Multiplayer gaming has always been popular. Every gaming platform ever made, whether it’s the arcades or PC or home consoles, has tried to incorporate some form of multiplayer gaming. Technology has been a limiting factor sometimes. Computer networks were not as robust in the 90’s as they are now. Good for sending a couple of emails maybe but not good for playing games.
Local networks were still in their formative years. LAN parties only became popular towards the end of the 90’s and continue to draw crowds even today.
Multiplayer itself has taken many forms. From the two player cooperative side scrolling gameplay of Contra to one on one matches of street fighter. From the humongous 256 simultaneous players online multiplayer of MAG, to the incredibly popular mobile multiplayer shooter PUBG, people love their multiplayer games in all of its forms.
While shooters and real time strategy have dominated the muliplayer scene alternatives have existed for people who have wanted to try something new.
We are here to talk about a very different kind of multiplayer experience. One that works on individual machines yet it does not require an active internet connection. These experiences were made possible because of handheld consoles.
As far as video game consoles go handhelds themselves were a novelty. No longer you needed to hook your machine to a TV. No longer you needed to sit down in front of the monitor to play a game. You could take it to your school. Play a game on your flight. With an inbuilt screen, a couple of buttons on the gamepad, and a slot for batteries, handhelds were a technological marvel. Earliest form of digital multimedia devices. Long before mobile could send emails. Long before they could display images.
Handhelds appealed to a mass market. They were cheap to buy. Cheap to develop games on. Playing on handhelds was like reading a book. Just you and your gameboy. A handheld RPG was like a fairytale you could play before going to bed.
Handhelds were also one of the first console devices that did machine to machine multiplayer right.
When Nintendo released the original gameboy it came with a game link cable. The link cable let you connect two gameboy devices together to support multiplayer games. Further enhancement to the game linking technology allowed you play with upto 4 people together. This technology was best utilized by legend of zelda adventure of the 4 swords. Although by the time the Zelda came out wireless technologies were becoming quite popular. Zelda could be played either with a game link cable or with the help of a special wireless adapter.
While in those early days the implementation was crude, game link cables were only a few feet long and could pop out quite easily if either one of the player got excited while playing the game, this was the first time that the world saw mobility and multiplayer combined. Yes there were flaws. But the promise was big.
With new handhelds wireless multiplayer was adopted rather quickly. Both psp and ds supported adhoc wifi multiplayer games that could work offline. Think game link cable without the wires. As long as two people had the same game on their machines and it supported multiplayer in some way they could play together without an internet connection.
Multiplayer gaming on handhelds took a different path than multiplayer gaming on the consoles. While on consoles the big selling point was the ability to play with gamers on the other side of the world. Handheld multiplayer gaming was about playing games with friends in your real life. People whom you knew. Classmates. Family members. Two very different multiplayer experiences. Both very fun.
Multiplayer gaming on home consoles and PC has been competitive. Even if it is in a team based shooter the goal is generally to defeat the players in the opposing camp.
Handheld multiplayer explored co-operative multiplayer games. Sure there were wipeouts and tekkens that allowed Player Vs Player kind of matches but cooperative games stole the show. The most famous example of this kind of game is Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.
On consoles local offline multiplayer has always had half hearted support. For example take a look at XBOX 360’s local multiplayer guide using ethernet cables to create an Xbox LAN network. While it works setting things up quite a headache. It almost seems like a regression into the days of Game link cable.
Generally speaking any console that has an ethernet port can be added to a LAN network. Also if your console has an ethernet port you can reasonably expect its OS to give you networking support. However to actually play games on that network you must have software support. If the game does not allow you to play offline multiplayer there’s little you can do.
XBOX 360 was not the only console to support LAN gaming. Both playstation 3 and nintedo wii had support for offline multiplayer games.
Offline multiplayer gaming on consoles have some serious shortcomings. The consoles lack mobility. To make offline games work you need to have the full setup ready. Console, controllers as well as monitors. Only the most dedicated gamers will go through the trouble of arranging all that.
Despite this fact due to the widespread adoption of video game consoles its LAN gaming scene is growing. LAN parties are no longer a PC only affair. They’ve grown to include home consoles as well.
Handhelds on the other hand are portable. You can carry them with you. You can set up local multiplayer matches wirelessly. Wireless signals can be extended to increase the range to enable you to play even from the remotest places in house. Unlike in link cables you don’t have to sit right next to each other to play. On the PSP fan made multiplayer systems transformed adhoc wireless into fully featured online multiplayer games.
Still wireless adhoc games are fundamentally different from online multiplayer games. You can’t just log into a server play a few rounds of capture the flag and then switch your machine off. Even though you can play without wires you need to arrange the game. You need to invite your friends over to your house/cafe. You need to schedule the game play. That alone makes it a very different experience.
But the big question is do wireless adhoc games have a future?
Today internet is common. The limitations that held back online multiplayer gaming in the early 90’s are all gone. Hardware is cheap. Internet is cheap. Multiplayer games are as cheap as they can be (free). Why would any one bother with wireless ad-hoc?
Well there are many many reasons.
Multiplayer games are becoming an essential component of gaming. Every shooter has a multiplayer aspect in it. Single player only games are a rarity.
Online multiplayer requires a huge investment in servers. Not only in building them but also in maintaining them. Multiplayer heavy games lose their appeal when the servers go down.
Lets suppose that you buy a copy of a game, you beat it and then forget about it. Years later you feel like revisiting certain portions of the game but you can’t because the game won’t work unless it is connected to a server. Not something that you’d want.
Consider another scenario of a co-operative multiplayer game that is designed to be played with at least 2 people. If the game is dependent on a server and the server goes down you can no longer play it even if you have the copy of the game and a friend who is willing to play with you.
Switch, Nintendo’s latest console has once more put the focus back on wireless ad hoc play. A game like mario kart for example can be played with upto 8 people. Sure you can also play it online. But nothing beats seeing the look on your friends face when you blast him with a blue shell to win the tournament. LAN parties are way more fun. Wireless LAN parties make it much better.
wireless adhoc makes multiplayer games timeless. As long as you have a copy you can play it any time you want. Even if a server is down.
With Google’s stadia game streaming might become the new standard. Who knows you may no longer even buy games. You can play them on any device you want. You can play any game you want. The promise is big. But the question remains the same. What happens when the server goes down?
Maybe wireless adhoc multiplayer will also reinvent itself. Maybe we will see a different kind of game streaming. Maybe there will be a wireless adhoc game streaming service. Turn on the game stream. Get your friends together and play the game using your phone.
Maybe the next generation of video game machine will not be a pc or a console or a handheld for that matter. Not your phone, not your tablet, not your smart watch. It would be a networking device.
Who knows?
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