Cooperative gameplay
Encyclopedia
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player
or deathmatch
. Playing simultaneously allows players to assist one another in many ways: passing weapons or items, healing, providing covering fire in a firefight, and performing cooperative maneuvers such as boosting a teammate up and over obstacles.
In its most simple form, cooperative gameplay modifies the single player mode of a game, allowing additional players, and increasing the difficulty level
to compensate for the additional players. More complex examples exist, however, with broader modifications to the story and gameplay. Some co-op games include a new ending when completed in co-op mode. This new ending is unlocked only when players work as a team to complete the game. For instance, Bubble Bobble
features an ending that can only be accessed when two players survive co-op mode, as do some console beat 'em up
games such as Double Dragon
, Streets of Rage
, and Die Hard Arcade
.
Co-op gaming can operate either locally--with players sharing input devices or using multiple controllers connected to a single console--or over a network, with co-op players joining an existing game running on a game server via a local area network
s or wide area network
s. Due to the complexity of video game coding, co-op games rarely allow network players and local players to mix. Exceptions do exist, however, such as Mario Kart Wii
or Call of Duty Black Ops, which allows two players from the same console to play with others online.
Co-op gameplay has been gaining popularity in video games in recent years, as controller and networking technology has developed. On PC
s and consoles, cooperative games have become increasingly common, and many genres of game--including shooter game
s, sports game
s, real-time strategy
games, and massively multiplayer online game
s--include co-op modes.
onward typically had controller ports for two-player games, most systems did not have the computing or graphical power for simultaneous play, leading most games that billed "2-player gameplay" as a feature to merely be the single player game with alternating players.
During this early era, many arcade games which featured co-op play (including beat 'em ups
such as Double Dragon
) were ported to less advanced home systems. Alternating play replaced the arcade's co-op play in the NES
version (although Double Dragon II
and III
, for the same system, did retain their co-op gameplay). Most other titles featuring 2-player were head-to-head sports titles. Though most of the console beat 'em ups were arcade ports, original franchises such as Streets of Rage
and River City Ransom
also became popular.
The run and gun genre was also popular for co-op games. Contra
, for instance, was far more successful in its NES incarnation than it was in the arcade, and is now considered one of the most popular co-op games ever. Gunstar Heroes
for the Sega Genesis and the Metal Slug series
for the Neo Geo
were also well-received titles.
Electronic Arts
has produced key co-op sports game
s, including the original NHL Hockey
(1991) and Madden NFL
(1990) installments on the Sega Genesis. These games allowed two players or more to play against the CPU. These franchises are arguably the most successful co-op sports games.
Due to the lack of online multiplayer
, co-op games in the RPG
genre have generally been less common on console systems than on PCs. Nevertheless, some of the earliest co-op action RPGs
were console titles, including the TurboGrafx-16
game Dungeon Explorer
(1989) by Atlus
which allowed up to five players to play simultaneously, and Square
's Secret of Mana
(1993) for the Super Nintendo
which offered two- and three-player action once the main character had acquired his party members. Secret of Mana's co-op gameplay was considered innovative in its time, as it allowed the second or third players to drop in and out of the game at any time rather than players having to join the game at the same time, which has remained influential on titles as recent as the upcoming Dungeon Siege III
. Final Fantasy VI
(1994) offered a form of alternating co-op play for its battles, with the second player taking control of half of the characters in the party. Namco
's Tales series
allowed multiple players to take control of individual members in its real-time battles in some of the titles, such as Tales of Symphonia
, while the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
games replicated the Diablo formula for consoles, offering two-player simultaneous play through the game's campaign.
With the release of the Nintendo 64
(1996, 1997), having four controller ports started to become a standard feature in consoles, as the Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube
and Xbox
all later featured them. As larger multiplayer games became feasible, cooperative gameplay also became more available. The latest generation
of video game consoles all feature wireless controllers, removing port-based local player limits. However, its effect on multiplayer is probably less pronounced than the advancement of console internet capabilities.
was both the most influential and most popular mode, Dooms co-op gameplay was also significant. Up to four players could travel through the entire game together, playing on separate computers over a LAN
. Unlike many co-op games, the game's campaign mode was designed primarily for single player
, but the difficulty was tweaked to compensate for extra human players. The following three games produced by id Software
(Doom II
, Quake and Quake II
) all featured co-op modes.
