7 Ways to Save Online Gaming
- January 10, 2007 12:00 PM PST
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Online console gaming (mostly) sucks. So we asked the boys from Bungie, Insomniac, DICE, and Treyarch to toss in their suggestions. The results? Amazing.
Driving home from the Target in Daly City, I couldn't wait. Because I'm a chronic nail biter with few sharp edges left on my ravaged cuticles, I stabbed into the game's shrink wrap with a ball-point pen and removed the security sticker, an operation that would save me 30 precious seconds when I finally got home and wedged the game into my Xbox 360 for some multiplayer action.
The game? Splinter Cell: Double Agent, the latest entry in one of my favorite gaming series of all time. But from the moment I signed into Xbox Live, I was crushed: seconds into the online game, Double Agent's Xbox Live mode was riddled with problems. From bugs, crashes, and heavy lag to the counterintuitive matchmaking and lobby system, Splinter Cell: Double Agent's online mode required more time and patience than I was willing to give. I never played Double Agent online again, despite my overwhelming love for the series and the clear potential of its online mode.
If I were to say Splinter Cell is the only recent console game with online multiplayer problems, I'd be a lie. The sad truth is that aside from Halo 2 and a handful of other popular console games, most online experiences are mediocre. With bugs and crashes running rampant, and lobby systems that feel like last-minute throwtogethers, it's obvious that online components of console games don't get the kind of developmental attention they deserve. But with online-only games like World of Warcraft proving that the future of online gaming is a very populated, popular, and profitable place, it's hard to understand why.
My sour experience with Double Agent, as well as several other recent online-enabled console games, raised many questions. How important is an online mode to a console game? Why don't developers put as much, if not more, focus into the online mode as the single-player campaign? And just how long will an everyday gamer suffer a problem-ridden online game mode before he or she calls it quits?
In short, what's wrong with online console games?
What does the future hold for online console games? Let's find out.
The Current Sad State
While simply adding an online component to an otherwise single-player-only console game may seem like a bonus feature to some consumers, others--specifically those looking for the next Halo 2--could be mislead. Considering the $60-plus price tags on new-generation games, no one wants to shell out that much money for something they don't want, led by misinformation. Press reviews can help, but with varying tastes and a consumer base that is quickly expanding and becoming more diverse each and every day, it's important that a game buyer know exactly what he/she is getting.
There are some big questions, and I needed some big answers. So I talked with some of the most well-known game developers of all time: Bungie, Treyarch, Insomniac, and DICE. Representing the teams behind Halo 2 and Halo 3, Call of Duty 3, Resistance: Fall of Man, and the Battlefield series, these industry-leading developers are proven heavy-hitters in the online department; these are the guys who managed to get the online experience right.
Table of Contents
1: First Impressions Are Everything
2. Matchmaking is Not an Option
3: Invent Interesting New Game Modes
4: Frag the Lag
5: Cheating Kills
