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The Most Important Multiplayer Games Ever
Gamasutra's 'Quantum Leap' awards roll on, with game developers voting in the titles they see as the most important multiplayer titles ever made. These are non-massive multiplayer games that significantly advanced the pastime of playing videogames with other people. Some of the listed games are gimmes (Goldeneye, Tribes), but I thought an Anonymous submitter's comment about humble Pokémon was interesting: "Tajiri-san's introduction of the collect and trade concept opened the eyes of every developer, all of whom previously believed multiplayer was either head-to-head or cooperative. What Pokémon created with this breakthrough concept was a true sense of community centered about a game - a kinship among people which transcended the immediate game environment. With the inclusion of real-world Pokémon merchandise, and a constant flow of new, wicked-cute characters, it was easy for anyone to embrace the Pokémon lifestyle...not that I would ever admit to it." Any multiplayer classics you'd add to the list?
Total Annihilation, the first 3D multiplayer strategy game.
They're different animals, to be sure. I started out on consoles and had a heck of a time getting used to NOT being able to keep tabs. Certainly, it's a less realistic mode of play... I just viewed it as a particular gameplay element within the game. My friends and I actually rigged up four TVs, all running the same av feed from an N64, facing away from one another and each 3/4s covered with cardboard (it was the trashiest setup in video game history) so that we could play with 'solo' screens. I'm a big fan of Halo, Half-Life and Gears of War today, but I still say Goldeneye plays better when you can see your opponents' screens. I generally dislike radar in FPS's, too. I just think splitscreen in Goldeneye works for some reason. Nathan
I wasted way too much of my life back then on Street Fighter II.
From my perspective, what SFII did to revolutionize video games is create a massive social aspect to visiting an arcade. It was not at all uncommon to see twenty or more people gathered around one arcade machine trying to keep track of who had their quarter in next. You could play complete strangers and have long conversations about the merits of Ryu vs. Ken, if Vega was a "cheap" character and how last week you saw some asian dude beat everyone while using Chun-Li.
When Champion Edition came out my friends and I traveled to arcades all over the city where we heard they had the game. I got kicked out of my favorite pizza parlor for "stringing" the game (taping a thread to a quarter to get tons of games).
I made more friends playing SFII than I did doing any other activity in my youth, including playing sports and going to school.
I have fond memories of the game, but I have no desire to buy the XBLA version of it. I've long since grown beyond those kinds of games.
The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.