Cliffy B: Japanese games 'shouldn't ignore multiplayer'

[calintz]

Cliff Bleszinski has urged Japanese developers not to ignore multiplayer if they wish to improve their standing in the global game marketplace.

Responding to internal and external criticism of the Japanese industry, Epic's design director told Gamasutra: "My advice to Japan is that in a disc-based market right now, you cannot [ignore multiplayer].

"I'm not saying tack multiplayer onto every game," he added, before citing Shadows of the Damned and Vanquish as examples of games that could have benefitted from a multiplayer component.

On Grasshopper's Shadows of the Damned, he said: "It was a beautifully crazy game with really fun gameplay, but no multiplayer co-op experience in there. I'm not saying tack on versus; there's a billion different ways you can do some sort of 'players interacting with other players.'

"And if you're going to make a third-person shooter... the fact that Vanquish didn't have a multiplayer suite was a crime. That IP, it was pretty good as far as being Western, but the gameplay was great, the vibe... and I've often said on record that if Gears is the kind of Wild, Wild West coal train chugging along, that Vanquish is the Japanese bullet train, with style and everything. And there is absolutely no reason I shouldn't have been zipping around, doing the mega slides, diving up in the air in an arena with other players."

Bleszinski went on to praise From Software's innovative approach to multiplayer in Demon's Soulsand Dark Souls, which he believes will "inspire a lot of Western developers to figure ways that you can have connected elements in campaign games, and have more of a blended experience".

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...e-multiplayer/

[KingOfSentinels]

The shitstorm over this is ridiculous. Destructoid called the article "Cliffy B wants Japanese devs to shoehorn more multiplayer", which is exactly the opposite of what he actually said. People love a good ol' whine.

Though I actually don't agree with him here, apart from with Vanquish, a multiplayer for that game would have been awesome I think. But the Japanese industry is failing for reasons other than multiplayer. Skyrim and lots of other games have proved single-player only still sells and games that don't need multiplayer can survive without it, so that definitely can't be the reason why they're not doing so well.

[Northeastmonk]

The US tends to still not accept gaming to its culture. They still advertise more for parent-child then for the middle-class working man. You know who cares about multiplayer? A culture that cannot stand single player.

You know why Gears did so well? It had MLG blood gore fest written all over it. If it was a trendy shooter it would of sold half.

With all do respect it was great, but this guy is reflecting on the future. With our best interest in mind Gears will probably be the only series some mature males will get to witness in their lives. And this comes from analyzing the responsibilities and issues that American males typically are known to confront in life today.

I'll just stick to buying Japanese developed games for the years to come, while I wait for the west to some how realize this before I'm middle-aged or retired.

Japanese devs deliver an experience a lot of Western devs still cannot produce (like the majority of horror titles). We still have Blizzard and Bethesda, but when it comes down to putting a unique experience and somewhat cliche gameplay. I still think the west inhales every type of FPS or punch and shoot action game out there. Plus multiplayer is what you do, if you game. I should start reading more and put less effort into my theory. I'll get more out of it.

[BlindMaphisto]

Do any of you seriously beleive Call of Duty would be as big as it is without multiplayer? There's a huge demad and thus money to be made for an industry in a country that could really use it. So I'm with Cliffy on this.

[loempiavreter]

Originally Posted by KingOfSentinels

Skyrim and lots of other games have proved single-player only still sells and games that don't need multiplayer can survive without it, so that definitely can't be the reason why they're not doing so well.

Please keep shit like Skyrim or anything Bethesda out of this thread.

I don't feel the need for multiplayer, I mean. I like coop games, and i like some competition, but to shoehorn deathmatch them into every game. Don't bother if SotD or Vanquish had Multiplayer it had been pretty dead by now.

Cliffy B can learn something about boss fights from those games though...

[Northeastmonk]

He should load up a title like Dead Space 2 and see if anyone is still on it. Like how Dark Souls got its console multiplayer shutoff. Replay value stinks on Multiplayer. It should all be DLC, so they can release it months after. Then they can give us more for single player. And your typical gamer can give us the whole, "I'll wait till the multiplayer DLC is out before I pick it up".

