BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

[Aug 20, 2010, 8:10 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

A BioShock Infinite interview on Kotaku talks with Ken Levine about BioShock Infinite, the next installment in the BioShock series, of which Irrational's creative director says: "We have not made any determinations about multiplayer." That said, he does express his skepticism: "I will say that we experiment with things, but for us we are never interested in making a multiplayer mode you could just play in some other game. Because, A) that's not creatively interesting and B), financially, you're wasting your time. They're going to go play Halo. They're going to go play Call of Duty," he explains. "If we do something new — if we do something like Left 4 Dead that has something new to say — people will come to your game. If you don't, don't waste your time."

View

21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
< Newer [ 1 2 ] Older >

21.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 22, 2010, 11:59

Verno

StingingVelvet wrote on Aug 21, 2010, 11:51:
Yup.

Stardock discovered that more than half of Demigod players never played multiplayer, despite that being a multiplayer arena game. Developers seem to confuse themselves over which mode people even choose to play, no wonder they get lost on so many other things as well.

It helped in that scenario that most people couldn't play multiplayer for the first year of Demigod's life




Playing: Faster Than Light, Tales of Graces F, Fire Emblem 3DS Watching: Ghost in the Shell, Hannibal, Oblivion

20.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 16:59

Cutter

Wow, for once we all seem to be on the same page here. Why games like this need MP is beyond me.




"Are you crazy? Is that your problem?" - Jack Burton

19.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 16:55

StingingVelvet

Beamer wrote on Aug 21, 2010, 15:43: The biggest problem with competitive multiplayer is that there will be a huge skill differential. If you're in the bottom 50% of skill, and half of you will be (not you here, you buyers) then you're going to get your ass kicked more often than you kick ass. After a while that's hugely frustrating to people. But when you play bots you can set them to be just below your own skill level, so that you're always playing a somewhat challenging game but just about always winning. More enjoyable, and the challenge can become just how much you win by. I think that's a factor, certainly. I think another major factor is that a lot of gamers are people who are not the biggest fans of social interaction and multiplayer games necessitate that on some level. For me personally I dislike multiplayer half for that reason, annoying people who play it, and half because I like to be immersed in fictional game worlds and real people pull me out of them.

18.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 15:43

Beamer

The biggest problem with competitive multiplayer is that there will be a huge skill differential. If you're in the bottom 50% of skill, and half of you will be (not you here, you buyers) then you're going to get your ass kicked more often than you kick ass. After a while that's hugely frustrating to people.

But when you play bots you can set them to be just below your own skill level, so that you're always playing a somewhat challenging game but just about always winning. More enjoyable, and the challenge can become just how much you win by.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

17.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 11:51

StingingVelvet

Beamer wrote on Aug 21, 2010, 11:46: We get this cycle every so often. Around Q3 and UT there were all these articles and predictions about SP being dead. Then someone realized that more than half the players of those games played against bots, not people, and the predictions died. Yup. Stardock discovered that more than half of Demigod players never played multiplayer, despite that being a multiplayer arena game. Developers seem to confuse themselves over which mode people even choose to play, no wonder they get lost on so many other things as well.

16.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 11:46

Beamer

It's been a kind of fashion though hasn't it? It used to be that singleplayer games were just that, then nearly the whole industry seemed to be convinced that every game needed multiplayer or it'd be outdated. Cue a whole load of shitty multiplayer modes and mediocre singleplayer experiences.

We get this cycle every so often.
Around Q3 and UT there were all these articles and predictions about SP being dead. Then someone realized that more than half the players of those games played against bots, not people, and the predictions died. Then WoW started making huge money and the predictions were that, since RPGs went multiplayer successfully, SP was dead. Then someone realized that WoW is a niche and nearly every other game following is failing, combined with Oblivion selling a bazilion copies, and those predictions died again.

Randy is 100% right, and saying what most of us have been - let the games designed around MP focus on MP. Only a handful of MP games can survive at once, since community is a huge function of multiplayer success and is a limited resource.

For the record, despite all the complaints here, MP shouldn't be to blame for any lack of quality perceived in SP BS2, as it was done by a different team, if I remember.




------------- Music for the discerning: http://www.deathwishinc.com http://www.hydrahead.com http://www.painkillerrecords.com

15.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 11:28

theyarecomingforyou

I'm glad everyone is in agreement on this. Multiplayer in Bioshock 2 felt very tacked on and was pretty terrible, even though it was one of the main selling points. I'd rather have an extra half an hour of quality singleplayer than a multiplayer that I'll play for an hour or two and get bored of.




