My Passion is Dwindling - An Open Letter to the Halo Community

[Dave_Easily]

My Passion is Dwindling - An Open Letter to the Halo Community

 

I have been around the Halo community for over ten years now (12 or so, I think, but I’m not entirely sure) and I am finally running out of steam.

 

I was, for a very long time, a “silent partner” in this community. In one form or another attempting to help out in the background of the phenomenal competitive scene we had and this game we love(d?) so much.

 

I was “outed” a couple of years ago by Walshy (I believe) and my name has been out there a little more ever since. It was not something that I desired and initially I shielded from it. At the time Halo 4 had just been released and the decision on whether or not we would be on the MLG circuit was still up in the air, officially at least.

 

Once Halo was officially removed from MLG, I made it a personal goal of mine to get as many teams and casters/commentators to the AGL events as I could. I immediately understood that with the prize money being significantly lower than previously and no stipends offered many of the top players would not risk travelling to lose money. I am sure you all remember the complete mess it turned into at that time. Players were leaving or switching to the new darlings of the circuit while others were trying to stick around and grind it out. I didn't know how I could help, but I sure wanted to.

 

I remember the night Lethal and Ninja got into a heated argument on stream about the future of the game. I know how I felt then – I, like Ninja, believed. 343i had given us ZBNS, right? They would get it right. They would cater to the competitive side of the game soon enough. So what that it didn't ship that way, neither did Halo 2 or Halo 3.

 

I tried to have a conversation with the AGL guys soon into that new year. For those who don’t know, my real job involves running sports teams, leagues and tournaments. No esport stuff, but I have a fair idea on how to improve upon yourself and build relationships, partners, sponsorship. What things to avoid as you start out, the dos and don’ts. Not everything I would have to say would be relevant, but I felt like I could offer them something. I was, of course, ignored. I’m not sure I can blame them – after all, who am I to them, the game, you, anyone? I will, however, say this – after dealing with them in a very short conversation I knew exactly how it would pan out (not the money stuff, obviously). A couple of immature guys with the fate of competitive Halo in their hands. They knew it too. They were arrogant before they had any reason to be. They turned us into a joke.

 

Meanwhile, 343 was really starting to show that they didn’t understand Halo. At all. They had hired members of our very own community. I doubt very much their voices were heard – if they even ever got a chance to be heard.

 

A few months of this cycle of crap, and no real direction with H4 and I was finally disillusioned with the whole thing. I never gave up (hope or effort) but I was pretty depressed by it all. I began investing in Halo 3 tournaments also. It was still fun to watch and had a pretty dedicated contingent of players and viewers. You know what? We pushed those numbers up for a while. I felt a sense of community again.

 

Alas, it didn't last!

 

It was rough being a fan and supporter during those dark ages. I think we can all agree on that.

 

I am starting to turn this into a fucking blog of my life story (which was not my intent) so I’ll try to be brief and I’ll not rehash the most recent events or complaints with 343i/Halo – I’ll try and get to my point.

 

MCC was supposed to save us. Ugh.

 

I genuinely thought that H5 would be a return to form. I (even though there was little evidence to support) felt like our voices would be heard.

 

Over the course of the last 10-12 years I have personally invested well over $200,000 of my own money. My accountant hates me and thinks there is something wrong with me. I do not and will not complain about this. I was never looking for a return in my “investments”.

 

The last 10 days or so the feeling in my gut has been telling me that it is over. Time to move on. However, I, like all of you, love this franchise WAY too much to just lay down. I don’t know if we’ll ever be heard. I have seen too many instances of awful arguments from 343i in regard to why they are doing certain things. I do not believe that they have any idea of what Halo is. Or an arena shooter, for that matter.

 

I had an idea to try and get some of the players from the top 8 teams together and stream a “talkshow” reviewing the H5 beta. My theory being that since 343i is investing into HCS they would listen to the players who had the potential to make that venture a success. I realize that those guys do not speak for everyone but I do believe they have the same issues we do and, frankly, they have more to lose. I feel like if they could be honest enough and outspoken enough we could be heard. I don’t know though.

 

Who am I? I am nobody. I don’t want you to think I think I am a “somebody”. I certainly do not.

