Game, anyone?

I’m on a mission to bring back the heart and soul of multiplayer gaming. I enjoy playing an online game as much as the next guy but you really can’t beat that joyous feeling of competing with someone sitting right next to you. Online is like the real life version of doing timed laps, all well and fun but actually getting out there for the hustle and bustle of a real race is where my pleasure lies.

I spent much of my childhood huddled around a tiny portable telly with friends and/or siblings playing games. The SNES and Mario Kart spring instantly to mind. I would take it to every friend’s house I stayed at and it was to be the entertainment for every sleep over and gathering for the next four years. These memories are very dear to me and I find it hard to think of any gaming moments in more recent years that replicate this fondness . Maybe it’s the because of the boom of online gaming, or because friends naturally grow apart as everyone gets older; university, work, significant others and relocation all contributing factors. Maybe it’s the worry free innocence of childhood that heightens the simple experience of driving a kart around a track? Whatever it is, I’ve made several attempts to try and recreate these fun-filled gaming events, but ultimately it appears they just cannot be recreated.

As adults it’s harder to try and gather friends round as often as we used to. Grown up commitments? Maybe, but to be honest most of the friends I used to play SNES with hardly game anymore, if at all. Some see it as a bit of a childish exercise (I’ll get onto that subject another day), so trying to find other like minded gamers is difficult. If you like music you can go to a gig , films are shared experiences that can be exploited at a cinema. Where do gamers gather to play the latest game release? Arcades are not exactly the kind of gaming haven we (I?) dream of, so the only real option for a meeting ground is somebody’s house.

It turns into a military operation; finding an evening on which everyone is free, a space that is large enough and then there is working out who will provide the extra pads, games, batteries etc, and of course those all important gaming munchies. It’s a lot different than going for a simple sleepover as a 12 year old with whoever’s mum bringing the constant supplies of sugary drinks and snacks.

I’ve also noticed that as my friends have got older, tastes have changed. Many of them now opting for ‘Pro Evo’ tourneys instead of Mario Kart. That’s all well and good except I’m not into football. But that’s a personal plight. Those gatherings (from what I’ve witnessed) now seem to be pre-requisites to a night out, so they would play a quick tournament while drinking and getting ready to go out clubbing. I want a specially arranged gaming evening. Does anybody else crave this sort of entertainment or am I just vainly trying to recreate that special time from my childhood? I know these things can never be as good as we remember them, but if all involved are fighting for the same cause can we not recapture some of the magic?

I will certainly try and organise more gaming nights with friends, and possibly try finding some other people to play in real life, but where exactly do I unearth these people? Online? I can’t help thinking that it would just be easier to play online in the safety and comfort of my own living room…. Now I’m back to the start again. Perhaps this is just the way gaming is destined to go? So many game developers are leaving out local multiplayer options instead opting for online only; the days of the four way split screen seem to be rapidly disappearing.

It is refreshing to see some companies still promoting this more sociable means of playing: games like Rock Band and pretty much most of the titles on the Wii retain classic multiplayer at heart. I really hope that with the boom of Wii, many other companies see the benefit of bringing the ‘friends round the screen’ magic back to games. As much fun as online gaming is, you can’t beat the feeling of thrashing someone that’s sitting next to you and actually witnessing firsthand the pain in their eyes.