History Main / AsymmetricMultiplayer

** ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 4}}'' re-introduces the commander role, but removes the player from the battlefield entirely, while also giving the ability to drop supplies, order troops, and other tactical advantages.

* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 2}}'' has a mode where one player on each team is a commander, while all others are soldiers. The commander can only see the full map, and has the ability to issue orders to players as well as drop artillery.

* ''Artemis'' simulates a Star Trek style space ship bridge. Each player controls a different aspect of the ship, leading to very different play-styles; the captain is the most extreme example of this, since they cannot take any actions personally and instead relay orders to the other players.

* Pen and paper roleplaying games are essentially this in analogue form. The Game Master has complete control over everything and is unconcerned about leveling, loot, dying, or other player-only problems. The Game Master's job is provide balanced and challenging gameplay as well as rules adjudications. A player's job is to attempt to survive whatever the GM tosses at them. Several board games (such as Hero Quest or Descent: Journey in the Dark) are like this as well.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has a co-op mode where one player controls Link and the other uses a GameBoyAdvance connected to the GameCube to provide support (potions, bombs, etc.) with the Tingle Tuner in-game item.

* ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' lets player 1 do this with the [=GamePad=], using the touchscreen to control Murphy in order to clear obstacles and tickle enemies while letting the other players run and jump as usual. Certain levels require player 1 to do this; when playing solo, these segments skew more toward UnexpectedGameplayChange.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' allows the second player to point at [[FollowTheMoney collectibles]] with the wiimote to pick them up.

* ''Videogame/{{Splinter Cell}}'': Double Agent has a mode in which a team of players fight as mercs against a single player playing as Sam Fischer.

[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nautilus_-_cropped_7520.jpg]]

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield2'' has a mode where one player on each team is a commander, while all others are soldiers. The commander can only see the full map, and has the ability to issue orders to players as well as drop artillery.

[[folder:[=GameCube=]]]

[[folder: Wii U games ]]

* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' is all about this. Many of the games have multiplayer modes in which one player's view of the action and role is different from the others. The cooperative games do involve players working towards a common goal, but with very different abilities. The competitive games, however, involve the players having totally different goals in addition to completely different abilities.
** ''Luigi's Ghost Mansion'' has an invisible ghost, playing on the touch-screen [=GamePad=], try to sneak up on ghost hunters, while the ghost hunters view the TV and try to stop the invisible ghost with the use of flashlights.
** ''Mario Chase'' has one player view the entire playfield on the [=GamePad=] while the others, using split-screen views on the TV, attempt to chase and catch Mario.
** ''Animal Crossing: Sweet Day'' has one player control two guards on the [=GamePad=] to try to catch the other players, who are viewing the TV and trying to steal candy.
** ''Pikmin Adventures'' has one player using the [=GamePad=] control Captain Olimar, and can fight by throwing Pikmin at enemies and objects by touching them on the screen, while up to four other players control giant Pikmin on the TV and fight enemies directly.
** ''Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest'' has one player on the [=GamePad=] as an archer shooting enemies with a bow and arrows, including at a distance, while up to four other players use Wii Remotes to fight enemies up close with a sword.
** ''Metroid Blast'' allows a player using the [=GamePad=] to fly a gunship that has full freedom of movement and blast enemies or other players (if playing competitively), while other players run on the ground and control human fighters who can run, roll into balls, and use grappling beams, but lack the freedom of the gunship.
* ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' allows up to four players to control Mario, Luigi and two Toads, while another player can use the [=GamePad=] at any time to create blocks that appear on the TV. Both players and enemies can jump on or interact with the blocks. The [=GamePad=] player has other abilities, such as interacting with enemies, defeating enemies in some instances, spinning gears in the opposite direction, or revealing invisible 3-up life blocks.
* The WiiU version of ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' has two exclusive modes: Banana Heist, where one person controls [[VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall Aiai]] in a ball while everyone else races normally, and Aiai must take bananas from them; and Ninja Tag, where one person controls [[VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} Joe Musashi]] and runs into the other players. In both modes, all of the other players need to defend themselves.

