The System 158
I had fun writing this one. I knew the joke right away, that to play together you have to NOT hang out, but it took me about 30 minutes to tweak how it all came together. I couldn’t decide on whether to end the joke with the lonely guy being excited that his friend left, or disappointed and confused. I think in the end it’s happily ambiguous.
The concept of playing with friends far away is understandable, since there are many cases that you cannot be in person. However, the idea that multiplayer on the same console has been lost in the process is really disappointing. Maybe it’s because my “peak” video game years were spent playing against friends after school and siblings in person, but in my mind the art of multiplayer games has been lost in recent years. I want to share the experience with others, but that doesn’t mean miles away. Sometimes, you want video games to be a social activity in a way that being apart can’t fill.
That being said, I don’t think there aren’t lots of games out there that are fun in groups. Rock Band, Smash Bros., Wii Sports (can you tell I own a Wii?) just to name a few, but I stand by my statement that the era of getting together to play with your friends is being lost to going your separate ways just to meet up online. I guess that’s not just video games, now that I think about it.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Just found your comic today and I read them all. Great stuff. This one here is just too true. I play multiplayer games with my friend at his house, but we have to take turns since you can only play multiplayer against people online. Why no online, split screen mulitplayer? Do they really think they won't sell enough [insert console here] if we, the consumer, can sit in the same room and play on the same console???
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I understand that trying to make games that look amazing and are multiplayer on one console is difficult, but the joy of that shared experience is so much better. Funny enough, this comic came out of Left 4 Dead having amazing multiplayer online, but no support for multiplayer “in person”.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I totally agree. The fun of playing multiplayer, competitive games is the reparte that comes from being together. That way you get to "comment" to put it politely to the other person's face and see there expression.
Playing by yourself against someone far away, just doesn't provide the same satisfaction. That's why I really like Wii (even though I don't own one.).
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I miss multiplayer games…
Burnout was my favourte for multiplayer fun.
Racing against someone and hearing/watching them yell in agony as they smash into an oncoming vehicle…
That was lacking in the newest one (paradise)…
So they come out with this expansion pack (party pack), saying it'll be splitscreen fun.
However… Upon loading it up. I find it is not splitscreen fun… But pass the controller "challanges"…
They missed the boat and I'm out $12…
And my online experience wasn't much better…
I joined a race online to find some prepubescent lad making baby noises into his headset.
Needless to say I logged off.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:24 am
That's an FML sorta situation. I used to LOVE Burnout, but then I stopped owning systems that would play it. Such is life.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:13 am
I totally agree.
The last game with decent split-screen and online multiplayer combined that I know of was Mari Kart Wii. I enjoyed that title, but it's really sad that that's the pinnacle of multiplayer for me.
I'm getting Street Fighter 4 soon though, let's see what that can do :p
February 24th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I may need to buy an Xbox 360…
February 24th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Now that you have had an article at comicbookrevolution.com you will need to start brining your "A" game and stop phoning it in on the toilet . . .
. . . this strip was an example of the awesomeness that only my boy could produce.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Thanks dad!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Hey cuz! Remember when we used to play MMRPGs on vacation when we were kids?I love having you for a cousin
February 27th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Yes, I too miss being able to physically abuse the other player/s after/during/before a game. I can't remember the last time I went over to a friends house just to play a game. There's still Soul Calibur and such, I guess.
July 12th, 2010 at 1:28 am
Actually, I've found that laptops solve this. My friends will frequently start multiplayer games in our dorm lounge, all of them on their laptops, with those of us who don't play watching or just making fun of them.
September 20th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Forget ye not the Worms games. Hotseat multiplayer and exploding farm critters. Jinks was ensued. Sometimes of the hi- variety.
July 19th, 2011 at 2:08 am
See, this is why you get a group of consoles and TVs in the same room, so you can still have in-person fun for non-split-screen games.