[quote] The makers of such acclaimed single-player video games as Portal and Half-Life 2 want all of their future games to support connected, non-solo gaming, in some way, at all levels.
That assertion first appeared in the Final Hours of Portal 2, journalist Geoff Keighley's recent behind-the-scenes chronicle about Valve's newest game. It's an assertion he told me he heard directly from Valve founder Gabe Newell and the company's project manager Erik Johnson.
"Portal 2 will probably be Valve's last game with an isolated single-player experience," Keighley wrote in Final Hours, "What this all means is something Newell is still trying to figure out."
Keighley told me that he considered the comment "curious," noting that the quality of the solo-only main campaign of Portal 2 was a fantastic piece of work. (I've checked with Valve on this, but they didn't reply by press time.) The signs that solo-only modes are on their way are there, not just from within Valve but all around the pioneering games company.
Valve's Portal 2 introduced multiplayer to the Portal games through a two-player co-op mode. The company's recent 2008 and 2009 Left4Dead games were presented as a primarily-multiplayer experience, even on consoles where such an animal is about as rare as a Nintendo-made Halo game. Valve has also continued to aggressively support its multiplayer Team Fortress 2, a game launched alongside Portal in 2007.
The company's primary vehicle for single-player-only experiences has been the one that the public hasn't seen anything new of since 2007. The campaign portions of Half-Life put players in control of hero Gordon Freeman; other players haven't been able to join the game's main adventure. While Valve has used its Half-Life games to present a more lively, less lonely first-person-shooter campaign, it has done so strictly through improving the artificial intelligence and acting of Freeman's computer-controlled allies, namely Alyx Vance (pictured with our hero above).
Outside of Valve single-player-only games have been vanishing. After a long stretch as leading single-player franchise, Super Mario games on consoles now include second-player support. Series that launch as solo-only such as Uncharted or BioShock add multiplayer for their second installment. Hold-outs like God of War seem destined to add support for multiple players, somehow, some way. A company like Capcom doesn't just make millions with its four-player series Monster Hunter, but it's slowly but surely been pushing its formerly single-player-only series, Resident Evil, into a vehicle for multiplayer console Resident Evil games (the upcoming co-op and competitive Operation Raccoon City) and multiplayer portable ones (the co-op Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D). Even Capcom's Dragon's Dogma, though single-player, simulates a multiplayer experience by giving the main player a host of computer-controlled allies who behave as joining Monster Hunter gamers might.
The comment from Valve is striking, though, in that it doesn't sound like Newell and Johnson said they'd probably never ship a game that didn't have a multiplayer mode somewhere in it. Rather, they told Keighley they "probably" wouldn't make a game "with an isolated single-player experience." That would mean no more modes that couldn't connect in some fashion to other people. Would, say, letting a second player control Alyx in Half Life 3 do the trick? Or could Valve be cooking up something less expected?[/quote][URL="http://kotaku.com/#%215795355/valve-probably-done-with-single+player-games"]http://kotaku.com/#!5795355/valve-probably-done-with-single+player-games[/URL]
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/06/gabenewell580px.jpg[/IMG]
Looking forward to buying a golden crowbar and headcrab hat for Gordon in the Ep3 store.
What about Episode 3? :(
Well, considering both half-life and half-life 2 have multiplayer components, this has probably been their plan all along for HL3
[QUOTE=Soldier32;29424708]What about Episode 3? :([/QUOTE]
It never existed in the first place.
So maybe coop episode 3 with Alyx as one player and freeman as the other?
Maybe they're finally gonna work on The Crossing?
Wow Valve, really?
Uhh, so what about those people like me that have those 'rare' moments where they don't want to deal with the idiots online and/or want a story (if you haven't noticed, multiplayer 'stories' are never as good as their singleplayer counterparts)?
I'd be okay with Co-op only Ep3. As long as it still had a campaign.
[QUOTE=Soldier32;29424708]What about Episode 3? :([/QUOTE]
episode fortress 3
Well so long as it'll still be possible to play their games singleplayer, I'm OK with that.
Now... if we [i]have[/i] to play, say, Episode 3 in co-op with no singleplayer option... then I might be a little irked.
[QUOTE=MadCatMkII;29424733]I'd be okay with Co-op only Ep3. As long as it still had a campaign.[/QUOTE]
I rather they do Episode 3 single-player only before the team fortress the shit out of it.
Singleplayer > Multiplayer any day of the week in my book
Get different glasses on gordon freeman whilst playing coop, including a selection from Elton John!
As with most of you guys, I'd be fine with this as long as there's still the great singleplayer we expect, a co-op part would be awesome too, if it's like how Portal 2 was.
Well obviously, you can't sell hats in a game where no one will see them.
[QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;29424732]Wow Valve, really?
Uhh, so what about those people like me that have those 'rare' moments where they don't want to deal with the idiots online and/or want a story (if you haven't noticed, multiplayer 'stories' are never as good as their singleplayer counterparts)?[/QUOTE]
I know right. I mean when I play games that have amazing story lines I don't want to have to wait for people/servers or contend with lag and bad players. I like having a solo experience.
edit: With that said though I think that co-op is a good thing to have in games. Just don't make the whole game multiplayer.
I think Valve will either do what they did with Left 4 Dead, where it is a multiplayer game, but you can play on your own with bots, or what they did with Portal 2, with separate singleplayer and multiplayer modes.
These multiplayer modes could vary from a co-op system like Portal 2, a system similar to the one in Left 4 Dead, or they could go far out and include a whole different multiplayer system, such as the stuff in Half Life 2 Deathmatch, but actually build it into the game by default this time.
[QUOTE=Soldier32;29424708]What about Episode 3? :([/QUOTE]
Bundle it with a third HL: Deathmatch
This is a bad sign for Valve quality wise.
guys.... its not gonna be just multiplayer
single player only =\= single player with multiplayer
they arnt gonna make single player only games anymore
Guess I'm done with Valve games then. I couldn't give less shit about multiplayer.
Valve is so unique due to their immersive SP campaigns and experiences. If they actually fucking do this... just wow.
[QUOTE=BrQ;29424955]Guess I'm done with Valve games then. I couldn't give less shit about multiplayer.[/QUOTE]
Why? Do you have no friends to play multiplayer with? Why do you guys hate multiplayer? How does that even make any fucking sense? It's better to have some features than not have them, it's not like Valve is going to skimp on the singleplayer just because they're making a multiplayer
I'm pretty sure they mean that games won't just be singleplayer, for all we know it's singleplayer AND co-op in one menu?
[img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/index8.png[/img]
[QUOTE=Explosions;29424937]This is a bad sign for Valve quality wise.[/QUOTE]
Was Portal 2 bad? No, it was probably their best game (tied with Ep2(in my opinion))
no isolated single-player experience =/= no single player at all
I would hate it if Valve did this. I need my dose of singleplayer games. When I first played L4D and L4D2, I went through all the levels singleplayer, and I had a ton of fun. With Portal 2, I don't give a shit for co-op, I tried it with a friend and it's not as fun as I thought, then I tried co-op with random people online and the only people I was matched up with were people who disconnected, mic spammers, etc.
My experience with co-op is a shitty one.
Thank god, I didn't have enough games with hats in them.
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