often from different sides of the globe! Heck, its been known for people to cross oceans to come and see the person they’ve been playing against!
The next type of social gaming is the online communities. Though not actually gaming at the time, these are places to go where you can talk about gaming experiences, write your reviews, help other people out when they are stuck on a game, and basically chat with other people like you! In fact, you may even discover other people that live very close to you! When I came to Special Reserve, I got talking to some people. When someone asked me where I was from, and told me where they lived, I was surprised to find he lived about 10 minutes away, AND I knew him! Places like this can really bring you some online ‘friends’.
The third, and final, type of social gaming I want to talk about is ‘in the real world’. Basically, when people come round your house to play games, or you go to theirs. Or even places like the ‘i’ series, where gamers from all over meet up.
Gaming with friends is a completely different aspect of social gaming to what I have talked about before. What most people consider being real social activity is going out with your friends, or playing sports with friends. Playing games with them is no different, and is in a lot of cases the most enjoyable aspect of all social gaming. Offering laughs and fun, multiplayer games are probably some of the biggest selling. Race friends in a game like Mario Kart, or go into serious mode and kill them in something like Perfect Dark. Of course, there’s the hilarious games like worms, that are just ment to be shared with other people. Although a good shoot ‘em up is a great way of relieving stress! Aside from the competitive aspect, working together can be fun as well. And if you are trying to defeat a really hard boss, the friend actually being in the same room can help! It can even help improve your relationship - getting past a hard level can be very rewarding, and doing it together means you both did well! Even single player games can be more fun with other people around - whether they help you solve a puzzle, or give you a new idea to try, two heads are better than one! You can even take turns (unless you’ve a brand new PS2 and they have dirty hands!).
Places like i8 are great because you can meet other people with the same interests as you - a bit like a matchmaker service!- and have fun at the same time. You can even improve your skills when you really need to wipe the smirk off that guys face!
So, if you were to ask about social gaming today, the reply is more likely to be ‘what’s your favourite game?’ or ‘what time can you play?’
On the whole, gaming is accepted far more widely these days, and being social while gaming has never been easier. So when life’s getting you down, load up Counter Strike, or call some mates, and take it out on your PS2!
That’s the type of thing you may have heard a few years ago. But in this very short space of time, your typical ’gamer’ has evolved. This is because of many factors;
The movie business. Many films have been turned into games, so people with no previous interest in gaming may be drawn this way. In any case, it has brought us attention from those that would otherwise not be interested.
The size of the industry. With the size of the gaming industry today, it is hard for anyone to ignore it completely. Business-men buy stocks in the gaming companies because of their success on Wall Street.
Microsoft entering the console market. Microsoft is a name that nobody can get away from. Such a big name moving seriously into the gaming arena is something that people cant turn a blind eye on - And thus gaming is seen in a different way by new people.
Also, even people uninitiated in the gaming genre will probably know about online gaming. Far from being ’proper’ social gaming, it still counts to a lot of people. Gamers all over the world laying and communicating - even making online ’communities’? Its enough to make anyone think twice about the previous stereotype.
So nowadays, we have adults and children alike playing games, many of them even obsessed with it. With this much popularity in the market, its very unlikely that you wont find anyone living near you that loves gaming too! Sites like Special Reserve, aimed at gamers bring them together, another form of social ’gaming’. Gaming magazines take up twice as much shelf space than they used to. In fact, its more or less impossible to ignore gaming as a whole.
So what of social gaming? What is it? How big is it?
Well, as I have briefly mentioned before, there are different types.
The first type is multiplayer games played over the internet. Although the capacity for this has been around a long time, it has only quite recently taken off. And when I say taken off, I mean it! Games like Counter Strike have millions of players worldwide. People make online ‘clans’ - like communities that work together to win. People talk to each other in the game - often from different sides of the globe! Heck, its been known for people to cross oceans to come and see the person they’ve been playing against!
