Bethesda wants to save single-player gaming!

[Anthedon]

Bethesda is finished.

They got a nice $500m "gift" from facebook recently, didn't they?

Not yet, Facebook appealed that decision IIRC.

 

[DeepOcean]

Whot?

Evil Within 2
NuWolfenstein 2
D44M
Fallout 4



*DeepOcean falls on the ground uncontrollably laughing so hard that he has a seizure.

 

[Mark Richard]

The supposed death of single-player has been a hot topic throughout the fall of 2017. Initially it was an excuse used by publishers to redirect attention away from their abusive monetization practices which consumers are more willing to accept in multiplayer environments, and then the gaming press ran with it because alarmist '... is dying' articles are always good for ad revenue. Seems fitting for another giant publisher to sell their products off the back of that and bring us full circle.

 

[Durandal]

 

[DJOGamer PT]

As always with Bethesda: Good ideas, shitty executions.

Good ideas... Excuse me... LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Well it is true. They have some good ideas from time to time.

In Oblivion it was some side quests (specially Dark Brotherhood). In Skyrim that dual wielding shit. And in Fallout 4 the Power Armor system.

It's their implementation and execution of these ideas in the game that is horrible and makes them end up a total mess.

 

[Ash]

Said poor execution explained:

Skyrim's dual wielding system was in many ways more restrictive than Oblivion's setup, which let you triple wield (sword + shield + magic). Or dual wield with a bow (bow + magic), while in Skyrim you can only have the bow. Credit to Examined Life of Gaming for reminding me of that. It drove me up the wall that I couldn't do fuck all else when wielding a bow or a two-handed weapon, despite shitblivion letting you.

FO4 power armor...only a good idea if right from the start you intend for it to be very limited. They likely didn't intend that. It was basically god mode and power cores were in no short supply. Wasn't needed. I ignored it for the vast majority of my playtime to save wrecking an already poorly balanced experience completely.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

One never gets tired of the butthurt of the codex with everything related to Bethesda.

 

[Gerrard]

From themselves?

 

[newtmonkey]

LOLZ Who is this GRANDMA

*has all Besthesda games INCLUDING Elder Scrolls Online*

 

[LESS T_T]

And of course Pete Hines did interviews about this thing: http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/...es-arent-dying-bethesda-wont-let-them-w513692

Bethesda vice president Pete Hines told me not to worry; single-player games are doing just fine, even those that the company released over the past year or so.

“We don’t really talk about numbers, but in general I think this year we have done a number of single-player things - Wolfenstein, The Evil Within 2, Prey, Dishonored 2 - some of those have done pretty well, at or above as we expected them to, and some have done not quite as well as we expected or hope,” he says. “I’ve seen the thoughts and comments around single-player. We’re aware of the concern.

“Here’s my thing, single-player is an incredibly broad thing to reference. This whole discussion lumps in a lot of things into one basket. When we’re talking very generally about single-player games, it includes everything from Sonic the Hedgehog to Skyrim to Gone Home.”

He adds that single-player will remain a part of what Bethesda will be doing going forward.

The commercial, he says, was a chance to do something on a timely topic during the VGAs.

“This year we could do that thing again where we run a Wolfenstein or Evil Within or Prey commercial,” he says. “But given what’s going on out there, it seemed like a cool opportunity to do something different that people weren’t expecting.”

The commercial also highlighted the fact that Bethesda was kicking off a sale on its single-player games. More importantly, it also tied into a $100,000 donation the company made to the ESA Foundation, to help fund scholarships for future game developers.

“It was a chance to point to our sale but also the ESA Foundation donation was a chance to do some good,” he says. “I like stuff where everyone on all sides wins, like a blood drive around a game or raising money for charity.”

While Bethesda will continue to work on the sorts of single-player driven games that tell expansive, evocative stories, they company’s different studios are also trying their hand at bringing their games to virtual reality and Nintendo’s Switch.

Virtual reality, Hines says, is something the company has been looking at for awhile, something he calls a good fit for many of their games.

“The decision needs to come from our studios, though,” he says. “It’s more about what do they want to do? What’s a good fit?”

That has, so far, resulted in virtual reality versions of Doom, Skyrim and Fallout 4. The same sort of approach also fuels the studios’ decisions on what to do for the Nintendo Switch, and the results have been very similar. The company already released Doom and Skyrim to the Switch, and Wolfenstein II is coming next year.

“We like Nintendo, we’re all big fans, and a vast majority of all are owners of the Switch and play games on it,” Hines says.

Part of that port decision is also driven by the publisher’s desire to get their games in front of as many people as possible.

“We spend a lot of time and effort as do the developers, making great games and we want as many people to play them as possible,” he says. “So far, we’re most pleased about how some people seemed stunned and amazed that Doom works and looks amazing on your Switch. We’re proud of that.”

In bringing those games to VR and the Switch, the studios often lean heavily on outside developers to do the bulk of that work, Hines says. Studios like Panic Button, Escalation and Iron Galaxy are a big part of why those experiences look so great. Doing ports that way allows the studio to continue their chief focus on the next big game, Hines says.

The studio-centric approach explains the unpredictable nature of games coming to Switch and virtual reality right now, but not why Bethesda has seemingly become home to so many talented creators of narratively-driven, single-player games.

