In Response To: Halo 2 Matchmaking: Setting a precedent (nof)
Well written post, but I would like to provide at least one point of view which
differs (or at least clouds the picture somewhat). For myself and my friends,
playing in good, intense, competitive games is more important than winning. It
is harder to quantify this in objective games, but for Team Slayer, the
following is listed in order from most desirable/fun to least (of course, these
numbers are an abstract generalization of the style of play which occured
during the game):
1. My team wins 50-47
2. My team loses 47-50
3. My team wins 50-35
4. My team loses 35-50
.... enormous gap here ....
5. My team wins 50-10
6. My team loses 10-50
[[ The "we" I refer to below are me and my friends (only a couple, so this is
admittedly a small sample) ]]
On the Team Slayer playlist, we have played in games in each of these
categories and categories 5. and 6. (almost always on Coagulation, Ascension,
or Burial Mounds) are always the most loathsome. We have had teammates quit
while our team was leading 35-10 and we were happy/excited that they quit
because it meant that it might be a challenge to win the game. In fact we were
never unhappy when players quit in Team Slayer during a lopsided game because
it is rarely worth finishing the game.
I applaud Bungie for the ranking/matchmaking system because in principle it
would keep the vast majority of games in the top 4 categories, but
unfortunately, in the case of settings for the games in the Team Slayer
playlist, too many (but certainly not all) games end up as 5-6 even with teams
of similar competitive skill.
I think it is an interesting prisoner's dilemma question as to whether a
player/team should avoid certain cheap weapons or tactics in order to maintain
the "fun" of the game, but it is difficult as you are playing to constantly
take this into account -- other than avoiding certain cheap weapons/tactics
altogether at the risk of the other team adopting these weapons/tactics. But, I
think at the same time, it is more important to constantly adjust the rules of
the game playing in order to ensure competition occurs. Restrict it to human
weapons (avoids Plasma Pistol), start with the Battle Rifle, have multiple
teams (avoids camping, allows ganging up on a leader), etc. There are many
options and I imagine Bungie is evaluating them as we speak, but I think that
to draw conclusions of Halo 2 gamer nature from playing with the current
playlists may lead to premature conclusions.
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