 

Regardless, I am turning to you, TB. You are the heart and soul of the competitive community. We need to act and we need to act together – we need to find a way. This is all a bit of a fantasy to be honest, but I believe we can be heard if we speak together, if we act together. Is this a little “William Wallace” and (maybe) unrealistic? Probably. It’s now or never though, truly.

 

Thank you all for your continued dedication and support of Halo. 

 

 

NB: I created a new thread because I didn't really know where to place this – that alone probably seems a bit self-serving, but that is not the intent. Please do move this post if necessary or contact me and I will repost in the appropriate place.

[DoBziLLa]

I share in your frustration and am aligned with your goals, but at the end of the day as long as 343 hits certain profit margins, the quality or direction of the game, especially with regards to eSports, makes absolutely no difference.

 

My theory is that after Halo 4 tanked in epic fashion, Microsoft basically put the heat on them to get it right with Halo 5.  While that directive was given, they thought they could boost sales and faith in the company by releasing MCC, and that would have given the company positive momentum going into Halo 5 to hit certain sales goals.  In light of MCC still being an absolute joke to this day (nothing short of a complete disaster), the shine from the microscope has gotten even brighter.

 

Halo 5's beta has quickly faded into apathy by the community, and I'm sure they feel they need to cater to the CoD style of FPS as it is outselling Halo by a landslide these days.  That doesn't mean it's the right direction for the game, it just means it's an easy solution and costs less in terms of development, because why create your own ideas and balance a game when you can just blatantly steal from other devleopers and call it your own game?  Maybe even naively think it will make the game better?

 

Sprint has been consistently shown to not work in the Halo series, yet they are adamant it's going nowhere.  ADS was never a part of Halo games, and now it's not going anywhere.  Clamber is supposed to be immersive?  Yeah, okay...  skill jumps are far more rewarding and adds more to the meta of a game than being able to climb around surfaces to instantly get map control. 

 

All these things that Halo has been stealing from CoD are not working because CoD is not an arena shooter.  Of course at high levels there is some competitive merit to CoD (but then again, what game being played by the best in the world doesn't have competitive merit), but these mechanics simply don't fit into Halo and are degrading the high level of skill that separated Halo from other FPS franchises, and was why the Halo competitive scene was as dominant as it was.  People were intrigued by how a difficult game could be made to look so easy by pros back during the glory days of Halo MLG.  Now, the skill gap is actively being completely crushed, and the intrigue is no longer there.  It'd be like trying to advocate Destiny PvP as a competitive shooter.  Sure, it takes some skill to point and shoot, but the game is so stupid and random at the core that nobody would ever be interested in watching it in a competitive format. 

 

If you want to make a difference, do what I do and stop spending money on Halo.  I won't be buying Halo 5, and I've been playing Halo since CE.  I took a three year break from Halo when Halo Reach came out because the game was trash and I refused to see it otherwise.  ZBNS was a small band-aid to try and fix an ever evolving problem, and 343 is clearly not the studio that is pointing the franchise in the right direction.  If you would want Halo to succeed, don't support the problem.  Speak with your money, as that's all what Microsoft and these developers care about, and hopefully the franchise will be handed over to a different developer that can actually apply the time-tested models of what made Halo the most successful console title in history. 

[CyReN]

Feel the same as a lot of people on here, posted this on HaloGAF a few days ago:

I think I've accepted that "my Halo" is gone, the beta was ok but I've really had no urge to get on these last few days. I'll still play and follow the series obviously, that parts still fun to me to see new stuff and a potential good campaign/modes happen. As for multiplayer, I'm not sure. It isn't me getting older that's the problem, it's the game going away from itself that is. I can still put countless hours in the OG 3 games.

Just have to wonder how much MCC will have population wise for me to play those games, it's 2 month now. I'm getting Halo 4 flashbacks with these updates. Getting stuff that past games back months later, I can only imagine ranks will follow in March or April now. I understand that the game had a lot of issues (and I really hope they weren't expected at 343i) but this is 2 games in a row now and it sucks when trying to retain fans and growing the brand. Were the hardcore guys and will stick around, others though? They're gone.