Since around the year 2000, however, most FPS developers have forsaken co-op campaign play, opting to focus more purely on either a more detailed and in-depth single player experience or a purely multiplayer game. Epic's Unreal Tournament
series has shifted almost entirely towards deathmatch
modes (although it does retain a "team deathmatch
" mode), and significant FPS releases such as Doom 3
, Quake 4
, and both Half-Life (Other then addon Decay for Half Life 1) titles shipped without cooperative gameplay modes. The moddability
of these titles has enabled fan-created add-ons which enable co-op play in many of these cases, though.
In contemporary PC gaming, FPS co-op most commonly manifests in the form of competitive teamplay, which has generally overtaken deathmatch as the dominant form of online FPS muItiplayer, with titles such as Counter-Strike
, Team Fortress 2
, Battlefield 1942
and Medal of Honor
gaining popularity in the early to mid-2000s. However, titles such as Electronic Arts
' Army of Two
, Valve's
Left 4 Dead
, and Croteam
's Serious Sam
games, all represent first-person shooters which feature co-op play as a major focus of the gameplay.
, but were restricted to single player due to the technology of the era. The earliest RPGs featuring something resembling co-op play were MUD
s, which would later evolve into the MMOG genre, though it is debatable whether these online worlds can be considered to feature cooperative gameplay as it is commonly understood.
Later PC RPGs became more powerful and flexible in simulating the shared real life RPG experience, allowing players to collaborate in games over the Internet. Blizzard Entertainment
's immensely successful Diablo (1996), which incorporated Blizzard's online matchmaking service, battle.net
, allowing the game's players to play through the entire single player campaign together. The D&D-sanctioned Baldur's Gate
and Icewind Dale
games, released in 1998 and 2000, respectively, allowed up to six players to play through the campaign mode over a network. Atari
's Neverwinter Nights
(2002) was an official and comprehensive D&D simulator, featuring even more robust game-creation tools and developing a sizable online community. It allowed one player to serve as a Dungeon Master
, shaping and altering the game world against a party of human-controlled players, playing cooperatively. (An earlier game, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption
(2000) was the earliest CRPG
to feature this sort of "storyteller" mode.)
Contemporary MMORPG
s such as Blizzard Entertainment
's World of Warcraft
feature a mixture of single-player goals ("quests") and larger end-game challenges that can only be completed via intensive co-op play, of up to twentyfive players.
displays in order to show two or more players in different regions of the game. Split screen displays would usually split the main screen into either two or four sub-regions so that 2-4 players can roam freely within the game world. Many first-person
and third-person shooter
games use this technique when played in multiplayer co-op mode, such as the console versions of games in the Rainbow Six series, the Halo series
or the fifth installment of the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: World at War
.
By contrast, in cooperative platform game
s, both players typically occupy the same screen and must coordinate their actions, particularly with regard to the scrolling. If the scrolling is limited to a forward direction only, players can potentially kill each other. For example, one player lagging behind could cause problems for his partner, as the screen will not scroll onward. If a player was attempting to complete a jump over a chasm, the "safe" surface on the far side of the chasm could be prevented from scrolling into view by a slow player.
Developers have attempted to counter these frustrations by using a camera that can zoom in and out over an entire level as needed, keeping both players within the scope of the camera. This type of camera was used to enable the display of four player cooperative gameplay in New Super Mario Brothers Wii.
game, such as StarCraft
, will often have to draw off the same pool of resources to build and upgrade their units and buildings. The sharing of resources, however, can be as simple as the system used in the Contra
games (and other shoot-'em-up/beat-'em-up games) where a player who is out of spare lives could "steal" a life from the other player so both players could continue to play at the same time.
Player versus player
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment...
or deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
. Playing simultaneously allows players to assist one another in many ways: passing weapons or items, healing, providing covering fire in a firefight, and performing cooperative maneuvers such as boosting a teammate up and over obstacles.
