It’s a fact: we LOVE talking to people. All kinds of people. About all kinds of things.

What we really love talking about, of course, is multiplayer gaming (that’s our day job, after all ... heck, it’s our night job too, and quite often it rolls into an early morning gig to boot). To wit: this ION network interview with Director of GameSpy Technology Todd “Tungsten” Northcutt, which does a great job of fleshing out the GameSpy “connected gamer” worldview, among other things. 

It also does a good job of teasing Todd’s speaking engagement at the upcoming ION Game Conference, which takes place May 13 – 15 at the Waterfront Marriott in Seattle, Washington.  He’ll be giving a talk entitled, ”Follow Me: 7 Cool Things You Can Do With Buddy Lists,” which, given our experiences in facilitating in-game buddy list / messaging systems and building GameSpy Comrade (our desktop social gaming application), promises to be chock full of good ideas, best practices, and other terms you’d expect to see in a conference presentation abstract.

GameSpy / IGN will have a sizeable contingent at the ION conference, in addition to Todd’s talk – no booth, but representatives from GameSpy Technology, GameSpy Comrade, FilePlanet and Direct2Drive will all be on hand to soak up the sessions, converse, and maybe (OK, certainly) buy folks a few drinks and meals.  If you’re planning to be at the conference – or just in the area – please drop us a line and let us know!  Don’t be shy. As we said at the beginning of this post, we love talking to people.

When it comes to “connected” gaming, Rockstar clearly gets it.

No, that’s not something we ever expected to plunk out on the old keyboard - after all, it took the mod community to drag the studio’s Grand Theft Auto juggernaut into the online realm.  And while the company’s Midnight Club franchise does have a respectable multiplayer pedigree (full disclosure: Rockstar partnered with GameSpy to enable online multiplayer gameplay in several installments of Midnight Club on the PlayStation and PC), it’s tough to point to those games as doing anything besides dipping a racing slick into the waters of true gaming connectivity. 

View Tuesday’s worldwide press blitz on GTA IV‘s multiplayer modes through that historical lens, then. (Miss the coverage?  You can get an in-depth hands-on preview over at GameSpy.com). The Grand Theft Auto franchise, venerated for revolutionizing both gameplay and storytelling mechanics, has finally shifted its focus to online multiplayer - and they’re approaching the task with the same zeal applied to developing open-ended sandbox game worlds, non-linear storytelling and hooker jiggle physics.

To wit, not one, but FOUR very distinctive multiplayer modes: Team Deathmatch, Cops & Crooks, GTA Race and Hangman’s Noose (a co-op mission). At first blush, this sounds fairly run-of-the-mill; we’ve seen co-op and TDM before.  But Rockstar has several surprises in store. Team Deathmatch, for example, goes beyond the vanilla implementation of that game mode by allowing players to do pretty much everything they love to do in singleplayer in a multiplayer setting: dive out of speeding cars, take out pedestrians, you name it. GTA Race literally allows you to hurl the game’s full arsenal in your competitors’ ways.  To cap it all off, GameSpy.com also reports that, “… some elements of Rockstar’s Social Club [which launches today!] will integrate with multiplayer.” In essence Rockstar has carjacked multiplayer gaming, and is mashing its pedal to the floor to bust through the in-game, out-of-game barrier.

The point here isn’t to wax rhapsodic about GTA IV, however - it’s to point out what’s possible when a developer puts the full spectrum of connected gaming front and center in its design. Rockstar is committing the same level of revolutionary thinking to multiplayer, community and competition that it applies to the actual gameplay experience.  Truly, for GTA IV, the two are one and the same - obviating the excuse you typically hear from developers that they’ve “sacrificed multiplayer features in order to spend more time on the core gameplay.” We’ve long argued that the two are not mutually exclusive.  Rockstar seems to agree.  We’ll let GTA IV‘s sales numbers finish the story. 

As Mario Kart fanatics in Europe and Japan are finding out this week, the much-anticipated Mario Kart Wii is living up to its hype - a fact that we modestly think may have something to do with its stellar multiplayer experience. (Cue rubbing of knuckles on jacket collar.) The game has hit shelves in both territories, and we can confirm that people are already racing their wheels down to nubs online in unprecedented droves.

US fans (at least, those who haven’t already picked up their copy of the game from their favorite import shops) will be waiting until late April to hit the starting line - but, in the mean time, they can revel in some of the coverage being given to the game’s online features.

As IGN UK’s recent “Online Impressions” article details, there’s a lot to love here: Up to 12-player racing across 32 tracks; interactive, graphically fun leaderboards; the ability to race against “ghosts” of top-ranked players; and weekly “Competitions,” objective-based challenges that show off Nintendo’s ability to reconfigure individual tracks-on-the-fly. The cap on the mushroom?  Virtually lag-free online multiplayer races and dead-simple matchmaking, which put players into matches quickly and delivered quality races the minute their wheels hit the track. 