The next type of social gaming is the online communities. Though not actually gaming at the time, these are places to go where you can talk about gaming experiences, write your reviews, help other people out when they are stuck on a game, and basically chat with other people like you! In fact, you may even discover other people that live very close to you! When I came to Special Reserve, I got talking to some people. When someone asked me where I was from, and told me where they lived, I was surprised to find he lived about 10 minutes away, AND I knew him! Places like this can really bring you some online ‘friends’.
The third, and final, type of social gaming I want to talk about is ‘in the real world’. Basically, when people come round your house to play games, or you go to theirs. Or even places like the ‘i’ series, where gamers from all over meet up.
Gaming with friends is a completely different aspect of social gaming to what I have talked about before. What most people consider being real social activity is going out with your friends, or playing sports with friends. Playing games with them is no different, and is in a lot of cases the most enjoyable aspect of all social gaming. Offering laughs and fun, multiplayer games are probably some of the biggest selling. Race friends in a game like Mario Kart, or go into serious mode and kill them in something like Perfect Dark. Of course, there’s the hilarious games like worms, that are just ment to be shared with other people. Although a good shoot ‘em up is a great way of relieving stress! Aside from the competitive aspect, working together can be fun as well. And if you are trying to defeat a really hard boss, the friend actually being in the same room can help! It can even help improve your relationship - getting past a hard level can be very rewarding, and doing it together means you both did well! Even single player games can be more fun with other people around - whether they help you solve a puzzle, or give you a new idea to try, two heads are better than one! You can even take turns (unless you’ve a brand new PS2 and they have dirty hands!).
Places like i8 are great because you can meet other people with the same interests as you - a bit like a matchmaker service!- and have fun at the same time. You can even improve your skills when you really need to wipe the smirk off that guys face!
So, if you were to ask about social gaming today, the reply is more likely to be ‘what’s your favourite game?’ or ‘what time can you play?’
On the whole, gaming is accepted far more widely these days, and being social while gaming has never been easier. So when life’s getting you down, load up Counter Strike, or call some mates, and take it out on your PS2!
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Thats OK - It's been done so many times, you weren't to know :)
TheBest_2k1 wrote:
Strafex, 'I' have not done it before
Sorry, my mistake.
Strafex, 'I' have not done it before
Sorry, my mistake.
I like playing games, be it with friends, family, or on my own, I don't mind, it's all good fun.
But there was a time that most games didn't have multiplayer options. Or 2 player games were simply a case of taking turns to try a level. For instance Space Harrier's two player option simply meant you played until you lost a life, then player 2 got to play until he lost a life. That game would have been excellent if you could have been on the same side.
Mind you, some games from the same era (I'm thinking mostly Sega Master System games for the mo) did allow you to play at the same time as your mate. Double Dragon stands out as one of the better ones, as does Bubble Bobble.
But back in this day multiplayer games were usually found down your local arcade, with 4 players gathered around a 'Gauntlet' coin-op, or taking turns to bash the buttons in Track 'n' Field. Then there were the beat em-ups.
It seems to me that Street Fighter 2 coming to home consoles was one of the things that really highlighted just how much fun multiplayer games could be, and the home systems were now powerful enough to handle them.
Diving over to the 'other side' for a mo I'll talk Nintendo, as my SNES was a far superior console for multiplayer frolics than the Megadrive ever was, though the Megadrive eventually got ports of these games, the SNES seemed to gt them first!
The afore-mentioned Street Fighter 2 lead to a plethora of beat em ups becoming available on the home console, and eventually some even bettered Street Fighter, but there were so many other multiplayer wonders out there, Bomberman being particularly outstanding for simple fun. The 'co-op' mode was revisited with Konamis 'Zombies (ate my neighbors)'.
Things just seem to have developed from there really, with FPS Deathmatches being born onto consoles, more sports games than ever before, and multiplayer options being squeezed into traditional one player games now, such as Banjo Tooie, or Conkers Bad Fur Day.
