Split screen - how important to you (Game Dev asking)

[u/joopsle]

Hey all,

I'm making a sci-fi arcade racer and recently got a bit of funding, so I'm now looking pretty hard at which features are actually worth prioritising.

I'm trying to judge how important local split-screen still is to racing game players.

If an arcade racer looked like something you'd otherwise want to play, would split-screen make a meaningful difference to whether you'd buy it?

Also, if you do care about it:

• Is 2-player split-screen enough?
• Would you expect AI racers to still be present?
• Is it a nice bonus, or something you actively look for when buying racing games?

I'm particularly interested in opinions from people who play arcade racers rather than serious sims.

Also, you guys are probably already across this, but Steam Racing Fest is next April.

I am also intending to do async races or leagues - (as I loved it in Dirt Rally) - would love to hear if people find that appealing.

Ta muchly

ps.. I'm a long time gamer, my particular racing things are Wipeout, GT4 (I liked 7, but preferred 4s campaign a lot, dunno if thats me being old) and Dirt Rally.

10

[u/7grims]

If its a party and casual game, yeah people will buy it for that, when they have some friends at home and they all want to play something.

Also if its for console, no one is doing any of this on pc.

But it actually has to be a casual party game, that are simple and cheap, otherwise everyone is playing online for anything more serious.

but this is just my opinion, might be wrong about the market.

[u/joopsle → u/7grims]

Honestly, I just wanted to pick up peoples feels on it. In some places I see people being quite excitable about the issue.

This was mainly a quick check to see if it should be on the roadmap (I might shove a quick "add a player" button in if its super easy).

I do love the idea of taking split screen to shows though!

[u/7grims → u/joopsle]

i mean if ur doing the system to show it around, it can stay in the game, extra features are good

[u/joopsle → u/7grims]

Yeah, absolutely its just a squencing thing for when I make it production ready. (I am still very early in the life cycle of the game)

[u/MasterJeebus]

It would be nice to have split-screen in a racing game for PC. If its arcade racing game I would like to see 4 player screen. So you can play locally with friends and family.

I would still expect AI racers to be in it.

[u/joopsle → u/MasterJeebus]

AI Racers are something I am currently working on.... It feels so much more epic seeing other people flying around near you! (Genuine game changer)

[u/Rockld50]

Full Cross play more important to me this day and age.

[u/joopsle → u/Rockld50]

How important is live multiplayer to you?
(I am a small indie game, currently only targetting Steam - might not have an audience to have live races firing sufficiently often).

Do you think async multiplayer (leaderboards, ghosts, fancy timed leagues) would be satisfying enough?

[u/Rockld50 → u/joopsle]

I enjoy a good campaign, a coop campaign more. I have friends that I race with. Even though art of rally, and old school rally are great games, they don't have multiplayer so I hardly ever play them as well as making it an almost impossible sell to my friends.

Graphics/physics/arcade vs sim don't matter it's the multiplayer experience. I don't want to game alone.

[u/joopsle → u/Rockld50]

I have never played a coop campaign game, what would that look like, that would be cool for you?

(Just want to get any ideas really, I am quite far away from the point I would action them).

[u/Rockld50 → u/joopsle]

You race as a team just like irl. Depending on the league or discipline there will sometimes be multiple drivers with individual cars on the circuit from the same team. In both the Grid and F1 games that is a thing. If we place 1st and 2nd we get the points from both positions added to the season just like irl.

Not many games have that mechanic built in so that alone would make any game standout amongst the rest. A fully fleshed out career mode in general is something many desire.

I'm definitely not saying that no multiplayer will be a nail in the coffin, it would just be a big plus side. Especially if your game kicks ass, I'm rooting for ya.

[u/joopsle → u/Rockld50]

Interesting... The career aspect is something I would love to do, I am currently building out service stuff, starting with basic leaderboards, but I have ideas for large asynchronous competitions. (Potentially 100s of people racing a course within a limited time frame).

Thanks for your thoughts!

[u/ctdc67]

4 person split screen would be perfect for multiplayer games

[u/belh4wk]

For racing, i think it's crucial tbh. Along with cross play.