As with all Wii titles, the Nintendo Mario Kart team worked directly with GameSpy Technology to power all of these online features, putting a unique spin on the standard tools and services that we make available to all Wii developers. We’ll detail all of this in depth in a future case study when the game launches in North America - for now, start revving your engines. 

CVG had a great interview with Peter Shea, Creative Director at Firebrand Games, talking about the forthcoming DS version of Race Drive: GRID. (See IGN UK's preview for a more general overview.)

The interview really focuses in on what Firebrand is doing differently for the handheld version of the game. It sounds as if they're really doing a great job in taking the special capabilities of the DS into account when it comes to track creation, as well as tweaking gameplay to match the handheld experience. I'm glad to see that more and more developers are taking this approach. Shoveling out ports helps no one.

Race Drive: GRID does user-gen content

Perhaps the most interesting bit for me, though, was Shea's discussion of how they're taking all of the user-created content the track editor is going to spawn to really make GRID something special:

Shea: It's very straightforward. You can save six different tracks on your Game Card, and then by connecting to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, you can upload any of these tracks to your own space on the Gamespy servers.

You can then tell your friends about it, and they can look for your tracks online using your Friend Name, and download them to save on their own copy of the game. They are then free to race or edit the track, or upload it to their own bit of the server.

There's a wealth of great content out there that people are creating every single day. The hardcore folks know to head over to FilePlanet and look for the latest maps or mods on the PC. The more mainstream gamer, and those on the console, aren't necessarily going to want to jump through those hoops. What they need is a dead simple means of sharing that content from directly within the game.

That, my friends, is exactly what we built Sake, our Persistent Storage system, to do.

We saw a similar approach taken in Mini Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2, a single player title, and the first game to ship with Sake. The additional content spawned a thriving, if small, community and gave the game huge legs. You can read more about it in my presentation from last year, Breaking the In-Game/Out-of-Game Barrier.

I'm excited to see Sake put to great use again on the DS, this time by Firebrand. We'll definitely be doing a case study on this bad boy when it hits shelves later this year.

Well, that certainly didn’t take long!  Super Smash Bros. Brawl was unleashed upon Japan just two short weeks ago and, already, the game is breaking sales records.  (I refrained from making any “smashing” jokes.)

Kotaku, courtesy of Famitsu, are reporting that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has become the fastest selling Wii title, beating out hits like Wii Fit and Wii Sports.

We’re hoping that the killer online feature set - from straight-up multiplayer action, to betting on replays, to sharing home-brew stages - are helping to contribute to those numbers.  Nintendo pulled out all the stops when bringing one of my favorite franchises to the Wii.

Look for a full case study on Super Smash Bros. Brawl when the game becomes available to the rest of the world in a few more months.

January would have been a slow, slow start for 2008 had it not been for a few powerhouse titles.  Perhaps you’ve heard of a little game called Super Smash Bros.?  Apparently the kids in Japan have been looking forward to this one or something.

Congrats to all of our publisher and developer partners who braved the snowy, cold month of January and released the following great titles with superlative online play:

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) Nintendo
• EXIT DS (DS) Taito
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) Sega
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) Nintendo
• Wii Chess (Wii) Spice Games
• Nitrobike (Wii) Ubisoft
• Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (Wii) Sega
• Rune Factory 2 (DS) Neverland

Those of us outside of Japan will have to wait until March for the Smash Bros. Brawl goodness to come our way.  In the meantime, take solace that the boys at GameSpy.com have more screenshots, movies and opinions than you can shake a stick at.  Pay particular attention to the online write-up!

The year ended with a bang as far as online gaming was concerned.  Heavy hitters like Unreal Tournament 3 set the PS3 on fire while old favorites, like the Warhammer franchise, made their debut on handhelds.  A good trend to see as we wrapped up 2008.  Pay special attention, too, to all of the “casual” titles that are doing interesting things online with the Wii.  Would have guessed it when 2007 began?

• Arkanoid (DS) Taito
• Power Pro Kun Pocket 10 (DS) Konami
• Faces of War: Brothers In Arms (PC) 1C
• Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command (DS) THQ
• Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3) Epic Games
• Chocobo’s Dungeon (Wii) Square Enix
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii) Sega
• MX vs ATV: Untamed (PS2) THQ
• Heisei Kyouikuiinkai DS: Zengoku Touitsu Moshi Special (DS) Namco Bandai
• Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Wii Ketteiban (Wii) Konami
• Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero (DS) Nintendo
• Puzzler Number Placing Fun & Oekaki Logic 2 (DS) TDK
• Rising Eagle (PC) Invasion Interactive
• Anime Slot Revoluion (Wii) Namco Bandai
• Simple Wii Series, Vol 3: THE Party Casino (Wii) D3P Publisher
• Simple Wii Series, Vol. 4: THE Shooting Action (Wii) D3P Publisher

November was a prolific month for online play across all of the different platforms we support. More PSP goodness from Red Lynx and THQ with Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command after last months PSP resurgence is always a good thing to see. Timeshift kicked things off for the PS3 this holiday... look for more PS3 titles in December and gaining strength into the new year.

