The joys of playing split/shared-screen

I find it rather sad that some developers have this notion that since the Internet is so prevalent, online multiplayer should be the only means. No split-screen, and sometimes not even LAN. Sure, we have fairly recent releases like Cortex Command and Magicka that keep the tradition going, but that's more the exception than the rule.

Sure, there's a lot of yelling and screaming and some trash talk...and laughing, too. It's all good-natured. Maybe it's because the people you're playing with are right next to you. But I can't really describe it without giving an example.

One moment that stands out is when I got a 3-player (+1 AI) Bomberman Generation match going. I'd often end up as the last human player left against the AI, somehow...and the other two just got this notion that they liked the AI player better than me, because they kept going after me as Revenge Bombers. Then one of 'em times his bomb shot just right so that I don't have time to escape, and suddenly went Oh, Crap! right after because that was the moment I realized that he's very familiar with this series, and I'm going to be up against tough competition.

We also played plenty of SuperBlast arena matches, where everyone's fully-powered and there are no soft blocks. Hilarity Ensues as the matches end seconds after they start because everyone but one died off so fast. Part of it was that I realized I had Line Bomb as part of being fully powered up and made good use of it...and occasionally screwing up totally and trapping myself in a line of my own bombs, not killing anyone else in the process. But the best moment was when I taught everyone else to Line Bomb, and they did it right at the start of the round. The reactions were priceless.

If this is what it's like with only three players, just wait 'til I get eight or even TEN players into the fray...

And maybe that's the best part of multiplayer gaming like this-seeing the reactions on their faces as something unexpectedly, stupidly hilarious occurs.

So, what are your moments in split/shared-screen gaming that make you wish modern game developers considered it more seriously?

What I find the weirdest thing is that in general, full size titles you buy in physical form tend to not have local multiplayer, but games you buy online have local multiplayer and no online. So the medium that requires online connectivity to buy doesn't use it to play.

I prefer splitscreen over internet play simply because I get to trash talk face-to-face.

What I find the weirdest thing is that in general, full size titles you buy in physical form tend to not have local multiplayer, but games you buy online have local multiplayer and no online. So the medium that requires online connectivity to buy doesn't use it to play.

What online games have you been buying? I haven't noticed that trend at all.

I never saw the appeal in split-screen multiplayer.

Thankfully all the games I want to play with others allow split/shared-screen multiplayer. I don't see the appeal of playing online unless with it's with a certain person.

I can't really name a specific moment; I've always enjoyed myself on splitscreen more than online. It's all about the friends!

In fact, the last time I remember enjoying playing a competitive game online (Counter Strike) is when I had friends around me to laugh with.

Split screen multiplaying is annoying. You think you're winning at Mario Karts Wii, and then you realise that you're not the top screen.

-sighs-

It's terrific for administering casual dickpunches when the other guy is being cheap.

More games need to do that allow both simultanious local/online multiplayer.

Even at the same time, so you can have a 4 player game with only 2 consoles, for example.

Online play has it's perks, sure, but not everyone can urge their friends to go buy a 60$ game just for the multiplayer.

You guys clearly aren't from the Goldeneye generation. Split or multi-screen is hands down the best way to play with friends, especialy when you get some popcorn and sodas to pass around. Don't use beer though, that just leads to broken controllers and retarded jokes about why Oddjob and Jaws would make an awesome gay couple...

Splitscreen is indeed one of the best ways to enjoy multiplayer games. Yes, it sacrifices half of the screen, but in return you can have someone sitting right next to you telling jokes about something retarded happening, offer you a drink, and punches your shoulder when you are using cheap tactics.

I see nothing wrong with that. Especially since screens became ridiculously big anyway.

Sin And Punishment 2 <3

It's so well-suited for playing with a second, casual-gamer player, at least on paper—telling them how to play is as simple as "aim and press the B button." Having a 2nd player doesn't affect difficulty, so 2P can take a break if need be without forcing unnecessary strain on 1P.

edited 9th Feb '11 3:30:48 AM by TsundeRay

Seconding the "more games should allow two players online from the same console" statement.

The appeal? To a lot of people, its more fun to be there with someone else, to hear them, to see the look on their face, to do victory dances that can't be emulated by a set of head phones. Then, people you are playing local with are more likely to be you friends, and more likely to do other things with you besides video games. You can't have a drink with some dude online.

By allowing you and your friend to play against other people online at the same time, it gives you more options than just against each other, or against the computer. It also makes it easier to troll online, but that's a price I'd be willing to pay.

I always play better in person. It's the best way to get comfortable and really get into your game - otherwise no matter what there's still that feeling like your matching wits with a person who's not really there.

Though the true joy of shared-screen is that it doesn't require having two consoles and two copies of the game to play effectively, especially games that heavily feature co-op (*grumblegrumble Crackdown grumblegrumble*).

edited 9th Feb '11 10:45:20 AM by KnownUnknown

Ah shoulder punching...part of the joy of split/shared screen...Sure you've got a bruise now, but hey you deserved it and you're having fun!

