Most of us are old enough to remember when the Commodore 64 first came out, followed by the Atari system. The initial reaction to these systems was sheer amazement as we played with our pixels for hours on end. We soon learned how to beat Artificial Intelligence and the replay value of games suffered greatly.
So why do video games get boring or outdated? Obviously a huge factor is technology and graphics, but a stronger component is competition and adaptability. Single player games don’t offer the ability to adapt; Today’s artificial intelligence doesn’t allow complex strategies or maneuvers, but we know who can: humans! Yes, there is nothing like thinking, maneuvering, overcoming, possessing, fragmenting, or whatever you want to do, another living, breathing, frustrated human being.
When you get that kill shot on a computer, you know they don’t get excited, but when you take out an opponent alive, you know he/she is banging on their keyboard and possibly ripping out their cable modem (Stracraft comes to mind for this). It is not the mere act of being successful, but how difficult it was to be successful. Even killing “newbies” (new players) after a while becomes obsolete as you need more challenges; you need someone who is adept at thinking on the spot and maneuvering in ways that the computer or a novice could never do. Now he has reached a new level of his playing ability and the only way to grow more as a player is to play his best.
To play better you will have to play against the world, literally. By playing players online, one can play the best players from around the world in an effort to test adaptability, focus, reflexes, strategy, and yes, digital เว็บบอล courage. It is not enough that Competitor A goes first, then Competitor B goes to see who can beat or time trial the fastest on a map. That is the weakest form of competition since it is not direct. No, they must play against each other in real time to get the adrenaline rush.
My last example is the game Joust. This game is old, outdated, with poor graphics and previously single player. Nobody really played this game today. That is until it was announced that it would become a multiplayer game on Xbox 360 live. You can now Joust against others; the game has now evolved from simple AI beat mechanics to a full strategy/reflex game against the best. This can be seen with PS3 having Mortal Kombat available to play online. This game is also very old and mostly used for nostalgia until the online component brought it back to life and competition.