• Panzer Tactics (DS) 10Tacle
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) Sega
• Empire Earth III (PC) Vivendi Games
• F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate (PC) Vivendi Games
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS) Midway Games
• Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command (PSP) THQ
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii) Ubisoft
• Need for Speed: ProStreet (DS) Electronic Arts
• Crysis (PC) Electronic Arts
• Word Jong (DS) Destineer
• TimeShift (PS3) Vivendi Games
• TimeShift (PC) Vivendi Games
• Unreal Tournament 3 (PC) Midway Games
• Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii) Vivendi Games
• Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii) Atlus Software
• Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 (DS) Konami
• Tank Beat 2 (DS) Milestone

Is the single player experience nearing an end? I would argue not. We've seen a raft of great single player games in just the past few months. Portal or Bioshock anyone?

But MTV thinks otherwise. The MTV Multiplayer blog has an interesting bit of speculation up, suggesting that the "solo-only" experience is on the way out and more simultaneous play is on the way in.

For proof they cite Super Mario Galaxy and the inclusion of a two player mode. One guy is jumping about as Mario while the other shoots incoming enemies and collects golden goodness. There are also all of the ads featuring groups of happy people on couches - even if the game in question (Metroid Prime 3) is single player.

Perhaps MTV are on to something here... though I would hesitate to say that Nintendo is the only one leaving the solo experience out in the cold.

If anything, I'd say Nintendo are just now catching up with a wave that the industry has been riding for some time now.

Gears of War did a phenomenal job with the co-op campaign last year and looks poised to repeat it in the "single player/tournament" mode in Unreal Tournament 3. GRAW 2 and Lego Star Wars also had stellar co-op campaigns. In fact, there were entire sections of the game that practically required co-op play in order to access. Guitar Hero 3 is in the same boat here, with co-op play being required to access songs like "Reptilia"" and "Sabotage."

I believe that Nintendo are, however, doing what they do best: taking a fairly straight-forward concept and applying it new and in novel ways.

Mario Strikers lets you take local co-op to a new level by competing against another team of two humans sharing the same Wii. The same will be true in the new Smash Brothers title due out next year.

While MTV makes some great points, I'm more inclined to believe that Nintendo's recent designs are less about leaving the solo experience out in the cold and more about offering Player 2 a cozy seat by the gaming fire.

Last week we had an "Orange Day" and, while the media gushed over Episode 2 I was far more excited about the full version of Team Fortress 2, to be quite honest. Episode 2 will come and go but I suspect I'll still be playing 2fort for years to come. (Just like these die-hards.)

If you haven't had a chance to listen to the developer commentary included in Team Fortress 2 you definitely should. It offers a unique look into the minds of some very talented designers. Miss grenades? Learn why they aren't there. Curious about the choice of art direction when so many other games are going beyond photorealism? Hear why Valve scrapped their approach and went in the opposite direction.

Your personal best is tracked in TF.2

I was especially intrigued by the developer commentary Kerry Davis gave on the design of the stats system. Davis says something I've long maintained: global leaderboards are dumb.

Games usually approach stats by comparing a player to everyone else in the world. This is only really of interest to those who are near the top. With Team Fortress 2, we decided that a better approach might be to compare the stats to the players previous successes, turning them from a world-wide comparative system into a personalized motivational one.

The beginning player gets encouragement and acknowledgment, that while they are not highly skilled yet, they are getting better all the time.
Kerry Davis, Valve Software

What a global leaderboard lacks is context. I'm never going to be at the top of the list so it is irrelevant to me. Why show the top 100 to me as the default view? Are you trying to make me feel bad? Do you want me to give up on your game and go play someone else's game?

(Not only that, but it can encourage exploits and cheating. Witness Bungie outright removing leaderboards from Halo 2.)

By applying a buddy filter, for example, I'm no longer competing against 450,000 anonymous smacktards any more. I'm duking it out for #1 against my 14 closest gaming friends. Better yet, I've now got an acceptable joke about performance to throw out at meetings at my boss's expense. You can see this put to great use in the new Unreal Tournament 3 demo.

Or, if the information is available, a regional or zip code filter could, again, provide some context. Are you the best Madden player in Orange County? (I can assure you that I am not!)

While on the right track, I think Valve takes it a bit too far and eliminates leaderboards all together. Leaderboards themselves, of course, aren't all bad. With the application of a little context the information in a leaderboard can be relevant, interesting and a great community builder.