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Playing video games on your own is fun - undeniable fact. But gaming with friends adds a whole new dimension to the experience.
There's something great about a group of friends getting together for an evening of gaming.
You get to socialise because it's something you all have in common. Much in the same way that a football team or squash partners socialise through common interests.
You get that feeling of belonging - when you know you have things in common with other people.
For games that require players to work together, there's that incredible feeling of achievement when the team effort wins.
Whilst online gaming allows gamers to co-operate and work together, if you're all actually in the same room it can make it much more fun, in the same way that most people prefer watching a football match with their mates than on their own.
You get to comment on each other's performance and see how everyone feels about the way each other is performing. It helps people get an idea of how well they perform in a team, and what roles they're good at - decision making, problem-solving, negotiating - even boosting morale (although if you've all got together for a night of fun, you should all be in a positive mood anyway!).
Even if a game is one-player, having your friends round often provides you with good ideas on how to do better. And you can take turns if one of you gets fed up. For games like Zelda - Ocinara of Time, the puzzles can be so abstract or just plain difficult that it takes a combined effort to overcome the sticking point.
Where players are against each other, you can learn their styles of play and exploit their strengths and weaknesses.
Some great multi-player games:
Nemesis - two-player co-operative shoot 'em up where the team effort was vital for success.
Bomberman - you're against each other but it's much more fun than playing the computer. You need fast reactions and quick thinking.
Secret of Mana - Superb RPG with multiple players at once.
Mario Party - Stupidly addictive computerised board game. Makes my friends and I act like complete kids.
Perfect Dark - Shoot and blow up your friends. Use cunning and strategy, and rapid reactions.
Worms - Cute strategy game that just keeps you coming back for more. Learn your mates' strategies and head them off at the pass, if you know what I mean.
Wish List:
How many games can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots" the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
The future:
The GBA promises many link-up games - even a multi-player RPG! I cannot express how exciting that would be for me and my friends.
Problems:
If you have no friends, what can you do? Maybe someone should set up a web-site where gamers who live near each other, are interested in similar games and of a similar age can post messages on a bulletin board - "Wanted - Friends". Or is that just a bit too sad?
Why don't more games allow friends to play together? Why don't more console games allow the machines to link up and play on separate TVs? Isn't that preferable to suffering slowdown in frame-rates and splitting the screen into two or even four tiny parts? But then you have to own more than one TV, and people have to cart around their machines...
What do you think about multi-player games? Are they a waste of time or the best thing about gaming?
There's something great about a group of friends getting together for an evening of gaming.
You get to socialise because it's something you all have in common. Much in the same way that a football team or squash partners socialise through common interests.
You get that feeling of belonging - when you know you have things in common with other people.
For games that require players to work together, there's that incredible feeling of achievement when the team effort wins.
Whilst online gaming allows gamers to co-operate and work together, if you're all actually in the same room it can make it much more fun, in the same way that most people prefer watching a football match with their mates than on their own.
You get to comment on each other's performance and see how everyone feels about the way each other is performing. It helps people get an idea of how well they perform in a team, and what roles they're good at - decision making, problem-solving, negotiating - even boosting morale (although if you've all got together for a night of fun, you should all be in a positive mood anyway!).
Even if a game is one-player, having your friends round often provides you with good ideas on how to do better. And you can take turns if one of you gets fed up. For games like Zelda - Ocinara of Time, the puzzles can be so abstract or just plain difficult that it takes a combined effort to overcome the sticking point.
Where players are against each other, you can learn their styles of play and exploit their strengths and weaknesses.
Some great multi-player games:
Nemesis - two-player co-operative shoot 'em up where the team effort was vital for success.
Bomberman - you're against each other but it's much more fun than playing the computer. You need fast reactions and quick thinking.
Secret of Mana - Superb RPG with multiple players at once.
Mario Party - Stupidly addictive computerised board game. Makes my friends and I act like complete kids.
Perfect Dark - Shoot and blow up your friends. Use cunning and strategy, and rapid reactions.
Worms - Cute strategy game that just keeps you coming back for more. Learn your mates' strategies and head them off at the pass, if you know what I mean.
Wish List:
How many games can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots" the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
The future:
The GBA promises many link-up games - even a multi-player RPG! I cannot express how exciting that would be for me and my friends.
Problems:
If you have no friends, what can you do? Maybe someone should set up a web-site where gamers who live near each other, are interested in similar games and of a similar age can post messages on a bulletin board - "Wanted - Friends". Or is that just a bit too sad?
Why don't more games allow friends to play together? Why don't more console games allow the machines to link up and play on separate TVs? Isn't that preferable to suffering slowdown in frame-rates and splitting the screen into two or even four tiny parts? But then you have to own more than one TV, and people have to cart around their machines...
What do you think about multi-player games? Are they a waste of time or the best thing about gaming?
I sent an idea into Sega ages ago (Saturn time) about a cable that lets you use seperate TV's for multi-player games, instead of the Link cable for two consoles ... are people only now thinking of actually doing it???
I dunno. I just read about the TimeSplitters thing in Edge, and it's meant to be revolutionary (for consoles), so probably, no.
Apparently, you will be able to play Timesplitters 2 on the PS2 using separate TVs. When it's out, of course.
Skippy Doris wrote:
Wish List:
How many games
> can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them
> multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots"
> the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
>
Go get codename eagle...great fun, heh, players either driving others around on trucks or pilotting planes/helicopters with someone else in a gun turret. Alternatively, Tribes 2 has the same idea, but in a more futuristic setting. More co-operative multiplayers are definately in order, especially with opportunies for backstabbing and team-killing =).
