Social reciprocation.

Increasingly videogames are being judged on their multiplayer components, as part of a value proposition.... But I dont want to speka about that. I want to say why it's important.

As humans we want to tell stories, to learn from them. To pass judgement and make decisions based on others experiences. We are social.

Singleplayer narrative driven games are becoming less popular becuase their interaction is driven by violence as a form of expression - they spawn the same voyeuristic conversation that films do. A massive part of GTA among the mainstream, upon it's release was the anecdotal story. By no means am I the first to establish this, but it's a point coming ever more into relevance as we edge towards complete online integration.

But while there is a fuss about a limited expressive palette for videogames, something I have seen being explored very little is the idea that even very basic interaction can still be enjoyable when shared, regardless of how primitive.

Tale of Tales' 'Endless Forest' is a great example of this. A socially active community, with individuals outside of videogames.

Another recent example is Demon's Souls, with quasi-MMO elements. Integrating humility into the game without breaking he fourth wall. It's a clever design.

I will hopefully revise these thoughts and come up with a more composed post later this week.