Single-player video game
Video game mode for one player only.
A single-player video game is a video game that expects input from only one player throughout the gameplay. Many modern console, PC, and arcade games are designed for single-player play, though some also include multiplayer modes. Very few games actually require more than one player to be played.
Quick Facts
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History
The earliest video games, including Tennis for Two (1958), Spacewar! (1962), and Pong (1972), were symmetrical games meant for two players. Single-player games gained popularity later with titles such as Speed Race (1974) and Space Invaders (1978). According to Raph Koster, this shift resulted from increasingly sophisticated computers and interfaces enabling asymmetric gameplay, cooperative play, and story delivery, combined with the introverted personality types of most early players. Although most modern games include a single-player element, the industry has sometimes viewed it as peripheral; Electronic Arts vice president Frank Gibeau stated in 2012 that he had not approved a single-player-only game. The financial viability of AAA single-player games was questioned after EA closed Visceral Games in October 2017, a studio known for narrative-focused single-player titles like Dead Space. Visceral had been developing a linear single-player Star Wars game, but EA redirected it toward a broader experience. Poor sales of several AAA single-player games that year, alongside strong performance of multiplayer and games-as-a-service titles, suggested a waning model. Manveer Heir, who left EA after Mass Effect Andromeda, acknowledged that the culture within EA opposed single-player development, and with Visceral's closure, the linear single-player triple-A game at EA was considered dead for the time being.
Game elements
Single-player games rely on computer-generated narrative and conflict rather than human opponents, allowing experiences often absent in multiplayer games. They depend more heavily on compelling stories to draw players in and create investment, as human players cannot reliably carry a linear narrative. While multiplayer games use human interaction for conflict and camaraderie, single-player games build these artificially through deeper characterization of non-player characters, especially in role-playing games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. However, these elements are not fixed rules; puzzle games such as Tetris and racing games focus squarely on gameplay.
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