Wish List:
How many games
> can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them
> multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots"
> the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
>
Go get codename eagle...great fun, heh, players either driving others around on trucks or pilotting planes/helicopters with someone else in a gun turret. Alternatively, Tribes 2 has the same idea, but in a more futuristic setting. More co-operative multiplayers are definately in order, especially with opportunies for backstabbing and team-killing =).
Playing video games on your own is fun - undeniable fact. But gaming with friends adds a whole new dimension to the experience.
There's something great about a group of friends getting together for an evening of gaming.
You get to socialise because it's something you all have in common. Much in the same way that a football team or squash partners socialise through common interests.
You get that feeling of belonging - when you know you have things in common with other people.
For games that require players to work together, there's that incredible feeling of achievement when the team effort wins.
Whilst online gaming allows gamers to co-operate and work together, if you're all actually in the same room it can make it much more fun, in the same way that most people prefer watching a football match with their mates than on their own.
You get to comment on each other's performance and see how everyone feels about the way each other is performing. It helps people get an idea of how well they perform in a team, and what roles they're good at - decision making, problem-solving, negotiating - even boosting morale (although if you've all got together for a night of fun, you should all be in a positive mood anyway!).
Even if a game is one-player, having your friends round often provides you with good ideas on how to do better. And you can take turns if one of you gets fed up. For games like Zelda - Ocinara of Time, the puzzles can be so abstract or just plain difficult that it takes a combined effort to overcome the sticking point.
Where players are against each other, you can learn their styles of play and exploit their strengths and weaknesses.
Some great multi-player games:
Nemesis - two-player co-operative shoot 'em up where the team effort was vital for success.
Bomberman - you're against each other but it's much more fun than playing the computer. You need fast reactions and quick thinking.
Secret of Mana - Superb RPG with multiple players at once.
Mario Party - Stupidly addictive computerised board game. Makes my friends and I act like complete kids.
Perfect Dark - Shoot and blow up your friends. Use cunning and strategy, and rapid reactions.
Worms - Cute strategy game that just keeps you coming back for more. Learn your mates' strategies and head them off at the pass, if you know what I mean.
Wish List:
How many games can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots" the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
The future:
The GBA promises many link-up games - even a multi-player RPG! I cannot express how exciting that would be for me and my friends.
Problems:
If you have no friends, what can you do? Maybe someone should set up a web-site where gamers who live near each other, are interested in similar games and of a similar age can post messages on a bulletin board - "Wanted - Friends". Or is that just a bit too sad?
Why don't more games allow friends to play together? Why don't more console games allow the machines to link up and play on separate TVs? Isn't that preferable to suffering slowdown in frame-rates and splitting the screen into two or even four tiny parts? But then you have to own more than one TV, and people have to cart around their machines...
What do you think about multi-player games? Are they a waste of time or the best thing about gaming?
There's something great about a group of friends getting together for an evening of gaming.
You get to socialise because it's something you all have in common. Much in the same way that a football team or squash partners socialise through common interests.
You get that feeling of belonging - when you know you have things in common with other people.
For games that require players to work together, there's that incredible feeling of achievement when the team effort wins.
Whilst online gaming allows gamers to co-operate and work together, if you're all actually in the same room it can make it much more fun, in the same way that most people prefer watching a football match with their mates than on their own.
You get to comment on each other's performance and see how everyone feels about the way each other is performing. It helps people get an idea of how well they perform in a team, and what roles they're good at - decision making, problem-solving, negotiating - even boosting morale (although if you've all got together for a night of fun, you should all be in a positive mood anyway!).
Even if a game is one-player, having your friends round often provides you with good ideas on how to do better. And you can take turns if one of you gets fed up. For games like Zelda - Ocinara of Time, the puzzles can be so abstract or just plain difficult that it takes a combined effort to overcome the sticking point.
Where players are against each other, you can learn their styles of play and exploit their strengths and weaknesses.
Some great multi-player games:
Nemesis - two-player co-operative shoot 'em up where the team effort was vital for success.
Bomberman - you're against each other but it's much more fun than playing the computer. You need fast reactions and quick thinking.
Secret of Mana - Superb RPG with multiple players at once.
Mario Party - Stupidly addictive computerised board game. Makes my friends and I act like complete kids.
Perfect Dark - Shoot and blow up your friends. Use cunning and strategy, and rapid reactions.
Worms - Cute strategy game that just keeps you coming back for more. Learn your mates' strategies and head them off at the pass, if you know what I mean.
Wish List:
How many games can you think of that would have been improved if you could play them multi-player? Think of RPGs, or action games where one player "pilots" the craft, and the other is the "gunner". How wicked would they be?
The future:
The GBA promises many link-up games - even a multi-player RPG! I cannot express how exciting that would be for me and my friends.
Problems:
If you have no friends, what can you do? Maybe someone should set up a web-site where gamers who live near each other, are interested in similar games and of a similar age can post messages on a bulletin board - "Wanted - Friends". Or is that just a bit too sad?
Why don't more games allow friends to play together? Why don't more console games allow the machines to link up and play on separate TVs? Isn't that preferable to suffering slowdown in frame-rates and splitting the screen into two or even four tiny parts? But then you have to own more than one TV, and people have to cart around their machines...
What do you think about multi-player games? Are they a waste of time or the best thing about gaming?