I honestly don’t know how to feel anymore, I could say I’m angry but I’m not. It’s so far past that, it’s amazing how a great idea on paper can be screwed up so bad. I can’t think of anything good that came from the release of the game. 343i looks incompetent in the gaming medium, our competitive league is praying the game doesn’t crash during tournaments, and the franchise is shitstained with this bad reputation now to deter future fans.

I think the biggest gripe I have with the series is the idea of playing with my friends again. Online shooters in recent years have gone the modern war route. This is not one persons fault - if that’s what people enjoyed then fine. But for me and a group of friends, arena shooters on the console like Halo 1-3 always had a special place in our hearts when we played them in our teens. The game was supposed to give us a second shot at our gaming glory years. A lot of us are finishing college, getting full times jobs, starting families etc. Its life, I know. But sometimes at night and on weekends we want to rewind with our favorite games online and modern games don’t do it. THIS WAS THE GAME, and 343 screwed it up. Plain and simple. No nameplate is going to help repair the damage and time you guys took away from us, the fans.

I think one of the things that sucks about the situation is that are honestly good people at 343i. I wish nothing but the best for them, but man, I don’t even know anymore after this dismal release. Your whole purpose as a studio is to lead the Halo name into a positive light but the last few years as a fan have just been dreadful. This was a chance for you guys to revive the franchise from irrelevance. I honestly feel we are now the Sonic of the Shooters, and it sucks. This brand used to be so prestigious, now it’s looked down on.

[DoBziLLa]

I like your last line Cyren, just because it sums up a big part of the problem.  Halo used to be a brand that was clearly defineable, but 343 doesn't understand that definition and certainly doesn't know how to build a game from the ground up around that definition.  They're trying to merge their brand with CoD, and are ended up looking like the stupid little brother of the older brother who's a moron in his own right. 

[Moses_FPS]

Thanks for your efforts Dave

 

I've heard of many big time halo players getting "daved" and now I know what that means!

[stevomilo]

I'd have to say more about this (also being a 10-12 year veteran) but in short, here are my thoughts:

 

1. This community HAS in fact made an effort to move Halo 5 into the right direction. Kurtiz the Kiwi guy started a document called "need 5 for Halo 5". signed/supported by 100s of players. This I believe was last October or November. One of these 5 things was removing sprint. I'd actually like to see the other four and compare it to the present Halo 5. So there.

 

Then you have Team Beyond like Saucey constantly saying before the release of the Beta "yea, 343 really gets us, they really do listen". It would be unfair to say they don't listen at all, but look at this Halo 4.5 version of Halo that we're gonna get now. It's nowhere close to Halo 1/2/3 but a lot closer to Halo 4.

It's hard for me to believe we have that much to say here but I keep trying and we all do.

 

2. The crowd that matters are the new 14 - 19 year old COD/Halo Reach/Halo 4/Battlefield kids. I said this before, it's all about fast action with lots of rewards and not having to think much anymore. This is where the money is and they will be the ones who 343 will cater do. Whether it's in the form of sprint, the ranking system, automatic weapons and so on.

 

3. As for tournaments I will say that I was actually very impressed by the last IronGaming tournament in December. If they continue that way and in light of the "Championship Series" I feel like the tourney scene is in fact in a good state. The problem here is not the host imo, but the game: 3 maps are not enough for Halo 2 long term, and Halo 5 will be similar to Halo 4. We'll see if 343 decides to give us more maps but I doubt it as they want to push sales for Halo 5.

[Aphex Twin]

The h5 beta talk show would be cool, but get chaostheory and/or cursed lemon to be the speaker(s) and just let em go at it for hours- don't cut them short. They will need more than one hour to get everything on the table.

[RVG E Nomini]

We're all a captive audience to the slow-motion death of the Halo franchise. Halo is a giant ship to steer and so far 343 is hitting every single iceberg in its path and eventually it'll just be too much to take. Honestly that is the thing I actually to be find the most immersive, having a front row seat to the destruction of something I used to love more than anything else. The epic reversal of our collective initial faith in 343 is a tale for the ages and we're probably somewhere in the middle right now holding out on the final strings of hope that they'll get their shit together or quit the game now to hand it over to a more competent studio.

