# Can I play 2 games on one computer at the same time?



## Jolt_M

Hey there!

I was wondering if it was possible to have two progams in focus at once so that say I run a program while my brother runs another at the same time. This thought came to mind when I was working for a way to play LAN games on one computer essentialy making a sort of split screen. I was able to make one of my games, serious sam 2, work so that I could see myself in both windows therefore showing that a sorta LAN network can be used within the computer. Now I wish to operate both. I was wondering if I could play on one of the games with the keyboard and mouse while on the other, use a joystick or a controller.

For slight clarity reasons, lets say I wanna play S_1 vs. my brother on S_2. Both would be the same game but two different .exe's. Such as I would run C:\...\S_1 and C:\...\S_2 in two different windows. I would controle S_1 with my keyboard and mouse while my brother controle's S_2 with a controller. I also don't want to have an issue where my keyboard controls suddenly take over his controles in S_2. So now we would have 2 windows, 1 computer, playing the same game in two windows from 2 different executables LIKE LAN but on one computer.

Yes this is probably impossible and yes I know I'm just being lazy by not just going out to get another computer or w/e for us to play but hey, if it could work then better to try than to spend extra money.

Any help would be awesome !


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## vietguy357

I believe you can run 2 games at once but it will really stress your CPU and gpu. And I don't think you and him can play both games at the same time.


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## Jolt_M

If I lower specs on games then it should run fine. My computer has been strong enough to run every game I have at max specs with little to no lag (like Just Cause 2, Crysis, Fallout 3, etc). Course I've been thinking for a while now and starting to give up on this dream just because the challenge at making windows keep both programs in focus and not take input from the keyboard and mouse in the second program is challenging enough to say let alone find the area of code in windows and modify it. If someone does do something like this or better then awesome but I just dont have the skill for it . Thanks for the reply though. Happy Holidays!!!


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## geodripp

I have been trying to find a way to do this for years. The closest I have come is setting up a Mikogo remote desktop session on another computer on lan and seeing the game run off another desktop though having multiple pointers was still difficult.. Have not thought about it for some time now though you brining it up has made me regain interest. I have found this.

http://www.multimouse.com/

Looks promising. Though as for just being able to use two mice straight up, there was a program in development back around 2000 though it never left alpha sadly. A few years later Microsoft released the same thing though marketing it twords growing third world countries. It, apparently, gave families who could only afford one computer the chance to have multiple users accessing it at once, or at least that what it showed in the ad.

Seemed a bit useless on its own seeing as only one program could be active at once but in conjunction with a virtual machine it may be possible... just need to get everything together :\


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## geodripp

Oh! I found this!

http://multicursor-wm.sourceforge.net/

Also its around 4 am here so I apologize for any stupidity

Ahh it seems this is for macs 

Well here is everything I know

http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_23001972.html

And yes I know experts exchange is stupid (just scroll down till you get to the answers) ..can't believe people pay...


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## Jolt_M

So it sounds like your multi-mouse approach is about the best approach at the time. I'm simply trying to have 2 programs in focus so that one may receive keyboard and mouse input while the other only receives controller input (xbox 360 for windows controller). IceWM seems to allow this to some extent...I think. I'll give it a try and see what happens. No it's not just for macs, it just has something different in macs, or thats what I think it said.

It seems like you shouldn't even need to similate LAN on one computer if you already have a LAN network with 2 computers.

I'm hoping that IceWM will allow both to be in focus and then i can just set controlls for the keyboard and mouse on one game to be different controlls for the other so that keyboard input doesn't conflict. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for the info by the way. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one thinking about this .


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## Jolt_M

So atleast I know this has been done with controllers....somehow. I discovered that someone made a Borderlands workaround for 2 controllers so that both may play similtainiously. http://s1.zetaboards.com/Pc_split_screen/topic/3550626/1

Can anyone figure out how they did this? It has to be something with the .ahk file in his download...or maybe autohotkey? http://www.autohotkey.com/

Here's the forum that lead me to the borderlands thing: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...s/535434-any-way-have-two-active-windows.html He is looking very close to solving it but I too have no clue where to start in the autohotkey stuff. 

This forum: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=196060 mentioned this linux system thing http://www.x.org/wiki/ called X Windows which geodripp basicly lead to in IceWM. It says that its possible yet I have yet to see any proof...or be able to even use the software as I dont know how to install source files 

So that's what I found thus far. Thought I randomly found an easy way out when I learned that you can Cntrl + click taskbar windows buttons to select multiple windows at once...but it still held one in focus  . If anyone finds out more please help out. Im gonna keep an eye on the notebookreview forum above to see if that guy figures it out  . Hope this helps you a little geodripp.

EDIT: So I just....like seconds later just...discovered that here: http://pcsplitscreen.freehostia.com/Cod%20Split%20screen.htm is a tutorial for 2 controllers. Im going to try this and see if it works for me with 1 controller and keyboard mouse controle.

Next we need a way for you, geodipp, to play with 2 keyboard mouse controles. Maybe through some similar instance with autohotkey.

EDIT EDIT: Well it didn't work  I guess I NEED 2 controllers for its technique and some sort of issue comes from within xpadder when only 1 controller is used. I was REALLY close though. My brother fired a shot while I was looking around but we still couldn't move and every time I pause (which it paused both games with one ESC press) then unpause, the screens would go crazy and both games would be confused as both players look back and forth rapidly as they look upward. I think we need a program similar to xpadder but that wont need controllers so that it splits the controle so that the computer thinks there's multiple key presses. Compiled with the multiplayer script and we're good...script in guides under other games in pcsplitscreen.freehostia.com.


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