This post asks you the question: What is the most important element of a game? The potential answers to this question are as varied as the player icons on Xbox Live. And none of them are wrong. Here is mine…
A wise man once said: “Good against remotes? That’s one thing. Good against the living? That’s something else.”
Another wise man said: “Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and like it, never really care for anything else thereafter.”
The first wise man was a Captain named Solo. The second wise man was an Old Man named Hemingway. The third wise man [not quoted] brought frank~incense to cover the smell of the pipe that they were all passing.
Those two aforementioned notions cut right to the heart of a reality that is becoming more and more crucial to this gamer’s enjoyment. Living opponents are the most interesting opponents. They provide a rush that can not be matched by the sub-routines and pre-programmed behaviors of Artificial Intelligence.
Halo2 exploded the demographic of the Online Multiplayer Gamer. Prior, online gaming was still very much an exotic pastime reserved for the Elite Gamer in the know. After, online gaming became as widely accessible as fragging Elites on Installation 04. It is as thrilling as paintball, without all the mud and bodily injury. It is as ubiquitous as comic books.
After more than a year of logging-on and matching-up in Halo2, I have randomly encountered gamers that I have actually met previously on all of two occasions. Through Halo2, we hunt men – lots and lots of them. There have never been more men [and, on the rare occasion, women] to hunt.
As a result, Artificial Intelligence has become almost stale for me. The Ultra Elites that pilot the Scarab at the end of the long journey through the Metropolis of New Mombasa might as well be relegated to the same category as, well, the Ghosts of PacMan. And aren’t they?
Do they clench their teeth in surprise when I deliver a finishing blow to the backs of their oversized heads?
Do they gasp when I sneak past them into the base to which they have been posted to defend?
Do they thank me for a good game [wishful thinking, I know, but it happens occasionally online] when I win?
Will they hunt me to the end of the map when I retreat? Even when set on Legendary?
The answer to all of these questions is: “No” or “Nope” or “Nuh-uh”
For those who have come to like hunting armed men, there is no rush greater than engaging a sentient target. The prospect of gaming against a living, thinking opponent has spoiled us. Yes, yes, campaigns will always have their place in the world. Personally, I find that there is no better training for unlocking the secrets that will keep me alive for longer online. This is why I was two weeks late entering the battles on Xbox Live that Halo2 offered. Not only did I want to practice my dual-wielding on the fly, I didn’t want some loose-tongued tweener to spoil for me the story ending [or, if you absolutely insist, the lack there-of].
On the flip side, there is nothing more anti-climactic than finishing a great series of story missions, only to find that the online multiplayer component of the game is lackluster, or even nonexistent. Can you say “DOOM”? I knew that you could.
Hunting my way through armies of A.I., only to find that I have been deprived of the chance to be ‘good against the living’ leaves me less fulfilled than a great horror film in which, at the end, the monster leaves no trace of a chance for a sequel.
It’s nice to know that the story need not end. Especially when you, the gamer, are enabled with the freedom to script the next installments for yourself. Some call this “replayability”. I call it “mandatory”.
The best part about this is that it’s so true for virtually any game with a strong multiplayer component. Fight Night round 2? Please, the AI on hard mode doesn’t even provide a big challenge anymore. Thank god for Xbox Live, right? Where I can frequently get my ass handed to me.
I’m glad H2 made the online community explode so much. Living in a small town, the ease of getting into a game of Halo is really nice for me, as is the fact it’s against other thinking humans.
This is why I’ve never even attempted to play Legendary. I don’t care. it’s the same as easy, just with less ammo. You walk straight ahead, things wait for you, you shoot them, if you die, you do the exact same thing again, then you keep walking forward. Boring. Live is so good that it’s interfering with my sleep habits.
Do they clench their teeth in surprise when I deliver a finishing blow to the backs of their oversized heads?
Do they gasp when I sneak past them into the base to which they have been posted to defend?
Do they thank me for a good game [wishful thinking, I know, but it happens occasionally online] when I win?
You would be an honestly good writer if every blog I ever read of yours wasn’t tainted by your apparently relentless need to point out how good you are at H2. I mean, when discussing good AI, you need to highlight how it owned you, not the other way round. Sorry to piss on your parade, but it’s a shame that you seem unable to overcome your own ego for the sake of genuinely interesting writing.
THAT IS ALL
Who is this Megnatron person? Clearly you are an excellent writer otherwise he/she wouldn’t continue coming back to read all your blogs. If that person doesn’t like, he just shouldn’t read it.
I thought it was written extremely well and a pleasure to read.
I agree with it wholeheartedly, although I do still enjoy campaigns too. They are just different. I will say that some of the new games that are coming out have much smarter A.I., but of course still have some level of predictability.
Megnatron: Kindly point out exactly WHERE our ol’ pal Deej pointed out ‘how good he is at Halo’ over and over. All those instances are something ALL of us have done at one point or another, and thus are something we can all relate to. That’s why I’m guessing he used those as an example.
It would seem poor megnatron has never had anyone wish him “Good game” after having his ass handed to him. Too bad.
Keep up the good work, Deej. MOST of us appreciate it.
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DATE: 1/20/2006 10:36:54 AM
Interesting. Thanks for the literary criticism. Maybe now I can land that elusive book deal.
Are you sure you have been reading this blog? I have been accused of being many things, but never an n00b-stomping elitist.
Fanboy? Guilty as charged.
Smart-alec? Guilty as charged.
Shitty Sniper? Sentenced to Death – repeatedly.
Moron? Acquitted.
WartHog Whore? Oh yeah! You bet…
Sure, I have been stranded at the same corner where an Elite is hiding for hours at a time. We all have. Would you be interested in reading a post about that? Really?
Are you SURE you are reading THIS blog?
The point of this post was that, as good as AI might be, I [personlly] derive more enjoyment from playing you online.
Well, not you specifically…
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DATE: 1/20/2006 11:07:48 AM
If you go against an AI, your imagination can run wild; you can play around. If you like the story part of the game, then you can play around that way, and if you’re a Legendary hardcore…well, not so much playing as running for your life.
Multiplayer is a very different sort of a challenge; one thing is it’s never the same, as your opponents are never the same.
Have to say though, I spend maybe 10x as much time on XBL as on Campaign. I just love the ability to frustrate your opponents and know your no-scope, stick and frag killtacular wasn’t just against a computer.
Comparing XBL to Campaigns on all games is like comparing humans to computers. Which would you rather befriend?
Exactly. ;)
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DATE: 1/24/2006 09:45:30 AM
Wayn0ka – but if you play Legendary you can go looking for the skulls.