The theater needs changes to enhance its usefulness and make it easier for players to review their gameplay. Add fast rewind to the theater; there is fast forward which is great, add fast rewind to allow looking over scenes back and forth quickly. The theater needs a timer added that shows the length of the video as this can differ from game time. Having the video length time can orient users to when something occured. Add a scroll bar for users to scroll along as well. Don’t change camera views when a death occurs (this may be a glitch, the replays can be glitchy at times where the game plays but the onscreen video does not change). Permit switching to a dead person’s camera so it does not ‘disappear’ when they are dead. In the theater menu that lists the games played, show the time the game was played and a pic of the map so players can orient themselves (could be hard considering the similarities in maps but helpful nonetheless). Include deciseconds (a tenth of a second) in the timer for the theater and live games to aid with timing.
In the theater, in third person view, change the radar so it rotates opposite the direction of the camera movement. At present, the radar doesn’t change regardless of where the camera is pointing. This can be confusing because the radar contacts are in the wrong spot based on where the camera is pointing (unless it’s pointing where the spartan is facing). I also suggest putting a notice over the radar for when the player is scoped, otherwise it looks like the radar disappears for no reason.
A basic ‘how to’ for the different weapons, vehicles, and abilities of spartans would be a decent addition; otherwise players end up googling how to play the game, and that is an example of poor game design. This would also help players new to the game, giving them an opportunity to ‘catch up’ to experienced players. I also think this is beneficial for getting players who are opposed to a specific playstyle by showing/teaching them your vision. Likewise, if you want a sport to be competitive, you ought to teach them the skills/habits needed for success.
More stats in the post game review such as who killed who, overhead maps showing player movement throughout the game, graphs showing kills compared to others at specific timepoints and locations. Starcraft 2 is an exemplar in this area, showing precisely what happens during the game, and they show what changes are made to the game via in-game patch notes. The option to launch the replay from the post game review screen ought to be added as well. Also, when selecting a player in the post game review, after viewing each players medals/ect., default to the last player viewed as opposed to our own gamertag - this would make it easier to cycle through. Otherwise allow cycling through players personal game stats with the left and right tab buttons; at present triggers are used and this is counterintuitive given that switching screens in other menus such as from ranked to social uses the top two tab buttons on the controller. I think overall player stats would be helpful too, such as which map a player does best/worst on or most/least kills per weapon. Moreover, robust data collection ought to help understand increases or decreases in game popularity. Finally, I suggest adding the ability to view more than one post game review, such as adding the option to scroll through most recent post game reviews.
Game mechanics need to be added to the game. The damage of each weapon, how many rounds needed for a kill shot on each body part, area of effect, rationales for specific game mechanics would all be helpful additions, improve players’ understanding of the game, and provide more transparency. Presently, this is not included in-game and players need to view that data from youtube or other websites. Again, excellent design would have this included in the game.
Give players the option of when to start the next match after finishing a game. All too often I find myself launched into another game I didn’t play (or want to play) because halo automatically cues the player for another match. For example, the option could be set to immediate, never, or a specific time marker like “start matchmaking in xx minutes after each game”.
Gameplay features ought to be detailed in the playlist title. For example the playlist ought to describe how the radar works. It is a poor design for players to have to watch replays or to use google to understand how it works. A player can play in a big team battle match and be familiar to an ‘always on’ radar of 25m, but in ranked the radar only shows players under certain circumstances and the range can vary with maps. This could be frustrating for players and could push them away from this matchmaking playlist. Playlist titles ought to include patch notes, other changes unique to the playlist, and even settings that have changed from the previous generations of halo to the current title (such as movement/sprinting/walking speed). I also recommend displaying gametype info in the game, such as if it is magnums only, or other weapon pickups that are in play.
Of note, according to halotracker.com (http://halotracker.com/h5/csrbreakdown) anywhere from 40-60% of players are unranked. Free for all has 211,726 players with 65% of them unranked. Pretty unfortunate for 343 as more than half of the people who started the playlist decided not to finish the placement matches, suggesting this play type is not popular among half the people who attempted playing it. It’s not official data, so if 343 could publish contemporary data that would assist with further evaluation.