 

The first Halo was about selling consoles so it had to be good and stand out, Halo now is about pulling in money from the audience of a completely different franchise by mimicking how its games play (the novel compensation mechanisms 343 employs to reconcile the gameplay mechanics of two opposing FPS genres into their new titles are certainly a wonder to behold and will be laughed at for years by the competitive community, you never know what 343 will do next to balance whatever features they choose to import from other games!). You now have new players to the series being drawn in by the massive hype of Halo's legendary appeal but no prior experience with the original titles to compare against. They then find away to enjoy Halo 2, 3, reach, 4, 5, or whatever and you now have a legion of fans who missed the depth of Halo CE having a strong opinion on what future Halos should play like, without any appreciation for why Halo was initially good. Some of you won't enjoy that conclusion and that's fine. I lanned Halo CE all the time growing up but didn't really get into competitive play until I found out about MLG during Halo 2, which makes me a Halo 2 kid.

 

Upon learning about how CE plays through cT, missingno, lemon, patch, and other contributors to this forum (as well as Hardy Lebel's blog), I began to really dislike what Halo 2 was even though I cared about it more than anything else I had going on from '05-'07. This is because it finally sank in what had happened to Halo's gameplay where Bungie decided to dull it down for soccer moms to pick up and immediately do well. I remember the first time I heard that quote when I was digging the internet during '04 for every scrap of H2 information I could find. I didn't recognize that quote as a bad thing because I had no true understanding of Halo CE and the precedent its multiplayer created. I was a casual player and a fanboy to the core, but I didn't know the spawn system, how to strafe and pistol well, I knew maybe 2 nade points, buying a timer? (yeah right lol)... When I found out about those things over the MLG forums, THC, and this forum, it completely changed how I viewed my competitive H2 experience (I went to many tournaments, scrimmed online all the time with a lot of top semi-pros, and disregarded everything else in my life). It's like I had the most fun 3 years ever with a subpar game that is a complete let-down skillwise compared to its predecessor (I knew that initially but not the magnitude).

 

Now I submit myself to joining all the OGs here who are waiting patiently and likely eternally for a real Halo sequel (disregarding the story, if you hadn't noticed up to this point) that pays true homage to what Halo CE brought to console shooters, a sequel that takes the emergent meta gameplay of the original and thoughtfully expands on it in new and interesting ways, something 343 simply isn't ever going to be capable of. This is as immersive a story as I can think of because it is the reality of the situation and exists in the minds of many in this community. All we do is sit and we wait because failure and redemption at the speed of AAA game development is a tediously long process that includes forums like this to enlighten the minds of fans of the franchise to what they're missing out on. I know I won't adapt because when you know what you want you don't accept anything less and when it comes to Halo, I am absolutely and passionately unwilling to spend any of my cognitive dissonance on it. Neither should you.

[Cursed Lemon]

Does any other game franchise have people posting this kind of stuff? I'm completely serious. I've never heard of any franchise with so many people writing up their tearful goodbyes. This is ridiculous and never needed to happen. 

[uwdanman]

Does any other game franchise have people posting this kind of stuff? I'm completely serious. I've never heard of any franchise with so many people writing up their tearful goodbyes. This is ridiculous and never needed to happen. 

 

Agreed, kind of ridiculous huh?  Its not like the players grew up and out of the game.  Some did, but there are still a lot of passionate players from H1-3 days that are still here and hoping things get better.  They are still here lingering.  We now have a game that semi works, but instead of the MCC feeling like an homage to the games of past, its more of a send off, see ya later cause we're going a different direction from the games that got us where we're at.  Thing is too as you browse more than just Team Beyond, these posts are everywhere.  Lots of fans don't like the direction things are headed. 

[Proven]

Most game devs are not clueless and understand how to build their game. Why is GTA so popular? It followed the same formula every single time, refining it, adding more without breaking the core of the game. If 343 was in charge of GTA they would add immersive elements. Run a red light in San Andreas? Get a ticket! Punch someone in the face on the street? Get 6 months in jail, no probation! Also, make sure to pay your electric bill on time or you get a fine!