In its most simple form, cooperative gameplay modifies the single player mode of a game, allowing additional players, and increasing the difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
to compensate for the additional players. More complex examples exist, however, with broader modifications to the story and gameplay. Some co-op games include a new ending when completed in co-op mode. This new ending is unlocked only when players work as a team to complete the game. For instance, Bubble Bobble
Bubble Bobble
is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons and , is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, blowing and bursting bubbles, avoiding...
features an ending that can only be accessed when two players survive co-op mode, as do some console beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
games such as Double Dragon
Double Dragon
is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
, Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the first installment of the Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game...
, and Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade is the licensed North American, European and Australian version of the Japanese videogame . The game is a beat 'em up with loose ties to the Die Hard movie series of the same name....
.
Co-op gaming can operate either locally--with players sharing input devices or using multiple controllers connected to a single console--or over a network, with co-op players joining an existing game running on a game server via a local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
s or wide area network
Wide area network
A wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...
s. Due to the complexity of video game coding, co-op games rarely allow network players and local players to mix. Exceptions do exist, however, such as Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii
is a racing video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series and the second Mario Kart title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released worldwide...
or Call of Duty Black Ops, which allows two players from the same console to play with others online.
Co-op gameplay has been gaining popularity in video games in recent years, as controller and networking technology has developed. On PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and consoles, cooperative games have become increasingly common, and many genres of game--including shooter game
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
s, sports game
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
s, real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games, and massively multiplayer online game
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
s--include co-op modes.
History of console co-op gaming
Early-generation home consoles typically did not offer co-op options, due to technical limitations which hindered the increased graphics required for simultaneous co-op play. Though consoles from the second generation of video gamesHistory of video game consoles (second generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the second generation began in 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System....
onward typically had controller ports for two-player games, most systems did not have the computing or graphical power for simultaneous play, leading most games that billed "2-player gameplay" as a feature to merely be the single player game with alternating players.
During this early era, many arcade games which featured co-op play (including beat 'em ups
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
such as Double Dragon
Double Dragon
is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
) were ported to less advanced home systems. Alternating play replaced the arcade's co-op play in the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version (although Double Dragon II
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
is a side-scrolling beat 'em up produced by Technos originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in . It is the sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year. A home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in which differs drastically from the original arcade...
and III
Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone
is a side-scrolling beat 'em up produced by Technos Japan Corp. that was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in . It is the second sequel to Double Dragon for the arcades, following Double Dragon II: The Revenge...
, for the same system, did retain their co-op gameplay). Most other titles featuring 2-player were head-to-head sports titles. Though most of the console beat 'em ups were arcade ports, original franchises such as Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the first installment of the Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game...
and River City Ransom
River City Ransom
River City Ransom, released as in Japan and as Street Gangs in PAL regions, is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was developed by Technōs Japan and originally released in Japan on April 25, 1989. It is the third game in Technos' Kunio-kun series released for the console,...
also became popular.
The run and gun genre was also popular for co-op games. Contra
Contra (arcade game)
, known as Gryzor in Europe and Oceania, is a run and gun action game developed and published by Konami originally released as a coin-operated arcade game on February 20, 1987. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in , along with ports for various computer formats,...
, for instance, was far more successful in its NES incarnation than it was in the arcade, and is now considered one of the most popular co-op games ever. Gunstar Heroes
Gunstar Heroes
is a run and gun video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega.Treasure's debut game was originally released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in late 1993, and later on, ported to the Game Gear by M2. On February 23, 2006, Gunstar Heroes was released as part of the Gunstar Heroes: Treasure...
for the Sega Genesis and the Metal Slug series
Metal Slug series
Metal Slug is a series of run and gun video games first released on Neo-Geo arcade machines and game consoles created by SNK. It was also ported to other consoles, such as the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and more recently, the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation...
for the Neo Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
were also well-received titles.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
has produced key co-op sports game
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
s, including the original NHL Hockey
NHL Hockey
NHL Hockey is an ice hockey game by EA Sports. Released in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, it is the first game in the NHL Hockey series.-Features:...
(1991) and Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
(1990) installments on the Sega Genesis. These games allowed two players or more to play against the CPU. These franchises are arguably the most successful co-op sports games.
