Playing Games Side by Side
Do you remember the days of actually playing video games with your friends while you were in the same room? What’s more memorable than sitting on the couch next to your buddy and taking turns playing Super Mario Bros. 3 or trying to make it past the intensely difficult game of Contra without the Konami code? Personally, most of my favorite gaming moments involve sharing a moment with my friends where we are literally sitting next to each other and focusing on the same screen. Last year, my girlfriend and I sat down and played through Ico together, simply relaxing on the couch and solving puzzles together, while watching this romantic story unfold.
Is this kind of moment encouraged nowadays? Are there many games that are more joyous when sitting together rather than playing online in separate homes? It seems that despite there being so many games we can play with our friends nowadays, the physical distance when playing is actually helping us to stay apart. Of course, this is not true for every friendship, game, or instance, but there is some validity to this idea that has become more and more prevalent as technology continues to advance.
Can’t we just spend time together?
Smart phones are becoming the mainstream as time goes on. Rarely do we see flip phones, Razrs, or phones that don’t flip, switch, surf the web, e-mail, transform, make you coffee, or any of that kind of jazz. We are becoming so obsessed with this new kind of technology that we’re sacrificing healthy social relationships. I can’t tell you how upset I get when I’m hanging out with someone and they pull out their phone and start a texting marathon. That kind of behavior is simply rude and unnecessary, yet it’s so acceptable by the general population. Before we had this kind of technology, we were unable to communicate with people unless we were physically with them or used the phone to make a call instead of a text. Being forced to socialize and spend time with the people you were around was a good thing. It helped build relationships; it made friends bond together; it let people hang out without annoying distractions like texting other people, checking Facebook updates, or constantly changing your status.
One of the biggest crazes in gaming nowadays is playing online. It’s such an amazing concept for us to be able to turn on our Xbox 360/PC/PS3 (yeah right) and be able to instantly connect with our friends. If it’s too late to drive, if you’re sick, or if you simply want to play some quick games without committing to an all day hangout, online gaming is simply a brilliant idea that allows for gaming at anytime. The problem with this is when online gaming becomes the sole method for playing games with your friends.
Of course, some games are designed solely for the idea of playing them online with your friends. Halo and Call of Duty are prime examples of this, as they revolve their multiplayer experience around playing with other people across the globe. As a fan of both of these game series, I admit that they are incredibly fun. I love playing games with my friends over the internet, but I value the importance of face to face contact. There have been times where I’ve been in the middle of hanging out with my friends only for them to say:
“You should go home so we can play League of Legends.”
Have we as gamers grown so reliable on online games that we can’t have fun together by simply being together? I’d gladly give up a night of playing Killing Floor or Black Ops 2 online if it meant being able to spend time together in a living room eating snacks, laughing together, and playing games on the same TV.
Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril
Years ago, Sivak’s game Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril was released for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This was the first NES game in years and I was incredibly excited about it. I invited one of my friends over to play it with me and we ended up spending hours upon hours playing through it, having an absolute blast. This was the first time in a long time that I spent some actual time playing the same game on the same console side by side with a friend. It brought back all those memories of sleep overs filled with NES and Sega games, passing the controller back and forth between each other while we tried to get past the toughest of obstacles.
Long gone are the days of playing Goldeneye with four-player split-screen. These matches were always full of players cheating by looking to see where their friends were on the map, so they could ambush them unsuspectingly. But that’s what made it fun! Video games nowadays simply don’t allow for the option of playing four-player split-screen. It’s essentially an obsolete format. Gamers are forced to use two TVs and connect consoles through a link cable or over the internet if they want to play with more than two players. This isn’t a bad thing, but it would be really nice to have the option to play with four players on one TV.
Friends playing the Wii “together”
As much as I don’t really like the Nintendo Wii, I can’t deny the fact that it has brought people together in a way that we haven’t seen in quite some time. Most people that buy a Wii do so for the reason that they can play party games with their family and friends. The way the motion controls are designed allow for a really unique experience to share with three other people. Playing a game on the Wii is a bonding or even competitive experience, much like playing a board game. It’s not so much a video game as it is an experience. I applaud Nintendo’s ability to bring people together on (or off) the couch, rather than forcing them to play together over an internet connection.
I don’t think there is any problem with playing games online. I simply think that we rely on this method too much. Playing games constantly without being able to look each other in the eye and laugh together physically takes away a lot of the human element of spending time with friends. Sure, we’re still “with” them. I can’t count the amount of times my mom has told me I should spend time with my friends instead of playing games alone, only for me to point to my headset and say “I am.”
I think that a huge reason so many of us are nostalgic and in love with retro games is because of the fun times we had with them with our friends. We love and cherish the moments where we can bond with the people we care about. Some of my favorite moments playing Halo 3 are when my buddies and I would take turns every other match, rather than actually playing on the same team online. It’s fun to sit back for a bit and watch someone play a game. It allows us the chance to sit back and appreciate the game rather than having to pay so much attention to it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to dust off the NES and invite some friends over.
 44×32 HUGE Contra N… $24.99
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 Bowser Wall Art Sup… $45
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 Super Mario Bros. T… $150
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 Super Mario Kart Fa… $22
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 Double Dragon Billy… $8
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 Diddy Kong Racing N… $29.99
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 THREE HOOK Legend O… $15
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 Sonic The Hedgehog … $25
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Awesome topic! I honestly don’t like playing online games with strangers, but I have great memories of having gaming marathons with family and friends when I was younger. I think there really is something special about your friends being right there, playing next you that can’t be replicated during an online experience.