Do you play 2 player games?

[christophertumber]

I mean, do you have someone you play 2 player games with and if so, how often?

This is a question intended to have very concrete effects on allocation of resources (both design & coding time and game cycles). It makes no sense to include 2 player options if nobody ever uses them. OTOH, if 2 player games are actually very popular and the community is undeserved then 2 player games should become more of a priority.

[VECTREXER]

Absolutely. Two-player games are more fun than most of the Vectrex single title games. This Vectrex AI in most cases is not all that good.

Unless the AI of the person is faulty. ;-) Then Vectrex single player games are more fun.

[gliptitude]

I rarely play 2 player because my friends don't generally play Vectrex or video games. But i have convinced one friend to play Rip Off with me a couple times and we both had fun, so much better than single player for that game. We also played Armor Attack, less fun for me.

I'd say it is always worth it if you have a concept specially suited to multi player. But in general, with most games it is not necessary and not worth it if it adds in any considerable way to the work time or program size. Only if it is integral to the core concept of the game, (Rip Off, Warrior ..)

.. You might also consider that there is another guy currently working on vectrex internet connectivity for multi player, and that his system will require new software, (will not work with existing multiplayer games).

[50tbrd]

Not very often because I don't have too many friends in the area who like the Vectrex. I only asked because the original had a 2 player option and I didn't see any mention of it in your checklist. I have an affinity to 2 player games though as they add another element of fun. There a competition even if your in collaboration you want to kill more enemies or score more points than your partner. As I see you're approaching the half way mark on your file size, it may not even be feasible and I'd much rather it be an excellent 1 player game than an ok 2 player game.

When I see development these days, it really make me wonder how the original programmers did so much with so little flicker/slowdown, but the bigger wonder is how they also did within 4K space.

[vectrexmad]

When I have a particular friend visit we always play Rip Off and Space Wars. But he only visits once a month!

[VectorX]

I voted on yes, but rarely, as me and the nephew have played several times before. My vote doesn't exactly "count" though, since I have no life due to illness and not working. Once things get better though, I should be able to acquire a few more friends (and being retro gamers would help!) and be able to do more but that's not in the cards right now.

[binarystar]

It entirely depends on the game. Simultaneous 2-player is great fun and often the only type of game non-gamer types enjoy playing - a better player can always choose to take it easy on the novice player until they get a handle on the game. Rarely CPU AI is that dynamic.

Not all games suit simultaneous 2 player however. I am a big fan of pinball/arcade style 2 (or more) player games, alternating players each ball/life. This normally encourages competitive play.

[gliptitude]

I voted .."rarely" but considered voting .."often" just because I think it would be great to have more that was really good for two players. You can consider that there is not a whole lot in that department and if you figure out a concept that works it is potentially something that in itself could justify the game above all else, as is the case with Rip Off in my opinion, which is otherwise not much of a game.

[mikiex]

I need another controller!!