Due to the lack of online multiplayer
Multiplayer online game
A Multiplayer Online Game is a multiplayer video game which can be played via a game server over the internet, with other players around the world...
, co-op games in the RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
genre have generally been less common on console systems than on PCs. Nevertheless, some of the earliest co-op action RPGs
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
were console titles, including the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
game Dungeon Explorer
Dungeon Explorer
Dungeon Explorer is an action role-playing game released for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine in 1989. It centered around the quest of several heroes to find the Ora Stone for the former king of Oddesia. When the alien race that now rules the land invaded, the stone was hidden deep in the dungeons of...
(1989) by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
which allowed up to five players to play simultaneously, and Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
(1993) for the Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
which offered two- and three-player action once the main character had acquired his party members. Secret of Mana's co-op gameplay was considered innovative in its time, as it allowed the second or third players to drop in and out of the game at any time rather than players having to join the game at the same time, which has remained influential on titles as recent as the upcoming Dungeon Siege III
Dungeon Siege III
Dungeon Siege III is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Chris Taylor, the original creator of Dungeon Siege, served as an advisor during the development of the game...
. Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
(1994) offered a form of alternating co-op play for its battles, with the second player taking control of half of the characters in the party. Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's Tales series
Tales (role-playing game series)
The series is a franchise of fantasy console role-playing games published by Namco Bandai Games , and primarily developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio. Created in 1994, the series now spans over twelve flagship titles, over fifteen side games, and four animated productions, into several...
allowed multiple players to take control of individual members in its real-time battles in some of the titles, such as Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Symphonia
is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It debuted in Japan on August 29, 2003, selling 953,000 copies, in Canada and the United States on July 13, 2004, and in Europe on November 19, 2004. The game received a Japanese-only PlayStation 2...
, while the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an action role-playing game developed by Snowblind Studios for the PlayStation 2; later released for the Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. It was re-released on the PlayStation 2 as a Greatest Hits title...
games replicated the Diablo formula for consoles, offering two-player simultaneous play through the game's campaign.
With the release of the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
(1996, 1997), having four controller ports started to become a standard feature in consoles, as the Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
all later featured them. As larger multiplayer games became feasible, cooperative gameplay also became more available. The latest generation
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
of video game consoles all feature wireless controllers, removing port-based local player limits. However, its effect on multiplayer is probably less pronounced than the advancement of console internet capabilities.
First-Person Shooters
The release of Doom in 1993 was a breakthrough in network gaming. Though arguably deathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
was both the most influential and most popular mode, Dooms co-op gameplay was also significant. Up to four players could travel through the entire game together, playing on separate computers over a LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
. Unlike many co-op games, the game's campaign mode was designed primarily for single player
Single player
A Single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. "Single-player game" usually implies a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" usually refers to a game mode for a single player, where...
, but the difficulty was tweaked to compensate for extra human players. The following three games produced by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
(Doom II
Doom II
Doom II: Hell on Earth is an award winning first-person shooter video game and second title of id Software's Doom franchise. Unlike Doom which was initially only available through shareware and mail order, Doom II was a commercial release sold in stores...
, Quake and Quake II
Quake II
Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
) all featured co-op modes.
Since around the year 2000, however, most FPS developers have forsaken co-op campaign play, opting to focus more purely on either a more detailed and in-depth single player experience or a purely multiplayer game. Epic's Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
series has shifted almost entirely towards deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
modes (although it does retain a "team deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
" mode), and significant FPS releases such as Doom 3
Doom 3
Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac...
, Quake 4
Quake 4
Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
, and both Half-Life (Other then addon Decay for Half Life 1) titles shipped without cooperative gameplay modes. The moddability
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
of these titles has enabled fan-created add-ons which enable co-op play in many of these cases, though.
In contemporary PC gaming, FPS co-op most commonly manifests in the form of competitive teamplay, which has generally overtaken deathmatch as the dominant form of online FPS muItiplayer, with titles such as Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
, Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...
and Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor series
Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
gaining popularity in the early to mid-2000s. However, titles such as Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
' Army of Two
Army of Two
Army of Two is a third person shooter video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 4, 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The game is centered upon two mercenaries fighting through war, political turmoil, and a conspiracy from 1993 to 2009...
