Single Player vs Multi Player in Games

[Mikeanheath]

I can play a single player campaign over and over especially if the gameplay is good. I think the problem is that most gamers won't do this after they finish a game. They play through it once on easy/normal difficulty or just long enough to get the trophies/achievements and move on. Most I've asked on why they can't play a game again and they all say the same thing, "I already know what's going to happen, story, etc." Which is strange to me cause games are about the gameplay and how much fun you have playing the game not, "Oh I want to see the story!" I think the single player games need to do what most of the games back in the 8-bit days did and add a score mechanic. Players get a certain number of lives and leaderboards for chasing high scores. This at least for some could create a reason to play it over and over to get better and improve your score.

Most people I know that won't go through single player campaigns again usually play sports games and online shooters over and over. If you think about those it's all about stats progressing through a sports season or K/D win/loss stats and progressing to new levels on online shooters. They're games that are played over and over basically for stats. Im willing to bet if these games didn't have a stat tracking system people wouldn't play them as long. Which again I think might be one reason single player games don't get as many play throughs. Think about a game like Borderlands that has a stat tracking system with new levels unlocking etc. That's a game that has gotten multiple playthroughs basically cause of the stat tracking and it gives you that "I wanna come back and progress" feeling.