Single-player Video Game
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A single-player video game is a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
where input from only one player is expected throughout the
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in addition to multi-player modes. Most modern console games, PC games and
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
s are designed so that they can be played by a single player; although many of these games have modes that allow two or more players to play (not necessarily simultaneously), very few actually require more than one player for the game to be played. The '' Unreal Tournament'' series is one example of such.


History

The earliest video games, such as '' Tennis for Two'' (1958), '' Spacewar!'' (1962), and '' Pong'' (1972), were symmetrical games designed to be played by two players. Single-player games gained popularity only after this, with early titles such as '' Speed Race'' (1974) and ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...
'' (1978). The reason for this, according to Raph Koster, is down to a combination of several factors: increasingly sophisticated computers and interfaces that enabled asymmetric gameplay, cooperative gameplay and story delivery within a gaming framework, coupled with the fact that the majority of early games players had introverted personality types (according to the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator). Although most modern games incorporate a single-player element either as the core or as one of several game modes, single-player gaming had been viewed by the
video game industry The video game industry is the tertiary industry, tertiary and quaternary industry, quaternary sectors of the entertainment industry that specialize in the video game development, development, marketing, distribution (marketing), distribution, ...
as peripheral to the future of gaming, with
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
vice president Frank Gibeau stating in 2012 that he had not approved one game to be developed as a single-player experience. The question of the financial viability of single-player AAA games was raised following the closure of
Visceral Games Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores) was an American video game developer studio owned by Electronic Arts. The studio is best known for creating and principally developing the Dead Space (franchise), ''Dead Space'' series, and was also in ...
by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
(EA) in October 2017. Visceral had been a studio that established itself on a strong narrative single-player focus with '' Dead Space'', and had been working on a single-player, linear narrative ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' game at the time of the closure; EA announced following this that they would be taking the game in a different direction, specifically "a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency". Many commentators felt that EA made the change as they did not have confidence that a studio with an AAA-scale budget could produce a viable single-player game based on the popular ''Star Wars'' franchise. Alongside this, as well as relatively poor sales of games in the year prior that were principally AAA single-player games ('' Resident Evil 7'', '' Prey'', '' Dishonored 2'', and '' Deus Ex: Mankind Divided'') against financially successful multiplayer games and those offer a games-as-a-service model ('' Overwatch'', '' Destiny 2'', and '' Star Wars Battlefront 2''), were indicators to many that the single-player model for AAA was waning. Manveer Heir, who had left EA after finishing his gameplay design work for '' Mass Effect Andromeda'', acknowledged that the culture within EA was against the development of single-player games, and with Visceral's closure, "that the linear single-player triple-A game at EA is dead for the time being". Bethesda on December 7, 2017, decided to collaborate with Lynda Carter to launch a Public Safety Announcement to save single-player gaming. A few years later in 2021, EA was reported to have revived interest in single-player games, following the successful launch of '' Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order'' in 2020. The company still planned on releasing live service games with multiplayer components, but began evaluating its IP catalog for more single-player titles to revive, such as a remake of the '' Dead Space'' franchise. Around the same time, head of
Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...
Phil Spencer said that they still see a place for narrative-driven single-player games even though the financial drivers of the market tended to be live service games. Spencer said that developing such games with AAA-scale budgets can be risky, but with availability of services like cloud gaming and subscription services, they can gauge audience reaction to these games early on and reduce the risk involved before releases.


Game elements

As the narrative and conflict in single-player gameplay is created by a computer rather than a human opponent, single-player games are able to deliver certain gaming experiences that are typically absent—or de-emphasised—in multiplayer games.


Story

Single-player games rely more heavily on compelling stories to draw the player into the experience and to create a sense of investment. Humans are unpredictable, so human players - allies or enemies - cannot be relied upon to carry a narrative in a particular direction, and so multiplayer games tend not to focus heavily on a linear narrative. By contrast, many single-player games are built around a compelling story."Tales of the Rampant Coyote: What Makes a Great RPG - Mechanics." Tales of the Rampant Coyote. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.


Characters

While a multiplayer game relies upon human-human interaction for its conflict, and often for its sense of camaraderie, a single-player game must build these things artificially. As such, single-player games require deeper characterisation of their non-player characters in order to create connections between the player and the sympathetic characters and to develop deeper antipathy towards the game's
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.role-playing games (RPGs), such as '' Dragon Quest'' and the ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...
'', which are primarily character-driven and have a different setting.


Exceptions

These game elements are not firm, fixed rules; single-player puzzle games such as '' Tetris'' or
racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...
s focus squarely on gameplay.


See also

*
Massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, although t ...


References


Bibliography

* * * {{video game gameplay Video game terminology