Developers always have a difficult time when it comes to multiplayer in a game. Sometimes it can awesome but other occasions it can bog down development, and ultimately take away from the single player team resources making the overall game more mediocre than good.
Such was the case with PROTOTYPE, a free roaming experience which allows the gamer to take control of a genetically infected human who has been gifted with inhuman abilities and hunted by a secret faction of the government. One would think that co-op would be an awesome addition to this experience and for a while the team tossed around the idea.
"From its inception PROTOTYPE was planned first and foremost as a single player open-world/action game. Naturally, with Alex’s genetically mutated shape-shifting abilities, we started to explore what would happen if he were to sub-divide into two PROTOTYPEs and what kind of multiplayer gameplay we could create around that concept.
"We’ve been looking at this potential multiplayer idea much more closely as PROTOTYPE’s development has been progressing, and while it’s a great concept and gameplay bonus, our conclusion is that we won’t be able to pull it off with the same level of quality and polish that we’re aiming for with the original single player story. "
Makes sense. I’d much rather have a solid single player experience. When asked why not delay the game to include the multiplayer, the response was that PROTOTYPE was slated for 2008 and would launch then. Delaying it for co-op was not something the developer wanted to do.
[Via TeamXbox]
