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| Re: On Bungie and the Value of the Player's Time | |
| Posted By: Kermit <kermi7@mac.com> | Date: 12/13/10 8:03 p.m. |
In Response To: Re: On Bungie and the Value of the Player's Time (Beckx) : I don't know what to say. The last few weeks I've been in groups that formed : for the sole purpose of helping each other with challenges and we had an : absolute blast. If not for the assists & kills challenges I wouldn't : have been in multiteam so much with Kermit & Co. If not for the : campaign co-op challenge I would have been denied the chance to watch the : covenant smoke bluerunner over and over and over again. Would we still be : playing? Sure. But the challenge provided a context and a focus and I had : fun. So there you go - I'm not saying it's perfect but I'm having fun. : Real fun, too, not the illusion of fun. Or maybe I just like illusions? To paraphrase Falstaff, honor [and credits and rank] are nothing but thin air, and I think the important thing is keeping perspective and watching for signs of addiction. I am personally afraid of WoW. I won't touch it. I have a little anxiety over a Bungie-branded MMO because I know I won't be able to keep myself from playing a Bungie game, and life is short, you know? I'm trying to somewhat wean myself off of the daily challenge kick. The Pink Mist thing this past weekend may have helped because I didn't enjoy it that much (some griefers in the mix didn’t help), but might I have enjoyed it more playing with Beckx? I’m sure I would have, but to the extent that credits matter, it definitely wasn't worth the trouble. To echo what else Beckx is saying, challenges provided the extra impetus I needed to play when I might not have. Some here have said that if you’re having fun, you would play anyway. Well, maybe. In some ways, challenges have been the gateway drug that led to fun. What has been fun? Playing with those who match my social settings: chatty, polite team players. I forget who recently posted the clip of the comedian who was talking about the reaction he gets when he says he enjoys video games. I feel his pain, especially in my age group. (I don’t think I’ve mentioned my advanced age on here in several hours, so here I go again: I turn 47 next month.) Not to sound ageist, but I relax when I’m in a party and someone says that their kid just found a spider in their bed, or makes some other reference to a real adult life. I have no patience for kids screeching into their mic or adolescent trash talk. I’m slowly learning things about people, and that’s nice, too (especially when it’s truly wonderful news like someone’s wife is expecting). In real life I’m a pretty gregarious guy who is interested in people and enjoys getting to know them, and understandably you just can’t be that way on XBL without getting invisible sideways glances. On the internet no one knows you’re not a serial killing pedophile. Thousands of Halo games, and what do I get?—three or four friendships. Fortunately, through HBO, my "friends" list is now nearly full with folks who have the potential to become ACTUAL friends. The mind boggles. Whether we’re talking about the gameplay, the Halo universe, or the weather in different parts of the world, it’s provided an extra dimension to something I already liked. I want to give a shout-out to thebruce for his thread from several weeks ago bemoaning his lack of skill. That really helped many of us discard our inhibitions, I think, and in regards to this discussion, one thing that’s important to note about that was how it wasn’t about getting challenges or improving skill. It was about being able to play and enjoy yourself and not feel bad when you mess up. I’d love to play like Cody, but I won’t be able to. Sure, I want to get better, and I like to win, too, but if the chemistry is right in my party, that barely matters. I’ve got some ideas for organized co-op that I’ve been mulling over (and campaign play certainly isn’t about the credits). I look forward to playing with you all more within the story, as our own tight-knit Noble team, where we know one another on and off the battlefield, play to one another’s strengths, and can joke, laugh, and generally get all strategic on those evil Covies. I don’t doubt that will be fun, and exactly how Bungie hoped we would play their game. I share Cody’s hope for what Bungie does next; Bungie has always seemed to make fun their prime directive, and my fingers are crossed. Thanks, Cody, for reminding us of the ugly undertones at work here, and I’m going to try to be more conscious about whether I’m playing for completion or fun. More than ever, I’m hopeful for the latter. Kermit (One piece of good news is that, except for security helmet, which I'll never have, I have the armor I like right now, thank you.)
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