VIDEO gaming, genius. This being the video games area, and us talking entirely about video games. Good Lord, show some sense.
"I have no idea why you think computer gaming was meant to be played against an computer. That is complete horseshit. "
WRONG. I cannot put this strongly enough. You are wrong and I am right. Computer gaming as first developed was entirely based around the novelty of an automated opponent. Pong was a minorty, and besides was the old equivalent of Wii Sports, and not in the scope of my criticism. Gaming was founded on Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pac Man. If you played it multiplayer, you took turn.
I was actually around at this point and experienced the start of the gaming industrey. I saw it happen, I was part of it as it happened, and I damn know what it was like, what it was focussed on, and how it has changed. This was the foundation of the industry. Whilst people concentrated that, the nature of gaming expanded. Since it started focussing on this competitve element it has stalled.
(People complain that the obsession with graphics is killing games. THAT is horseshit. Games were ALWAYS obsessed with graphics, from day one. I remember the same complaints about graphics taking over the industry in 1985, and even then the response was that it had always been that way. Two decades later and people still think a graphic obsession is a recent issue- and miss whacking great problems like this one)
And yes, the industry is focussed on competitive play with strangers. That's pretty much just how it is- the pull, the thrill of victory. From Quake deathmatch onwards, and especially with Starcraft, it was all about going online, strutting your stuff and beating people you don't know. The whole culture is a curse on gaming. For every Hellgate- a game which has the balls to do MP gaming in a more positive way- there are a dozen shite deathmatch clones. And now Starcraft II is trying to perfect the formula riding on a wave of ridiculous far-east competitive obsession.
And that's magnificently untrue about single player games. Very few multi-player games have ever put anything remotely like the amount of effort that has gone into classic sinngle player games over time.
Like I say, humans are a weak link. It's only big now because only reently has broadband technology made this sort of thing truly possible. But the obsession will not last because gaming technology will improve continuously, and will continue to show the highlight that, basically, Humans make terrible opponents and also limit gaming experence.
Humans cheat, Humans exploit gameplay mechanics, Humans ruin immersive games with names like "Nobwank", and Humans also reduce gaming to a horrible basic formula. Look at, say, games of Civilization when played competuitively. It goes from being an elegant game about constructing your own Civilization the way you want to a desperate resource rush game, like Starcraft but not in real time. Destroyed. The only way to enjoy it is with a group of like-minded friends.
I am all for the online experience, but despite the facade of friendship, it's still based on the competitive destruction of strangers. it can and will change.
It's a pox on gaming, but it will pass. And thank God for Nintendo, who have never indulged in it.