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Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...
Posted By: Kermit <bt40@mac.com>Date: 7/17/05 6:09 p.m.

In Response To: Cheaters seem to prosper... (kons0uL)

: Just wanted to let you guys know that I posted a reaction to the latest
: Weekly What's Update in my blog . I'd be flattered if you'd check it out.

: -kons0uL

Well, as the Bungie guys say, Halo is a sport (a sport with rules), and they've provided a system that let's me play the sport on a whim any time, without a lot of $$$ or set up or effort. There's a downside with the jerks, and yes, a good LAN party beats XBL any day.

That said, the effort you describe in finding those wonderful servers for L337 PC gamers is too much for me. (Wonder what the effect would be if that amount of time was spent cultivating [and weeding] an XBL friend's list?) My experience with traditional online gaming was that there was always some problem with lag or with skill differientials or with jerks (still!). My one consistently good experience was with Myth, and that's telling, isn't it? Maybe I never cared enough to really become a part of the inner sanctum of online gaming, or just had too many other distractions (like paying my mortgage) to spend the "gobs of time" it took. Gosh, I guess I'm one of those dreaded casual gamers.

Let's agree that the core of the Halo 2 multiplayer gameplay is excellent, so the issue here is the particular mix of accessibility, lag, matched skills, variety, distributed monitoring, and freedom of choice that Halo provides. Bungie's approach has limited much of the bad, and in the process they've taken away some of the freedom and exclusivity that you seemed to like. Their approach opened the door (only wider, I would argue) for the prepubescent brats raised by vulgar wolves, but it has also opened the door for parents and other adults who don't care as much about their rank as about competivitive games because competitive games are fun, and fun is why they're there. I've made some friends on XBL who are interesting people outside of Halo because they have time for other interests. Perhaps I could have made such friends on the hallowed servers you describe. With enough time, I'm sure I could have. That's the rub, isn't it?

So even though I don't share your nostalgia for the trappings of traditional online gaming, like you, I wish Bungie luck with what they're trying to do, which I think is nothing less than provide the fun of this kind of gaming for the rest of us.

Kermit

Message Index



Replies:

Cheaters seem to prosper...kons0uL 7/16/05 12:43 p.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...ChaotikZero1 7/16/05 1:16 p.m.
           Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...Dojorkan 7/16/05 4:32 p.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...Hoss 7/17/05 10:16 a.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...Silent Hunter 7/17/05 10:52 a.m.
           Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...X1Zero 7/17/05 10:59 a.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...DarkestHour 7/17/05 12:21 p.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...Kermit 7/17/05 6:09 p.m.
     Re: Cheaters seem to prosper...kons0uL 7/17/05 8:18 p.m.



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