I also like controller passing which is a simple and cheap way to make your single player games a multiplayer experience. I have found that this works best with old platformers.

PERSON A: STOP KILLING OUR GUY.

PERSON B: THAT FUCKING TURTLE IS IN MY WAY I CAN'T HELP IT.

PERSON B: -dies and heads to start screen for being fail-

PERSON A: ...FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

edited 9th Feb '11 10:52:21 AM by Aondeug

@ Ricko

One of the first games I played on multiplayer was Goldeneye. I hated it. On the other hand, I quite enjoy shared-screen multiplayer. All the fun of dicking around with your flesh-and-blood friends with none of the hassle of dividing a 19-inch screen four ways.

edited 9th Feb '11 10:51:35 AM by KitsuneInferno

Gunstar Heroes is a fantastic game to play this way. I never get tired of killing a boss by throwing the other (new) player and watching their priceless reactions.

Maybe it is more about the friends you have to play with. I won't deny that I had a great time playing Magicka with a good friend of mine who just happens to live halfway across the world in Kuwait. But I can only imagine how much more engrossing it would've been if we were both in the same room. (Magicka does happen to support shared-screen gameplay, but the other three players have to use gamepads unless you're playing on a LAN. That gets expensive due to how unoptimized that game is.)

Also agreed on having split-screen multiplayer groups also be able to play online together. The Halo series is the only one I know of that does this.

As for split-screen versus shared-screen:

-Split-screen gives everyone a unique perspective. Unfortunately, this means splitting up one display into irritatingly small segments (especially in games with longer draw distances like Time Splitters), and it's more intensive on hardware due to rendering multiple viewpoints, meaning less culling and other optimizations can be done. Note how Goldeneye and Perfect Dark (N64 original) run noticeably smoother with just two players compared to four.

-Shared-screen gives everyone a good view of the area. It works splendidly with games that only cover a small area at any given time, like Bomberman. But when some people at the uni game room brought a Game Cube and Hunter The Reckoning (one of High Voltage Software's many Licensed Games prior to The Conduit, and loosely described as "Left 4 Dead with an overhead perspective"), someone likened it to Secret Of Mana in terms of how the camera limited the players' movement. If the players are spread out near the edges, they look like they're walking into Invisible Walls, and the screen won't scroll 'til everyone agrees on a direction to go. Some games avert this by zooming out the view as players spread apart. (One really obscure indie example would be Secret of Ultimate Legendary Fantasy Unleashed, which we just call SoulFu for obvious reasons. It works in that game because it's a series of interconnected small rooms. But with Hunter The Reckoning's environments, it wouldn't work very well at all.)

edited 9th Feb '11 11:58:10 AM by NamelessFragger

I think that the Wii is succeeding mostly on the fact that it is the only system that really supports local multiplayer. And before anyone comments about the huge sales of games on the HD Twins, both Call Of Duty and Halo support four-player local multiplayer.

I like playing split-screen because I play with my siblings a lot. That's why I'm glad most of my games are local. I fear that games are going to end up online only, and that sucks moreso when you have to pay to play online.

Local multiplayer games I've had:

• Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
• Naruto Clash of Ninja 2 and Revolution 2
• Crash Tag Team Racing
• Sitting Ducks
• Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
• The Legend Of Zelda The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks
• Left 4 Dead one and two
• The Halo games
• Dead Or Alive 4
• Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems Collection
• Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, and Sonic Riders
• Mario Bros
• Sonic Advance and Sonic The Hedgehog 2006
• Super Smash Bros Brawl
• Sonic Colors
• Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
• Half Life (PS 2)
• Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2
• Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie
• Space Channel 5
• Graffiti Kingdom
• Star Fox Assault

Examples of online-only games I have that they should make local:

• Team Fortress 2

...What? I really wanna play that game.

But the Spy would be completley useless!

Not on LAN, he wouldn't. Come to think of it, TF 2 should have LAN support, like every other Valve game.

And speaking of Valve games, there's a way to enable split-screen in the PC version of Left 4 Dead, but it takes a lot of scripting and console muckery. Why couldn't they just make it like the console versions and provide a menu option with prompts to connect gamepads (or possibly extra keyboards and mice, but games that can differentiate between individual keyboards and mice are rare finds), at the very least?

While I'm at it, the PC always gets screwed on split-screen from major developers. Borderlands? No PC split-screen whatsoever, though there's LAN. Serious Sam HD? This is a really egregious case since the original versions DID have it, but the HD remakes don't, at least not the PC versions. It actually makes sense in those games since they're generally played co-op, unlike Team Fortress 2. (Well, I suppose TF 2 becomes co-op in a sense if the split-screened players are all on the same team...but this would assume online play or at least a LAN with one other PC/console for the other team. I recall some people trying to do that with Modern Warfare 2 and two Xbox 360s in the uni game room connected via Ethernet, though they apparently never did get around to it.)

Team Fortress 2 doesn't have LAN support?

I have to agree with this.

I had more fun playing Super Smash Brothers with my friends than I ever had just playing a game online.

I think as long as your playing with pepole you like, it dosen't matter.