Quitters vs. the Denying

Which side are you on? There's the quitters and those that deny the fact that the game is boring and sucks and stick with the gametype they've been assigned thinking it is practice for other gametypes. I'll be honest. I was the latter for many a game. But I definitely have been siding with the quitter lately.

Everyone has been against those that quit your matchmaking game, leaving the blue screen for the rest to suffer through, and play with less a competition. And I used to be one of these people. But I'm not anymore. Lately, there has been pretty damn good reason to quit. And I respect others that do it.

People quit for a couple main reasons. Number 1: they quit because they don't feel like playing the certain gametype they've been assigned. Well, you're kind of justified there. Matchmaking has become so limited and thoughtless, that I can understand why you're searching for a specific type of game and can't get it without quitting and starting the search over. Bungie doesn't listen to what you want, so of course you're going to quit and try again for something you want. It's not your fault, it's theirs.

Quitting because of frustration is completely understandable as reason Number 2. You have every right. How many times can you spawn within shooting range of the GUY IN FIRST PLACE? How many times can you spawn within melee range of someone that was shooting others? How many times can you spawn in the same place you have died? How many times can you go up against a guy with the sword and sniper when there is no other on the map? Bungie just doesn't get it.

If you want to go play another game (reason Number 3), it's completely understandable. Games like Timesplitters always had more options for multiplayer and never paired you on a team of idiots and teamkillers. Plus, nobody bothered to cheat in this game.

Of course you need to go to bed (reason Number 4). You're most likely bored to tears and falling asleep because the options and playlists Bungie offers you won't keep a coke addict awake.

I love these programmers nowadays that think they know anything about public opinion. Smart public opinion. Of course they need a little dose of Bill Clinton; meaning, they need to learn to utilize the poll. But of course, they have to realize that a poll of 15 year olds, is really not the smartest audience possible. And since viewing the behind-the-scenes videos on Bungie's development of Halo 3, you can understand why the developers think the 15-year-old mind is a good one. They both have comparable grades of intelligence.

Beta 3 Lottery Contestants Outradged

Last night at 12:01am PST, thousands of fans, who put up with 3 nights of 3-hour-long Halo 2 matchmaking sessions, were left out in the cold, when Microsoft/Bungie didn't put up the promised registration form for the additional 13,333 Halo 3 beta spots. Now it's the next morning and still no registration. Fans are now in school, class, work, and all of their efforts may be wasted, since someone either forgot to put up the form, or is just going to surprise people by posting it at some random time. The message boards around the web are boiling with angry posts from disgruntled, albeit committed fans, who’s efforts have appeared to have been wasted. Thank you Bungie... way to treat the people that buy your games!

So will all these hoops people have jumped through be for nothing? Will we now have to plunk down $60 for the horrible Crackdown to get in on the Beta? I certainly won’t. I won’t be used to inflate a messy GTA rip-off in order to get s sneak-pay at Halo 3.

So, what went wrong? Well, It’s obviously poor planning on the administration side. If you are going to put in Dates and Times, and all your times are 12:01 PST, then when people line up for the first-come-first-serve lottery, what time do you think they are going to line up? We’ll you better damn will have your registration up at 12:01. I also have a bit of news for Bungie and MS, no matter where you are located the US runs on Eastern time. We are 3 hours ahead, and when you lead people to believe the registration would begin at 12:01 AM PST, you fuck with a lot of peoples sleep. Thousands of East coasters were up at 3 AM on a Sunday night waiting for the registration that didn’t come. Congrats you assholes! You may sell millions of copies of Halo 3, but that won’t prevent a disgruntled fan from shitting in your next Big Mac.

The Fall of Matchmaking

If you ask many Halo players, they will say the fall of matchmaking occurred when SWAT left the game. But really it occurred months before then.

Rumble Armory was the first game type to START EVERYONE WITH THE SAME WEAPON. Finally, a gametype, although training, started everyone on an even playing field. It had every weapon in their games; everyone started with a rocket, or everyone started with a pistol, or everyone started with a sword, or everyone started with a bruteshot. EQUAL PLAYING FIELD. You didn't have to contend with those that started closest to the rocket. Or those that started 5 feet from the sniper rifle. You didn't have to contend with power-weapon hunters, who hunt down the sword and sniper to own the map (notice I didn't say pOWN because I am NOT a homosexual) and run off thinking they are better than everyone. My mother's uncle could fucking kill with the sword.

Even playing field. Yet, it was taken away.

Bungie's typical response is, "Well, no one was playing it."

I love that response. Bungie released last month, a percentage of their following who played each matchmaking playlist. I love this philosophy. A certain percentage of people were playing this gametype, a certain percentage of people were playing this gametype. MEANS NOTHING. How many people of that percentage stay in the fucking game when it starts up? Popular demand wants SWAT, yet there are only a few playlists that offer it. I would bet most are just looking for the SWAT games and leaving if it isn't what they desire. Thus, your percentages mean SHIT. I, for one, have to go through Rumble Training, looking for SWAT games and games in which everyone starts with the same weapon.

Yeah, you can't satisfy everyone. But christ, not only let's satisfy the smart public, let's at least try to make fucking logical sense.