Why MTV Shouldn’t Start Designing Games Anytime Soon

I wrote in response to this article on MTV about the recently revealed Halo: Reach “Player Investment System”. Basically he goes on about how it won’t have the same carrot and stick effect of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, so I remind him about brand identity, what games are about and how the use of excessive accumulation of experience points and forgetting about the gaming experience is bad for gaming.

“I think you’re missing the point to which we play games for and it’s a view I share with industry leaders such as David Jaffe and the like and I wouldn’t be surprised if others felt the same way as well.

The point of Halo is to play that extra hour or “one more game” for the purpose of fun alone, the gameplay is strong enough to pull people into playing long hours because it’s addictive. I don’t see the point in playing a game for the sake of gaining experience and to get that one gun that I don’t have but everyone else does. That’s not fun to me, in MW2, having to trudge through hours of the same repetitive gameplay (point, shoot, die, repeat) to go up against unfair odds only to get the guns I want and find nothing else to do but do it all over again, it loses it’s lustre after a while.

I don’t think that mentality applies to Halo players. You want to unlock guns, equipment etc. go play a game that caters to that need. If I want a fun game with variety in the play styles of the individual and the gameplay itself and be rewarded by having a fun experience, I’ll play Halo.

Credits are just the icing on the cake, and what I think Bungie are going for in Reach is to reward players by showing off their achievements, hence the baseball card or QB ratings style of player profiles the Arena playlist creates for matchmaking, hence the rewards and medals that are shown on your profile that reflect your play style.

There’s nothing stopping Bungie from implementing gametypes where you get to pick your own gear. Hell, if you’d watched the MP trailer you would have seen loadouts mentioned. The main focus for Halo: Reach is to remain true to the Halo formula while bringing in totally new things that don’t destroy what makes Halo, Halo; balance, variety, fun - which is has always been determined by the gameplay.

As long as they fit and don’t tamper with what’s been established, new ideas can be as radical as Bungie wishes, but what you describe upsets that establishment. The way I see it, credits add that artificial layer of progress but caters to the casual dabblers in multiplayer as well as the hardcore and rewarding both with their own unique look as well as play style that can help to coordinate more effective teams in games and greater socialisation.

Because that’s another thing about Halo that I keep coming back to, regardless to how many extra titles that come out that require my attention. The social aspect of Halo has yet to be matched by any other AAA shooter out there and with what I have seen so far, they will continue to excel in this, IMO, adding a custom content browser in-game (which is what it sounds like they’re doing) of the likes of YouTube crossed with LittleBigPlanet will only make them harder to beat.

The labour of love that Bungie keeps between it and the community only makes the bond stronger. Their constant support and response to feedback is only matched by whom I’d call industry leaders like BioWare and Valve. Halo 3 won an award for interactive innovation not because it was different in how it played, but because of the different ways it connected people than anyone else. Shared films, screenshots, machinima, they are what keep the community alive and Bungie knows this and that’s why they’re so strong with their community.

Sharing memories allows you to remember the fun you had and to keep playing because you don’t know what to expect and you play extra hours in an attempt to achieve that same level of fun that you or some one else you saw had, and talk about it and laugh about and yell about it with friends.

That’s what Halo is about, and that’s what Bungie is focusing on in the multiplayer, heightening the social aspect for the hardcore and casual and creating as many fresh experiences as they can by varying the gameplay as much as they can.

Why else would Halo 3 be still popular today constantly alternating between the number one and two spot on the Xbox Live charts nearly two and half years after its release?

MW2 is the “macho” equivalent to Farmville and it’s not making the industry or the players any better for it.”