[Proven]

Agreed, kind of ridiculous huh? Its not like the players grew up and out of the game. Some did, but there are still a lot of passionate players from H1-3 days that are still here and hoping things get better. They are still here lingering. We now have a game that semi works, but instead of the MCC feeling like an homage to the games of past, its more of a send off, see ya later cause we're going a different direction from the games that got us where we're at. Thing is too as you browse more than just Team Beyond, these posts are everywhere. Lots of fans don't like the direction things are headed.

Hey hey hey, remember http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-selection_bias

[Synner117]

It wasn't until 2 weeks ago my feelings on Halo shifted. Up until that moment, I felt like 343 had put Halo on the right path. Announcing HCS, working around the clock to fix MCC, and focusing on arena gameplay for future Halo titles seemed like a great blueprint for success. The future went from being auspicious to remarkably despairing, fast. I think the future of Halo is still salvageable, but the more I read some of the 343 developers' tweets the more I worry. I won't post the tweets or the culprits but I've seen multiple mentions that heavily implied things such as AR starts being viable for competitive Halo (HCS) and BR starts being too hardcore for the average player. I understand that a game has to appeal to casual players while also making as few changes possible for it's competitive settings. This allows casuals to follow competitive gameplay and ultimately leads to longevity and viewership. However, changing the default controls to a CODesque scheme just for this purpose is an undisguised betrayal to the long time Halo fan. It's this one simple change that tells the biggest story, in my opinion. They are 100% committed to capturing a new audience. Yes, Halo needs new players but this just doesn't seem like Halo anymore. If 343 had added all the new mobility features for any reason other than trying to capture the casual players and COD market, I'd accept it. The fact that some of these changes are being pushed just to appeal to other market shooter fans is simply depressing, though. Natural evolution of a game's core features is important. For me, though, none of these changes feel natural. I hope the beta feedback they receive helps them realize some of the problems with the game. The game is close to greatness but some things need to change. If they only take 2 things away from this beta it needs to be that BR starts are a must for competitive play and sprint in it's current form is unacceptable.

[Kalon]

I think it would be wise for us, as a community, to unify our voice and become something the developers can't ignore, much like Fox News can fucking get half the country out to vote and change policy. I know this is a forum, I know there are differentiating opinions, and I know the Beyond staff is probably weary of speaking in 'we', but I think real change can happen if we push out "No Sprint" like Fox New's pushes out its ideology. (These comparison's with Fox News aren't meant to be an insult in anyway, it's just to show the power of rallying behind a single idea, pushing it to the max, and acting as single entity around it). Maybe it's time to take out the old bat and fucking beat the shit out of the dead horse?

[Astro]

You can only speak so much to deaf ears.

Sure you can gain some fans with your gimmicks and flashy nonsense, but the fact is that at the core of the Halo series lies with the hardcore and competitive players, players that will put hours upon hours into this game and learn everything about it and try to improve it.

 

343i has smashed this community by feeding us lies that it will cater to us for once, allowing us to have a true voice, and we believed that a competitive arena core would save this franchise from the dark depths that it has fallen in to by allowing us to seamlessly interact with the causal community (LoL for instance) and actually have a good game we can all play and sell as competitive (see games like counterstrike)

 

They are going to drive us away because weve been let down so many times, they are disentigrating the integrity of the Halo name, and they will fail if they do not listen to the people who care about this franchise the most, I dont buy Halo and throw it away for the next hot title, I play these games because I love them to the very core. Halo 1-3 have a special place in my heart and I replayed the campaigns and had just as much fun as I did the first time I played them.

343 needs to admit that they do not have what it takes to produce bungie games that affect you like this, and LISTEN to the people who want this new trilogy to succeed.

(they also need to fix MCC, and change their way of thinking from xbox titles to long running PC titles that I mentioned before)

[DoBziLLa]

I can 100% guarantee you that Halo 5 is not going to remove sprint. 

[shadowblind]

And to think #weback was trending in complete sincerity little over two months ago. Just goes to show that the community really, really, really was trying to give 343 the benefit of the doubt. Let no one say we never gave 343 the chance to make things right.