Core i7 2600-K (4.6GHz) \| 12GB DDR3 \| GTX680 SLI (1215/1605) \| OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD \| Windows 8 Pro Hazro HZ30Wie 30" \| Saffire PRO 40 \| Razer Mamba \| Coolermaster RP1000W SteamID: theyarecomingforyou

14.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 10:20

Jonny

It's been a kind of fashion though hasn't it? It used to be that singleplayer games were just that, then nearly the whole industry seemed to be convinced that every game needed multiplayer or it'd be outdated. Cue a whole load of shitty multiplayer modes and mediocre singleplayer experiences. I'm glad that the fad seems to be fading at last. Then again Two Worlds 2 is being released next month with an entirely pointless multiplayer village thing that must have taken ages and will most likely be dead in a month after release.

13.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 10:09

space captain

Creston wrote on Aug 21, 2010, 00:36:
Wow, I'm glad someone finally figured this out. WHY does every game have DM, or CTF, or whatever randomly cobbled together multiplayer mode when in the end it's 500 people that'll play it?

If they'd not waste time on implementing a shitty MP section that nobody plays, they could maybe put like, an hour of extra SP content in a game.

Creston

youd think they would have figured this out over the last 10 years or so




Go forth, and kill!

12.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 07:09

cronik

Jerykk wrote on Aug 21, 2010, 02:55: Shooters don't all lend themselves to multiplayer. I agree, also, combat wasn't particularly satisfying in the original Bioshock.

11.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 02:55

Jerykk

Well maybe if they had dedicated servers, a modable environment and decent netcode the MP could have succeeded. Maybe it was a question of poor execution, not the idea. After all, it's an FPS with some cool weapons & shit, no? Shooters don't all lend themselves to multiplayer. Bioshock's main appeal was the story and setting, not the gameplay. It did not need multiplayer and the time and resources put into multiplayer would have been better spent on improving single-player. I understand why publishers love to add multiplayer to games. After all, they want to appeal to the broadest audience. However, when you try to make a single-player and multiplayer game, you usually end up with a game that is mediocre in one or both regards.

10.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 02:42

Prez

The MP in Bioshock 2 may have been the best ever. Who knows? Who cares? It was pointless to create it at all. I can't think of another game with MP that needed MP less than Bioshock 2. Maybe Deus Ex I guess...




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 02:14

LittleMe

Well maybe if they had dedicated servers, a modable environment and decent netcode the MP could have succeeded. Maybe it was a question of poor execution, not the idea. After all, it's an FPS with some cool weapons & shit, no?




Political freedom can only be preceded by economic freedom which is preceded by monetary freedom.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 00:38

xXBatmanXx

I don't think I have heard of anyone actually even saying they have played the MP....it must be THAT bad....




In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. / Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder. Playing: RL

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 21, 2010, 00:36

Creston

Wow, I'm glad someone finally figured this out. WHY does every game have DM, or CTF, or whatever randomly cobbled together multiplayer mode when in the end it's 500 people that'll play it? If they'd not waste time on implementing a shitty MP section that nobody plays, they could maybe put like, an hour of extra SP content in a game. Creston

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 20, 2010, 23:46

Acleacius

Nicely said.




Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.....and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 20, 2010, 22:36

ShadyPete

good...

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 20, 2010, 21:50

Nate

IMO the MP in BioShock 2 sucked horribly for more than one reason. Glad if they focus just on SP for the next one.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 20, 2010, 21:29

tony

I am more apt to buy single player games when the developers focuses solely on the single player experience. It's a good move for this type of game to focus on the single player experience. I'd still love to see a prequel to Bioshock, taking place right as the city starts to erode.

Re: BioShock Infinite Multiplayer in Doubt

Aug 20, 2010, 20:57

Rosco

Thank you Irrational, leave MP to the CS:S, CoD, Halo and the sort types. I was shocked when I heard BioShock 2 had multiplayer, and I never bought it either. Every game doesn't have to have MP in it.
I figure this, if it's going to have MP in it, the single player game suffers (See: Call of Duty 4, 6 hour SP campaign)




Consoles are schwag.

21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
< Newer [ 1 2 ] Older >