Gamasutra ran an interesting article on synchronous vs asynchronous play, and how we shouldn’t overlook the qualities of asynchronous.
Working in the virtual world’s field we are all about synchronous to almost a fault. For one it’s a huge technical challenge, one that engineers love to devote their time. We also believe it is exactly what users want as it’s what they ask for. Or is it? Blindly listen to users and you might build the next videophone. ATT lost millions producing one after 25 years of development only to watch people pick up the receiver and walk away from the camera and screen.
One of the biggest reason for looking at asynchronous again might be the sheer size of the audience.
Truth to be told, asynchronous games are still in their infancy from a design perspective. Their future is promising as the potential audience for asynchronous multi-player games is much great than the potential audience for synchronous ones – although anyone who can find time for synchronous games can find time for asynchronous ones, the opposite is not true.
I know whenever I envision real time story in virtual worlds it’s closer to an asynchronous experience. The article also highlights some creative ways to integrate other players while still being asynchronous.
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