“Alas, poor campaigns! I knew them, Gamers; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; they hath borne me on their back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?” – Everyone playing solo campaigns. Seriously though, it was paraphrased from some dude named ‘Bill Wigglestick’
They are a dying breed, no doubt about it. I, for one, remember the era of times gone by, wherein the word ‘multiplayer’ meant connecting our Gameboys together with nothing but hopes, prayers, tears, and occasionally a link cable. Oh, those were the days!
Alright, so I side a little on the dramatic; How could I not? It seems like the death knells for the solo player campaign are all but upon us. Let’s not pretend you haven’t noticed– It’s incredibly telling of the times when news stories cover the addition of a solo campaign as opposed to just assuming its inclusion like they have in years past. More often than not, our precious solo-handed missions are on their way out with little to no sense of urgency to revive them.
There was a time, not so long ago, where games were essentially a form of interactive film. Their similarities are what attracts a high amount of crossover between the story crafting crowds of both mediums and continuously drives the ‘Video game movie adaptation’ machine (often times to erm, ‘Mixed reviews‘). Games like The Last of Us, Bioshock: Infinite, Fallout and most of the Telltale Games adaptations have provided hours upon hours of well crafted, well executed and character driven stories filled with touching moments, gripping setpieces and many a moral dilemma left long after the final credits roll. If you haven’t figured it out, I’m a story kinda guy. It’s important to me to know why my gaming character does/can do what they do.
At any rate, it seems the reason many of these games stand out is because of their dwindling competition. So what exactly happened here? With the largest developers currently leaning towards a model driven heavily by online interaction with other players, our precious offline ‘alone’ time has taken a back seat to the all mighty micro-transaction.
Here at ZeMind games, we keep it simple. We only ever ask for a transaction if A) Your gameplay experience isn’t going to be interrupted by the request and B) The transaction isn’t necessary for you to complete the game. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy!
However, it would be incredibly remiss to say the shift towards micro-transactions is the only reason we’ve arrived at our current place in gaming. The truth is we we pushed the industry in this direction ourselves. Gamers, as a community, have frequently fought against the awkward/loner stereotype, and it appears many developers have actually listened.
Shocking, right? Despite what the internet may spew, developers can and often do, listen.
It might sound like I’m lamenting the death of single player games, but I’m not. Like the dinosaur, solo campaigns evolved. Not extinct, but adapted to fit in the modern world; In the palms of our hands alongside our numerous social media apps to be exact. If you really do miss a single player experience you should know where to find them- Usually tucked into your front pocket somewhere. There’s nothing wrong with the way the industry is moving, but for those of us who hunt for some unplugged down time, you usually need not look further than your index finger.
-Charlie Ze Newbie
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