Is the single player game dead?

[Jace]

With the advent of Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament we are being treated to a new level of AI opponents. With this in mind can it be said that either game truly has a single player mode?

The bot AI in Unreal Tournament is first class and although I haven’t seen as much of the Quake 3 bot AI they certainly have attitude. Games programmers are trying their damnedest to make the bots behave as real people and it is hard not to curse various bots as they take you out. Also with the addition of actual tournaments where you progress to take on a grand master character are we moving to the point where, although you are the only REAL player, we are playing against various AI personalities rather than simply you against the computer, virtual players as it were? Did that make any sense? LOL

Ok so playing against computer controlled opponents is nothing new. Games like Tekken play in a similar way to what is currently happening with Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 albeit in a different game genre. But the point I am trying to make is that maybe bot AI is increasing to the point where we are starting to bestow personalities on them thus making the notion of a single player game redundant.

Perhaps it is just me and my overactive imagination but I would like to see if I am the only mad person on this planet

Jace - aka The-Borg

[This message has been edited by Jace (edited 18 November 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Jace (edited 18 November 1999).]

 

[kryt]

I agree with you to a point. Just do this one thing. Load up a botmatch and watch as a spectator, track one of the better bots - I did this just for sake of it - the playstyle, the aim - it scared me shitless i tell you, i was amazed - imho the AI pisses all over that of the UT bots and certainly the previous Q2 erazer/gladiators etc.

The single player game as we know it is gonna be a gonner i reckon, this sort of game is fast actionpacked and got me going back for more.
BTW, this is the man speaking that swore blind im a hardened q2 player and play nowt else but the king game. The demo test shocked me and got me playing that. The demo should be even better. God knows what the full release will be like. And the bot AI is still one of the areas that need the most work apparantly.
(!)



------------------
| |KrYt3N| |
redalert@barrysworld.co.uk
Q2BattleUK Admin and IRC Co-Ordinator

 

[old.Iron Pants]

I have King Pin and haven't played it single player past the first level. I Just have to play On Line.

When the Dial Up Server works that is.

I fear the FPS single player game is dying. Not surprising since the last time a FPS game scared me shitless was the Aliens Total Conversion based on Doom 1.

What ever you're gonna do do it fast!!

 

[HangTime]

while i would agree that the longeivity of a FPS game depends on its deathmatch element, i think that there is still a place for the more traditional single player aspect. something like half life is a good example of this, it succeded as a single player game even amongst the modern times of frenetic dm gibbing.

dont get me wrong, deathmatch/botmatch is my favourite way to play (mainly cos each game is different), but the single player game can realy b a moving experience if done well. Doom2, Unreal and HalfLife did this for me.

however, from a game developers POV, there is an interesting dillema. they need to include some single player element, in order to get all the $$$ from the millions of ppl without net connections. yet the development time/cost of scripting a traditonal sp experience with linear levels and progression is very high, an additional cost on top of the basic engine development and deathmatch section. this is one of the reasons why game like daikatana and unreal b4 it have been delayed by like 2yrs. they have very ambitions (and huge!) single player games. so the 'easy' way out is to just write a multiplayer game, and attach a botmatch element to it. whcih isnt neccesaryily a bad thing, just a fact of life