[BigMuffinMan]

Halo 5 isn't a bad game but I have no desire to play it. I boot up my xbox out of habit and realize I don't want to play h5 and even if I would want to play the MCC it would take forever to find a game that would probably be 2v4 and there's only 3 maps in h2a.  The Halo 1 playlist is garbage because they used the PC port and the netcode is awful.  They did the same for the h2c playlist.  I can't find anybody in half the playlists.  I think it's over for me.  Never have I felt so defeated and powerless.  Talking to 343 about the game is like helping my grandmother with her computer problems.  "Yeah, yeah, go to the start menu.  Yeah, it's in the bottom left.  The thing that says start.  Yeah click it.  Left click.  No, not there.  No, click it.  Left click.  Ok, click control panel.  Ok, just go back to the start menu.  Yeah.  Ok, do you see control panel?  Ok click that"  I used to give them the benefit of the doubt, and I thought maybe it was their first game so they would have some trouble.  But I'm beyond that now (no pun intended) and you know what?  343 sucks.  They suck.  They can't tell their left shoe from their right.  They're incompetent.  They don't care what anybody says, they're gonna do things their way.  And when you point out that their way sucks and they made a shit game, they have a million excuses.  They're all so damn defensive about their game that you can't even have a decent conversation with them.  It's as if the only Halo game they ever played was Halo 4, and they have no idea how to even shoot a fucking BR.  They don't understand spawns, map movement, power weapon control, or anything about the core Halo mechanics.  

[MattFeast117]

.... 

[BearJew]

Thank you to Dave and to the good people who run this site for keeping Halo alive for this long.  Unfortunately I've come to the fifth stage of grief and have accepted Halo's fate.  Not with a bang but a whimper.

[Hitman]

Does any other game franchise have people posting this kind of stuff? I'm completely serious. I've never heard of any franchise with so many people writing up their tearful goodbyes. This is ridiculous and never needed to happen. 

 

Sadly, I have experienced it before with RS and Unreal to varying degrees. This is usually what happens when a game franchise is dying or has sold out and has completely lost the faith of its core fan-base. I didn't move on to UT3 like many because it had a terrible launch and was basically a glorified tech demo. I stuck to Utk4 for many years(even though some still hate Utk3/Utk4 and prefer UT 99' much like some HCE players hate the changes made in H2) and I still prefer it over UT3.

 

Its still a huge point of contention on the Epic forums for UT4 between the varying communities of UT that dont agree on movement/weapons/HUD and some of UT4's new features its pretty much an ongoing war and getting very political right now as some believe certain segments of the community are being listened too over all others. But at least Halo fans will always have the original Halo trilogy to play when MCC gets fixed, because sadly H5 is not trying to be a great Halo game but the best "new" Halo game it can be for a modern audience which has been 343's strategy since H4 and is bound to fail in tight-knit gaming communities.

[Exerted]

It's saddens me that players who play halo for two weeks and move on to the newest titanfall or Cod is what this game is being designed for.

[Jazzii Man]

Awesome thread, and I can relate completely.

 

I'm having my own personal struggle as a Halo fan. Halo 5 multilayer doesn't excite me in any way whatsoever; I'm just here because there is Halo in the title, and Halo gets me excited because the first three Halo games made me feel like a little kid on Christmas for the first time since, well... I was a little kid on Christmas.

Every time a 343 employee says something questionable - every time I see footage of Halo 5 and feel more like I'm watching a generic modern shooter than an exiting Halo game - I really think to myself that maybe it's time to just give up on it. It's such a shame because this didn't have to be the natural progression of Halo. There was still room left for the franchise to grow and continue being incredibly exciting and recognisable as a Halo game. But it hasn't happened, and that's the saddest part about it all.

 

Your talk show idea sounds really good and I'd love to see that become a reality. If you can, definitely try and make it happen.

[Lavish]

Damn. A lot of sadness in here.  :cry:

[wow]

I can 100% guarantee you that Halo 5 is not going to remove sprint. 

A toggle. we need toggle. At the very fucking least. Any hope we have rests on toggle for everything we hate about this game, we might have a chance. Itd be far from ideal but i think thats the only way we might be able to keep competetive play going.