Weekly Topics ‐ December 2024

Every week, we discuss a specified topic with each other on the Discord server (#weekly-topic) and on the forums in the "Chat" section. In the RAnews, we are compiling all the reactions received to the topic, and see what the opinions are of the community! This month, we will be covering the topics of December.

December 2nd - December 8th

What game on RetroAchievements do you think could benefit the most from receiving a multiplayer subset?

"Playing with friends is the best, and what better way to do so than with a good old Multi subset on RetroAchievements? These subsets will put you and your buddy together in the game, earning achievements at the same time while making it through the game. We already have several, like Kirby Super Star and Banjo-Tooie. But you know what they say: the more the merrier! What is a game on RetroAchievements you would like to experience together with a buddy through such a subset? Let us know in this week's topic!"

(Before I start, a quick shout-out of RetroGameMaster for starting a Netplay thread on the forums after this topic went live!)

Making a multiplayer set is a tough endeavor. The set needs to ensure that multiple players put in enough effort so that a multiplayer subset would actually make sense, rather than someone switching between controllers to get the job done. It was then also correctly emphasized by people that multiple sets in the Set Allows Multiplayer and Set Partially Allows Multiplayer hubs can currently already be played multiplayer without the need to have it be a separate set. This gave us some interesting discussions too, where people would like to see multiplayer sets for a game that already allows multiplayer, at which point it wouldn't make as much sense to get a separate set for it unless creative challenges could be made for it. A great example of this is the multiplayer-focused game The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, which allows multiplayer and the developers even encourage the players to do so, as the set is build around in while not limiting itself to multiplayer.

So where does that leave us? Well, let's delve into games mentioned where it would make sense to have a specific multiplayer subset. Several of the examples mentioned have content that is limited to multiplayer mode, with no way to get it outside of those modes. User Mogul mentioned Star Fox: Assault, with the VS. Mode having unique content unlocked through playing multiple matches, such as unlocking the Wolfen at 150 matches. Pikmin 2 is likewise in the same boat, having content exclusive to its multiplayer modes and could therefore make for a good multiplayer subset.

Then there is of course the obvious: co-op. Now by default, a lot of games that were mentioned do already allow multiplayer on the core set, such as Secret of Mana. That of course doesn't mean that a multiplayer subset can't happen, but the developer would need to be a bit more creative with the challenges. But as proven by the existing Kirby Super Star multiplayer subset (which has a core set that allows multiplayer), there is enough room for the subset to exist.

That said, there were also a few sets where it's currently unclear whether multiplayer can be used or not, or it's confirmed not to be possible. One of my favourite examples was mentioned by user WeerDough, where Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and its sequel on the PlayStation 2 could make for excellent co-op subsets. User Whoops also brought up a really cool one in BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat, where the co-op forces two players into the mech, with one being the pilot and the other the gunner. Given that good play is practically forced here to do, it could result in some creative challenges in a separate subset.

Finally, there are of course a few specific genres that just go well with multiplayer. The party/minigames genre was commonly mentioned, with Mario Party 5 currently having such a subset and it showed that users really wanted to see a subset for the other games in the series as well. After all, you would have to be super skilled with your feet to win these minigames as two players alone. WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Games! was mentioned multiple times as well, and conveniently already has a subset page dedicated to it! It's currently unclaimed but who knows, maybe in the near future? The other genre that obviously goes well with multiplayer subsets are the beat 'em ups and hack 'n slashes, such as Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. Several of these like Streets of Rage 2 allows multiplayer for specific achievements already, but never say never to the creativity of our developers.

December 9th - December 15th

What are your favourite memories of the Super Nintendo?

"It's time to go back in time and relive some memories of particular systems. This time, let's dive in on the Super Nintendo/SNES! What are some of your favourite memories of this system? Did you own one when you were younger and perhaps played on it with friends and family, or you discovered it later in life? Maybe your first experience with it was on RetroAchievements even? Share anything you want related to this 16-bit console in this week's topic!"

As this is a more personal topic, I won't be spending too much time here. Regardless, a lot of people shared their memories of the console, be it that they owned one when they were younger, played it over at friends or with family, or being too young for the SNES but still (re-)experiencing some of the best games on there through the virtual console or on RetroAchievements. A lot of people involved themselves in the topic on both the forums and the discord, so be sure to check them out if you're interested!

December 16th - December 22d

Have you ever dabbled into randomizers/the Archipelago multi-world randomizers?

"Randomizers are a fantastic way to mix up the games you may have already played countless times. What once started as a novel concept has evolved into a large community, with new supported games popping up quicker than you can think about it. Have you ever played a randomizer yourself and if so, what can you say about it and what are some of your favourites? Or do you have some tips for people who are looking to get into playing randomizers but haven't done so yet? All of these questions are part of this week's topic!"

Let's delve into a topic not directly related to RetroAchievements, but one that is arguably as big as our own community: the randomizers. Of course multiple people suspected I had an ulterior motive by asking this question but (very sadly) no, this was just a topic for fun. Would love for randomizers to somehow get RetroAchievements support as much as the next guy, but currently that is not something I can confirm is on the table. In the meantime, there are a few that you could check out that are either randomizers, or are roguelike mods to make them feel like randomizers, which include anything in the Approved Randomizers as well as games like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Reprise and Super Metroid Arcade.

As expected, most people who commented also listed common randomizers, such as any game from The Legend of Zelda, but also Pokémon, Metroid and Castlevania. After all, both RPGs and action-adventure/metroidvania games are perfect for randomizers. Suffice to say, our community does overlap well with randomizers, as shown by the amount of comments. Multiple people also shared that they are part of an Archipelago Multiworld randomizer, which allows you to find items for other players in your own games, meaning that all need to work together to beat your own games.

Suffice to say, with this overlap being here, that does raise the question if we could do something fun with it aside from achievement support. For anyone reading this and thinking the same, it would be awesome if a plan could be worked out for our community to get together and play some randomizers?

December 23rd - January 5th

What are some of your favourite Christmas-related gaming memories?

"It's the time of the year again where families gather to celebrate the holidays. How everyone spends them is of course different, and that's what we would like to reflect on this week! What do you think back on fondly during this time of the year? Maybe you were always playing games before Christmas dinner with the family or friends, or you received a special gift from Santa that you are very fond of? Maybe you don't celebrate the holidays and instead think back on something else, like an in-game event dedicated to the holidays? Let us know in this week's topic!"

What is/are your favourite achievement set(s) you played/developed in 2024?

"Before we look ahead to 2025, let's reflect back on what this year offered us in the way we all know best: gushing about achievement sets! For this week's topic, it's all about what you played (or developed) in 2024 and that you have the fondest memories of. Was it an achievement set that also came out this year, or maybe an older set that you ended up playing this year for the first time that gave you a lot of excitement? Or maybe you ended up not playing a lot, but dedicated more time to developing experiences for other users? Let us know, and be sure to show the developer your appreciation as well if you want!"

The two topics above are also very personal, so it wouldn't feel right for me to address them--not to mention I would have to go through a million sets mentioned in the latter topic. Regardless, there is a lot to see in both the forum topics and in the discord channel, so be sure to check them out if interested!

And that's it for this month. See you again next month with more topics to cover, and be sure to check out the respective Discord channel or the forum post to have your thoughts heard!