[[folder: Other platforms ]]

* Possibly [[OlderThanTheNES one of the oldest examples]], ''Nautilus'' for the Atari8BitComputers was a two-player game in which one player controlled a submarine and had to destroy underwater buildings, while the other controlled a ship which dropped mines and depth charges and attempted to repair the buildings, but was unable to go underwater. (Fun trivia fact: according to Wikipedia, it's also the very first SplitScreen game in existence!)
* ''Savage'', for the PC, was a cross between a RealTimeStrategy game and an action game. One player on each team would be the commander and could see the entire battlefield and issue orders to players. All other players would be individual soldiers.
* In the ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' mod ''Overwatch'', one player controls Combine forces from an RTS point of view, while all the other players are on the opposing team and control an individual resistance fighter in typical FPS gameplay.
* In ''DuckHunt'' "Game A", the first player shoots ducks with the light gun and the second player can control the ducks with the normal gamepad.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has zombies vs. human survivors with completely different gameplay styles. The humans can revive downed teammates, and their goal is to reach the end of the level. Player-controlled zombies instead choose where to spawn, and must prevent the human players from reaching the end of the level by killing them. Their capabilities are also vastly different. Dead humans stay dead for a very long time, whereas dead zombie players revive shortly afterward to keep trying to stop the humans.
* ''[[http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/ Natural Selection]]'' is a ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}'' mod with Aliens (generally melee- and ambush-focused) vs. SpaceMarines (standard FPS gameplay and guns, and a Commander with an RTS perspective).
* ''[[http://www.hidden-source.com/ The Hidden]]'' is a [[VideoGame/{{Half-Life2}} source engine]] mod where '''one''' person with ''invisibility and a knife'' faces off against a heavily armed '''team''' of SWAT-type police with techno-gadgets.
* This applies any time a 1 vs. 3 minigame comes up in the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' series, for the obvious reason that it would be unfair otherwise.
* ''VideoGame/Battlefield2'' has a mode where one player on each team is a commander, while all others are soldiers. The commander can only see the full map, and has the ability to issue orders to players as well as drop artillery.

[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nautilus_-_cropped_7520.jpg]]

[[AC:WiiU games]]

[[AC:Other platforms]]

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Asymmetric Multiplayer is a multiplayer mode in which the different players have totally different roles and capabilities, unlike most multiplayer games, where all the players are generally doing the same thing and playing the game the same way. The [[WiiU Nintendo WiiU]] popularized the term as a way to describe how one player could play the game using the touchscreen-equipped [=GamePad=] controller, while others play on the TV, and the two groups have very different goals and even game mechanics. An example is ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'', where players who use traditional controllers control characters who run and jump on the TV, while the [=GamePad=] player can interact with the environment by messing with enemies, placing blocks in mid-air, and doing other things that affect the TV players' experience.

This does '''not''' refer to such things as games where players can be different characters (e.g., a magic user and a sword user) but carry out essentially the same goal. This instead refers to games where the roles, abilities and gameplay experience are '''drastically''' different. To see whether an example fits, think of the question "Does each player have a totally different experience from the others?" If the answer is yes, it's probably Asymmetric Multiplayer.

** ''Luigi's Ghost Mansion'' has an invisible ghost, playing on the touch-screen [=GamePad=], try to sneak up on ghost hunters, while the ghost hunters view the TV and try to stop the invisible ghost.

* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' is all about this. Many of the games have multiplayer modes in which one player's view of the action and role is different from the others.

** ''Metroid Blast'' allows a player using the [=GamePad=] to fly a spaceship and blast enemies or other players (if playing competitively), while other players run on the ground and control human fighters.

* Possibly [[OlderThanTheNES one of the oldest examples]], ''Nautilus'' for the Atari8BitComputers was a two-player game in which one player controlled a submarine and had to destroy underwater buildings, while the other controlled a ship which dropped mines and depth charges and attempted to repair the buildings, but was unable to go underwater.

* ''[[http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/ Natural Selection]]'' is a ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}'' mod with Aliens (who can respawn, but don't have guns) vs. SpaceMarines (who cannot respawn, but have a Commander with an RTS perspective).

Asymmetric Multiplayer is a multiplayer mode in which the different players have totally different roles and capabilities, unlike most multiplayer games, where all the players are generally doing the same thing and playing the game the same way. The [[WiiU Nintendo WiiU]] popularized the term as a way to describe how one player could play the game using the touchscreen-equipped [=GamePad=] controller, while others play on the TV, and the two groups have very different goals and even game mechanics. A perfect example might be ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'', where players who use traditional controllers control characters who run and jump on the TV, while the [=GamePad=] player can interact with the environment by messing with enemies, placing blocks in mid-air, and doing other things that affect the TV players' experience.

