• CEO of Gogogic Says Single-Player is a 'Gimmick'
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[quote] [B][IMG]http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/119/119977.jpg[/IMG] The CEO of social gaming company Gogogic says that games are naturally meant to be played with others.[/B]Reykjavik-based Gogogic specializes in casual and social gaming, so it does have a certain bias about how people play games, but even so these comments by CEO Jonan Antonsson are a little extreme. In a recent interview, he effectively dismissed single-player gaming, saying that while there's a "strong audience for hard and unrelenting games" like[I]Demon's Souls[/I], games are meant first and foremost to be played with others. "The single player mechanic is a gimmick - games are meant to be played with others and it doesn't matter if it's in-person or online," Antonsson said. "The first games were designed as multiplayer experiences, but when computer and console games became a thing there was a need to construct an antagonist and/or a protagonist for commercial purposes. You couldn't depend on people coming together to have a synchronous experience over a game. That would have simply stifled sales. And since there was no reasonable way to connect people in other ways - the arcade was the only serious attempt - it became an industry need to project the game as the other player." "Playing a game is a multiplayer activity and can easily be seen as such when you watch young toddlers play by themselves," he added. "They invent someone to play with, someone that they talk to and interact with." I can see where he's coming from - historically, especially as children, people have played with others - but videogames have changed the definition of "play." You don't read multiplayer books, after all, and listening to music or watching television isn't an inherently social activity either. Antonsson hedged his bet somewhat by stating that even something as simple as a high score list is enough to make a game social and "transform it to an asynchronous multiplayer experience," but he then went on to restate his belief that single-player experiences are becoming largely irrelevant to anyone outside a very niche audience. "Now we can connect people in and around a game through real time PvP and PvE mechanics and the need for pure single player games had gone down. We have multiple plots and stories and build the meta-experience for the entire audience. The premise for making games has changed - reverted back to building multiplayer experiences that are true to the game form," he said. "This doesn't mean that we have run out of room when it comes to great single-player titles or games that make you sweat and curse every couple of minutes. It means that those titles have to be very appealing and cater well to the hardcore audience." Source: [URL="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.392288-Gogogic-CEO-Says-Single-Player-is-a-Gimmick"]The Escapist[/URL] Read More: [URL="http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/exclusive-gogogic-on-branded-games-accessibility-and-more"][a]ListDaily[/URL][/quote] Yeah, I know this is just some social-gaming company so they're biased as fuck, but I still think it's funny.
[img]http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/119/119977.jpg[/img] that picture says all i need to hear
It's very difficult to tell an engaging and immerse story when a game is multiplayer (only)...
Who are these guys anyway
So games like Half-Life are gimmicks? hahahahahaha. Those "social" games he makes are the god damn gimmicks.
[QUOTE=Glorbo;38207841]Who are these guys anyway[/QUOTE] People who make shitty facebook styled games. [url]http://www.gogogic.com/games/[/url]
It took so long for video games to be seen as some sort of art form and now these publishers and developers want to throw that away for more $$$.
Yeah, because there was just a void before social gaming.
It my be a gimmick but it's the only reason I'll buy a game. Looks like you ain't getting any of my money.
Books are a gimmick too. So are movies. Everyone get a life and be ~social~
Multiplayer is a gimmick if anything
[QUOTE=Rika-chan;38207965]Multiplayer is a gimmicks if anything[/QUOTE] Neither fucking kind is a gimmick for gods sake. There are games which make more sense with other people, and there are games which make more sense in isolated and strictly controlled environment. It's about which kind of game are you making.
[quote]"The single player mechanic is a gimmick - games are meant to be played with others and it doesn't matter if it's in-person or online,[/quote] Solitaire
When I play single player games, I'm actually disappointed when the game ends, because I don't want the game to end. I want to immerse myself in the world to its fullest. Singleplayer games need to start getting much longer in my opinion.
CEO of what? Who the fuck are gogogic?
I kind of see what he's getting at with original board games, and card games. But games are different now, so I strongly disagree with him.
How about [QUOTE]social gaming[/QUOTE] companies like his actually start making social games instead of gamified stat arms races before they shit on proper singleplayer games?
I read that as CEO of Google Says Single-Player is a "Gimmick" I am pretty sure most of fp would be giving the op winners if that is the case.
To those criticizing this guy... perhaps the brilliant mind behind the grand triumph that is [B]CakePopParty[/B] knows a [I]little[/I] more about video games than you do, hm?
[URL="http://www.cakepopparty.com/"]The game's website.[/URL]
[QUOTE=Civil;38208220]I read that as CEO of Google Says Single-Player is a "Gimmick" I am pretty sure most of fp would be giving the op winners if that is the case.[/QUOTE] No, they definitely wouldn't. Regardless of who says it, this is a stupid statement.
Who are these guys and why are they suddenly relevant?
We'll see who's games are gimmicks when his company will fail.
Wow I thought it said google so I was dissapointed the CEO of google would say something so dumb, now I'm happy it wasnt google.
That opinion doesn't mean very much coming from someone who is to the gaming industry what someone who writes jingles for car commercials is to the music industry.
Spouting shit about stuff he doesn't know.
so err Mass Effect is a gimmick eh
Funny because this Gogonic company has nothing to compete against Dota2, GTAV, (HL3), BF3, all of which are both single- AND multiplayer games, and great games too.
I've never even heard of this company before, who is he to define how games are supposed to be played? Is he that ignorant of the MASSIVE list of successful singleplayer games out there?
The thing is, is that if I want to be social I'll go out with friends, not sit about playing social games. I usually want to play games when I'm bored and have nothing to do.
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