Hines believes that’s in part due to the sorts of developers attracted to Bethesda. Bethesda makes great story games, which attract people good at that who then make more great games of that sort.

“Some of the studios we’ve worked with have had more experience in single-player,” he says. “Look at Arkane and what they made before joining us. Shinji [Mikami] before Tango. What the guys at MachineGames made before making Wolfenstein. They tended to make those kinds of games.”

German interview: http://www.gamestar.de/artikel/pete...-den-singleplayer-retten-moechte,3323334.html

 

[Valtiel]

Mr. Zenimax put his wife at work after that fallout 4 red carpet drunk mess

 

[Drakron]

Said poor execution explained:

FO4 power armor...only a good idea if right from the start you intend for it to be very limited. They likely didn't intend that. It was basically god mode and power cores were in no short supply. Wasn't needed. I ignored it for the vast majority of my playtime to save wrecking an already poorly balanced experience completely.

Power armor is not just Heavy Armor +1, it was always meant to be "game breaking" and this is why in FO1 and FO2 you only gained access to it so late in the game and by that time you were either facing Supermutants or Enclave were you need it.

FO3 just make it Heavy Armor +1 and players hated it because it made no sense, FO4 just created a very convoluted system "for balance" and spread it across the place instead of just restricting it to faction rewards for late game were you would need it. Then again FO4 gones completely overboard with modifications and expects players to play the game as its another shitty sandbox survival game with crafting, they just made ARK, Fallout.

 

[RNGsus]

The fuck did I just watch?

I wonder what kind of moron at Bethesda thought that video was a good idea.

Bethesda quality as usual.

 

[Mexi]

One never gets tired of the butthurt of the codex with everything related to Bethesda.

But they seem to love that buttfucking con-man Brian Fargo gives them. Hell, they went back for 3rds.

 

[toroid]

but I have to admit that Bethesda is the only AAA publisher/developer that has single player games as their priority no matter how shitty they end up in the end

Pretty sure that Bethesda's top priority is development cost efficiency. The fact that everything is single player is purely consequential.

 

[CreamyBlood]

Well, which developer are they going to contract to make a single player game worth playing? They obviously can't do it themselves.

 

[RangerBoo]

 

[Morality Games]

Gaming, like life, is often about social interaction – a time to join with others in a common cause, or to simply exorcise a few demons with some cathartic virtual carnage. But sometimes you just need a little time away. A place where you can go to escape the vicissitudes of everyday life. And that’s where a great single-player game comes in.

Once upon a time, these solitary experiences dominated the gaming landscape. But in recent years, with multiplayer on the rise, single-player games have become fewer in number. Meanwhile, the community has been clamoring for more single-player games, and the media has penned a panoply of pieces bemoaning the loss of single-player experiences. But never fear! Bethesda is here to help. In a new video that debuted at The Game Awards, starring none other than Lynda Carter, we share our vision for saving the single player.

So whether you pick up Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, The Evil Within 2, Prey, Dishonored 2, DOOM, Fallout 4: Game of the Year, Skyrim Special Edition – or all of the above – rest assured that Bethesda has you covered with a critically acclaimed, award-winning single-player game that’s just what you need.

In the coming weeks, we’ll also be sharing your stories about single-player games on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. So be sure to join in the fun with the hashtag: #SavePlayer1

Bethesda is a company whose single player franchises sell tens of millions of games. As long as that remains the case they can't risk tampering with their formula. They don't need the snowballing influence of multiplayer on game sales because they already have peak level of game sales.

 

[groke]

ya beth'ali.

 

[Azalin]

but I have to admit that Bethesda is the only AAA publisher/developer that has single player games as their priority no matter how shitty they end up in the end

Pretty sure that Bethesda's top priority is development cost efficiency. The fact that everything is single player is purely consequential.

I don't know,maybe,maybe not,I am playing Dishonored 2 at the moment, a AAA game that is exclusively single player and I can try to think of another publisher that would spend money on something like this and I am not sure who would.Maybe Square Enix?Although they forced multiplayer and other crap on the last Deus Ex game

 

[Makabb]

Bethesda is only making single player because their multiplayer would never work..... just look how buggy their SP games are, imagine now MP.

And now they are making a 'thing' out of SP.

 

[mbv123]

Based Todd saving gaming again

 

[vonAchdorf]

And of course Pete Hines did interviews about this thing: http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/...es-arent-dying-bethesda-wont-let-them-w513692

“We don’t really talk about numbers, but in general I think this year we have done a number of single-player things - Wolfenstein, The Evil Within 2, Prey, Dishonored 2 - some of those have done pretty well, at or above as we expected them to, and some have done not quite as well as we expected or hope,” he says. “I’ve seen the thoughts and comments around single-player. We’re aware of the concern.

Which of these did better than expected? Weren't they all -saleswise- failures?

 

[Morkar Left]

single-player will remain a part of what Bethesda will be doing going forward

Translation: single-player will remain relevant for them until they successfully switched to multiplayer driven game content.

 

[SCO]

multiplayer was always a psychological scam. Can't become a renter or sell lootboxes without that superiority sense while belonging in a 'community'. All of these companies 'care' about singleplayer only on the measure they've not managed to make the transition, because selling DLC to single players is apparently not enticing enough.

Next step: Casinos in the virtual world y'all, or maybe TESmoney. Or both!