* Possibly [[OlderThanTheNES one of the oldest examples]], ''Nautilus'' for the Atari8BitComputers was a two-player game in which one player controlled a submarine and had to destroy underwater buildings, while the other controlled a ship which dropped mines and depth charges and attempted to repair the buildings, but was unable to go underwater.
* ''Savage'', for the PC, was a cross between a RealTimeStrategy game and an action game. One player on each team would be the commander and could see the entire battlefield and issue orders to players. All other players would be individual soldiers.
* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' on the WiiU is all about this, and is the TropeNamer, as Nintendo created the term Asymmetric Multiplayer. Many of the games have multiplayer modes in which one player's view of the action and role is different from the others.

* Another Wii U example: The Wii U version of ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' has two exclusive modes: Banana Heist, where one person controls [[VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall Aiai]] in a ball while everyone else races normally, and Aiai must take bananas from them; and Ninja Tag, where one person controls [[VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} Joe Musashi]] and runs into the other players. In both modes, all of the other players need to defend themselves.

AsymmetricMultiplayer is a multiplayer mode in which the different players have totally different roles and capabilities, unlike most multiplayer games, where all the players are generally doing the same thing and playing the game the same way. The [[WiiU Nintendo WiiU]] popularized the term as a way to describe how one player could play the game using the touchscreen-equipped [=GamePad=] controller, while others play on the TV, and the two groups have very different goals and even game mechanics. A perfect example might be ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'', where players who use traditional controllers control characters who run and jump on the TV, while the [=GamePad=] player can interact with the environment by messing with enemies, placing blocks in mid-air, and doing other things that affect the TV players' experience.

This does '''not''' refer to such things as games where players can be different characters (e.g. a magic-user and a sword-user) but carry out essentially the same goal. This instead refers to games where the roles, abilities and gameplay experience are '''drastically''' different. To see if an example fits, think of the question "Do the players have a totally different experience than each other?" If the answer is "yes", it's probably AsymmetricMultiplayer.

* Possibly [[OlderThanTheNES one of the oldest examples]], ''Nautilus'' for the Atari800 computer, was a 2-player game in which one player controlled a submarine and had to destroy underwater buildings, while the other controlled a ship which dropped mines and depth charges and attempted to repair the buildings, but was unable to go underwater.

* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' on the WiiU is all about this, and is the TropeNamer, as Nintendo were the ones to use the term AsymmetricMultiplayer. Many of the games have multiplayer modes in which one player has a vey different view of the action and role than the others.

* ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' allows up to four players to control Mario, Luigi and/or two Toads, while another player can use the [=GamePad=] at any time to create blocks that appear on the TV and can be jumped on or interacted with by players and/or enemies. The [=GamePad=] player has other abilities, such as interacting with enemies, defeating enemies in some instances, spinning gears in the opposite direction, or revealing invisible 3-up life blocks.

* In ''Duck Hunt'' "Game A", the first player shots ducks with the light gun and the second player can control the ducks with the normal gamepad.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has a co-op mode where one player controls Link and the other used a GameBoyAdvance connected to the GameCube to provide support (potions, bombs, etc.) with the Tingle Tuner in-game item.

* ''[[http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/ Natural Selection]]'' is a ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}'' mod with Aliens (who can respawn, but don't have guns) vs SpaceMarines (who cannot respawn, but have a Commander with a {{RTS}} perspective).
* ''[[http://www.hidden-source.com/ The Hidden]]'' is a [[VideoGame/{{Half-Life2}} source engine]] mod where '''one''' person with ''invisibility and a knife'' faces of against a heavily armed '''team''' of SWAT-type police with techno-gadgets.
* This applies any time a 1 versus 3 minigame comes up in the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' series, for the obvious reason that it would be unfair otherwise.
* Another WiiU example: The WiiU version of ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' has two exclusive modes: Banana Heist, where one person controls [[VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall Aiai]] in a ball while everyone else races normally, and Aiai must take bananas from them; and Ninja Tag, where one person controls [[VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} Joe Musashi]] and runs into the other players. In both modes, all of the other players need to defend themselves.