, Valve's
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
, and Croteam
Croteam
Croteam is a video game developer established in Zagreb, Croatia in 1993, initially as a "garage games" company. They only had six employees and four contractors for the development of Serious Sam in 2001.-Company history:...
's Serious Sam
Serious Sam
Serious Sam is the first game in the Serious Sam series. It is a first-person shooter created by the Croatian development house Croteam...
games, all represent first-person shooters which feature co-op play as a major focus of the gameplay.
Role-Playing Games
Most early computer role-playing games were inspired by Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, but were restricted to single player due to the technology of the era. The earliest RPGs featuring something resembling co-op play were MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s, which would later evolve into the MMOG genre, though it is debatable whether these online worlds can be considered to feature cooperative gameplay as it is commonly understood.
Later PC RPGs became more powerful and flexible in simulating the shared real life RPG experience, allowing players to collaborate in games over the Internet. Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
's immensely successful Diablo (1996), which incorporated Blizzard's online matchmaking service, battle.net
Battle.net
Battle.net is a gaming service provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Battle.net was launched in November 30, 1996 with the release of Blizzard's action-RPG Diablo. Battle.net was the first online gaming service incorporated directly into the games that make use of it, in contrast to the external...
, allowing the game's players to play through the entire single player campaign together. The D&D-sanctioned Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules...
and Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment. Released on June 30, 2000, it takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition...
games, released in 1998 and 2000, respectively, allowed up to six players to play through the campaign mode over a network. Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
's Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
(2002) was an official and comprehensive D&D simulator, featuring even more robust game-creation tools and developing a sizable online community. It allowed one player to serve as a Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
, shaping and altering the game world against a party of human-controlled players, playing cooperatively. (An earlier game, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption
Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption
Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption is a PC role-playing game released on June 7, 2000 by Activision. The game follows the adventures of a French crusader, Christof Romuald, through Prague and Vienna in the Dark Ages and modern-day London and New York City. The game is based on the pen-and-paper...
(2000) was the earliest CRPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
to feature this sort of "storyteller" mode.)
Contemporary MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s such as Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
's World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
feature a mixture of single-player goals ("quests") and larger end-game challenges that can only be completed via intensive co-op play, of up to twentyfive players.
Display features
Many console games support split screenSplit screen (computer graphics)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-movable adjacent parts, typically two or four rectangular areas. This is done in order to allow the simultaneous presentation of related graphical and textual information on a computer...
displays in order to show two or more players in different regions of the game. Split screen displays would usually split the main screen into either two or four sub-regions so that 2-4 players can roam freely within the game world. Many first-person
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
games use this technique when played in multiplayer co-op mode, such as the console versions of games in the Rainbow Six series, the Halo series
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
or the fifth installment of the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was...
.
By contrast, in cooperative platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
s, both players typically occupy the same screen and must coordinate their actions, particularly with regard to the scrolling. If the scrolling is limited to a forward direction only, players can potentially kill each other. For example, one player lagging behind could cause problems for his partner, as the screen will not scroll onward. If a player was attempting to complete a jump over a chasm, the "safe" surface on the far side of the chasm could be prevented from scrolling into view by a slow player.
Developers have attempted to counter these frustrations by using a camera that can zoom in and out over an entire level as needed, keeping both players within the scope of the camera. This type of camera was used to enable the display of four player cooperative gameplay in New Super Mario Brothers Wii.
Resource management
A common concept in cooperative games is the sharing of resources between players. For example, two players managing one team in a real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game, such as StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
, will often have to draw off the same pool of resources to build and upgrade their units and buildings. The sharing of resources, however, can be as simple as the system used in the Contra
Contra series
is a video game series produced by Konami composed primarily of run and gun-style shoot-'em-ups. The series debuted in as a coin-operated arcade game simply titled Contra, which was followed by the release of Super Contra in and several sequels produced for various home platforms.The in-universe...
games (and other shoot-'em-up/beat-'em-up games) where a player who is out of spare lives could "steal" a life from the other player so both players could continue to play at the same time.
Video games with Co-op mode
- For the manually edited sortable table of games that feature cooperative gameplay, see List of cooperative video games.
- For the automatically generated list of games that belong to this category, see :Category:Cooperative video games.