tl;dr at bottom, but please read anyways : )
Sections:
1) What the hell am I babbling about?
2) Why would this happen?
3) What does this mean for you?
4) A final message
Section 1: What the hell am I babbling about?
Basically, this is an idea I’ve been pondering over for roughly two months now. I haven’t ever really tried to summerize my thoughts untill now, though. When I first saw Forge World revealed on Bungie’s BWU, hundreds of ideas started popping into my head. One of those ideas was “OMFG they’re no longer making DLC maps”. How did such an appearantly irrational idea come to be? Well, it’s simple really.
You see, since Bungie already showed that they could make a massive space dedicated to nothing other than Forge, they really didn’t have much reason (In my mind) to cook out new multiplayer maps for DLC. I mean what could they make that we, the player, couldn’t? After all, the only reason Bungie didn’t just do this in Halo 3 was because Forge wasn’t as easy-to-use at the time (Again, this is all just my thoughts).
Forge World, unfortunately, gave you an incredibly limited palette, with little more than bland, pixel--Yoink!- Forerunner pieces. It lacked all of the immersion necessary to create new and unique maps that stood out from one another. The pieces themselves cause lag on even the smallest maps. It was by no means a failure, but it could have been executed much better. Anyways, I started thinking after that that Bungie probably would release more maps through DLC, but that the maps released would probably be brand new Forge Worlds.
Bottom line, I saw no reason why Bungie would waste time and effort making three new maps that many players might not like, when they could simply make a single Forge World with a new theme and satisfy the needs of every player on Reach.
tl;dr?
Bungie could have released new Forge Worlds with each DLC, rather than making three new maps from scratch.
Section 2: Why would this happen?
Making a DLC map is hard. Not only do you have to come up with brand new play-spaces that relate to the world of Halo while still being fresh and new, but you have to spend countless hours playtesting and perfecting the map’s competitive aspects while still somehow retaining the fun other players will have.
In the end, it’s a lot of dull work that gives you limited creativity through the development process. What’s worse is that the finished product might not even be liked by the majority of players. You have no way to implement new, creative ideas (Toys, etc.), and there’s no chance of being able to add something mind-blowingly awesome that can be appreciated by all players.*
If 343i were to focus its efforts on producing a new Forge World for every DLC release, they’d have a lot more creative control over what goes on. Want to add a giant football? Go ahead. have some new idea that you think the community could use? Add it right in. Listened to the community and decided they could use such-and-such a feature in the new Forge World? excellent work.
It would simply be easier (And quite honestly, funner) for 343i to create new Forgeworlds. They already have tons of community ideas and support to draw on, and they can add an almost unlimited repertoire of ideas and objects to help out the community and other Halo players. It’s not that I think 343i has to do whatever the community tells them to, it’s more **"**You can spend less time and effort making something everybody’s been asking for, and no-one can possibly say has bad gameplay. Everyone can make what they want of it, and everyone can find their own unique ways to enjoy it. Why not?".
__*__I’ve never developed or helped develop a game like Halo. I’ve never done any DLC work for it. Any idea I have regarding the creativity and fun that goes into creating such a product would be based off of inference alone.
tl;dr: Making a new Forge World for DLC would take less time and effort, be more creatively free, and have a higher number of players who like the finished product.
Section 3: What does this mean for you?
I’ve already somewhat talked about this, so I’ll try and keep it brief.
Basically, rather than being forced to take on a map you might not even like you can be given the option to make and edit your own map**(s)** from scratch. You are basically being given the tools to Forge whatever you’d like, but in a fresh and brand new setting with new spaces to use and explore.
Doesn’t this sound much better than being forced to buy whatever a producer thinks you deserve?
tl;dr: You get the tools to make whatever you want in a new setting, and not just a map someone else thinks you’ll enjoy.
Section 4: A Final Message.
I’m going to finish up this post by giving you a few last words to consider.
Why not? What reasons could there be for going through the laborious, pain-staking process of hand-crafting maps that many players will find boring or dull to play on. 343i sounds like the type of company that would go to any length to support the community and its abundance of creativity.
For this idea to work, the support of the entire community will be needed.
Cheers,
Haris Sales.