[stroopwafel]

That Vanquish didn't have multiplayer was a deliberate design choice from Mikami. Shadows of the Damned having multiplayer would have sucked because it would have spoiled the atmosphere. Demons/Dark Souls only pulled it off because of the anonymous and minimalistic set-up of its multiplayer component. But even with that game I enjoyed it more offline.

Japanese games often have a penchant for a distinct type of subtlety that western games lack that would simply be destroyed by multiplayer. What Japanese devs should stop trying to do is actually be more like western designers because it simply doesn't play into their strengths. Its no coincidence that the most succesful current-gen Japanese games are titles that the designers themselves actually enjoyed making without having a checklist in hand of what might be popular in the west, like the Souls games for example.

It is also no coincidence that the most popular Japanese games are indeed these distinctly Japanese games that don't try to cater to the sentiments espoused by Cliffy B(even if they sound sincere). If anything the Souls games have shown the talent is still there in Japan(gameplay wise even moreso than in the west I think, I mean compare the clumsy swordplay of Skyrim with the tight and responsive swordplay of Dark Souls) and so is the audience wanting to play their games. They should simply stop giving a fuck about trends, markets and their pundits. Because this kind of lazy conformity is why games are mostly such generic shooters nowadays. With multiplayer.

[Einhander]

Originally Posted by KingOfSentinels

The shitstorm over this is ridiculous. Destructoid called the article "Cliffy B wants Japanese devs to shoehorn more multiplayer", which is exactly the opposite of what he actually said. People love a good ol' whine.

Except he keeps talking about shoehorning MP in where it doesn't belong.

Vanquish? Shadows of the Damned? Fatal Frame?

Keep that dudebro, douchebag jock away from good games.

[zechin]

Vanquish multiplayer may have worked. Don't know how they'd work in the bullet time.

[Northeastmonk]

The souls series seemed better offline because online meant you aggro everything in sight. Plus the fact invading worlds would of been great every now and then. What Dark Souls did was bring the difficulty and the beauty of scaling a digital world into existence once more.

Western devs do this right, but honestly there was no voice chat in any of the Souls games. Yet he praises MP invaders. I got an idea for western devs. Don't place 10-15 people in one room with voice chat on where people get harassed, pissed, and the frequent reminder you're playing with pre-teens all the time.

I'm happier playing PC games only online. Console online gaming went to the dogs imo. The only thing it has going for it is compatibility reliability when it comes to hardware and half the time that's even messed up.

[BlindMaphisto]

Souls was a great example of creative multiplayer which I think the japanese would be good at. In fact I am just taking a break from playing Dark Souls

Demon souls was so popular the servers were actually kept up about a year longer than they said they would at the start and Dark Souls is still popular as I see little blue ghosts everywhere. Multiplayer doesn't necessarily mean repetitive deathmatch.

[KingOfSentinels]

Originally Posted by loempiavreter

Please keep shit like Skyrim or anything Bethesda out of this thread.

The point was Skyrim sold very well and was single-player only, as do many Western games. That's why I don't agree with Cliffy that adding multiplayer would really solve anything, the problem goes deeper than just a lack of care for MP. And I can mention whatever game or developer I want, thanks.

[Escaflowne2001]

I do wish Dragon's Dogma had a true multiplayer feature that would have been good but some games just don't need it.

[loempiavreter]

Originally Posted by stroopwafel

I mean compare the clumsy swordplay of Skyrim with the tight and responsive swordplay of Dark Souls)

So true.

Major devs more often would go for this "swingy sway" weak fighting systems, making it more accessible for a larger consumer target as people seem to enjoy roleplaying and exploring more then playing a videoGAME.

Originally Posted by KingOfSentinels

The point was Skyrim sold very well and was single-player only, as do many Western games. That's why I don't agree with Cliffy that adding multiplayer would really solve anything, the problem goes deeper than just a lack of care for MP. And I can mention whatever game or developer I want, thanks.

Don't mind me, I'm your local dick, being an overtly aggressive poster because of the market change to RPG's and FPS. Especially my hatred for Bethesda, they do everything wrong in my book, and for some reason keeps getting bought by people around people so it still annoyingly trying to enter my life.