View From the Bottom #10

In the tenth “View From the Bottom” feature on RPG Vault, Spiderweb Software’s Jeff Vogel tells us why people will always pay money for single player games.

Dealing with other humans in a game makes it more intense. This can add to the fun for some people, but it will understandably repulse others. Even a cooperative multiplayer game like World of Warcraft still puts a lot of pressure on its players. Accidentally wipe your group (or, Heaven forbid, raid) by alerting the wrong monster, and you will see exactly what I mean.

And that’s without mentioning how playing single-player games means that you never have to encounter the multitudes of idiots, spammers, and creeps you meet online. Nobody was ever made happier by being in contact with other people.

Single-player games are relaxing. The worst player in the world is smarter than the smartest AI. You know that you are going to win eventually. If it’s too hard, you can turn down the difficult or use a cheat code. Nobody ever fires up their microphone and makes claims regarding their activities on the previous night with your mother.