How Online Gaming Evolved: From Couch Co-op to Billion-Dollar Virtual Realities

The way we play video games has changed a lot in the last 30 years. From being an activity where several people shout at one and the same TV screen, today people usually freeze into a microphone, for the same reason, but alone in a room.

The business has grown explosively and has been given a good boost by the isolation of the corona pandemic. This only applies to young people. Online games have increased among all age groups, which Björn Werner who was the head of culture at the doctor it attracted attention during the pandemic.

Today, online gaming is a billion-dollar industry where people gather in fictional universes, do secret quests together, or fight each other, whether the fantasy world of dragons and demons, or out in space.

And it is involved.

When the gaming giant “Fortnite” was closed before the launch of the next chapter, the entire gaming world sat and watched its temporary replacement: video showing a black hole.

The GP gaming editorial team settles in the conference room

GP’s hastily assembled game editors are just as entertaining when they set the battle for the stars in the new “Jamboree party Mario” – but here it happens together in a conference room in the GP’s house.

For me, online games can’t compete with the thrill and excitement you get from playing video games with your friends in the same room.

Better to have an unhealthy amount of chewed sugars and the smell of old cheese curds and body heat. Above all, it must be spaced out, like when Princess Peach takes a successful golf swing against her friend Kirby’s domed body in “Super Smash Bros.” Then you’ll get in touch with your inner twelve-year-old for a while and you can escape​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​from

I really tried to play online. In my early teens, my friends and I tried the role-playing game “Tibia“, where you walk around in a magical pixelated world. We hunted goblins and jumped up together. It was nice. There could be arguments about who would shoot with a bow and who would engage in close combat. And rightly so, one was abandoned for an English lesson.

Even as an adult, I have tried games that I like, such as “Civilization” or “Heroes of might and magic”. But conquering someone’s capital when they’re hundreds of kilometers away isn’t the same thing, and capturing your friend’s strong Stefan castle is a different kind of joy. on the tenth attempt when he is in the same room. Because of course we spent hours in front of the computer but also hanging out – talking about other things in our lives.

In “Mario Party Jamboree“, chance plays a big role

I can’t be the only one who feels this way. Otherwise, Nintendo wouldn’t have continued to release party, racing and fighting games that were made to be played together. “Mario party jamboree” is the thirteenth in the series (if you only count the game consoles) and it is not very different from the first edition for the Nintendo 64 from 1998.

Simply put, “Mario Party” is a board game on steroids. Up to four participants roll dice in a turn-based game on imaginary game boards where the goal is to have the most stars at the end of the game. Between each round, small tactical games are played: such as snowball fights, preventing a bomb from exploding or baking as many cookies as possible. The winners receive coins which are used to buy stars.

You can get really good at these little games, but chance plays a big part too, it’s a dice game after all. The inconsistency means that even those who have never played Mario Party before can have fun and have a good chance of winning.

When the game editors previously mentioned by GP sit down in a conference room to try, the noise levels rise quickly to what can be compared to the problem of a work environment. The sneer from the foreign reporter Alexandra Turku when she spins my star or the hysterical tan of the web editor Michaela Karlén when she tries to give the rest of us a dream with a hammer is as memorable as the victory about end of myself

“Mario party jamboree” is cute with bright colors, cute figures and peppy music. The mini-games are imaginative and varied and it’s obvious that Nintendo put a lot of effort into both aesthetics and content.

The mini-games are also very different, some are very clever and others focus on speed and coordination. At one point, we will turn the controls like a lasso and catch treasure chests full of coins. It requires cooperation and focus to succeed. At the same time, our arms fly around until we are close to knocking each other in the head.

However, packaging is still a concern for Mario’s party. Despite the fact that Nintendo has been successful in influencing the speed of the game, it is still a long time to see others complete the revolution on the gaming board.

But after the game is over (and also the four participants after two hours of intense fighting), my feeling is still confirmed: The noise levels would never be so high if we played online. The rematch would not have been as intense and the joy of victory could not have been matched even if I had conquered the whole world as Australia in “Civilization”.

It’s good for Nintendo to refer to the nostalgia that many of us have left when video games were mostly played together. And it’s hard to decide whether it’s the good game or just the long-awaited community in front of the TV screen that makes you appreciate “Mario party jamboree”.

In a world where many problems, conflicts and disputes are magnified by the fact that we are always connected, it is good to know that it still feels better to play an awesome video game together than online . I’m already booked for the next video game night with the coworkers.

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