Vagrant Rant M o v i e s . G a m e s . M u s i c . "L i f e".

Here we have a post from someone who recently entered the wonderful world of game design. You can find a link to her personal blog below.

—Written by Blizz117—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

Single or multiplayer video games – which do you prefer?

Is this even a legit question? Well that depends on the person you’re asking I suppose. Just a little background knowledge of me: My area of study is Games Design so this question forms part of a group assignment I’m currently working on. That is why I picked this particular topic to discuss (and also I’m very indecisive on choosing what to talk about so learning stuff from college is awesome sauce). I’ve already written in depth about my group assignment so there is no point in discussing it in further detail here, you can totes read it in my blog (janettewritesaboutstuff.wordpress.com, #shamelesslyselfpromote).

Alrighty then, back to the question at hand! I guess it all started one day in MDU103 (which is Rational Problem Solving/Maths in case you didn’t know). A few of my classmates attempted the survey that my group had created. One of them informed me on a certain question they were about to answer. The actual question was “Do you prefer Single Player or Multiplayer Games?” and the options were: Single Player, Multiplayer and No Preference. They told me how intriguing the question was and that it would take some thinking power to answer it! (Okay, maybe not in those exact words but you get my drift). This therefore compelled me to write about it here.

I know everyone has different tastes in terms of their preference in gaming but this too has got me into deep thinking, even as we speak. I’m positive you all know the definitions of both these concepts; if you don’t then you need to re-evaluate your life decisions (I kid, but seriously though, get that noodle of yours thinking).  When it comes to my opinion on this particular question, initially I’m quite impartial in regards to which type of game I am playing since every game I play is most of the time enjoyable. But now reflecting on it, especially after 8 weeks of studying this degree, my opinion hinders slightly.

Most of the time I do engage in single player games, mainly for these reasons (This might be a long list so I’ll differentiate between pros and cons, just to be fair):

• Pros:

o   I live in a household where the majority of my family have little to no interest in video games (So more gaming for me in the gaming area! Teehee!)

o   If your supply of multiplayer games is limited then the rest is self-explanatory (Those missions aren’t gonna be accomplished themselves).

o   Not having to worry about competition between actual people! (Now I know what you’re thinking, I must be dreadful in not giving multiplayer games enough credit but hear me out). All I need to focus on at the moment when playing a single player game is myself. I’m very analytical (and slightly OCD) heck, I can even be my own worst enemy! So I can’t help but immerse myself in everything about the game (ranging from collecting objects/money/body parts, interacting with other NPC’s, perhaps blowing up stuff, you name it! Anything that the single player is able to do in that game).

• Cons:

o   If its a team based game. Who doesn’t love the idea of working together in defeating your mortal enemies? I know I feel that way sometimes.

o   Other players giving you a sense of motivation as you play – Whenever I get the opportunity to play for or against my friends in a co-op game for instance, I’ll most likely get this adrenaline rush (with a “hint” of competitiveness) to shoot everyone I encounter (Even friendly fire is a thing that happens), to be the very best (like no one ever was…), etc.

o   It’s not as mundane as playing alone can be sometimes, so beating the living daylights out of your friends in an online survival multiplayer game can be interesting if not totally insane.

Trust me, I can type for all the days in this subject matter but I won’t (Ryan wouldn’t like that, or would he? Who knows?) To those who are studying this course or one like it and who are a bit more experienced in this field, I apologise if this concept is more on the general side of things. I’m still just a novice games design student, learning as I go in my first trimester.

I think I’ll leave it at that, I would like to thank Ryan (Vagrantesque) for giving me the opportunity to be a guest writer for your blog, I’d never thought I’ll contribute to something as awesome as this but I have and will be “eternally grateful!” (Toy Story fans will get this reference).

As I’ve mentioned before, if you’re interested in reading my own blogs, just follow the link at the top of this article for some rambling goodness and hopefully you find my words somewhat amusing! #HappyReading.

DFTBA (Don’t Forget To Be Awesome).