It has to be said that playing games with your friends is great fun, and makes some games a 'must-have', but deep down I'm still a solo gamer. To me nothing beats coming to the end of a single player quest, having overcome every obstacle. Still, at least when people come over now they don't just have to sit and watch - though there really should be a 'gibbon' mode for your less capable friends. You know the sort, you ask them to join you in a co-op mode and they shoot innocent peopel and draw attention your way. Well they should be given a 'gibbon' mode in which they can do no harm, but thing they're doing something worthwhile. A bit like a golf caddy, maybe, they could carry the weapons!
But there was a time that most games didn't have multiplayer options. Or 2 player games were simply a case of taking turns to try a level. For instance Space Harrier's two player option simply meant you played until you lost a life, then player 2 got to play until he lost a life. That game would have been excellent if you could have been on the same side.
Mind you, some games from the same era (I'm thinking mostly Sega Master System games for the mo) did allow you to play at the same time as your mate. Double Dragon stands out as one of the better ones, as does Bubble Bobble.
But back in this day multiplayer games were usually found down your local arcade, with 4 players gathered around a 'Gauntlet' coin-op, or taking turns to bash the buttons in Track 'n' Field. Then there were the beat em-ups.
It seems to me that Street Fighter 2 coming to home consoles was one of the things that really highlighted just how much fun multiplayer games could be, and the home systems were now powerful enough to handle them.
Diving over to the 'other side' for a mo I'll talk Nintendo, as my SNES was a far superior console for multiplayer frolics than the Megadrive ever was, though the Megadrive eventually got ports of these games, the SNES seemed to gt them first!
The afore-mentioned Street Fighter 2 lead to a plethora of beat em ups becoming available on the home console, and eventually some even bettered Street Fighter, but there were so many other multiplayer wonders out there, Bomberman being particularly outstanding for simple fun. The 'co-op' mode was revisited with Konamis 'Zombies (ate my neighbors)'.
Things just seem to have developed from there really, with FPS Deathmatches being born onto consoles, more sports games than ever before, and multiplayer options being squeezed into traditional one player games now, such as Banjo Tooie, or Conkers Bad Fur Day.
It has to be said that playing games with your friends is great fun, and makes some games a 'must-have', but deep down I'm still a solo gamer. To me nothing beats coming to the end of a single player quest, having overcome every obstacle. Still, at least when people come over now they don't just have to sit and watch - though there really should be a 'gibbon' mode for your less capable friends. You know the sort, you ask them to join you in a co-op mode and they shoot innocent peopel and draw attention your way. Well they should be given a 'gibbon' mode in which they can do no harm, but thing they're doing something worthwhile. A bit like a golf caddy, maybe, they could carry the weapons!
Thanks guys!
And Strafex, 'I' have not done it before, but I know it has been done before.
But anyway, yes I suppose Sony did introduce gaming into the mainstream, especially bringing in teenagers and younger adults, as I guess they never really had much open to them before the PSX.
I'm just glad these days that We are not seen as 'lonely geeks', and that gaming is fun for all ages!
And Strafex, 'I' have not done it before, but I know it has been done before.
But anyway, yes I suppose Sony did introduce gaming into the mainstream, especially bringing in teenagers and younger adults, as I guess they never really had much open to them before the PSX.
I'm just glad these days that We are not seen as 'lonely geeks', and that gaming is fun for all ages!
It is a good post, but I can't help feeling that he's done it before...
Perhaps I'm wrong.
Perhaps I'm wrong.
Good post
Yeah, Sony also taught Sega and Nintendo a stern lesson about ripping gamers off (with the overhyped and over priced Saturn and N64)
Now both companies have seen the error of their ways and come up with master pieces as a result.
The Superb Dreamcast and Gamecube. Ironically, we can actually thank Sony for them.
Now both companies have seen the error of their ways and come up with master pieces as a result.
The Superb Dreamcast and Gamecube. Ironically, we can actually thank Sony for them.
Good post.
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