In mainstream gaming, the best line of sharing an experience in co-op while playing online has been via a headset, for the most part. Of course, couch co-op is the ultimate way to game with others, but it’s not always possible, and it can be awkward, if not more inconvenient, to play a game while video calling on Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.
What could take online co-op gaming to the next level may be the implementation of tailored live streaming technology to put you in the moment. As it stands, one form of online entertainment looks to have made the most gains in this regard, while a colossal company is still working out the process fully. So, let’s see how they can potentially enhance co-op gaming in the future.
Source: Unsplash
One of the limitations of gaming streams like those seen on Twitch is that it’s mostly a passive experience, with the exception of the chat window if the streamer chooses to interact. Viewers generally can’t influence the streamer, join in, or play to achieve the same goal in that zone. Where this element has been achieved, creating a truly two-way live gaming experience, is in the live casino games found online.
All of the best live casinos feature stacks of games that are either classic table games or newly created game show games. They all utilize a live stream and some additional tech to allow players to live stream, watch, and play in real-time. So, when a round starts, the player puts down a bet on any of the potential outcomes, the croupier then performs the game there and then, and after that, they reward the winners.
It’s this ability to see the other person performing the motions of the game and then being able to have some real-time input or activity that makes live casino gaming the most advanced deployment of the tech in mainstream entertainment thus far. In video gaming, voice communications would need to be added, and the option to join the exact game on the server in play to convert this into a co-op enhancing option.
Source: Unsplash
Google Stadia will go down as one of the most-hyped flops in video gaming history, and it’s already guaranteed that it won’t enjoy a kind of No Man’s Sky redemption story as it has shut down its game studio. It does still have many co-op games in its library, regardless of its grossly flawed business model that ended up sinking the platform almost as soon as it left the harbor.
One of the reasons why the cloud-based platform faded was that it didn’t launch with most of its highly anticipated, potentially game-changing features. Chief among these was Crowd Play. Said to have been made available for Serious Sam 4 in October last year, its function is to give the viewer the ability to join and play alongside live streamers on YouTube.
So, in theory, you would just need to start even a closed live stream on YouTube, send the link to a friend, and then they can see your reactions and play while in the game with you. Another less co-op-facing feature, State Share, can also be used for Doom Eternal and Hello Engineer. This allows you to save the game with a screenshot, share it, and then others can pick up from there, which could be a fun challenge among friends.
Still, there’s yet to be that definitive breakthrough use of live streaming technology to bring what would essentially be the total couch co-op experience to online co-op gaming. That said, what’s already available does show promise for such dreams.
Elden Ring may have launched on February 25th, but so expansive is the game and enhanced in difficulty (when compared to what many gamers are used to), that a huge chunk of its player base is still in the Lands Between. Many will even start again to see if they can perfect that one quest, go a different way, or best a boss more tactically a
Got tired of ghostbusting in a typical New York setting? Then you’ll be pleased to know the recently-announced Ghostbusters title from Sony Pictures will support VR, feature a multiplayer mode, and take place in San Francisco.
